Nobara Sumiyoshi

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Nobara Sumiyoshi is the main protagonist of the manga series Crimson Hero. She is 15 years old, a first-year at Benino High School, and plays the position of outside hitter on the school's girls' volleyball team. She wears jersey number 4.

Appearance
Nobara is considered tall for her age, standing at 5 feet 9 inches. She has short, usually messy light brown hair, and has brown eyes. She is one of the most muscular players on the girls' volleyball team, but has been said to have a very flat chest. She is often mistaken for a boy because of her appearance.

Personality
Nobara's personality is often described as tomboyish: loud, energetic, passionate, confident, brash, tough, and very hardworking. She is dedicated to her passion for volleyball and that dedication inspires her teammates to work harder, too. She gets annoyed easily and does not hesitate to use physical force to defend herself or others. She is, however, also friendly and caring, and sometimes exhibits a softer side.

Background
Nobara is the oldest daughter of Shizuko Sumiyoshi and her husband, making her the heiress to the Japanese ryotei restaurant "Seiryuu." Her interest in volleyball started in 5th grade when she saw Ryou Shima playing in the national tournament on TV. Despite her mother's protests, she played volleyball during middle school and her team even played in a tournament in Kanagawa. After finishing middle school, she ran away from home to enrol in Benino High School and to play on the school's volleyball team.

Plot
Nobara wanted to play volleyball at Benino High School, but her mother would not allow it and paid money to the school to force them to dissolve the girls' volleyball team, destroying Nobara's opporunity. When she heard this, Nobara ran away from home and, with the help of her aunt Momoko (Benino's school nurse), took a position as a temporary dorm mother there. She hoped to earn money through this job and be able to rebuild the girls' volleyball team while she was at it.

After finding two members, she challenged the boys' team to a match with the intent of proving to the school that the girls' volleyball team was not made up of losers and that they did belong. Based on the bet made prior to the match, if the girls could score one point, they would be allowed to stay. During the match, Nobara was able to help her team score that point, and they were allowed to use half of the gym for their practices - the Benino girls' volleyball team's first victory. Nobara then continued her duties as dorm mother and kept working to find more members in order to make the volleyball team an official club.

Yushin Kumagai
Yushin was introduced as a potential love interest for Nobara. Their relationship had a rocky start, with both of them expressing a strong dislike for each other, but Nobara's earnest passion for volleyball and willingness to push herself to her limits soon earned her Yushin's respect and they soon grew very close.

Keisuke Haibuki
Nobara and Keisuke had been classmates in elementary school, but did not see each other again until high school, when Nobara started working in the dorm he was staying at. He still harbored feelings for her, despite being the boyfriend of Tomoyo Osaka, but eventually settled for just being her close friend. He tried to push her to her limits in volleyball because of his vision of her as an inspiring hero.

Tomoyo Osaka
Tomoyo and Nobara's relationship started off pretty rocky, but after Tomoyo joined the volleyball team, the two girls began to get along much better. Although they are teammates on the court, Tomoyo saw Nobara as a rival when it came to romance, seeing her as a threat to her relationship with Haibuki and declaring that she would not lose to her. After breaking up with him, though, she was able to get along with Nobara much better and put all her concentration into volleyball. Nobara respects Tomoyo, since she has more skill and experience, and because she understands that she, as a hitter, cannot attack without a setter to set the ball up for her first.

Shizuko Sumiyoshi
Nobara and her mother have a very tumultuous relationship, since Shizuko wants Nobara to dedicate her life to becoming the next mistress of Seiryuu, but Nobara wants nothing but to play volleyball. Nobara often disobeys her mother, much to Shizuko's anger.

Souka Sumiyoshi
Souka looks up to Nobara and relies on her to protect her from unwanted advances or bullying, and views her as a strong, protective figure.

Trivia

 * Takanashi-sensei said that Nobara is her personal favorite, explaining, "The way she approaches volleyball is the way I would like to approach manga. If you have a dream, whatever it may be, or if you have a goal you are trying to achieve, and in fact, even if you don't, I hope you will recognize something of yourself in Nobara's spirit and attitude."