Ayumi Himekawa

Ayumi Himekawa (姫川 亜弓 Himekawa Ayumi) is the honor-bound and noble daughter of Mitsugu Himekawa (a successful director/producer) and Utako Himekawa (a very famous actress who was once the student of Chigusa Tsukikage) and the biggest rival of Maya Kitajima who has been touted as a prodigy from an early age. Ever since learning she got her first acting role just because of her family links, Ayumi has striven to shine on her own and never falls into arrogance. Ayumi becomes aware of Maya's prodigious gift for acting when they first meet in a practice session; from then on she views the younger girl as a life-rival. She is ambitious enough to try to surpass her own mother, who is a widely recognized actress. People have jokingly told Utako that Ayumi will steal the role of the Crimson Goddess from her. Even though Ayumi is young, she believes that she will re-vitalize the renowned role. Thus, she takes it upon herself to get as much experience as she can by trying out for any roles, including minor ones. At first, when Ayumi took on the role of Tom in The Prince and the Pauper, the children in attendance didn't like the performance because they were used to seeing Ayumi as a beautiful young woman rather than a dirty and homely boy. Yet Ayumi soon draws the children's favor by begging for "money" in a hat, to which the children offer her their candy. The people behind the stage were surprised that Ayumi would do such a thing, particularly since Ayumi generally would have thought such things beneath her. Her passion to become the Crimson Goddess is undeniable, however, as she continually strives for perfection to attain the role. Even though critics generally favor her over Maya, Ayumi is upset at being unable to reach the sort of emotional peaks Maya does when she performs.

Trivia

 * The name Ayumi means "second, Asia" (亜) (a) and "archery bow" (弓) (yumi).
 * Part of the name Yumi can also mean "reason, cause" (由) or "friend" (友) (yu) and "beautiful" (美) (mi).
 * Ayumi's surname Himekawa means "princess" (姫) (hime) and "river, stream" (川) (kawa).