 Leo Tsukinaga |
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Leo is a talented composer who enjoys the entire world's attention. Music is both his raison d'être, and the way he communicates with others. He is free-spirited, pure, a little sensitive, and cherishes his friends. He has a spoiled side, and depending on the person, may become stubborn and insistent. Leo's singing voice is has a wide range of expression, with performances that are bold and magnificent.
Leo is a member of Knights at NEW DIMENSION. His goal is to continue making music that will make others smile, and to enjoy being an idol with everything he's got. He's been considering new and exciting ways to do this.[2]
うっちゅ〜☆ 格好良くて大天才、歴史に残る作曲家……おれの名前は、月永レオだ！ NEW DIMENSION所属の、『Knights』って『ユニット』で活動してる！ 町中を歩いてたら、きっとどこかでおれがつくった曲をみんな聞いてるはずだ♪ お姫さまたちを笑顔にするために、おれ自身もアイドルを目一杯楽しみたいって思ってる。まだ『Knights』のライブに来たことがないなら、絶対に来てくれ！ 後悔はさせないからさ♪[2]
Arashiレオくんはいつも自由で音楽のことしか考えてなさそうに見えるでしょ？ でも、案外優しいところもあるのよォ。アタシが落ち込んでるときは真っ先に励ましてくれたりね？ 司ちゃんの相談に乗ってあげてるところもよく見るわァ。あぁいう子供っぽさと大人っぽさを両立させてるひとってモテると思うのよねェ……[2]
Quick Answers
Is Leo Tsukinaga the leader of Knights?
Why was Leo Tsukinaga called "King"?
Why was Leo Tsukinaga absent from Yumenosaki Academy?
Appearance
Leo is slightly shorter than an average boy with an average build. His hair is mid length, somewhat untidy and orange, with a low pony tail and bangs that split in the middle. He has light green eyes.
On stage as a member of the unit Knights, Leo wears a dark blue coat with white sleeves and a ruffled tailcoat over a white shirt. There’s a vertical blue line on his sleeves. The sleeves have a blue cuff, with a gold accent to them. His white shirt has a black vertical line in the middle, accented with gold. His shirt collar is blue, which is also accented with gold. On the shirt’s collar there are swirly gold patterns. Where the buttons would usually be, are golden frog closures. On his jacket, there are black epaulettes. The rope on the epaulettes are golden. From his left epaulette are two golden strings, which lead to a blue banner with the fleur de lis symbol on it which is pinned on the right side of his chest. On the back, he wears a cape which is blue on the top end, and white on the underside. There is a golden accent on the blue half of the cape. His pants are dark gray, with thin light gray vertical lines on them. He wears a thick belt with four golden buttons on them. Gold lines adorn the side of the belt. There is a golden chain and a golden rope hanging off his belt. His boots are white, with a black tip. There is a thick black line that goes up the boot along the middle. Near the top and the bottom, there are two black straps that wrap around the shoe which have gold accents. The shoelaces are also gold. He wears black gloves that are fingerless for his pinkie and ring finger.
Leo is slightly shorter than an average boy with an average build. His hair is mid length, somewhat untidy and orange, with a low pony tail and bangs that split in the middle. He has light green eyes. At school, Leo wears a dark blue long sleeve jacket under his school blazer. The jacket is always zipped and has a large collar that surrounds his blazer. The collar has a strap with a buckle that keeps it closed. Leo wears a loose black tie with two grey stripes at the bottom, as well as a Yumenosaki Academy symbol above them. His school blazer is unbuttoned.
Personality
At a first glance, Leo seems like just another loud, chaotic spirit whose eccentric personality and sometimes childish mannerisms can cause trouble for those around him. He's disorganized and forgetful, having a habit of writing on anything he can get his hands on when he has a burst of inspiration (including floors and walls, much to everyone's chagrin), and having a hard time remembering names as a whole. It's a running joke among Knights that Leo needs either Izumi or Tsukasa to rein him in at all times, either by dragging him to class or simply making sure he remembers to eat at all.
However, despite his absentminded and seemingly clumsy personality, Leo is an incredibly caring, insightful person at his core. He's quick to analyze situations, pick apart details, and find a prompt way to respond, often before anyone else realizes what's happening. Because of this, Leo often throws himself into cruel, sacrificial positions where he's painted as an aggressor or even the villain, all to protect those he cares about. As he's always been praised as a genius, he has a hard time communicating his feelings to others, and it results in him acting brashly and recklessly to achieve his goals. He doesn't always think things through before speaking, has trouble confiding in people or asking for help, and ends up hurting others as a result.
But though his impulsiveness and lack of self-worth may cause him to have volatile relationships with those around him, Leo is incapable of holding grudges. He's said on multiple occasions that he can't stop loving someone once he already loves them, even if they end up hurting him, and he can't bring himself to stay mad at them for it, as seen with the way he renews his friendship with Eichi, even after Eichi sacrificed him during the war.
Leo is most known for his genius song compositions and earns royalties all over the globe, but he's also an incredible idol in his unit, to the point where he can stop performing for months at a time and still maintain very dedicated fans. The other members of Knights often comment on his stage presence and charisma, and the songs he writes for his unit are a strong contributor to their strength.
All in all, Leo is just a complex, talented person who loves everyone and wants to be loved in return. He's wild and chaotic, sometimes insensitive, deeply intuitive, and often careless with his feelings and the way he can act, but he is also a truly caring person who wishes nothing more than for the best for his friends and family, even if he can't always show it.
Etymology
Leo's first name could be a reference to the astrology sign, Leo, which is represented by a lion. "Leo" is also the Latin word for lion, taken from Ancient Greek. His last name consists of two characters, the first (月) meaning "moon" and the last (永) meaning "eternity", or "forever”.
Lionheart could likely be a reference to his name, which is a short story in Izumi’s point of view written by Akira as a bonus short story for the third volume of the Ensemble Stars novel. Leo was also called the "king" of Knights through Enstars!, which adds on to the definition of his name, since the lion is commonly known as the king of the jungle.
Family
- For more information, see Leo Tsukinaga/Family.
Leo has a younger sister, Ruka Tsukinaga, whom he adores. He puts on a much more "cool" facade when talking to her, but when she's not around, he refers to her as "Ruka-tan". When Madara calls her "Ruka-tan", Leo makes a comment on how it's a secret from her that he calls her that.[3]
Leo seems to get along well enough with his parents, who worry about him. His father tries to encourage him to go back to school, but does so too roughly.[3] Leo feels he causes problems for them[3] and puts them through a lot, so he has to get himself together.[4] He's said that it would be better for them if someone like him wasn't around.[5]
Leo's family is familiar with Izumi, who has visited often.[5] They let him stay at their house.[6]
Trivia
- Leo's autograph consists of his full name rendered in kanji and katakana respectively.
- His younger sister is Ruka Tsukinaga from Ensemble Girls!.
- The Knights members call him "king" (Ou-sama) or leader.
- In official information given, Leo is right-handed. However, in many official images, he seems to be able to use both hands equally well, which implies that he's likely ambidextrous.
- When sore from composing too long with one hand, he will switch to the other.[7]
- Sometimes while he is completely engrossed in his composing, he will forget his surroundings and even his own name in extreme cases.
- He has an awful sense of direction and constantly gets lost without meaning to.[8]
- He believes in aliens, and even claims to have communicated with them.
- He calls the academy's studio "Sena House" because it smells like Izumi's house.[12]
- Leo can drive a car after graduation. This was first revealed by his sister Ruka in Ensemble Girls!.[13]
- Sora described his color as "Looking at the earth from the moon[14], and as "wider, deeper, just a little bit sad, but at the same time the happiest color ever"[15].
- In the Dark Night Halloween event, Leo claims that he wants to retire from idol work, but will probably be yelled at by "that Suou person".
- During his one year absence, it is hinted he met Ruri Amamiya from Ensemble Girls!, who taught him his "Ucchuu" catchphrase.
- On multiple occasions in the past, he has found Rei passed out and had to wake him up.
- He and Eichi became friends while Leo stayed in the hospital with a broken arm. Later, as Eichi was making plans to reform Yumenosaki Academy, he created and tested the DreamFes system on Chess (a mega-unit Leo was leader of at the time). Once Chess broke into pieces, one of them a unit Leo and Izumi named "Knights", Eichi chose the audiences so that Knights would gain popularity. Afterwards, Eichi then made audiences out of the students that Knights had defeated, which resulted in a sharp decline in Knights' popularity, effectively making them outcasts.[16]
- Madara reveals that Leo's broken arm was due to him protecting Little John, a cat in the archery club, from delinquent students.[16]
- Izumi states that after the events in their second year (yet to be fully explored in canon), Leo confined himself to his room, forcing himself to compose songs to the point of biting down on his own hand.
- Leo calls Eichi a "blockhead emperor" and thinks of their past relationship as Eichi treating him like a "toy".[17] However, they later grow to be on very good terms, to the point where Leo makes sure to watch out for Eichi's weak constitution during practice and even returns to using his old nickname for Eichi, "Tenshi," which is derived from Eichi's surname and means "angel."
- Unlike the rest of Knights who were in the game at launch, Leo was not officially named or drawn prior to being officially announced on September 14th, 2015.[18] He would be added to the game on September 26th, 2015.[19]
- Despite his small stature, he has a very high alcohol tolerance, to the point where Rinne and Rei cannot keep up with his drinking.[20]
- Leo's username in the 2025 Birthday Campaign is "@xxLEOxx".
Commentary
Voice Actor Comment
"I would never have expected to be thrown into such a tightly-knit team, least of all as the leader, so I was pretty surprised! (laughs) At first, I was worried that I wasn't cut out for the responsibility of voicing the leader, but it turned out that he has a lot of interesting quirks, so it was actually strangely entertaining. Those quirks must be a huge nuisance to all the other members, though (laughs). I'll do my absolute best not to disappoint all of you fans who supported me or hold back the four Knights who made this unit what it is, so please continue to support Knights in the future. Also, if it's not too much to ask, though he's late to the party and a fickle leader, please let Leo Tsukinaga drag you into his pace. I'm sure he won't bore you!" (Enstars!)[21]
"I'm endlessly excitedly inspired by this ensemble of new and evolved units. My heartfelt congratulations!" (Enstars!!)[22]
Main Scenario Writer's Comments
"His pseudonym "The Demon Crazy About Composition" (作曲魔人X) is derived from Hokusai Katsushika, who was known for frequently changing his pseudonym, pseudonym of "The Old Man Mad About Art" (画狂老人卍). In addition to that, I've packed in references to other real geniuses such as Da Vinci and Einstein. And of course, Mozart." (Akira's Official Works Comment)[23]
 Leo Tsukinaga
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| Sub Story • Management Story • Mini Event • Intimate Event • Greeting Event • Produce Course | ||
| Knights | Tsukasa Suou • Leo Tsukinaga • Izumi Sena • Ritsu Sakuma • Arashi Narukami | |
References
- ↑ "DREAM LIVE 4th Tour Prism Star!" Character Interview and Dialogue Pamphlet
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Official Profile
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Return of Mr. Festival
- ↑ Star Festival - Silent Knights 4
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lionheart
- ↑ RELOADED - Idol of the Dead 3
- ↑ Leo Tsukinaga Voice List - Night - Friendly Greeting 4
- ↑ Dance on Ice - Chapter 2
- ↑ The Return of Mr. Festival
- ↑ Concerto - For Whom the Requiem Plays 2
- ↑ Concerto - Epilogue 1
- ↑ Star Festival - Prologue
- ↑ Requiem - Prologue
- ↑ Blue Filament - Epilogue 2
- ↑ Next Door - Open World 5
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Checkmate
- ↑ The King's Horseback Ride
- ↑ Official Announcement Tweet
- ↑ Official Addition Tweet
- ↑ Egoist - Intricate Trends 2
- ↑ Enstars! Official Profile
- ↑ Commemorative Release Message
- ↑ Ensemble Stars! Official Works vol. 1