 Tsumugi Aoba |
|---|
| |
A good-natured person, Tsumugi is willing to endeavor and make sacrifices for those close to him despite his clumsiness. Though he is considerate and reliable, sometimes he fails to read between the lines and says what is not appropriate. He has knowledge on management, and has a broad repertoire when it comes to support. His singing voice is soft and warm, and his performances are composed and light.
Tsumugi is a member of Switch at NEW DIMENSION. While coordinating the work at his agency, as an idol he is currently planning his own projects as a way to contribute to his unit's activities.[2]
Hello there. I'm Tsumugi Aoba, part of Switch and NEW DIMENSION♪ Oh, I tried changing my look recently. I guess that took some of our longtime fans by surprise♪ I want to move forward as a member of Switch with a new state of mind. Thank you for all your support♪[2]
SoraSenpai always supports what Sora and Master want to do! Sora loves how kind Senpai is♪ Recently we had some free time from work, and Sora was happy to be able to do lots of lessons with Senpai then♪ Sora can now do difficult dances thanks to Senpai's teaching, so Sora wants to show everyone soon![2]
ES Year 2 Profile, Post Wish (3/9/2025)
A good-natured person, Tsumugi is willing to endeavor and make sacrifices for those close to him despite his clumsiness. Though he is considerate and reliable, sometimes he fails to read between the lines and says what is not inappropriate. He has knowledge on management, and has a broad repertoire when it comes to support. His singing voice is soft and warm, and his performances are composed and light.
Tsumugi is a member of Switch at NEW DIMENSION. As an idol, he is currently planning his own projects and exploring a new aspects of himself as a way to contribute to his unit's activities.
Appearance
Tsumugi is a tall young man with an average build and a pale complexion. He has dark blue, wavy, tousled hair with long bangs that cover his forehead and curved hair tips. It is of shoulder length with turquoise streaks on the left side. He has gold eyes. He also wears large, black rimmed glasses, and dark blue stud earrings.
Tsumugi is a tall young man with an average build and a pale complexion. He has dark blue, wavy, tousled hair with long bangs that cover his forehead and curved hair tips. It is of shoulder length with turquoise streaks on the left side. He has gold eyes. He also wears large, black rimmed glasses.
He wears the school uniform with his white shirt unbuttoned at the collar a bit, the blazer buttoned up neatly and a dark grey sweater underneath it—together with a green tie that's slightly loosely tied and tucked under the sweater.
Personality
Tsumugi is friendly and eager to help others, which results in often being ordered around by Natsume. Eichi even points out that this disposition of his is easy to take advantage of.[3] His understanding of friendship is very loose. He describes his friendship with Natsume, and Kuro's friendship with Shu both as "getting along well" despite their mutual disagreements, frequent arguing, and/or bodily harm.[4]
While he doesn't read the situation well within his own interactions, frequently showing a lack of empathy and tact, Tsumugi shows remarkable social awareness in several stories, commonly seen giving advice to others who often come to him for it. Other times, he's praised for his level-headedness, even in the face of unexpected consequences. He is also well-acquainted with the subject of mental health, including the symptoms of others,[5] though he prioritizes his own view of others' symptoms over theirs in some cases.[6] He frequently teases other characters,[7][3] although it's not necessarily gentle teasing.[8]
Honest to a fault, Tsumugi speaks his mind, even if it may harm someone else (whether he is aware or not). He's been shown to have made harsh comments, especially towards Natsume and Shu.[9][10] It's rare for him to take things seriously, generally accepting things as they are. Eichi notes that he speaks lightheartedly about even the most serious subjects. While he's quick to panic or be surprised in casual conversation when he doesn't understand something, he's able to stay calm and optimistic with heavier topics or more urgent situations, as a testament to hardships in his upbringing.
His comments directed at himself often show a very low level of self-esteem, especially during his second year,[11][12] and he holds a heavy sense of guilt for the actions he took at the time. When others try to correct him on this, he tends to brush their opinions off. Conversely, he usually agrees when others insult him, whether they're being serious or not. However, over the course of his third year, he shows more incentive to better himself and the situations of others, feeling it is both his duty to repent and to spread happiness as one of Switch's magicians.
He has stated he has anxiety and exhibits occasional emotional instability[13] and suicidal ideation[14][15][13] During his second year, he expressed these verbally even more,[16] which even made Natsume worry that he would commit suicide if left alone.[17] Their frequency often leads other characters to either ignore these comments, or to refrain from mentioning their concerns.[18]
Etymology
His first name Tsumugi (つむぎ) is written in hiragana, but it is likely derived from the kanji "tsumugu" (紡ぐ) which means "to spin a tale". This is corroborated by the Chinese translation of his name (紡, fǎng). He references this with lines such as, "Let's spin our tale with everything we can muster".[19] His last name Aoba (青葉) means "fresh leaves" which is symbolism of prosperity. It may refer to his interest in fortune-telling and his overly-optimistic personality.
According to Eichi, him calling Tsumugi "Bluebird of Happiness" was inspired by his surname Aoba (青葉), as ao (青) means "blue" and ba (葉) is phonetically remniscent of "bird" (バード, baado).[20]
Family
- For more information, see Tsumugi Aoba/Family.
- Tsumugi's family struggled financially during his childhood.[21]
Trivia
- Tsumugi is the eldest and tallest member of Switch.
- During the "Ensemble Stars!" era, Tsumugi was one of the additional definitive main characters introduced into the game and storyline.
- Tsumugi made his "Ensemble Stars!" game debut in the company of Natsume Sakasaki and Sora Harukawa, presenting to audiences as Switch for the first time on August 18, 2016.
- His late entry to the series makes him one of several characters to be revealed after the game's release, including the idols belonging to Valkyrie, MaM, and Eden.
- He was the one who created Switch's unit outfits, although Shu gave him advice on them.[22]
- His glasses are made for an outdated prescription, but he deals with it because he hates the nausea that comes with switching prescriptions, dislikes change, and has difficulty making decisions on his own.[23]
- Tsumugi seems generally uneasy and nervous around Anzu, claiming that he doesn't know anything about girls because he's only ever attended all-boys schools. [23]
- It's implied that Tsumugi often works at school until late at night, even pulling all-nighters at times.[24][25]
- Tsumugi's hair type is described as "natural curls", or "tenpa" (天パ) in Japanese.[26]
- He's very gentle with children.[27]
- Tsumugi is very skilled with technology[28] and ran the school's SNS chat last year before that responsibility was handed to the Student Council.[29][30]
- On multiple occasions, he has had blankets on hand, whether or not there is a place to store them.[27][7]
- His favorite genre of fiction seems to be fantasy novels.[3]
- He's knowledgeable in flower language.[31]
- Tsumugi has mentioned that he is talented in long distance running.[32]
- Eichi was the one who gave him the nickname of "Bluebird of Happiness," which is used on his profile in-game.[33] Bluebird Humming is also the name of his solo song, and he often references this nickname in stories.[34]
- On several occasions, when he talks about his actions from his second year as a student, he speaks with little detail and from a distance, sometimes only naming other individuals who were present. This prompts other characters to comment that he talks about it as though he wasn't involved.[35][36][17]
- When questioned, Tsumugi mentions on several occasions[37][14] that he's growing out his hair for a Buddhist prayer (known as gankake) until the wish he made comes true. It's later revealed that the reason behind this is because of a promise he made with Natsume when they were children; Natsume's hair was likened to the red string of fate binding them together, and Tsumugi promised to let his own hair grow out so that if Natsume's red string ever broke, he can tie them back together with his hair.[38]
- Tsumugi's live stream username is "@Tsumugi_Aoba".[39]
Commentary
Voice Actor Comments
"I haven't had many opportunities to appear in idol-related roles, so I was very nervous going in to record. He's withdrawn, a huge worrier, and likes fortune-telling, but I hoped to bring out his kindness and his gentleness when I performed his role. He lacks confidence, so hope that you all will fill him with your love. Thank you very much for the opportunity!" (Enstars!)[40]
"I haven't appeared in any idol-related works up until now, so when it was announced that I would be in Ensemble Stars!, there was a lot of surprise from fans. And then when it was announced that we'd be able to sing unit songs like this, there was a huge reaction to that too. I'm not very good at singing, but once I was chosen for the role of Tsumugi Aoba, I decided that I'll work hard at it! I'd feel terrible if my poor inability to sing well would halve Tsumugi Aoba's appeal, after all... I will have to continue to do my best practicing hard to bring out the best of his appeal." (Cast Interview: Switch (12/2016))[41]
"Enstars gave me the joy of singing.
I hope together we can continue to grow with this joy in our hearts." (Enstars!!)[42]
Voice Actor Interviews
Main Scenario Writer's Comments
"Maeterlinck's Blue Bird is a pretty brutal story, so I created his character as he is pretty naturally. He has a peculiar personality, so I was a little worried, but I'm relieved to hear he has passionate fans (especially overseas)." —Akira (Official Works, Artbook)[43]
 Tsumugi Aoba
| ||
|---|---|---|
| Sub Story • Management Story • Mini Event • Intimate Event • Greeting Event • Produce Course | ||
| Switch | Natsume Sakasaki • Tsumugi Aoba • Sora Harukawa | |
References
- ↑ "DREAM LIVE 4th Tour Prism Star!" Character Interview and Dialogue Pamphlet
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Official Profile
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Element
- ↑ Nocturne - Gravekeeper's Late Night 5
- ↑ Black Swan
- ↑ Magical Halloween - Out Sider 3
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Devils - Bright Complex 1
- ↑ Teddy Bear - Epilogue 2
- ↑ Fortune Banquet
- ↑ Magical Halloween
- ↑ Checkmate - Killer's Anthem 1
- ↑ Pleiades Night - Monologue 1
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Library Committee Member's Privilege 1
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Biblio - Bind and Unfold 5
- ↑ Teddy Bear - Thread Scars 6
- ↑ Checkmate
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Pleiades Night - Monologue 2
- ↑ Pleiades Night - Naming a Star 2
- ↑ Element - Epilogue 2
- ↑ Checkmate - Killer's Anthem 1
- ↑ Element
- ↑ This Senior is Prone to Worrying
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Tsumugi Aoba Sub Story 1
- ↑ Fortune Banquet
- ↑ Pleiades Night
- ↑ Wish - Spinning Thread 9
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 Book Fair - Chapter 10
- ↑ Blue Filament - Fairy of Love 6
- ↑ Element - Even in Hell 4
- ↑ Biblio - Bind and Unfold Epilogue
- ↑ Bouquet of Desire
- ↑ Tri-Lights
- ↑ Checkmate
- ↑ Switch Album
- ↑ Teddy Bear - Thread Scars 4
- ↑ Pleiades Night - A Heart Hiding Secrets 4
- ↑ Sora's Management Story 1
- ↑ Wonder Game
- ↑ 2025 Birthday Campaign
- ↑ Enstars! Official Profile
- ↑ B'sLOG - Cast Interview: Switch (12/2016)
- ↑ Commemorative Release Message
- ↑ Ensemble Stars! Official Works vol. 1