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Sakurai Honami (桜井 穂波) is a member of the first generation Sakura Series constructed by the Yotsuba Clan. She was also the Guardian of Shiba Miya.
During the Okinawa Defense Naval Battle, in 2092 of the current timeline, she defended Tatsuya from incoming attacks by the Great Asian Union fleet; giving him the time to activate Material Burst and destroy the enemy ships. She died due to magic overuse.[1]
Appearance and Personality[]
Honami is described as a cheerful, lively woman who does not feel the weight of her personal history. However, her final words to Tatsuya imply that she actually felt bitterness about the fact that she never once had the chance of free choice in her life and was grateful that she could at least choose her way of death.[1]
Aside from her main duty of protection operations, she took care of Miya's everyday necessities with great attention to detail. According to her, she found the role of housekeeper the more congenial role. Honami also takes care of Miyuki and Tatsuya like they are her younger siblings. [2]
Background[]
Honami is a modified magician, whose genetic structure has been altered to strengthen her disposition for magic. During the waning days of the 20 years of continuous border conflicts, she was constructed at a research institute, a magician bought by the Yotsuba Family before she was born.[3]
Until five years before 2092, Honami was a SP of the Metropolitan Police Department. The department strongly attempted to impede her departure when she resigned. However, it had been decided that she would be Miya's Guardian even before she sought employment with them and joining the Metropolitan Police Department was just for the purpose of learning the ins and outs of guard operations.
Reminiscence Chapter[]
Honami goes ahead to Okinawa to prepare the villa and buy supplies for the arrival of Tatsuya, Miyuki and Miya where Honami would also arrange the itinerary for the vacation and resume her duties as guardian and servant. [3] During their cruiser trip, Honami prepares to defend them from an enemy submarine but Tatsuya uses Decomposition against the submarine's torpedoes and resulting to Kazama Harunobu to question them if they know which nation the submarine is aligned to which Honami responds that they do not and is angry that they did not notice. [4]
Honami, Tatsuya, Miyuki and Miya in Okinawa
On the eve of the Okinawa Defense Naval Battle, Honami accompanies Miya and her children to Okinawa Onna Air Base that Yotsuba Maya has arranged for them, likely the reason Kazuma called Tatsuya. Honami tries to guard Miyuki and Miya while Tatsuya is ordered to look around outside but the enemy that infiltrated the base uses Antinite to neutralize her magic causing her, Miyuki and Miya to be shot by the enemy. Tatsuya uses Regrowth on the three of them leaving Honami in disbelief that Tatsuya can use such a powerful magic then Tatsuya joins Kazama to join in repelling the enemy forces. While Miya tells Miyuki about Tatsuya's past, Honami seems to be aware of this as well as she watches Tatsuya pushing back the enemy with Decomposition on a monitor. [5]
When the enemy fleet of six ships advances toward the base, Honami joins Tatsuya with Miya's permission as he will be defenseless while using Material Burst against the artillery attacks from the enemy ships and Honami felt like Miya was a proud mother of her son after hearing her words. Honami arrives using a motorcycle to protect Tatsuya who is with Kazama and Sanada Shigeru then casts her barrier magic on four of them to the relief of Tatsuya because under her protection, he can concentrate fully on his spell. Honami collapses after Tatsuya annihilates the enemy fleet with Material Burst that also causes a tsunami and the three flees using the motorcyle with Kazama carrying Honami. [1]
Honami's final moments as depicted in the manga.
Atop a hill, Tatsuya kneels beside Honami and she tells him its not his fault as her body was engineered but Tatsuya knows that it is because of overheating her Magic Calculation Area using barrier magic repeatedly in a short period of time. Tatsuya tried to use Regrowth but quickly realized it wouldn't work then Honami tells her to stop as she never had any freedom to live how she wanted, and now she got to choose where to die not as a tool but as a human. Hearing Honami's last words, Tatsuya nods as Honami closes her eyes feeling relieved and just like that, she stopped breathing. [1]
Legacy[]
Minami activating her Barrier Magic similar to Honami to protect Tatsuya and Miyuki
- Sanada chant a sutra while Kazama places his hand on Tatsuya's shoulder whose feeling of sadness mysteriously disappears after hearing Honami's final words but at that time he didn't understand that being able to erase his sadness with logic is not normal. [1]
- Honami's remains is cremated at a funeral service along with the rest who died in battle.
- Tatsuya returns Honami's ashes to the sea which is her final request then gently consoles Miyuki who broke down crying. [6]
- One year later Tatsuya develops the idea for Project E.S.C.A.P.E.S to free magicians from their fate as weapons. [7]
- Despite Tatsuya coming to terms with Honami's sacrifice, it is still a memory of regret that cause him to consider joining the 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion, improve his magical combat abilities so no one had to die and that idea allows him to console himself that the past years since then has not been for naught.
- Tatsuya and Miyuki have memories when Honami was alive which is one of the reason they accepted Watatsumi Kokoa's request to rescue the rest of the Watatsumi Series from Minamiteshima. [8]
- Tatsuya and Miyuki are surprised to see on their first meeting that Minami is a spitting image of Honami and she becomes Miyuki's Guardian especially in situations where a female Guardian is needed. [9]
- Minami would repeat Honami's act of protecting Tatsuya and Miyuki from a Tuman Bomba attack on Izu Villa resulting to her Magic Calculation Area to overheat as well. [10]
- When Kudou Minoru abducts Minami, Tatsuya asks Kokonoe Yakumo to teach him how to overcome Ghost Walker but Yakumo declines and reminds him that Minami is not Honami. [11]
Abilities[]
Magical Abilities[]
Anti-Object Heat Resistance Barrier[]
As part of the Augmented Magician ‘Sakura’ series, she specialized in defensive magic against powerful, objective and heat based attacks such as flaming launchers mounted on cruisers. While her defensive magic capabilities aren't on par with magicians that can use highly technical multi-spectrum magic, such as the Juumonji’s ‘Phalanx’, in the single field of defense against objective heat based attacks, Honami, including the rest of the 'Sakura' series, was unrivaled in Japan. Honami can also crate a hole in her barrier which allows Tatsuya to activate Material Burst.
Amongst the Augmented Magicians of the 'Sakura' series, Sakurai Honami was highly gifted. Her position as Yotsuba Miya's Guardian testifies to her gifted talents as a Magician. Even Shiba Tatsuya greatly acknowledged her skills in defensive magic to the point where he could focus on invoking his magic against the enemy fleet in the Battle of Okinawa without a single trace of fear under her mighty shield.[1]
Trivia[]
- The Kanji for Honami's name means the following: 穂 means "ear" or "spike" while 波 means "wave."
- While Honami and Minami have the same face and hair color they have different eye colors.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Volume 8, Chapter 16
- ↑ https://mahouka.us/character/#honami
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Volume 8, Chapter 2
- ↑ Volume 8, Chapter 8
- ↑ Volume 8, Chapter 14
- ↑ Volume 8, Chapter 18
- ↑ Volume 16, Chapter 2
- ↑ The Irregular at Magic High School The Movie: The Girl Who Summons the Stars
- ↑ Volume 8, Chapter 17
- ↑ Volume 24, Chapter 8
- ↑ Volume 28, Chapter 6