Pani Poni Dash!/Characters

Characters from Pani Poni Dash! include:

Class 1-C

Rebecca "Becky" Miyamoto

Voiced by: Chiwa Saitou (JP) and Hilary Haag (EN)

The eleven-year-old advisor of Class 1-C and the school's mathematics teacher. Becky was born to an American father and a Japanese mother. She's often cool and collected, but in scary or uncomfortable situations, she acts like a kid her age -- immature, spoiled, and quick to hide behind a curtain and cry like the little kid she is at the first sign of trouble.

Adorably Precocious Child
Blue Eyes
But Not Too Foreign
Butt Monkey: Her class sure love making fun of her.
Child Prodigy: She's an MIT graduate at age nine.
Cosplay Otaku Girl: Besides her labcoat over blousers and skirts attire, she is also seen in other attires, such as an Elegant Gothic Lolita or on nekomimi-themed pajamas.
Cry Cute: Whenever she gets scared, pressured and/or scolded by her students (usually by Rei), she hides behind a curtain and breaks down crying like the eleven-year-old kid she is; so cute indeed even Himeko called it the "Hau-Hau".
The Heroine
Idiot Hair: In Episode 3, Becky briefly gets one, and she gets so frustrated with hers that she rips Himeko's right out of her head.
Innocent Prodigy
Little Miss Snarker
Master of Disguise: She once managed to flawlessly impersonate Mesousa, a Giant Salamander and Sayaka for a whole episode.
- Done as a Call Back in the OVA, where she impersonated Rei.
Multicolored Hair: Her hair is part blonde, part pink, presumably reflecting her half-American, half-Japanese ancestry.
Only Sane Girl: Shares the role with Kurumi and Miyako.
Sensei-chan: Justified, as she's actually younger than her students.
Token Loli

Himeko Katagiri

Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa (JP) and Brittney Karbowski (EN)

An incredibly energetic girl with an Idiot Hair and a taste for crabs. Her antics often annoy her classmates.

Butt Monkey: Is a frequent victim of slapstick.
Cloudcuckoolander
Curtains Match the Window
The Ditz
Genki Girl
Good Is Dumb
Idiot Hair: Hers even moves around of its own accord and apparently is the source of her hyperactiveness.
The Lancer
Motor Mouth: More pronounced in the English dub.
Trademark Favorite Food: Anything that tastes like crab. Although she has only eaten imitation crab.
Wingding Eyes: Gets a perpetual case of starburst-eyes when she's possessed by the mushroom alien.
Verbal Tic: She says "Maho" a lot. She also often attaches "Omega" to the beginning of things.
You Gotta Have Blue Hair

Rei Tachibana

Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino (JP) and Carlee Gabrisch (EN)

The cool-headed, calculating think-tank of Class 1-C.

The Chessmaster
The Comically Serious
Deadpan Snarker
Gainaxing: In Episode 25.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She frequently threatens bodily harm to anyone in order to enforce order. She's often the first to try to put Becky in her place should she go too far, but is also the first to try to lure her out should she end up going Cry Cute.
Meganekko
Ms. Fanservice
Ms. Vice Gal
Odango Hair: Occasionally.
The Smart Girl
Supreme Chef
Tall, Dark, Bishoujo and Snarky
Technicolor Eyes
Wet Sari Scene: In Episode 4.
You Gotta Have Dark Green Hair

Miyako Uehara

Voiced by: Yui Horie (JP) and Natalie Nassar (EN)

A student in Becky's class obsessed with studying. The most down to earth of 1-C, and often blames the other characters for her failure to study.

Berserk Button: Don't call her a "study-bug" (Japanese)/"worm" (English).
Curtains Match the Window
The Big Girl
Book Dumb: For all her efforts, Miyako still ends up over average. She's often quick to blame her classmates for her subpar performance.
Fiery Redhead
Forehead of Doom: Current trope image-maker. Miyako's noticeable, shiny forehead has shown to do the following over the course of the series:
- Reflect the sunlight and focus it into beams of energy that set things on fire like a Kill Sat.
- Give instant suntans.
- May require sunglasses to view directly.
- Can act as a police spotlight when chasing after a criminal at night.
- Can easily get wedged and stuck in tight spaces.
- Himeko thinks that it's able to use the shine to kill germs, although it actually didn't work.
- It gets used as a grooming mirror by Himeko. That's just the tip of the iceberg too.
Hair Decorations
Meganekko: Sometimes subverted, as she doesn't really wear glasses in some episodes.
Meta Gal
Only Sane Girl: Often tries to be one... with less than optimal results.
Psychic Powers/Informed Ability: According to her Boss Subtitles she has them, one of which was launching beams from her forehead.

Sayaka Suzuki (AKA "Rokugou"/"No. 6")

Voiced by: Kayo Sakata (JP) and Monica Rial (EN)

A kind-hearted (to the point of naivete) girl in Becky's class.

The Chick
Curtains Match the Window
Cute Bruiser: In the dream episode.
Mega Twintails: Sometimes Becky refers to Sayaka as "ribbon-head" due to her hairstyle - giant pigtails tied with two large white ribbons.
Mistaken for Lesbian: She likes Igarashi-sensei, and the girls of Class 1-C initially assumed she was in love. Turns out her feelings were more about admiration. Then Episode 15 shows a brief moment with Himeko, and Episode 17 shows her handcuffing Miyako so they won't get separated, although some of her classmates suspect something else.
Naive Everygirl: To the point that some of her classmates exploit her naivete.
Nice Girl
Not So Above It All: On occasion she can join the gang's antics, and is also shown to snark once in a while.
Verbal Tic: Sayaka's gimmick in the anime is saying that something is "the ~~ of the year".
You Are Number Six: Literally. Igarashi-sensei reveals that she's the sixth girl with the surname "Suzuki".
You Gotta Have Blue Hair

Kurumi Momose

Voiced by: Kana Ueda (JP) and Melissa Davis (EN)

An average-looking girl who doesn't like being called "ordinary." Whenever called plain, she usually fades out of existence and isn't noticed.

Bokukko: Calls her brother Shu "aniki".
- She even gets turned on by Himeko refferring to herself with "boku" when the mushroom alien possessed her.
Butt Monkey
Corner of Woe: Call her "plain" and she'll crawl into the corner of the rabbit hutch gloomily singing "ra-ra-ru...". She's also known to turn invisible whenever a rabbit hutch isn't readily available.
- Taken Up to Eleven on episode six. It's not pretty.
- She does eventually drop this habit, but continues to be annoyed.
Curtains Match the Window
Deadpan Snarker
Genki Girl: Definately has signs of this, as she's seen only trailing Himeko in being quite happy.
The Generic Girl: Rebecca calls her "boring girl" when she can't remember her name.
Meido: Works at a Maid Cafe... whose sales aren't doing well because of her presence.
Meta Gal: On occasion.
Only Sane Girl: Similar to Miyako and Becky, she also takes the Sanity Ball.
Ordinary High School Student: Average in both appearance, academics and sports, although leaning more toward the latter, evidenced by her participating in a basketball tournament in the manga, as well as running in Episode 8.
She's Got Legs
Stockholm Syndrome: Comes to accept the weird happenings surrounding both her class and her entire school.
Zettai Ryouiki: Type S!

Ichijou

Voiced by: Ai Nonaka (JP) and Maggie Flecknoe (EN)

The Class Representative of Class 1-C. She is calm in every situation, but is prone to very erratic behavior.

Chaotic Stupid
Class Representative
Cloudcuckoolander
Curtains Match the Window
Hammerspace: She sometimes pulls her sister out of her shirt.
Interspecies Romance: With the Alien Captain
Only One Name
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: On more than one occasion.
No Name Given: We never learn her first name; the other characters only call her "Ichijou" out of respect for her position. It's hinted at one point that her given name might be "Honey", though.
Strange Girl
Token Evil Teammate

Mesousa

Voiced by: Vanilla Yamazaki (JP) and Christine Auten (EN)

Becky's pet rabbit.

Butt Monkey/The Chew Toy: On some occasions, the latter is even taken literally.
The Eeyore
Team Pet

Class 1-A

Miyuki Igarashi

Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara (JP) and Shelley Calene-Black (EN)

Advisor of Class 1-A. She is a heavy drinker who often comes hung over.

The Alcoholic
Bottle Fairy: She even appears drunken in the middle of her class.
Hot Teacher: Even if she rarely tidies herself up, she still qualifies.
The Pig Pen: Notorious among her students for never wearing make-up, never dressing properly, being frequently tardy or absent, and often reeks of alcohol.
The Teacher Who Doesn't Do Anything: When not suffering from a hangover mid-class, she's often staring through the windows.
Sensei-chan

Yuma Kashiwagi

Voiced by: Sawa Ishige (JP) and Serena Varghese (EN)

Elder of the Kashiwagi twins, whom Igarashi-sensei frequently confuse as one person.

Berserk Button: Doesn't like the prospect of Igarashi-sensei referring to them as though they're a single person.
Cosplay Otaku Girl
Hair Decorations: She's distinguishable by the blue ribbon on the left side of her head.
The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry
Sibling Yin-Yang: Energetic and outgoing, in contrast to the introverted Yuna.
You Gotta Have Purple Hair
Zettai Ryouiki: She wears blue knee socks as another distinguishing feature.

Yuna Kashiwagi

Voiced by: Sawa Ishige (JP) and Serena Varghese (EN)

Younger of the Kashiwagi twins.

Cosplay Otaku Girl
The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry
Hair Decorations: She's distinguishable by the red ribbon on the right side of her head.
Nice Girl
Sibling Yin-Yang: Shy and reserved, in contrast to the extroverted Yuma.
You Gotta Have Purple Hair
Zettai Ryouiki: She wears red knee socks as another distinguishing feature.

Shu Momose

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (JP) and Brandon Hearnsberger (EN)

Kurumi's older twin brother. A laid-back character and a skilled chef.

Bishonen
Butt Monkey: Not as severe as his younger sister, but on occasion he still gets treated like a servant.
Nice Guy
Real Men Wear Pink: He is a good cook.
Supreme Chef
Team Mom: In the event Igarashi-sensei is too drunken to handle the class.

Yuzuko Kurusu

Voiced by: Asuka Nakase (JP) and Kim-Ly Nguyen (EN)

A bumbling girl and member of the Intelligence Department and the Film club.

Enemy Mine: A friend of Akane. She doesn't know that she's in the drama club, who are the Film club's mortal enemies.
Hair Decorations
Those Three Girls: With Hibiki and Akira, fellow members of the Intelligence Club.

Class 1-B

Saotome

Voiced by: Eiji Hanawa (JP) and John Gremillion (EN)

The adivosr for Class 1-B and PE Teacher.

Covert Pervert: Becky once claimed he only became PE teacher to bask at the sight of girls in bloomers.
Hot-Blooded
Large Ham: At times...
Limited Wardrobe: Rarely (if ever) seen without his trademark tracksuit.

Suzune Shiratori

Voiced by: Ryo Hirohashi (JP) and Kira Vincent-Davis (EN)

A tall, athletic girl from Class 1-B.

Otome Akiyama

Voiced by: Tsugumi Higasayama (JP) and Cynthia Martinez (EN)

A stature-challenged girl who often hangs out with the tall Suzune.

Butt Monkey: Frequent prank of height jokes from Suzune, who even holds her and presses a pressure point on her head in order for her to stop growing. But Suzune always touches the one that induces diarrhea instead.
Hair Decorations: She wears a headband.
The Napoleon
Those Two Girls: With Suzune.
Tomboyish Sidetails

Hibiki Watanuki

Voiced by: Chieko Higuchi (JP) and Lesley Tesh (EN)

Leader of the Intelligence Club.

Intrepid Reporter: Especially tries to cover "scoops" regarding Becky and her own class.
Large Ham
The Rival: Considers Rei to be her rival.
They Killed Kenny: Sometimes her reports end with her "death", only to come back alive and well each time.
Those Three Girls: With Yuzuko and Akira.

Yankee

Voiced by: Eiji Hanawa (JP) and Andrew Love (EN)

The only known male in Class 1-B.

Zula

Voiced by: Mugihito (JP) and Eve Jones (EN)

A masculine-looking female.

Ambiguously Brown
Cross-Dressing Voices: By Mugihito, even.
Gonk

Class 1-D

Old Geezer

Voiced by: Hiroshi Otake (JP) and Andy McAvin (EN)

The elderly advisor of Class 1-D and literature teacher.

Couch Gag: The armband on his left arm shows a different text in every episode.
Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon: In episode 1 he threatens his own class with haunting them should they leave class to see Becky, who has just arrived at that time.
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Subverted. That's actually his name.
Only Sane Man

Old Geezer: "Aren't there any sane person in this class?"
Tsurugi: "Look who's talking."

Akane Serizawa

Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro (JP) and Luci Christian (EN)

A cosplay-obsessed girl and a member of the Drama club.

Catgirl: Not really, but she's got two parts of hair that stick up like cat ears.
Cute Little Fangs
Cosplay Otaku Girl
Enemy Mine: Best friends with Kurusu, unaware that she's a member of the Film club, the Drama club's mortal enemy.
Genki Girl
Large Ham: At times.
Master of Disguise: At one point, she even posed as Becky herself.
You Gotta Have Blue Hair

Behoimi

Voiced by: Mai Kadowaki (JP) and Rozie Curtis (EN)

A "magical girl" from Class 1-D.

Genki Girl: As a Magical Girl.
Magical Girl: Or so she thinks.
Meganekko: After dropping the Magical Girl act.
Mysterious Past: With Media.
Redheaded Hero/Rose-Haired Girl: In her "Magical Girl" form.
Shout-Out: Her name is the same as the healing spell from Dragon Quest series.
Short, Dark and Bishoujo: After dropping her Magical Girl facade.

Media

Voiced by: Miyu Matsuki (JP) and Kara Greenberg (EN)

A mysterious girl sent to Momotsuki High to keep an eye on Becky.

Action Girl
Cute Little Fangs: In the OVA
Eyes Always Shut
Meido
Multicolored Hair: Her hair is part blonde, part green.
Mysterious Past: With Behoimi.
Ninja Maid
Shout-Out: Her name is the same as the healing spell from the Shin Megami Tensei series.
Sixth Ranger

Misao Nanjo

Voiced by: Hitomi Nabatame (JP) and Sasha Paysinger (EN)

An animal-loving blonde student.

Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Tsurugi. She can't understand his cavalier behavior towards her menagerie of pets, but always asks for his help in finding any lost pet.
Friend to All Living Things
The Ojou
Princess Curls

Tsurugi Inugami

Voiced by: Hiroshi Kamiya (JP) and Chris Patton (EN)

A white-haired, serious student.

Awesome McCoolname
Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Misao. He frequently criticizes her strange menagerie of pets, but is nevertheless willing to help her find lost pets.
Bishonen
But Not Too Foreign: Has a German grandfather.
The Comically Serious
Deadpan Snarker
Friend to All Children: Lampshaded in his introduction. Highlighted when he helped Nozomi find Ichijou.
Megane
Nice Guy: Despite his cool exterior, he's a calm, gentle boy who loves little children.
White-Haired Pretty Boy

Akira Miyata

Voiced by: Ryoko Shintani (JP) and Jessica Boone (EN)

A clumsy student of Class 1-D and member of the Intelligence Club.

Adorkable
Bob Haircut
Dojikko
Red Headed Heroine
Those Three Girls: With fellow Intelligence Club members Hibiki and Kurusu.

Supporting Characters

Lord Cat

Voiced by: Hiroshi Kamiya (JP) and Tommy Drake (EN)

A mysterious feline entity whose residence is the school's vending machines. No relation to the Internet Reviewer of the same name.

A God Am I: At least he's not a jerk about it.
Cloudcuckoolander: Besides thinking he's God, he hides in vending machines to warm sodas with his body heat.
Verbal Tic: In the Japanese version, he often says "desu nya" at the ends of sentences. "Nya" is Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound cats make; accordingly, in the English dub he says "Meow" instead.

Nozomi Ichijou

Voiced by: Ai Nonaka (JP and EN)

Ichijou's infant younger sister.

Blank White Eyes
No Name Given: In the anime. The manga reveals that her first name is Nozomi.

Alien Captain

Voiced by: Mugihito (JP) and Mike MacRae (EN)

The leader of a group of aliens that observe Becky and the students of Momotsuki Academy.

Actor Allusion: Appears as Captain Picard in the last couple of episodes. Mugihito voiced Picard in the Japanese dub of Star Trek
Aliens Speak Japanese
Everyone Calls Him Captain
Interspecies Romance: With Ichijou
No Need for Names: Has absolutely no idea what his subordinate's names are.

Alien Subordinate

Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (JP) and Rob Mungle (EN)

A... subordinate of the Alien Captain who often snarks on their situation.