Mai Miyano

Mai Miyano is the main protagonist of Mai Ball. She is a first-year student at  Kijiyama North High School, and plays as the girls' football team's striker.

Background
She is in Class 1-C at along with her friend Konori Shindou. Mai lives with her mother, father and sister, and has helped out with the family bath house business since she was 6 or 7 years old. She and Kunimitsu Hasuga have been friends since an early age and has helped him train for football for many years. This has also benefited her, as she has subconsciously been improving her own skills too. They are also next door neighbours.

Appearance
Mai has dark blue hair that extends beyond her shoulders, and wears a pink U-shaped hairclip in her fringe. She has pink-dark purple eyes and wears pink football boots. Mai often wears a red jacket and pair of bloomers when at work or cleaning. She also wears this outfit during her second trial with Reika. She likes to wear small accessories and is only at 90% output if not wearing any. While she wears bloomers a lot at work, she likes to wear dresses socially. She also prefers to wear sneakers in most circumstances, however will sometimes wear girlier shoes sometimes in order to look more lady-like.

Personality
Mai is a very easygoing girl with a generally bubbly personality. She easily makes friends, including with her opponents, however struggles to understand people who are aggressive without reason. She can become quite intense while playing football, however can also become quite perverted while daydreaming.

Chronology
Mai and Kunimitsu train daily in the local park so that he can improve his footballing ability. She is romantically interested in Kunimitsu, however is quite embarrassed by this and is yet to confess to him. Mai has long had problem with her nerves when in front of many people in a sporting environment, which was born from her experiences at grade school sports day. After Kunimitsu kissed her to remove her nerves, which they call “conjuring” or a “charm,” she is able to compete without nerves by sending her into a daydream. Mai often daydreams, with many of these dreams ending in her and Kunimitsu making love (she also ends up fantasising about other characters later in the story, such as Reika Hakurai and Mirai Takenou). At first, she does not realise why Kunimitsu loves football so much.

 Reika Hakurai, a popular student at Kijikita later approaches her to challenge her to take her on during a football trial. Should Mai pass, she would become a player for the new girl's football team. She faints due to nerves within seconds of the trial starting. After Reika begins to spend more time with Kunimitsu, she develops concerns that Kunimitsu will lose interest in her, so she actively tries to spend more time with him. Unknown to her, Kunimitsu persuades Reika to allow Mai another trial, which she passes after impressing Reika. She scores against Reika after beating her with a “divine dribble,” as described by Mitsu, however Mai was daydreaming at the time and as such is unaware of what she actually did. She then begins to fantasise about Reika and faints after having a nose bleed. Despite this, Reika allows her to pass her trial, making Mai Kijikita's eleventh player. While she has concerns about this at first, she commits to the team for fear of one of the other girls stealing Kunimitsu. She ends up impressing her teammates once she goes into full-fantasy mode, as she displays considerable skill and pulls off many moves in Kunimitsu's signature style. Her roles of cleaning and chopping wood at work also help out, as this has left her with strong legs capable of hitting powerful shots.

After noting her strength and accurate passing, Mai is named as Kijikita's striker. Her role is to be the “postman” or “target man,” where her teammates will aim most passes to her, which she will hold while attracting opposing players, allowing her teammates to advance up the field. This tactic is Kunimitsu's way of working around only having eleven players and having little time to create further strategies. They then have one week to train before the game with Kijiyama South High School Girls' FC.

Main Article: Kijikita vs. Kijinan I

Kijikita play their first ever game against Kijinan, who were renowned to be quite a good team. An important condition overrides this game, however, as Kunimitsu would be forced to resign as coach should Kijikita fail to win. While Mai initially struggles to adapt to her new role, such as when she manages to head the ball all the way back to her team's box from the other half of the pitch, she does show some potential in her position, as she displays excellent control when passes are fired into her. Mai plays a good first half, however becomes very restricted once Jaina Airi-Mishiki is subbed on, as she quickly bosses her out of the game with her aggressive, organised defending, “Jaina's World.” After the “charm” wears off, Mai begins to notice how many people are watching, and ends up fainting. Kunimitsu takes her to a quiet room to allow her to recover. After she expresses her desire to return to the field to help the team, who were 3-0 before she went off, Kunimitsu conjures for her again. By the time Mai returns, Kijijkita had fallen 3-4 down. Mai manages to get an assist for Kijikita's equaliser after Reika pokes home Mai's shot, which Shizuka Yamada had misjudged. After Kijinan score again, Mai begins to mimic Kunimitsu and ends up scoring a dipping backheel goal to make the score 5-5. While Kijikita do not win, the draw is enough to retain Kunimitsu after Reika persuades the Principal. After the game, Mai ends up making friends with Mia Momofuji and Suzuna Chano, Kijinan's striker and attacking midfielder.

Mai seems to struggle academically, especially with English, which means that Konori often has to help her study. Reika rules that any player who fails an exam will have to leave the team. While out buying school books, she and Kiiro run into Mia and Suzuna and end up playing a 2-on-2 game of football in a park. Mai and Kiiro become inspired by their opponent's heading ability and co-ordination, which they then try and copy in training later on. Luckily, Mai gets 50 points on her English test and survives Reika'a wrath.

Main Article: Kijikita vs. Franklin

Franklin are Kijikita's opponents during their first official game. Although Franklin is also consisted of all first year students, Kijikita struggle and finish the first half 1-0 down. Mai is constantly wrapped up by Franklin's sweeper, Tsubame Makishi, and her air-tight marking style. To counter this, Mai proposes that everyone plays in a different position in the second half. Reika agrees with the idea, and Mai ends up playing as the right centre back for the rest of the game. Kijikita end up turning the game around, and Mai even notches an assist, after her chip shot is saved by Akira Tahara before Rinka barrels the ball over the line. Mai defends well throughout the half, and makes a crucial contribution when she ends up making Dute Serbanov miss a last minute one-on-one with Saki. Kijikita win 2-1 and progress to the next round. She, Tsubame and Dute become friends following the game.

Main Article: Kijikita vs. Seirin

The match versus Seirin is the first that Mai does not require Kunimitsu to conjure for her to calm her nerves, as she has since developed a stronger love of football and her teammates, and can play naturally. Mai wins a freekick from Machi Nishino, which Mitsu scores to make it 4-0 to Kijikita. After Kijikita go 5-0 up, Mai is dropped to centre back, where she displays her new defensive abilities and her own version of “Jaina's World.”  Although Seirin mount a four-goal comeback following Reika's injury, Kijikita hold on for the win and progress to the semi-finals.

After the Seirin game, many Kijikita players have become worried about how much they rely on Reika as the “ringleader” of the team. Therefore, Reika holds another trial, whereby the last player to score three times would become the new ringleader. During these trials, Mai shows her new shooting style, where she hits it more with her instep than sidefoot, which she had copied off Dute Serbanov. Although Mai is losing 2-1 to Reika and they are the final two players left, Reika admires her determination and forfeits, happy to remain as the ringleader. However, Reika does  pass on the captaincy to Mai (with Mitsu's blessing) so that she has slightly less responsibility. In order to give Reika more of a rest, Mai uses her new authority to put Reika on the bench for the first half against Kuryuin.

Main Article: Kijikita vs. Kuryuin

Mai begins the game versus Kuryuin in a similar way to previous games, however is slowly bossed out of the game by Mirai Takenou's aggressive defending. Mirai is the first unsportsmanlike player Mai faced, so she ends up losing her confidence and drifts out of the game, failing to understand why a player would purposefully harm their opponent. After Mitsu headbutts her twice at half time and Kunimitsu gives her another charm, this time in the form of a thigh brace, Mai begins to grow into the game more. With Kijikita 2-0 down, Mai finally manages to get the ball past Mirai with a flick to Kiiro, which she scores to start the comeback. She finally begins to fight back against Mirai, which helps Kijikita combat Kuryuin's defence. After Amane Tatamaru slips while taking her second penalty, Rinka, Reika and Chidori quickly move the ball up to halfway, where Mai piks up possession. Thanks to Mitsu, Mirai is held off, and Mai manages to find Kiiro, who scores with a flick to win the game at the death. Despite the victory, Mai becomes overcome with her contrasting emotions and begins to cry. After the game, Mirai signals to Mai that she would like a rematch with her, seemingly impressed with Mai's determination.

Main Article: Kijikita vs Kijinan II

Prior to the final against Kijinan, Mai seems to be very nervous as she not only forgets to put on her shorts, but also has her shirt on back-to-front. Luckily, Reika is on hand to remind her of her duty to play well, as failing to do so would offend the players of the teams they had previously defeated.

Kijikita end the first half 3-0 down thanks to a Shuna Sorimachi hat-trick, warranting a change in tactic for the second half. Rather than playing as an out-and-out striker, Mai is moved back in order to man-mark Shuna. Mai is also left with the responsibility of observing Kijinan in order to find a weak spot and lead their comeback. Mai realises that she has become fascinated by Shuna and wants to no more about her, and is baffled that her fantasies that usually help her play better keep stopping when Shuna attacks her. Reika argues with Mai after she had been making excuses about the quality of their opponents, explaining her belief that due to her love for Kunimitsu, if she is beaten on the field, he is beaten too. Her exclamation of love for Kunimitsu and earnest smile invigorates Mai. who realises that she has been paying too much attention to the quality of her opponents rather than enjoying the game. Remembering that she had never been beaten while playing against Kunimitsu, she charges headlong into her new defensive role, even throwing her head in the way of the ball to head it off the ground just before Shuna could kick it. She ends up mashing her face into the turf, giving her a nosebleed.

Mai is taken off the field so that Kunimitsu can stop the bleeding. After being seen to, Mai finally confesses her love to Kunimitsu. Upon re-entering the game, Mai returns to her role of marking Shuna and manages to block another of her goal-bound efforts, before driving upfield past both Shuna and Jaina, eventually being denied a shot on goal by Shuna. Mai finally seems to have grown into the game and her speed and strength is displayed after she is taken down by Ruu Honjou and Mia in consecutive fouls, however Mai just picks herself up to keep charging on goal. She takes the ball almost the length of the field before she is finally brought down by Jaina for a freekick within range of goal. With Kijinan preparing for an effort on goal from Reika, she plays it short to Mai, who manages to win a penalty following a foul by Jaina. While Mitsu's penalty and Kiiro's rebound are both saved by Riria, the ball deflects onto Jaina for an own goal to make it 3-1. Kijinan regularly threaten after this goal, mostly through Shuna's efforts.

Mai ends up blocking one of her efforts, taking a shot to the stomach on the goalline. With Shuna focusing her efforts on getting past Mai, as she has since noticed that her style copies Kunimitsu (who regularly used to defeat Shuna in their youth), they regularly go up against each other during the game. Mai manages to steal the ball from Shuna, quickly shifting it forward to Mitsu and launching a Kijikita counterattack. Thanks to pressure from Chidori, Yuika, Saki and Akane, Reika manages to steal possession from Jaina and close in on the Kijinan box. Her backheel finds Kiiro, who then squares the ball back to Mai to smash the ball beneath the onrushing Riria, notching her first tournament goal and making it 3-2. The emotion of notching her first goal leaves Mai a sobbing mess, mumbling Kunimitsu's name while still knelt on the turf. The final few minutes of the game see Mai and Jaina clash frequently, the two of them attacking each free ball with equal ferocity. Jaina mostly stays still in her position, so Mai buzzes across the defensive line looking for an open pass, however is unsuccessful as Jaina directs her teammates to cut passing lanes. Following smart build up play by Kiiro and Mitsu, they manage to slip the ball through to Mai, with Jaina breathing down her neck. While Jaina initially thinks she has Mai where she wants her, Mai's movement has attracted Kijinan's left back, Shuuko Samejima over to her, freeing up the right flank. Mai quickly shifts the ball over that way towards Reika, who fires a firm volley into the near top corner, beating Riria for power despite her desperate attempt to make the save.

Riria is then brought outfield to play in her old #10 position, however her passing regularly misses the target and many suspect that she has lost it. Mia continues to make attacking runs, slowly getting closer to each successive pass. When Riria finally connects with Mia, Mai has also adapted to this style of passing, and makes a last-ditch block on her friend. When Riria again tries to find Mia with a high ball upfield, Mai attempts to overhead kick the ball away. However, Mia, also attempting an overhead, times her jump better and wins this encounter, volleying the ball beyond Rinka to decide the final with the final kick. She is initially shocked, questioning why the ball ended up in the net, however the demands of the game hit her all at once and she falls to the ground as the final whistle blows. While lying on the turf, hearing the cheers of the spectators and the Kijinan celebrations, Mai feels for the first time the pain that comes with defeat, finally understanding the feelings of her previous opponents. Noticing her crying teammates, Mai tries to apologise for failing to clear the ball, however Aoi tells her not to, saying that they had put extra pressure on her by having her defend as much as she did. Mai eventually helps a crying Reika over to the side of the field. While sat in her bedroom after the game, Mai realises how much football means to her and that she wants to continue playing and improving herself. Realising this and the significance of the defeat she had just suffered, Mai bursts into tears. The following morning, just like they always have done, Mai and Kunimitsu meet up to head to training.

After the one-year timeskip in the final chapter, Kijikita are taking on Franklin and are 2-1 down. Mai takes on her friend Tsubame once more, passing through to Reika who equalises with a fine volley low to Akira Tahara's right hand side, earning the plaudits of Kijikita's new first-year players Ee-chan and Maa-chan, who idolise her and Mai as Kijikita's “double aces.” While walking home with Reika, Reika reveals that if Kijikita had won the tournament, along with meeting various ridiculous conditions she had created, such as making Mai run 15km during a game, she would have confessed to Kunimitsu. Mai responds by saying that she would therefore have to stop running as she was Reika's rival in love, and bragging that she probably had the lead over her. Kijikita are shown to have reached the final again this year, once again facing Kijinan in the final. Mai and Reika lead Kijikita onto the field for one more showdown with the old enemy.

Trivia

 * When Mai won the race in the grade school sports day, one of her competitors was Kiiro.
 * Some of the male customers in the bath-house call her “Maiko,” after her mother Kyoko. This is due to them wanting to respect her mother by adding the “-ko,” but not wanting to call her Mai as this was the name that her father gave to her. They cannot forgive Mai's father for marrying Kyoko as they all loved her, therefore say Mai's name wrong to spite him. One of the customers does begin saying her name correctly later in the story after he starts watching Kijikita's matches.
 * Her hobbies are writing novels and observing people, the latter of which may explain how she is able to read her opponents feints and adopt their skills so easily.
 * <p style="margin-bottom:0cm;">Alongside her daydreaming, she seems to be quiet “sensitive,” as shown when Yuika grabs her buttocks in training.
 * <p style="margin-bottom:0cm;">Mai's kicks are so powerful that even at a young age, she managed to break two of Hayashida's ribs while playing in the park. As this had been caused by a wayward hit, she began practicing to ensure that her passes were 100% accurate from then on. This also affected her kicking, which is why she can only shoot straight at the goalkeeper initially.
 * <p style="margin-bottom:0cm;">To the jealousy of the other girls, Kunimitsu can immediately tell if food has been cooked by Mai without any clues.
 * <p style="margin-bottom:0cm;">Her favourite food is tempura.

Relationships
<p style="margin-bottom:0cm;">Kunimitsu Hasuga: Mai has long had a crush on Kunimitsu having been childhood friends with him and trained him for many years so he can improve at football. They are also next door neighbours. After she joins the team, she tries her best to impress him so that she stands out amongst her teammates.

<p style="margin-bottom:0cm;">Hashimoto: Although they do not talk to each other much during the story, they refer to each other by their first names and seem quite familiar and friendly with each other.

<p style="margin-bottom:0cm;">Konori Shindou: She and Konori are in class 1-C together and seem to be long-time friends. As Mai struggles with exams, Konori tends to have to help her study.

<p style="margin-bottom:0cm;">Ichigo Miyano: She and her sister have both worked at the family bath-house for many years and naturally get on well. They often go shopping together to pick out new outfits. Ichigo also begins watching Kijikita matches to watch her sister play.

<p style="margin-bottom:0cm;">Kiiro Inukai: She and Mai have been friends for a long time, and they often hang out together at the weekend. They also develop the “Mai and Kiiro Grand Integrated Strategy for Joint Operations” to help each other score their first official goals.

<p style="margin-bottom:0cm;">Rinka Aomi: Rinka really enjoys training with Mai as her her masochism and Mai's powerful shots are a good match in her head.

<p style="margin-bottom:0cm;">Midori Inukai: Mai is very friendly with Midori, and seems to have known her for quite a while.

<p style="margin-bottom:0cm;"> Yuika Mishiro: Yuika really likes Mai's strong legs and wants her to become her model to inspect.

<p style="margin-bottom:0cm;">Reika Hakurai: Although Reika starts off as a kind of villain given her love of Kunimitsu, she and Mai later begin to become the best of friends. Mai looks up to Reika as a player, and Reika truly admires Mai's potential and determination.

<p style="margin-bottom:0cm;">Mitsu Kurodate: Although Mitsu initially struggles to understand Mai given her lack of knowledge about football, they eventually become good friends.

<p style="margin-bottom:0cm;">Mia Momofuji: Mai and Mia become friends after they play each other in a friendly, where Mai shocks Mia with her ability. Mia then constantly worries about how Mai is playing and watches her matches whenever possible.

<p style="margin-bottom:0cm;">Tsubame Makishi: Like with Mia, Mai and Tsubame become friends after playing each other. They show a genuine admiration of each other's playing style and easygoing personalities. Tsubame watches Mai play against Seirin.

<p style="margin-bottom:0cm;">Mirai Takenou: Although Mirai and Mai rarely speak to each other during their game, Mirai's style of play has the biggest effect on Mai and her outlook on football. For the first time, she comes up against an opponent who is not only aggressive, but is willing to impact her both physically and mentally. Mai initially struggles to combat Mirai's performance, however realises over the course of the game that she must fight to succeed against players like her. Mai herself explains that her fights against Mirai taught her a lot about football despite only facing her once.