Tsubame Makishi

Tsubame Makishi is a side character in Mai Ball. She is a first-year student at Franklin International High School and plays as a sweeper for the girls' football team.

Background
Tsubame was born in Gunma. She became inspired to play football after seeing Japan win the Women's World Cup, and starts playing after entering Franklin School. This event is most likely based on Japan's victory over the United States in the real-life 2011 competition. After Dute Serbanov transfers to Franklin, they become best friends and roommates.

Appearance
Tsubame is much shorter than most of her teammates and opponents, however she counters this disadvantage with her dogged determination and strength. She has short brown hair and brown eyes. She wears a yellow ribbon in her hair while playing football. Her teammates like the cute face she makes when she gets focused. When not playing football, she often wears short shorts and a long red hoodie. As the hoodie extends down to her thighs, covering up the shorts, many residents in the Franklin area consider her to be like Little Red Riding Hood.

Personality
Tsubame is normally very cheery and tends to keep a positive outlook on life. She used to get bummed out when she was struggling to pick up football, and is driven to tears following her substitution against Kijikita, however she can always rely on Dute and her teammates to cheer her up.

Chronology
Although Tsubame struggles to adapt to football when she first starts, often picking up bruises and cuts, her defending ability later becomes Franklin's secret weapon. Even her teammates are afraid of her tackling and marking.

Main Article: Kijikita vs. Franklin

 Tsubame starts against Kijikita and quickly makes Mai Miyano aware that she is not a pushover despite her small frame. Her touch-tight marking restricts Mai getting shots and passes away. Despite the physical battle between them, both girls admire each other's play. Her defending stops Kijikita scoring in the first half and Dute's goal ensures that Franklin go in at half time 1-0 up. Seeing that Tsubame's defending is restricting Kijikita's play, they switch positions for the second half, with Mai dropping back to centre half and Chidori Kakiha filling in up front. Although Chidori is actually shorter than Tsubame, which Tsubame believed would give her the advantage, Chidori's evasiveness and “stealth mode” completely outwits her. Kijikita begin to rely on Chidori and turn to gegenpressing to get the equaliser. With the scores tied and only a few minutes remaining, Tsubame is substituted for Yuuko Morimachi, a forward, in order to chase the winner. Despite her good performance and praise from her teammates, she cannot help breaking down in tears. Although Dute comes close to beating Saki Benio in the Kijikita goal to tie the game at the death, she ultimately cannot do so, and Franklin crash out of the tournament with a 2-1 defeat. Despite their physcial encounters, she and Mai become good friends, and she watches Kijikita's game against Seirin in the next round.

Tsubame is later shown in the crowd alongside Dute and Anya, cheering on her friend Mai and Kijikita as they take on Kijinan in the final. After the one-year timeskip during the final chapter, Tsubame takes part in a game against Kijikita, once again going up against her good friend, Mai.

Trivia

 * Her keppy-uppy record is currently 20.
 * Tsubame's favourite player is Sawai from the Japanese Women's International Team. If the women's tournament that she was inspired by on the television was actually based on the 2011 Women's World Cup, this could be Homare Sawa, as she was the top scorer and MVP of the tournament.

Relationships
Dute Serbanov: After Dute moves from Russia to Japan, she and Tsubame become best friends and roommates. Tsubame ends up having to teach her about Japanese customs and is the only person to see Dute's slobbish side. They are like family to each other.

Mai Miyano: Although she and Mai have several physical battles on the field during Franklin's game against Kijikita, they have a genuine admiration for each other's play. After Kijikita defeat Franklin, Mai, Tsubame and Dute become friends. Tsubame even goes to watch Kijikita's next   game versus Seirin.