Sawatari Uki

(The following contains spoilers.)

Uki Sawatari (猿渡 宇希) is a prominent character in the Anima Yell! series.

Official Description
Uki is the best friend and schoolmate of Kohane, often playing the role of tsukkomi opposite of her. She has a penchant for cute things.

Appearance
Uki normally has shoulder-length blonde hair which she has let down with a side ponytail on the right, when practising or partaking in a performance she has her hair tied up in a ponytail. In both cases, her split bangs reveal much of her forehead. During the summer months, Uki is one of the few students to wear a jacket over her school uniform.

Both Kohane and Hizume had difficulty deciding how to make Uki's uniform top, due mainly to her large chest.

Background
Uki is Kohane's childhood friend and classmate. She is the daughter of a very caring and doting mother, and also the older sister to Akane, an elementary school student.

Early in the series, Uki was hesitant about becoming a cheerleader, even though she is very athletic and had fully supported Kohane's decision to start a cheerleading club at their school. Eventually, Kohane and Hizume were able to convince Uki to join by way of a cheer demonstration, to which Uki would become a founding member of the Cheer Association.

Uki tends to play the "straight-man" in the group, and often reacts with incredulity whenever someone says anything considered strange or ridiculous. But often, her somewhat stern and serious demeanor usually fades away with her various quirks, such as her intense fear of ghosts. Perhaps known only to Kohane, Uki also has a secret fondness for things that are cute. Uki is seemingly very attuned to the latest idol groups, and has a love for cute clothing, despite being embarrassed to wear them. However, her brother despises anything girly and cute, which forced Uki to lie about the actual club she was in just to maintain their relationship.

Because she cares about Kohane's safety and well-being, Uki is always looking out for her and is constantly reminding her reckless friend to take better care of herself. If Kohane offends someone, Uki will act as an intermediary and apologize on behalf of Kohane. But throughout the series, Uki is sometimes shown to be unusually attached to Kohane. When told that she has to "cuddle" Kohane's body in order to support her as a cheer backspot, Uki enthusiastically accepts the role. Uki can also be thrown into a jealous fit if she sees other people becoming friendly towards Kohane.

Seemingly due to her constantly watching over Kohane, Uki is sometimes seen as an overbearing mother in the eyes of the other Cheer Club members. While often looked at as a mother figure to Kohane, Uki is actually content with the idea of being seen together as a kind of romantic couple.

Kirara Fantasia
Uki was added as a playable character in Hobunsha's Kirara Fantasia mobile game on November 21, 2018.

Commentary
"'The great thing about this series is that everyone has a certain complex and a fear, but at the same time they all dared to become cheerleaders and are constantly maturing. These kinds of characters can motivate you to work hard and I am happy if we can bring out this kind of energy. And I also made sure everyone could really feel Uki's cuteness. Please accept the oodles of cheer power!' -Mikako Izawa, the voice of Uki."

Trivia

 * Uki's full name carries the meaning of monkey, and the sound monkeys make; monkey noises (お猿のウッキー).