| Tomoka Minato | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name in Japanese | 湊 智花 |
| Romaji Translation | Minato Tomoka |
| Nickname/s | Tomo Mokkan Shiny Gift |
| Voice Actor (Japanese) | Kana Hanazawa |
| Personal Info | |
| Gender | Female |
| Birthday | 9 September (Virgo) |
| Class | 6-C |
| Class Job | Flower Care |
| Team/s | Keishin (Girls) |
| Number | 4 |
| Position | Shooting Guard |
| Height | 142cm (4'7") |
| Blood Type | A |
| Media Appearances | |
| Anime Debut | Here Comes an Elementary School Student! Yay! Yay! Yay! |
Tomoka Minato (湊 智花 Minato Tomoka) (nicknamed Mokkan[1] or Tomo-chan[2] or just Tomo[3]) is the main heroine of the series, the captain of Keishin Girls Basketball Team and the only one who had played basketball before.
It does not take long for Subaru to find great potential in her, and thanks to her talent and dedication he decides to keep coaching them. She was not in Keishin Academy for long, in her previous school, she got obsessed with winning in basketball that she became isolated and was forced to transfer schools. In Keishin Academy, she found new friends and realized that winning is not everything. Despite the fact that she still loves basketball, Tomoka is not willing to play without having her friends by her side.
She lives in a large Japanese-style yard with her parents.
Character Overview
Appearance
Tomoka has short dark-purple hair with a side pony-tail and twin hairbands extend from temples. She also has dark-purple irises with a mole under left eye.
Her body's height is average, but flat-chested, which is a major concern to her when comparing bust size with Airi.
She is most commonly seen wearing her school uniform, but when in public, she tends to wear a one-piece dress. She also owns a pink-spotted swimsuit, although the school swimsuit is more frequently seen.
Personality
Tomoka is one of the more mature girls in the group, as she is confident, self-assured and caring of her peers. She is also shown to be respectful to her friends. It is hinted that she may have feelings for Subaru. In the OVA 'Tomoka no Ichigo Sundae' is shown that she is afraid of cockroaches. Of all the girls, Tomoka is the one who gets closest to Subaru and seems to be the one who likes him the most.
She becomes very shy and worked up when being placed near Subaru, either for her "convenient" or not. However, when she is drunk, she does not hesitate clinging on Subaru and does not let him go, and this indicates the girl's feeling to Subaru.
Abilities
Tomoka is rather smart as she seems to be able to do her homework ok, but still an advance learner with Saki and Maho. She is also very proficient at basketball, something that even amazes Subaru, a good player in his own right. She is known for the color pink, just like Hinata Hakamada.
She possesses ball handling skills not usually expected from an elementary school student, as shown during her one-on-one match with Subaru. She can easily get past opposing players with her amazing speed and moves and can also throw the ball from very far away flawlessly in the basket.
Her playing style is known in modern-day basketball as the Point Forward, one who is capable of playing multiple positions depending on the situation. With ball handling responsibilities given over to Saki, Tomoka is now able to focus more on the role of shooter.
Trivia
- While Touko Hatano doesn't find a suitable nickname for her, Subaru nicknames Tomoka "Shiny Gift" (シャイニー・ギフト Shainī Gifuto, lit. "Flowers, that bloom in the rain"), for her talent and devotion into playing basketball.
- The word 智 in her name means "Wisdom", and the word 花 means "Flower" and thus, her name can be roughly translated as "Wise Flower".
- She is seen scared by a certain type of insect, namely cockroach.
- In epilogue chapter of 13th volume of light novel, the reason of Tomoka's abnormally devotion and talent into playing basketball is explained: Tomoka once met Subaru when she was very young, and inspired by him, she fell for basketball. Similar scene is also featured in the end of episode 12 of Ro-Kyu-Bu! SS.
- She has a strong affiliation with Pleiades, a star in Twenty-Eight Mansions. It is also the given name of Subaru Hasegawa (Subaru is Japanese equivalent for Pleiades).
- Judging from the size and architecture of her home, it can be deduced that although not wealthy as Maho's, but Tomoka's family's economic condition is way above-average.