Name:
Ayumu Narumi
Name:
Ayumu Narumi
Alias(es): Little Narumi
Age: 14
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Family: Sister-in-law, Madoka; older brother, Kiyotaka
Status: 1st year High School student, amateur detective
Quote: "I am not at all like my brother." "Finally, the notes of truth are starting to play."
Anime: Spiral
Voice: (English) Daniel Katsuk (Japanese) Kenichi Suzumura
History and Personality: Ayumu is a first year High School student at Tsukiyomi High School and lives with his sister-in-law, Madoka Narumi. Ayumu is intelligent, excelling especially at logical deduction and therefore investigation, and also is skilled at cooking and playing the piano, but he suffers from an inferiority complex tracing back to his brother, Kiyotaka Narumi. Ayumu has stated that he tried to be like Kiyotaka, but it was a dream he couldn't fulfill. He repeatedly says that he is "not at all like [his] brother," however, it is not obvious if this is meant to be positive or negative. Ayumu's primary goal is to discover the whereabouts of his brother who disappeared two years previous to the show in search of the "Blade Children".
Ayumu comes in contact with the Blade Children after Sayoko, a Blade child, falls off of a ledge at his school and lands on a truck. Unfortunately, Ayumu walks onto the ledge seconds after Sayoko's nearly-fatal drop and is accused for pushing her off. After that he meets Hiyono and they work together to discover what really caused her to fall. It turns out that a Hunter, someone whose job is to eliminate the Blade Children, targeted her and, after confessing that he caused Sayoko's fall, tells Ayumu that he is like Kiyotaka. This shocks him and Madoka, but before they could interrogate him he breaks into a run and escapes the building. Madoko and Wataya give chase and find that he is unconscious just outside of the school. With his first real lead since his brother's disappearance Ayumu begins the search for his brother in earnest. Unfortunately, this gets him deeply involved with the Blade Children and the danger that constantly surrounds them.
When the Blade Children begin attacking him, in what they term "tests" he discovers that his brother sent them to find him claiming he is their best hope. Joined by Hiyono, whom he just can't seem to shake, and occasionally one or more of the Blade Children, Ayumu attempts to unravel the mysteries surrounding them in the hopes that these answers will eventually lead to his older brother. In the anime both mysteries are left unsolved, but life appears to settle down for everyone involved. However, in the manga, the story because very intricately involved, with revelations that Kiyotaka has been manipulating everything behind the scenes, and that Ayumu is not his little brother, but rather his clone! Forced to face off against the clone of the Blade Children's creator Ayumu and his opponent discover that they are inherently unstable. The enemy clone sacrifices himself in an attempt to prevent Ayumu from dying, and is successful, though Ayumu will likely spend the rest of his life in the hospital due to cellular degeneration which has left him partially paralyzed.
Relationships: Ayumu is somehwat of a loner. He's generally withdrawn and apparently has no friends before he meets Hiyono at the series start. This does not seem to be because her dislikes others, per se, but rather because he does not have the energy nor the confidence to invest in a real friendship. However, some relationships simply cannot be avoided, and as the series progresses Ayumu certainly winds up with more than his fair share of those.
Kiyotaka Narumi is Ayumu's older brother. Ayumu has spent a fair bit of his life trying to be like Kiyotaka, who "excelled at anything he put his mind to." Kiyotaka has not been seen by anyone for two years, and Ayumu's primary goal is to find him again. There is evidence that Kiyotaka has a certain amount of respect for Ayumu because he tells the Blade Children that only Ayumu can save them.
Madoka Narumi is Ayumu's sister-in-law, Kiyotaka's wife. It is unclear whether Ayumu has been living with her since before Kiyotaka's disappearance or whether he moved in directly afterwards. Ayumu essentially takes care of Madoka, doing various mundane tasks, such as laundry and cooking. Ayumu and Madoka seem to feel protective towards each other. Ayumu feels that he has to take his brother's place and be by her side, while Madoka feels a duty to look after Ayumu, in light of Kiyotaka's words: "When he's standing at a crossroads, please lend him a kind hand." It is likely that their loyalty to each other boils down to mutual pity--Madoka, having lost her husband, and Ayumu, having lost his brother.
Hiyono Yuizaki is Ayumu's best and perhaps only friend. Hiyono clearly thinks a great deal of Ayumu and puts a lot of faith in him; however, Ayumu's exact thoughts towards Hiyono are unknown. It is certain, however, that the two make an excellent team. Hiyono supplies "useful information" and helps Ayumu research incidents. As for romance... the closest they come is in the eleventh episode, Goodnight Sweetheart, in which Ayumu asks Hiyono if he can rest his head on her shoulder and an onlooker whispers "I bet they do it." Hiyono does not seem especially fazed by this comment. However, this is most likely because that line is only in the English dubbed version, while in the original Japanese version the girl simply says "Love love!" The end of the anime hints that their relationship will continue, showing the two alone in a field having a picnic. Note that in the manga it is eventually revealed that Hiyono began her friendship with Ayumu on orders from his older brother. In the end she abandons him (once more at Kiyotaka's direction) but some time later, after t he conflict is over, returns to see him of her own free will and perhaps against the wishes of his brother.
Kousuke Asazuki is initailly one of Ayumu's enemies. He is the first of the Blade Children sent to test Ayumu. The two don't spend a great deal of time interacting and don't particularly like one another, but occasionally they join forces for a common goal. Kousuke seems to regard Ayumu with more contempt than the other Blade Children do, but eventually comes to afford him some respect.
Rio Takeuchi is perhaps the most persistent of Ayumu's enemies. Another of the Blade Children, she seems very interested in testing him, more so than the others. Ayumu and Rio first meet when Rio, having recently transferred to Tsukiyomi, is accused of breaking a window and Ayumu gets her out of it. In several cases it seems that Rio pities Ayumu. She tells him to believe in his abilities, and in episode eleven she almost deactivates a bomb around his neck in a crisis of conscience. Ayumu typically regards Rio with contempt, but comforts her after she loses a battle with him. This could, however, only be a manifestation of his feelings of inferiority, as he says later that he was only a lucky coward.
Eyes Rutherford is seemingly a higher-up in the ranks of the Blade Children, but in spite of this, he and Ayumu treat each other mostly with apathy. Eyes keeps a close watch on Ayumu and is very interested in using his abilities. Ayumu doesn't harbor any special animosity towards Eyes, and at one point aids Kousuke Asazuki in stopping a Hunter who is trying to kill Eyes during a concert.
Kanone Hilbert is one of the stronger Blade Children, who betrays the others due to a lack of hope. He still keeps in touch with Kiyotaka but does not say anything about it and if asked directly often denies it. He holds Ayumu in contempt because he sees him as the embodiment of the false hope he believes the other Blade Children cling to. At the end of the series, Kanone and Ayumu face each other in a fireworks factory to see whether the Blade Children have a future or not.
Why we love him: Well, in the manga he's a bit of a delinquent, but in the anime he's adorable! Smart, polite, talented, and so unsure of himself that you want to yell at Hiyono to just hug him and not let go until he admits he's amazing! And, seriously, you gotta love that hair. And the English voice acting is awesome. He just sounds so apathetic... You have to love the scene where he asks Madoka "who's the adult in this relationship?" in a complete deadpan... great... just great ^_^
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