Characters/Kirin Kanda
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| Surname Name | Kanda Kirin |
| Birthday (Age) | February 27th (n/a) |
| Type of Character | Main |
| Additional Information | |
| Eye Color | Green |
| Height | 5′ 2′′ (158cm) |
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Kirin is a member of the soccer team alongside Miku and her older sister, Karin. Extremely observant of everyone around her, Kirin has a mischievous streak and enjoys putting people off-balance with words or actions they don't expect.— Official Lessons in Love website
Kirin Kanda is part of the Main Cast of in Lessons In Love. Kirin is the 15th girl to join Sensei's class, doing so in v0.14.0. She lives in Room 10 with Noriko Nakayama.
Background
Kirin is the younger sister of Karin Kanda, and the youngest daughter of two unnamed parents. The two girls presumably grew up in Kumon-mi their whole lives. Due to being close in age, Karin and Kirin have done most everything together, joining the same clubs, making the same group of friends, and sharing the same room. Karin's natural friendliness and talent resulted in Kirin living in her sister's shadow, often being ignored by their parents and friends.
She initially became aware of Sensei through Miku, who had begun talking about him constantly, a fact which surprised Kirin as Miku hadn't ever shown interest in guys before. This, combined with her disinterest in her previous teachers, pushed her to start intentionally annoying them in hopes of being transferred to Sensei's class. Originally one of Wakana's students, her plan for transferal succeeds, and she ends up joining the same day as Noriko.
She's part of the soccer club, along with Miku and Karin.
Characteristics
Being constantly compared to her older sister has left Kirin with an easily jealous and somewhat bitter personality. She easily forms and holds grudges, even for situations that were years ago. While cheery and normal on the outside, her inner self is scheming and easily bored, always trying to disrupt the status quo through unexpected words and actions. It's this cunning and seedy personality that allows her to easily get along with Sensei while putting her at odds with the straight-laced Karin.
In addition, Kirin is extremely dishonest, both with others and herself. She'll habitually lie or, since she enjoys creating excitement, purposefully phrase sentences to push people's buttons. This often backfires on her, getting hurt when people get understandably offended or annoyed with her, firing back with passive-aggression, or abrupt mood changes. Even in private, she struggles to admit her true feelings, or even how hurt she is by the class' or Sensei's sarcastic comments.
She isn't lacking in sincerity, however. She's shown to care deeply about Miku's wellbeing, and is especially sensitive about her family situation. She displays a similar level of care towards Noriko after Sensei bails on their beach date, and continues to support her, even through her many complaints.
Relationships
Sensei
Kirin becomes interested in Sensei through Miku, surprised that she's talking about a boy at all. After introducing herself during counseling hours, the two become 'partners in crime', with Kirin usually tagging along to big class-wide events for the sole purpose of hanging out with him. Kirin works hard to keep Sensei at arm's length, wanting to enjoy a relationship free of obligation or commitment, a sentiment that grows stronger once she and Noriko make a deal too. Fittingly, she struggles to commit to this deal, and Sensei becomes one of the few people Kirin can confide in.
Karin
Karin is Kirin's big sister, and the two have a complicated relationship. While Karin adores and cares deeply for her little sister, Kirin is deeply bitter and resentful towards her big sister for all the talent and praise that's been laid upon her. The exact impetus for this grudge isn't explained, but it has stuck with Kirin for most of her life, causing her to do or say a variety of awful things. Despite this, Kirin is always quick to apologize, and Karin happily accepts each time.
Miku
One of Kirin's best friends, Miku is one of the few people who Kirin feels treats her human. The exact source and length of their friendship is never stated, but the bond they share is one of the few genuine friendships Kirin has. This doesn't exempt Miku from getting wrapped up in Kirin's schemes, though.
Ayane
Kirin has known Ayane since they were young, and the two were only casual acquaintances before the start of the game. Unbeknownst to all, Kirin harbors a grudge against Ayane for inadvertently thwarting a plan to impress her parents, as well as hiding lingering heartbreak from an old crush. The exact specifics of their relationship depend on certain events, ranging from being friends, or being at odds.
Memorable Quotes
- "You two should probably make sure no one else is in the room before you start doing things like this."
- "Be whoever you want to be outside of this room, but show me the real you."
Trivia
- During the event Politics! Pleasure! Ponies!, the player may choose the option "I am a proud brony". In addition to cutting the scene short, it's also a fact Kirin, and later Noriko, will tease Sensei about.
- Despite the ongoing space war, Kirin's father seems to still be around, suggesting he is exempt from serving for one reason or another.
- Kirin is a unique character in terms of her meta-identification. Originally a side character, she was promoted to part of the main cast as part of the $5k Patreon stretch goal. She's the only main cast member to do so.
- Kirin, as of v0.28.0, has the 2nd most signatures on her dorm whiteboard, having 19.
