Habara

Habara (羽原) is a second-year student at Sanada West High and a main character in the High School Girls are Funky mini-series, along with Ikushima and Yanagin. She lives next door to Karasawa and a few houses away from Yanagin and Takahiro.

In the past, she attended East Yada Elementary, where she bullied and terrorized other kids. Her bloodlust led to her gaining the epithet ‘Archdemon of East Yada Elementary’, a name that stuck until her defeat at the hands of the Archdemon Punitive Corps.

History
Habara used to be an unparalleled bully in her elementary school days, and thus came to be called the Archdemon. She was known for her strength and violent tendencies, with Karasawa being one of her most famous victims. According to Takahiro, even in high school, the boys who live around there start trembling upon hearing her name.

To end this reign of terror, ten of the school's famous warriors from 1st through 4th grade teamed up and challenged her. Yanagin, the Chemistry Club President and Rubber Shooter were three of them. Only after the great battle (which ended in a draw) did the Archdemon Habara gradually lose her brutality. The warriors then appointed Yanagin to watch over Habara, and they ended up becoming friends over the years. She was also the victim of a prank by Motoharu, wherein her shoes were once exchanged with Mitsuo's, but the two of them somehow graduated without ever realizing it.

Appearance
Habara is short and slim. She has brown eyes and light brown hair in a bob cut. She is seen wearing the standard West High uniform consisting of a light blue-and-white seifuku, on very rare instances also wearing the lavender sweater.

Back in elementary school, her hair was darker brown. Fitting her persona, it reached her waist and was spiked all over in an aggressive and unkempt fashion. She wore a dark brown skirt with frayed ends and a matching top with the collar turned up.

Personality
In the past, Habara was sadistic and brutal in nature. She was feared to such an extent that people like Takahiro, who knew her in elementary school, try to avoid her years later in high school.

Following her defeat, she mellows down and becomes much more timid. However, the Archdemon lives deep inside her like a second personality. In high school, she comes off as polite, reserved and is the "straight (wo)man" of the High School Girls are Funky trio. She gets upset and emotional over specific things, famously being insecure about her flat chest. Additionally, she comes off as a bit socially inept, such as when failing to pick up obvious cues in Karasawa’s behaviour. She also dislikes fighting and arguments, although if there appears to be no way out of a fight, her old self threatens to resurface and deal in excessive violence.

Habara appears to be trying hard to suppress her Archdemon self, as noted by the Chemistry Club President. She becomes distressed and tearful when people bring up her old acts of violence (one such major trigger is Karasawa’s scar). However, she seems to be losing control to a greater extent towards the end of the series. At the very end, her unexpectedly confident and aggressive laughter in Karasawa’s presence implies a radical change in her behaviour.

Abilities

 * Immense Strength: When in junior school, she had a fearsome reputation as the Archdemon and was undoubtedly strong. As a testament to this, it took 10 of the school's strongest kids to fight her out to a draw. In high school, she still retains such power, as seen when she destroys a ball the girls were playing with. She also manages to tear a part of a punching machine by striking it with her fingers instead of a clenched fist. Ikushima and Yanagin comment that 'brute' is too cute a term to describe her.
 * Heightened reflexes: Habara can move and react at blazing speeds when necessary. She is able to move her thumb out of the way effortlessly to escape a hidden-lever prank Ikushima tries on her and also covers ground quickly to reach Karasawa when he is about to fall.

Etymology

 * The surname Habara means "feather" (羽) (ha) and "field, plain" (原) (hara/bara).

Trivia

 * Habara is a very popular character in the series, having placed 2nd in the character popularity poll with 36,818 votes.
 * Her 'Archdemon' persona has an entry of its own, coming in the 48th place with 36 votes.
 * Habara's epithet comes from the character of the same name in the Dragon Quest video games.