Emu (絵夢,Emu) and Memu Mimasaka (美作 芽夢,Mimasaka Memu) were the younger twin sisters of Akira Mimasaka. They were particularly attached to Akira and hated to be apart from him, often crying when they had to leave him. Both girls resembled their mother in appearance as well as in personality. They often went overseas with their parents.
Emu and Memu were born to the mother and father, who owned a trading company. They were several years younger than their older brother, Akira.[1] The girls both idolized Akira and greeted him each morning with a hug. They also regularly claimed that they wanted to marry him when they grew up.[2] One day, the twins met Tsukushi Makino. Their interest quickly returned to their brother, whom they begged to go to Spain with them. Emu and Memu were still crying when they were taken away by their mother and a servant.[1]
Around three years later, Akira and Sojiro brought the twins to the airport. The girls were going to Switzerland for three weeks to join their parents. Both Emu and Memu clung to their brother's neck and promised to call him multiple times a day. He was eventually able to get them on the plane.[3]
Physical appearance[]
The twins were like smaller versions of their mother, from whom they inherited their facial features and hair. Emu and Memu typically wore their long, wavy hair in the same or similar style to one another. The style their hair was most often seen in was a half-up do. The clothes the twins wore usually matched their mother's. Their wardrobe consisted of long, frilly dresses.
Personality and traits[]
Being young children, Emu and Memu were extremely attached to their brother. They hated to be apart from him for any length of time and often begged for him to go with them. Both twins also said they wanted to marry him when they grew up. Likely due to their age, they were unaware of how their behavior often left him exhausted. The girls were usually happy and smiling, outside of the times when they parted from Akira.
In "Night of the Crescent Moon," Akira mentions that the girls had not started kindergarten yet. This suggests that they were likely younger than five in their first appearance.[5]
Yoko Kamio posted a drawing of the twins and their family in April 2020 to promote staying home and safe during the coronavirus pandemic.[6]
Twins Himawari and Imari Kitayama portray Emu and Memu in episodes three and eleven of Hana Yori Dango Returns (2007).[7] The child actresses are now retired. Like in the manga, the twins are overly attached to their brother and both say that they are going to marry him in the future. Both have a brief cameo with their mother in the last episode during the end credits.
The twins appear briefly at the beginning of Hana Yori Dango Final (2008). They are portrayed by Nagisa and Shiori Okubo. The actresses were likely changed due to the fact that the film is set four years after Returns.