Lisa

Lisa is bright, cheerful and attentive. She exhibits high emotional intelligence, and is shown to be quick thinking and competent in high-stress situations. Due to the scattered nature of their community, Lisa communicates clearly and directly with her son, Sōsuke, treating him like an equal. As such, we see that Sōsuke is fluent in Morse code, and knows how to operate their home's signal lamp to message passing sailors, like his father, Kōichi.

Lisa is often frazzled and overworked from taking care of Sōsuke by herself and working at the Senior Center. And despite her recklessly efficient driving, she always seems to be late to work. The hectic nature of their daily life makes Lisa and Sōsuke excellent partners and the two often improvise meals and travel on the fly. Though Lisa is easily annoyed by how often her husband, Kōichi, goes out to sea, Sōsuke is always there to cheer her up.

Throughout the film, it's shown that Lisa and Sōsuke share an intimate bond and lean on each other for emotional support. Lisa takes exceptional care of Sōsuke, making special meals for him and Ponyo when she stays the night and is always cognizant of how Sōsuke is feeling. Lisa also has great trust in her son, as shown when she gives him command of the house's signal lamp when she has to check on the Senior Center during the storm.

Overall, Lisa understands that greater forces are at work in the story and is shown to have a deep understanding of people and nature. Lisa is immediately able to tell that Ponyo is good and further, Lisa is even able to connect with Ponyo's mother, the Sea Goddess Granmamare, receiving her blessing to raise Ponyo as a human.