Mao is a reliable boy who loves taking care of others and never fails to lend a helping hand, even when he complains about it. Even though he is the student council's treasurer, he's also a member of the unit Trickstar, and the two groups often go head-to-head against each other. He doesn't like getting into trouble, but always finds himself dragged into it.
Being a student council member, he does everything flawlessly. He doesn't like being the center of attention, so he often provides support from behind the scenes. Childhood friends with his neighbor Ritsu Sakuma.
Mao is a member of Trickstar at STARMAKER PRODUCTION. He would like to make proof of leadership by guiding the people around him. He has been receiving advice from various people on how to train his physical strength and improve his dance skills.
"I'm Mao Isara, under STARMAKER PRODUCTION! I'm part of the unit Trickstar! Together with my quirky companions, we're racing down the path of an idol... or should I say we're rampaging down it? Ahaha, in any case, I promise you'll never get bored if you watch over us. I believe that Trickstar can grow and overcome any obstacles that stand in our way. I'm counting on your support♪"
Mao stands at average height and has light green eyes. He has red-violet hair with long bangs that he keeps pinned back with a yellow clip. His hair reaches down to his chin and is styled somewhat messily.
On stage, Mao wears Trickstar's uniform, which includes a red plaid jacket worn over a white shirt and black pants. The jacket’s sleeves are rolled up to three-quarter length, revealing black cuffs with a golden stripe. The lapels as well as the collar and shoulders of the jacket are black, detailed with golden trimming on the edges. Golden tassels fall from his left shoulder. On his right, golden bands connect his shoulder to a four-pointed star on his lapel. He wears a magenta belt, with the end of it falling over as it has not been properly tucked into a belt loop. A red bandana hangs from his belt and drapes down at his right side. It has a black stripe along the bottom and is dotted with tiny silver sparkles. Over that, a golden beaded chain rests on his hips. An outlined star design is attached to the chain as it hangs on his right side. A thick red stripe runs along the sides of his pant legs, with the ends being tucked into his high-top sneakers. The sneakers are black and grey with red detailing, including a Velcro strap over his magenta laces. Mao wears a black fingerless glove on his right hand and magenta and white bangles on his right. He also wears a gold necklace of a four-pointed star— a reference to the four members of Trickstar.
On warmer days, his casual outfit consists of a grey short-sleeved button-down over a white T-shirt with black skinny jeans. The over-shirt has black buttons left undone to reveal the shirt beneath it, which has a yellow rectangle over the chest and white text inside that says “DUNK!” The over-shirt also has navy blue pockets with white buttons over the chest, as well as a navy collar and a thick navy stripe along the end of his sleeves. Mao wears a necklace, but it is tucked underneath his T-shirt. He also wears a bracelet that has two black bands and a red wristwatch on his left hand. His sneakers are black with red accents and laces.
On colder days, his casual outfit consists of a grey high-neck sweater over a tri-colored jacket. The jacket is black on the top, white in the middle, and red at the bottom. A thin bright chartreuse stripe divides the black and white segments across the chest. Under this stripe on the left side is a smaller, thicker red stripe with a silver ring attached to it. The sleeves of the jacket are all black aside from small red detailing at the cuffs. The jacket’s pockets are cut horizontally on the red segment of the jacket; they are black with a silver zipper. The zipper for the jacket is chartreuse. On the collar of Mao’s sweater is a small vertical chartreuse rectangle, while the bottom of the sweater has small black and white rectangles on both the central left and right sides. He wears this with dark grey jeans and white sneakers.
Mao is very friendly and outgoing to anyone he talks to, although he also acts as the rational mediator when things are getting too out of hand. He readily accepts most work, even if it goes beyond what he's physically capable of doing alone. Although this passionate, hard-working attitude is one of his strong suits, many of his faults lie in it as well.
Due to this behavior, Mao tends to let himself get walked over, as he never wants to let people down or fail to meet their expectations. His feeling of wanting to be good enough for everyone heavily affects his self-esteem, and when his abilities are challenged or seen as replaceable, it leaves him in a rough state of insecurity and sadness, making him feel that he is not the "strong" child everyone expects him to be. Growing up, his parents spoiled his sister much more than him, as they believed Mao to be reliable and would be fine without their attention.
For this reason, he often keeps his own feelings locked away out of fear of burdening people or making them worry, though he truly is thankful when people worry for him. However, this also causes him to be sensitive to others when they're feeling the same way, and if he can, will attempt to lighten their burden by holding it on his own shoulders. He has a habit of being quite a pessimist and having low self-esteem. According to Ritsu, he was a crybaby when he was younger.
He is incredibly self-sufficient and often gathers information for Trickstar and helps them out from behind the scenes, to the point that he acted much like a producer to his own unit prior to Anzu's arrival. He has commented on himself being much alike the "bass in a band"—difficult to notice, but the pillars that hold things together. He is easily embarrassed, can quickly feel flustered with Ritsu's overly affectionate behavior, and gets overly concerned with how he behaves around Anzu. Even Eichi likes to tease Mao often, saying Mao acts so earnest and cute that Eichi just can't help but want to pick on him.
Mao is really popular with his underclassmen, as seen in his interactions with younger characters like Shinobu and Midori, who are consistently vocal about their respect and admiration for him. But he is also very well-respected by his upperclassmen, and both Eichi and Keito made it clear that there was no one else in his year that was suitable to inherit the student council president position from Eichi, even if Mao himself felt unsure about taking on the role.
Overall, Mao is naturally a mood-lifting and supportive kind of person, and will always do his best to help and watch his friends succeed.
ES!
Age: 16-17
School: Yumenosaki Academy
Class: 2-B
Club: Basketball Club (Vice-Captain)
Commitee: Student Council (Treasurer)
Height: 169cm (5'7")
Weight: 54kg (119 lbs)
ES Y1
Caption: "I'm not good at assigning my work to others…"
Age: 17-18
School: Yumenosaki Academy
Class: 3-A
Circles: Manga Club, BB
Club: Basketball Club (Captain)
Committee: Student Council (President)
Height: 169 cm (5'7")
Weight: 54kg (119 lbs)
Roommates: Shu Itsuki, Izumi Sena, Kuro Kiryu
Handedness: Right-handed
Likes: Necklaces
Dislikes: Sharp objects
Favorite Food: Ramen
Favorite Color: Orange
Hobby: Watching TV & reading manga
Specialty: Guitar
ES Y2
Age: 18-19
Graduated From: Yumenosaki Academy
Circles: Manga Club, BB
Height: 171cm (5'7")
Weight: 55 kg (123 lbs)
Hobbies: Reading (manga), watching TV dramas, collecting silver accessories
Specialty: Guitar performance, dancing
Japanese: Yuki Kaji | 梶 裕貴
Marina Inoue | 井上 麻里奈 (as a child)
English: David Matranga
Cantonese: Monte Cho Kai Him (曹啟謙)
(https://ensemble-stars.fandom.com/wiki/Mao_Isara?so=search)
💬 Community Discussion
Talk about this anime with people who actually care.