Najika Kazami

Najika Kazami (風見 七虹香) is the main protagonist of Kitchen Princess. She is a middle school student who transferred to Seika Academy in the hopes of finding her Flan Prince.

Etymology
The "七", which can be read as "na", means "seven." "虹", which can be read as "niji", means "rainbow." "香", which can be read as "ka", means "smell" or "fragrance". Altogether her first name could be translated as "Seven Rainbow Fragrances."

Appearance
Najika has big brown eyes and long, blonde hair that is usually tied in two pigtails. She's of average height with a slender frame.

Personality
She loves to cook and eat. Her life dream is to make everyone happy and smile when they eat her desserts. Najika is notably bubbly and a big eater and she is far from elegant, but she, like all main heroines, has a cute charm.

Background
Najika was born with an absolute sense of taste that she inherited from her famous pastry chef parents, Nanase and Kaori Kazami. Najika lost her parents at a young age due to a car crash and she began to live in an orphanage in Hokkaido called Lavender House.

One day she was crying and ended up falling into a river where she almost drowned. However, she was saved by a boy who gave her some flan, the best dessert she had ever tasted. She promised to make him the best dessert in the world to repay him. Najika joined Seika Academy because the spoon that the boy gave her came from the school. There she met her flan prince and she ends up finding her happy ending, dating her "prince" and making new friends.

Plot
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Sora Kitazawa
Najika and Sora start off as friends and then become lovers, until the death of Sora. Since meeting her from the very beginning, Sora had always been kind to Najika, and their friendship is a source of envy for not just Najika's classmates but also Sora's brother, Daichi. It is shown throughout the manga that the two grow closer, with Najika coming to like Sora, and Sora coming to like Najika as well. Their relationship is regularly a trusting one, as Najika looks in Sora for comfort through much of the manga and Sora never fails to be at Najika's side when she needs him. Their friendship is frequently tested by Sora's father, the director of the academy, as his ultimate goal is to use Najika to further the academy's reputation. This causes tension between Sora and Daichi, as well as Sora and his father. Sora meant, and still means, a lot to Najika, as she is shown breaking down and losing her sense of taste after Sora dies. Even when she starts developing feelings for Daichi, she still visits Sora's grave to talk to him and ask for permission. He is shown coming back in spirit form and telling her he approves, and Najika states that even though she is moving on, she will never forget her feelings for Sora. Overall, the two are very close.

Daichi Kitazawa
Daichi is Sora's younger brother by one year, and at first, he is always overshadowed by his popular, handsome, gentlemanly brother. However, after meeting Najika, both brothers come to develop feelings for her. In the first half of the manga, Daichi struggles with his emotions after seeing Najika's and Sora's evident feelings for one another. However, after Sora dies, Daichi becomes Najika's savior, as she says, he is the one who brought light back into her dark world. Najika falls in love with Daichi and confesses to him, but he tells her he can only look at her as a friend. Although he really does like her, Daichi refuses to simply date the girl his brother loved. Nevertheless, after many trials together, Daichi realizes he cannot bear to lose any more people he loves, after pushing both Sora and his father away. He confesses to Najika and it is shown towards the end of the manga in a bonus chapter, "Akane and Black Sesame Pudding," Daichi and Najika are dating.

While he finds Najika funny and quirky at first, Daichi comes to love her. Their relationship is more friendly at first, but grow into one of love, and Daichi replaces Sora as her support. It is shown that he is willing to obey his father's wishes and becomes the student body president in order to let Najika stay, displaying how much he cares about her. They are also bonded through Daichi being Najika's mysterious flan prince, who gave her hope when she was little after her parents died in a car crash. In essence, Daichi is the reason Najika wanted to attend Seika Academy, to find her flan prince. Though their relationship is constantly tested, Najika and Daichi have a happy ending in which they kiss at the end.

Akane Kishida
Akane meets Najika at first when Najika attends Seika Academy. Though she pretended to be nice to Najika at first, she grows to hate Najika after seeing how much Sora and Daichi care for Najika. This frustrates Akane, as she has had a crush on Daichi since they were young. She repeatedly makes Najika's life miserable but grows to befriend Najika after Najika helps her through her eating disorder. While Akane is rejected by Daichi, she accepts this in the end and supports Najika and Daichi, playing the role of a supportive, loyal friend. It is shown in the manga that Akane constantly fends off Seiya Mizuno's advances on Najika, and in the end, Akane ends up dating Seiya.

Though there is somewhat of a one-sided rivalry at the beginning of the manga, Akane grows to become Najika's best friend. Najika trusts Akane wholeheartedly and the two support each other through thick and thin, both finding their happy endings in the end. They are the best of friends and it is evident in the way they care for each other.

Seiya Mizuno
Seiya first meets Najika after being sent to Seika Academy to replace her. Najika is confused with her feelings because Seiya looks so much like Sora, but she soon realizes they are two completely different people. Coming from a wealthy family, Seiya acts very conceitedly towards Najika in the beginning, but after she repeatedly beats him at cooking competitions, he slowly starts to warm up. Seiya decides to work at Fujita Diner to find out why Najika's cooking is so loved, and in doing so, falls in love with her. He repeatedly asks her out and makes her food, even kissing her. Towards the end, when the two are in Paris for a major cooking competition, Seiya tries one more time, asking Najika to let him be her prince. She tries to accept, but in her heart, she loves Daichi, and Seiya backs off, calling her his foremost rival and friend. The two become good friends, pushing each other in reaching their cooking goals.

Trivia

 * A common motif with Najika is rainbows. There are many times where rainbows appear next to her or she makes something that's very colorful.

Gallery
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