Kanna Hoshikuzu (, Kanna Hoshikuzu?) is a minor female character in the story of Urusei Yatsura. The focus of her own single-chapter story-arc, Kanna is an aspiring ballet dancer with the Fushiana Creative Ballet Troupe.
Biography[]
What little is known about Kanna centers entirely around her final days with the Fushiana Creative Ballet Troupe. Although she has been training for a considerable time, and is lauded as one of the troupe's best dancers, to the point she is considered a candidate for the role of prima ballerina in the troupe's next performance. However, Kanna has a problem: she consistently fails to achieve a proper landing, largely due to a mysterious tendency for her to land on things like patches of spilled oil, tacks, food, or even a landmine.
One afternoon, after yet another failure and subsequently being informed that her rival Tsumire Hanagatsuo will take the role of prima ballerina if she cannot improve her landings, Kanna is witness as a dappya-man child strays into the road and is nearly hit by a truck, only to be saved in an incredible display of acrobatics and athleticism by Ryūnosuke Fujinami. Amazed by this feat of grace and prodigious leaping ability, Kanna begs for Ryūnosuke to teach her how to jump and land like she does, sweetening the deal with a meal of shiruko. After Ryūnosuke's friends Ataru Moroboshi, Shinobu Miyake and Lum explain to Ryūnosuke what ballet is and how it's considered a very feminine sport, Ryūnosuke agrees.
For many days, Kanna toils under Ryūnosuke, performing rigorous exercises and training in order to strengthen her legs and hips. When Tsumire interferes in one training session, Kanna nearly gives up in dismay, but Ryūnosuke assures her that she can achieve her goals, if she has the proper fighting spirit. Finally, at the audition, Kanna succeeds at pulling off a perfect landing at long last... by using the immense lower body strength that Ryūnosuke's training has given her to plunge right through the wooden floor and into the soil of the building's foundations, instead of slipping on the oil-slick that Tsumire creates.
Strangely, despite this success, Kanna gives up on her ballet career and is last seen having embraced a new passion as a martial artist, to the confusion of Ryūnosuke and her friends.
Personality[]
Kanna is a very sweet girl who is dedicated to her passions; despite the insane feats that Ryūnosuke expects her to perform as part of her training, such as dragging a cargo truck that is actively trying to drive away from her or hopping up temple stairs with a store tanuki statue tied to her back, Kanna never backs down and gives it her all.
Kanna's biggest failing is that she is a little naive. She fails to recognize that her bungled landings are invariably due to sabotage by her rival Tsumire rather than any fault of her own, and likewise she never stops to question that Ryūnosuke may not actually know what she's doing in her role as teacher.
Kanna also displays a protectiveness of her money. After her attempt to recruit Ryūnosuke as her teacher leads to her being stuck with the bill for five serves of shiruko, five serves of isobemaki, and the table that Ryūnosuke broke in her excitement, due to Ryūnosuke, Ataru, Lum and Shinobu pulling a dine and dash, her first reaction is to try and escape paying the bill by fleeing through the restroom window. Likewise, during her training, Ryūnosuke is able to motivate her during the tanuki hopping course by warning her that if the tanuki breaks, she'll have to pay for it, much to Kanna's horror.
Trivia[]
- The Viz Media English translation of the manga chooses to translate Kanna's last name very literally, giving her the alternative name of Kanna Stardust.