Yuna Kamihara (上原ユウナ, Kamihara Yūna) is a young, tomboyish, Okinawan fourth grade elementary school student. She is the human protagonist of the anime series Stitch!.
10-year-old Yuna lived a rather normal cherished life with her Gramma on Izayoi Island, learning and studying karate. She learned it from her grandpa, who did the honor of giving her a special type of moonsand as a good luck charm in her study of karate before he left, and became the sensei of her island's dojo as a black belt. However, her life took a turn for the extraordinary when she met Stitch, who became her new best friend. Through Stitch, she also befriends Jumba, Pleakley, and Jumba's other experiments (Stitch's "cousins"), and she and Stitch also befriend various yokai, such as Kijimunaa. During the second season, Stitch! ~The Mischievous Alien's Great Adventure~, her bullying cousin Tigerlily moves in with her. In the third season, Stitch! ~Best Friends Forever~, she (now an 11-year-old) and Stitch move along with Tigerlily, Jumba, and Pleakley off the island to live in a house in New Town.
Background[]
She is one of Stitch's best friends and his caretaker after Stitch runs off to Izayoi Island on Stitch!. After a few shenanigans, the two became best friends with a pinky swear. Yuna's personality comes off as kind, polite and sweet at first; however, she can turn feisty, defensive and angry if she spots something she doesn't like, such as evil, bullying, crime, or the like. She also can be very confident and overbearing at times, often taking charge into situations when needed, and acting without thinking. With her being a black belt, she uses her karate skills as a way to help her loved ones, not hurt them. She will also use her karate skills to fight back if needed. Yuna also has a playful yet competitive side to her personality, often playfighting or competing with her friends, Stitch included (usually just for fun), but it can go beyond if she is devoted enough. She also has an attitude that shows quite often too, usually through jealousy or wit.
However, despite her personality, she does have a limit to her emotional side, and while she does keep her emotions to herself (in a way not to let anyone worry), she can break down or act up if enough pressure is on her, coming between either yelling or acting out of anger, or crying and resenting when frustrated or in despair. But with help from her friends and Stitch, she often gets better. Her only known fear is lightning/thunderstorms. She believes that after a storm, she will receive good luck if she rubs her belly button (of which she makes fun of Stitch for not having one).
Biology[]
Appearance[]
Yuna is a small, white-skinned girl with brown hair, which she wears in two spiky-looking ponytails, which are braided with blue beads in the first two seasons, and with green scrunchies in the third season and both post-series specials. She wears a red, sleeveless dress with yellow flowers on it. In the first two seasons, she wears sweatpants with light blue stripes on the inside and outside legs, and pink sandals with a heart in the middle. In the third season and the post-series specials, she wears blue denims rolled up midway up her calves, and orange sneakers with white soles.
When Yuna goes to bed, she puts on a pink nightgown. When she goes swimming, she puts on a red bathing suit. In her karate classes, she wears a white karategi with a black belt.
Family and relatives[]
Yuna's mother died before the events of the series, and her father often works away from the island, so they rarely see each other, but she still loves him and waits, cherishing every moment when they are together. Yuna lives with her grandmother, who is a very old and wise woman who can give advice and support.
Trivia[]
- In the English dub of "A Recurring Nightmare", when Remmy shows Yuna the memory of her mother humming a tune to her when she was a baby, the tune she is humming is "Baby Mine" from the Disney movie Dumbo. The sequences are very similar, as it shows Dumbo's mother cradling her calf in her trunk.
- The English dub states in one episode that Yuna's age was 9, but later 12 in another episode in line before Stitch! ~Best Friends Forever~. However, this age flux is actually an English dub error, as the Japanese original states on many an occasion that Yuna is 10 for the first series and then in Stitch! ~Best Friends Forever~, 11 rounded off. Knowing this, the episode "The Surprise Party" has Yuna turn 10 and remain so for the entirety of the first season. Also, a later Best Friends Forever episode, "Stitch's Dreams", has Yuna turn a proper 12 following her move to New Town at 11, respectively.
- She is the first protagonist from Japan, the second being Yamato Meison from the manga, Stitch & the Samurai.
- Yuna is never referred to with a surname in either the Japanese original or the international edit (including the English dub); she is only ever referred to by her given name. However, the original Japanese version of the season three premiere episode "New Town" reveals her full name written in kanji to be 上原ユウナ when her new teacher Mr. Matsuda introduces her to his class at New Town Elementary School. While the kanji for her given name (ユウナ) unambiguously means Yūna, the kanji representing her surname (上原) actually has different pronunciations depending on the location. In standard Japanese, it's usually pronounced as Uehara, but in the Ryūkyū Islands (which includes the Okinawa Prefecture where the entire show is set), it's often pronounced as Kamihara.[1] Since Yuna is an Okinawan, it is thus presumed that Kamihara is the proper romanization of her surname.
- The kanji 上原 itself means "upper plain".[1]
Gallery[]
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References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Origin and popularity of the name UEHARA". Geneanet. Retrieved on November 12, 2023.