This is the list of characters of the light novel, manga and anime series Maria-sama ga Miteru. Most of the characters either attend Lillian School for Girls, or in the case of male characters, are related to or dating a student of Lillian.
Chart
Rose families
Chinensis family
Played by: Honoka Miki She is the main character of the series. In the beginning of the series, Yumi is bashful beyond words, very timid and unsure of herself. She first met Sachiko, the star of Lillian School and had her tie fixed by Sachiko, which mortified Yumi. Yumi's friend, Tsutako Takeshima, took a cute picture of this and wanted to display it in the school festival. Tsutako got Yumi to ask permission from Sachiko. Other characters often comment on how her emotions 'show on her face'. After Yumi first meets Sachiko, Sachiko is arguing with the Roses in the Rose Mansion. The Roses say that Sachiko cannot object to their plan, as she did not have a petite sœur. Sachiko runs out of the meeting and knocks Yumi over. She asks if Yumi has a grande sœur, and promptly offered Yumi her rosary. Sachiko thought that if she had a petite sœur, the Yamayurikai could not force her to play Cinderella alongside a male. Yumi refused Sachiko's rosary, as she would be accepting it for the wrong reasons. Sei Satō offers a bet to Sachiko—if she could convince Yumi to be her petite sœur, the role of Cinderella will go to Yumi. If she could not, she must play Cinderella. Sachiko tells Yumi that she, Sachiko, will definitely become Yumi's sœur. But deep inside Yumi, she feels terribly hurt by how nonchalantly Sachiko chose her randomly as her petite sœur; but despite this, in a monologue (page 129 of the first novel), feels that precisely because she still likes Sachiko very much, she has "summoned the last vestiges of her pride to refuse Sachiko's rosary, and wishes Sachiko to at least understand how hurt she feels to be 'just a random pick. At a dress rehearsal for the play, it is revealed that the male who plays the prince, Suguru, is Sachiko's cousin and fiancé. Sachiko accuses him of going too far and runs away; Yumi follows her to the greenhouse. Yumi at first thinks that she cannot do anything for Sachiko, but Sachiko cries on her shoulder. Yumi offers to take the rosary, but Sachiko refuses. Sachiko tells Yumi about the arranged marriage, and that Suguru does not love her, but she loves him. After the play, there is a bonfire. Yumi thinks sadly that she would not have an excuse to have anything more to do with Sachiko, but suddenly Sachiko appears and offers Yumi her rosary; this time, Yumi accepts. When the third years are about to graduate, Yumi asks Sei if she had anything to ask her, like taking care of the stray cat Goronta, or looking after Shimako. Sei says Yumi is the type of girl who will help even if not asked, so she is not worried about Shimako. Sei instead asked for a kiss on the mouth as a parting gift; Yumi tried to run away, but Sei hugged her. Sei thanked Yumi for helping her pass her examinations, since Yumi gave Sei a reason to live again. She also said that Yumi tried to run away so that it would not be Sei who was leaving her, but the other way around. Yumi realized that this is true. Yumi often gets hugged by Sei throughout the series, who thinks her to be very cute, which sometimes makes Sachiko angry due to jealousy. Yumi finds out from Shimako, however, that Sei would actually be going to the Lillian's Girls' University, which is in the same area as Yumi's school. She gets angry at Sei for not telling her, but is happy because Sei will not be leaving her after all. After the third years graduate, spring comes, along with the arrival of Tōko, Sachiko's cousin. Yumi feels jealous of Tōko's closeness with Sachiko, but does not say anything about it. Yumi later finds out the truth about Sachiko's grandmother dying. At the day of the funeral, Sachiko apologizes and Yumi says that she loved her onee-sama very much. At the beginning of the OVAs, Sachiko invited Yumi to her summer home for a vacation. Sachiko's acquaintances make trouble for them, especially Yumi. They later invite Yumi and Sachiko to a party which turns out to be the eighty-eighth birthday party of one of the acquaintances' great grandmother. The acquaintances ask Yumi to play a musical instrument. Yumi says that she is no good at playing anything, but sings the song "Maria-sama no Kokoro", with Sachiko accompanying her on the piano mid-song. The great grandmother applauds and congratulates Yumi for her song, because it brings back memories. She calls Yumi a cute angel, and asks her to visit next year. That ultimately foiled the acquaintances' plans to embarrass her. In the second OVA, Yumi sets up a casual meeting with the Yamayuri Council and the Hanadera Council to discuss the upcoming festivities for both schools. Yumi did not inform Sachiko of the meeting, because of her hatred for men, and planned to trick her into attending. However, Yumi felt she was betraying Sachiko and confessed her intentions. Yumi felt that Sachiko should attend on her own free will, because she will find herself in similar situations in the future. Sachiko noted that Yumi has learned to handle her well and that she happily complies with her wishes. We also learn about Yumi's "type" through a conversation with her brother. She describes ones who are pretty, smart, who at first seem like they have warped personalities but on the inside are warm-hearted. Yūki remarks that she's describing Sachiko, much to her surprise. Yumi is tasked by Sachiko in the fourth season to look for a petite sœur. By then, she has already an increasing involvement in the Yamayuri Council. Also, a slow but steady change can be seen in her (especially after Tōko comes into her life) – Yumi begins to try to mature out of her own shell and to become more independent, calm and collected.
Played by: Haru When Yumi first runs into her in the student council room, Sachiko is portrayed as someone who is a far cry from the perfect lady that Yumi pictures her to be (this might not be apparent in the anime and manga, as the novel has a more detailed account of the incident). In the novel, Sachiko somewhat knew Yumi is her fan and was overconfident that Yumi would never refuse her. Though prim, elegant, and somewhat aloof, Sachiko has both a rough (the novel and manga affectionately terms this as her "hysterical side") and a very sweet side. She is also afraid of heights and dislikes men, to the point where she will do anything she can to avoid interacting or being near one. She is very protective of Yumi and cares deeply about her. This is proven during Hanadera's school festival. After agonizing over Yumi's disappearance during an event, when Yumi appeared in a panda costume, Sachiko climbed down a tall ladder and ran through the crowd of men to reach her. This also proved a statement that Sachiko had made earlier; that even if Yumi and a thousand other people were wrapped up like mummies she could still find Yumi on her first try. However, Sachiko often has the same problem that Yumi does—she does not share most of her problems with her sœur, causing many misunderstandings. Sachiko is slated to marry her cousin and fiancé Suguru after she graduates. This has caused her some distress since, because although she initially cared deeply for him, he did not reciprocate. They now have a complicated relationship. Sachiko also cares a lot for her peer, Rei, especially with regards to the latter's conflicts with Yoshino – she once went all the way to beg with Rosa Chinensis and Gigantea (even going into her hysterical mode) to help out; she gives Rei a hug when the latter is unsure of how she could balance between her "own future and own life" and "life with/without Yoshino" during the latter parts of the series. Sometimes, Yumi must teach Sachiko how to live informally, for example, helping her select her first pair of jeans and eating in a fastfood restaurant. Despite her sometimes stern appearance, Sachiko has her own share of insecurities regarding her relationship with Yumi, not to mention emotional insecurities rising from her home life; both her father and grandfather openly have mistresses, unabashedly dividing their time between home and the mistresses, which apparently led to her general disdain for men, as illustrated in the OVA series during a meeting with the student council members of Hanadera, an all-boys' high school. After Sachiko enters her third year, she is now the new Rosa Chinensis. After the arrival of Tōko, Sachiko spends more time with her than with Yumi, which makes Yumi jealous. Sachiko goes absent from school which makes Yumi worried. Later, Yōko is sent to "bring" Yumi to Sachiko's grandmother house. Yumi finds out that Sachiko's grandmother recently died, which causes Sachiko to go into depression. Sachiko says that she apologizes for the past few weeks, and asks for Yumi's forgiveness; Yumi says that she loves her very much. At the beginning of the summer holidays, Sachiko takes Yumi to her summer home. Whilst there, Sachiko's acquaintances make trouble for them due to their jealousy regarding the closeness of Sachiko and Yumi's relationship. Sachiko wants to leave to protect Yumi, but Yumi refuses. The acquaintances have a party, and invite them but make plans to embarrass Yumi instead. At the party, they ask Yumi to play a musical instrument for one of the acquaintances great grandmother. Yumi says that she cannot play anything and prefers to sing the song "Maria-sama no Kokoro", and Sachiko accompanies her with a piano performance. The great grandmother is happy because the song brings back fond memories, and she asks Yumi to visit next year, foiling the acquaintances' plans for her humiliation in the process. In the fourth season, Sachiko is already asking Yumi to look for a petite sœur, although she is still deeply concerned about Yumi, especially when one potential candidate for the future Rosa Chinensis en bouton rejected Yumi, at first. Later on, she makes plans to attend a nearby college after graduation so she can be near Yumi.
A distant relative and fan of Sachiko. She arrives at Lillian during Yumi's second year. Tōko is a member of the Drama club, and nicknamed Mechanical Drill by Sei Satō for her corkscrew pigtails. In the beginning of her first year, Tōko causes some strain in the relationship between Yumi and Sachiko. However, later on in the year that she becomes Yumi's petite sœur. Tōko is also an accomplished actress. She was able to use this talent during several occasions (when the Yamayuri Council decides to expose Shimako's family background) and when Tōko becomes one of the cast in the Yamayuri Council stage play. In the eighteenth novel, the narration also remarks how Tōko was able to bring her natural acting skills to bear when she tries to hide her complicated relationships with her seniors in the drama club – she does this so well that even Sachiko did not notice anything wrong. Though Tōko might seem to always act rude towards Yumi (she often scolds Yumi for being air-headed, for being too lenient and soft towards Kanako, for being too naive) but upon the nineteenth novel, a short excerpt of her thoughts during her fallout with her drama club members show that she has also felt touched by Yumi's caring personality (though she does not show it on her face).