| Ritsuko Kunihiro | |
|---|---|
| |
| Name Kanji | 国広律子 Kunihiro Ritsuko |
| Race | Human Shiki |
| Status | Deceased |
| Gender | Female |
| Personal Status | |
| Occupation | Nurse |
| Portrayal | |
| Seiyū | Nozomi Sasaki |
| Voice Actor | Colleen Clinkenbeard |
Appearance
She has very long turquoise hair that spiral curls and reach her knees and blue eyes. She is either seen in a long white skirt and black high heel boots with black stockings and a blue blazer or a white shirt with elbow lenth sleeves with pink pants and brown boots but she is mostly seen in ther nurse uniform that consists of a knee length white dress and white stockings and white shoes and she also has to wear a white nurse hat that clips with bobby pins to her hair.
Personality
Nurse at Ozaki Clinic. She has a dog named Taro. Tooru Mutou has a crush on her. She used to have a boyfriend, who disliked the isolated Sotoba village, and offered to marry her and bring her to the city. Ritsuko refused, as she couldn't leave the place where she grew up and her family.
Ritsuko is very kind and caring, and is desperate to help anyone who has been affected by the shiki and support families who have lost someone. She is always prepared to help the doctor and his patients. She is friendly to everyone and has never been aggresive or mean. She loves her dog, Taro and takes him on walks often, and that is how she got bitten. She has worked as a Nurse for years and loves saving lives, and this is why she refuses to kill someone for their blood, as she still considered herself to be a nurse and to continue preserving lives.
Death
Ritsuko's and Tooru's staked bodies
Later, she gets bitten by Shimizu Ryuuji and Gotouda Shuji and dies. Then she is revived, waking up in the same cell everybody else did. However, she refuses to drink humans blood to live. For that, she slowly starts dying, while Tatsumi puts her in a cell with her co-worker whom she refuses to kill. She becomes mentally unstable as she yearn for blood, but still cares and lets her friend leave. She begins to hurt herself and cry constantly, because she would much rather die a saint than live as a monster.
She is staked in the heart like all the other Shiki, and Tooru stayed with her till the very end. He is seen in the last episode, to be laying on a wooden board with Ritsuko almost holding hands. They were both last seen when the village caught fire, burning all the bodies.
Relationships
Ritsuko was a cheerful individual who maintained a good relationship with the people she was close to. She was friendly to all her co-workers and to her employer Toshio Ozaki. Her relationship with her family is also shown to be good.
Ritsuko was good friends with Tooru. They are often seen talking together, and Ritsuko also taught him how to drive. Tooru harbors feelings for Ritsuko despite Ritsuko being older. During the final moments of her life, he keeps her company. Although never estabilished, it is hinted that in the end the feeling was mutual.
Trivia
- Ritsuko is the first true shiki who adamantly refuses to drink human blood. Even at the point of starvation she staves off her instincts to drink.
- Ritsuko has the longest hair and the only hair that is turquoise in the anime.
Ritsuko Gallery
Family Tree
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Anime Appearances
References