This is the scene that starts it all. Ten minutes into episode 1, Arisu meets Minoa alone. A nervous heartbeat thumps as the viewer patiently waits for Arisu to explain her intentions. The scene does a close-up of each of their faces, and in this moment, Arisu asks a question!

“Do you like anime?”

The tension from the scene evaporates. The immediate response is a joking “bonk,” an apt portrayal for Minoa’s confused and dazed expression. Just as quickly as the tension disappeared, it’s replaced by a light-hearted mood. Arisu’s former demeanors unfasten.

Dispelling expectations, Arisu is not a person who shuns contact as her school reputation implies. Her cold demeanor hides a burning love. There’s a pretty clear message with this character – that anime bridges divide. It enables her to be honest with herself and expand her personality outside of her archetype. This message continues throughout the show, and it’s very fitting that Arisu defies a particular rich girl stereotype. Class division is broken down, and Arisu starts by including Minoa into her life.

Arisu can be atypical in some regards, but when the show wants to play up her rich girl persona, it does so in a way that complements the development of others and lends to the show’s comedy. In this way, Arisu acts as a convenient character for the writers to foil characters and push the plot forward.

Episode 4 is a perfect example of that. After an explanation about how the anime industry makes its profits, Erika, the club president, asks Arisu about something she’s noticed, “Hey, did you buy all these discs?” To which Arisu responds:

“Well, what belongs to the Anime Club belongs to me. What belongs to me belongs to me.”

The club is confused at first. Barely even a second passes when the student council bursts into the room, shoving a receipt into everyone’s eyes. The unfortunate reality is Arisu has spent the entirety of the club funds on, unsurprisingly, anime discs. Learning that the club’s longevity is at stake, she plans to solve the problem with how she solves all her problems. However, she’s kept in check. Erika steps in, and we finally learn about Erika’s personality:

Erika further elaborates, while looking towards Arisu, “Besides, this is the kind of thing that we need to solve for ourselves.” What was initially Arisu’s problem is now everyone’s problem, and this idea of sticking together is everywhere in the show. The writers used Arisu’s characteristics to lighten the tone of the show, progress the plot, and elaborate on other characters. This final point leads us to our next.

This point elaborates further on the previous. Arisu is an amazing supporting character, and while this is obvious with how she pushes Minoa towards her dreams, it’s less obvious to others. The amazing thing about Arisu is that she can develop other characters through support and even conflict.

For this point, let’s use Arisu’s relationship with Koenji as an example. Their initial interaction is filled with tension. In episode 2, Arisu and Koenji are at a disagreement. To Arisu, light novels are a secondary consideration. If a light novel gets an anime adaptation, she will watch the anime, and only if the adaptation was goodwill she bothers to check out the original material. Koenji, a light novel enthusiast, finds this disrespectful but doesn’t openly voice her disapproval until Minoa asks about how she should watch light novel adaptations.

The tension from this scene erupts when Koenji almost leaves the club because of Arisu. Not exactly a smooth beginning to their relationship. Comparing them now and how they are later, you see their development.

Initially, neither Arisu nor Koenji could see eye-to-eye. In the last few episodes, however, both bond together over their hardships. Having created an anime together, Arisu and Koenji are now united against a critic of their show. Arisu now understands the amount of effort it takes to craft a creative work and seeing an ally in her, Koenji directs her writing woes against a common enemy. While initially fraught with conflict, Arisu helps develop multiple characters in the show.

While Arisu is often criticized for using money to solve her problems, the show plays it off as more of a quirk than a flaw. Approaching it this way allows the writers some leeway--they can write some otherwise unrealistic things for high schoolers. Arisu, while limited in by the manner she solves her problems (money), is given a variety of options because of it. She is an idealist that’s not bound by conventional thinking.

In particular, episode 7 is a fine example. In this episode, the student council confronts the Anime Research Club, proclaiming the anime club’s demise. The student council demands that the club produces something to show for the school festival--emphasis on “produce,” and the student council refuses any option that doesn’t involve the club’s creation of something. Things don’t look too bright for the club, but then Minoa suggests something seemingly ridiculous:

“I know, how about we make an anime together?”

It seems unrealistic, and the club even takes turns telling her then it’s implausible for an assortment of reasons, but Arisu stops this train of thought by, unsurprisingly, flashing a silver case filled with blinding riches--yes, money.

The following responses are pretty fitting: “This is the power of real money,” “So you really were a bourgeoisie,” and “I’m on board. Making our own anime sounds exciting.”

The last person to agree is Erika, but just as she did previously for Arisu, she keeps the entire club in check, “All right, fine. However… we aren’t using this money.” If Arisu is an idealist then Erika is a pragmatist, the balance of these two help to balance the club. Each member has their own compelling qualities, and Arisu is a person who’s meant to excite people about future possibilities.

One word. One name: Sebas.

It’s hard to detach Arisu from her loyal butler, and to do so would ignore something the writers emphasize: Arisu ignores common sense yet somehow manages perfectly fine. The show explains how by introducing Sebas. A simple snap of her fingers and the stoic butler appears instantly as if he somehow always there.

Sebas is a stereotypical name for anime butlers, and his role is meant to parody a concept: the servant is an extension of their master. The comedic synergy that these characters exhibit is meant to prove that Arisu can manage the impossible--as long as her butler does everything.

In a strange way, Arisu is a character whose flaws requires the existence of another character. It’s a package of parody, an atypical assembly, but most of all, it’s the iconic duo. These two don’t function well without each other, but together, they often steal the scene’s spotlight.