Iijima Renka

Iijima Renka (飯島恋花) is a second-year Lily who attends Herensuge Institute for Girls. She is a member of Legion Hervör.

Personality

Renka's happy-go-lucky demeanor presents a contrast with that of her hardworking and serious legion leader, Kazuha. When she first met Kazuha, Renka immediately resented her, both because she chafed against how Kazuha ran the legion and because she saw Kazuha's ideals through a cynical lens. She later acknowledged that Kazuha reminded her of her idealistic younger self, and thus her regrets from the past; as she came to believe that their legion could actually change Herensuge from within, she also began to trust Kazuha and to like her.

However, even with their hopes and dreams on the same page, Renka still protests against Kazuha's decisions whenever she finds them to be onerous, which occurs on a near-daily basis. She also greatly enjoys teasing Kazuha, who reluctantly puts up with it (other targets of Renka's mischief, such as Ran, often take it far more poorly.)

Having proclaimed herself to be Hervör's fashionista, Renka is very passionate about looking great and always stays up to date with current fashion trends. This makes for a poor combination with her love of food and tendency to gain weight easily, and she frequently has to diet—not an easy thing to do when she shares a legion with the incredible cook Chikaru and the taiyaki-loving Ran.

History

In 2050, while a third-year in junior high school, Renka was attached to the contemporary Legion Hervör as a provisional member. She was present at the Hinode Tragedy, and when the captain of Hervör ordered Herensuge's Madecs to sacrifice themselves to cover the Lilies' retreat, Renka fiercely protested against the order. During the delay that this caused, Hervör was attacked by Huge, and most of its members other than Renka and her friend Yo were slaughtered. Renka came to view what she'd done as a foolish mistake that accomplished nothing except for getting people killed.

In 2051, Renka and Yo were members of Legion Basa-Andre and became friends with Tsuboi Nanaho. They took part in the Makuhari Recapture together.

Stage plays

This information is specific to the stage play continuity.

Anime/game

This information is specific to the anime/game continuity.

Rebellion of Skjaldmær

That’s called entrusting you with my life. You'll protect everything, even me, right? Because you’re a Shieldmaiden of Hervor, and your shield is the biggest of all!

—Iijima Renka, Rebellion of Skjaldmær, scene 5-5

At the beginning of the school term, Renka listens to Kazuha speak about her dream of protecting everyone with cynical detachment. Kazuha then surprises her by personally selecting her to be a member of Legion Hervör.

During Hervör's first sortie, Kazuha leads their legion in drawing a Large-type's attention to prevent it from damaging civilians' homes. Renka protests the decision, saying it's too dangerous and they should wait for reinforcements, but this only makes Kazuha declare that she'll do it alone. After Chikaru and Yo say they'll fight with Kazuha, Renka reluctantly comes with them. Between the Large-type and its escorts, the four Lilies are quickly overwhelmed and would have faced a desperate fight if not for Ran, who slaughtered most of the Huge personally after her unexpected arrival.

After Kazuha adds Ran to the legion's roster, Hervör begins to train together. Renka is both tired out by the relentless pace of the training and embarrassed by the strange activities Kazuha has them do in public, such as centipede races and dancing. However, she later realizes that the activities are in fact cleverly chosen to build their coordination and teamwork, especially in consideration of the easily bored Ran. Her respect for Kazuha grows slightly during this period.

While Hervör relaxes at the mall together on a day off, Renka warns Kazuha that her way of doing things won't work forever, and some day she'll be forced to make sacrifices. Kazuha isn't convinced, but just then, the mall comes under attack by Huge. Hervör at first holds their own against the Huge assault, but then three large-types appear. Kazuha orders her legion members to defend the evacuation shelter while she attempts to hold off the large-types on her own. Renka shouts at Kazuha that the people here were already doomed to die and she'll accomplish nothing except for getting herself killed too, but traumatized by her memories of her helplessness at Hinode, Kazuha ignores Renka's protests.

Kazuha is soon overwhelmed by the large-types, but Yo disobeys orders and comes to fight with her, resulting in Yo being grievously wounded and falling into a coma. Heartbroken, Renka blames Kazuha for what happened to Yo, and Kazuha begins to question her beliefs.

Renka visits the unconscious Yo in the hospital, confessing to her that she can't stand Kazuha's idealism and has always hated her. At that moment, Yo awakens, telling Renka that it's her own self she hates, not Kazuha. The others are overjoyed at Yo's recovery, but Kazuha is still unable to regain her confidence. Yo asks Kazuha to visit her at the hospital, and tells her about Renka's actions at Hinode and how she's regretted them ever since.

Some time later, the Huge attack Herensuge itself and Hervör is ordered into combat. However, Kazuha is still wracked with self-doubt, and finds that she's unable to even activate her Rare Skill. Deciding that they'll be able to fight more effectively on their own than as a legion, the members of Hervör all go their separate ways.

While fighting on her own, Renka runs out of Magi. As a Huge prepares to kill her, she wonders if her death will make up for the cruel words she said to Kazuha. She's saved by the sudden arrival of Yo, who tells Renka that she should have stood with her at Hinode and helped her carry the guilt—since she failed to do that, she'll stay right by Renka's side, now and forever. The two decide that if Kazuha rejoins the fight, they'll trust her with their lives; if not, they'll quit being Lilies.

Moments later, the two feel Kazuha activating Regista, and the five members of Hervör all regroup to fight together. A large-type appears, and Hervör performs a Neunwelt to defeat it. Renka uses Phase Transcendence to clear a path to the large-type, trusting Kazuha to protect her afterwards, and Kazuha carries Renka in her arms as they take the finish shot together.

After the battle, Renka joins in the Shieldmaiden's Vow that the five Lilies of Hervör take together. Her contribution is having all of them vow, "May we have the courage to believe in friends." Embarrassed, Renka points out that their oath sounded an awful lot like a marriage vow, then jokes "Through sickness and in health, we're relying on you, Kazuha."

Combat Style

Despite her easygoing personality, Renka has a keen mind and is a skilled tactician; she designs most of Hervör's formations (though Yo is the one to name them.)

Renka is the only member of the Hervör experiment who is not a Boosted Lily. However, she does have an aberration, Drain Touch, which can quickly absorb negative Magi from another Lily. It's all but necessary for her to use this on Kazuha after Kazuha uses Boosted Insanity.

Relationships

From Herensuge Institute for Girls:

• Hatsukano Yo: Best friend
• Tsuboi Nanaho: Friend

From Kamba Girls' High School for the Fine Arts:

• Homma Akehi: Back when Akehi attended Herensuge, they were friends

From Yurigaoka Girls' Academy:

• Izue Shinobu: Close friend
• Yoshida Ageha: Close friend

From Irma Girls' High School for the Arts:

• Yoshii Kasumiko: They've met before

Trivia

• Hobbies/Interests: Reading fashion magazines, coordinating outfits, futsal (as well as regular football)
  • Renka's favorite football club is the one which sounds like the people who maintain CHARMs
• Likes: Taking selfies with others
• Favorite food: Ramen, especially when it's photogenic
• Dislikes: Salad
• Renka was born in Momoyama, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto
  • Fumi thinks Renka can speak the Kyoto dialect of Japanese, but has never heard her do it
• Renka is popular at Herensuge, and Fumi considers her to be an Idol Lily<ref>[https://x.com/assault_lily/
• The characters in Renka's given name mean "love" (恋) and "flower" (花). Her surname, Iijima, literally means "food island."
  • Renka's surname may be a reference to the real-world zoologist Ijima Isao, who made contributions to archaeological research.

Gallery

See also: Category:Lily costumes for Iijima Renka

Designs

• 
  Renka's design in Assault Lily: Last Bullet

Stage

• 
  Ishitobi Erika as Renka in The Fateful Gift
• 
  Kurushima Rio as Renka in Lost Memories

Miscellaneous

• 
  Renka's character design sheet for Last Bullet

Navigation

Legion Hervör Members Aizawa Kazuha  ·  Hatsukano Yo  ·  Iijima Renka  ·  Sasaki Ran  ·  Serizawa Chikaru Related people Michikawa Miaki