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In any classic girl trio, there tend to be three types. There must be the strong, the beautiful and the intelligent. Magic Knight Rayearth is no exception. Hikaru, the main character is brave, Umi is beautiful, and Fuu Hououji is unquestionably the brains of the operation.

You see, Fuu is a genius. Attending a school for the gifted, Fuu still does well in all her classes and absolutely loves to read. In fact, Fuu has quite a few geeky tendencies--a love of computer programming and video games, concern over her homework while trapped in a “video game world”, and a hobby of reading books. Outside of just scholarly pursuits, she does seem to be fairly well rounded. She's a member of the archery team, and is fairly good with both bow and arrow, as well as a sword. She's been show in extra art and omake to be good at other sports as well, music and art, and even cooking. Fuu is the kind of person who excels at everything she really tries for.

Fuu has had all the opportunities a life has to offer--a high class, wealthy family that cares about her, and several talents--but unlike the stereotypical "rich bitch" such well off characters fall into, Fuu takes her status with grace. In fact, everything she does is done with an air of grace. She uses honorifics with everyone, calling monsters Monster-san, and enemies by -san as well (even by the end of the second manga, Ferio is the only one she calls without an honorific), only to be respectful and polite--and the politeness extends to every action in her life. She feels that everyone deserves to be respected and treated well. Fuu Hououji is the kind of person who enjoys the happiness of others. Her introduction to the series is a clear example of this: on her own field trip to Tokyo Tower, Fuu watches Hikaru enjoy a pair of binoculars. When the time runs out and Hikaru is looking for change, Fuu simply gives it to her, expecting nothing in return, just saying that she enjoys watching her have fun.

Fuu's goodness is such a defining personality trait that her magic is based mostly in protection and healing as opposed to Hikaru and Umi's attack based magics. In Cefiro, everything is decided by heart and will, and it's only when you truly believe that you have any power. Fuu's first spell learned is simply one to heal her friend--she wants nothing more than to keep her friends safe, and the theme continues, learning spells for protection, and one to immobilize when her friends are in danger. Throughout the course of the manga, Fuu shows a great deal of compassion and mercy, choosing to give others a chance to change their course of action, even when only moments before they had tried to kill her. It is stated by Master Mage Clef that her compassion is her strength, and this never changes.

But you cannot mistake that for stupidity. Fuu is not one to be trifled with. She can be harsh, clever or tricky at any time. She would protect her friends with her life, and will fight to the death over them, as she did threaten Caldina with death if she didn't back down. Ferio has blatantly called her clever more than once when she tricked him into becoming their body guard in order to for him to find the exit of the forest. While she is certainly trusting, she is very aware that others could plot against her, as she pointed out that, though Ferio was kind to them, he could be working for Zagato.

Fuu is determined and protective. She is willing to sacrifice her own safety for her friends, but still cherishes her own self. She says in the manga that she has no other way to honor the people who have raised and cared for her but to keep herself safe and healthy. She fights to keep herself in one piece for those who love her, and those she loves. But she also fights to keep her friends safe, even at the cost of her own life. She puts her whole heart into everything she does--which makes her a wonderful magic knight, considering that everything from her armor to her weapons to her ability to pilot the Mashin itself relies on the strength of her heart. It is her realization that she would die for her friends rather than harm them--and the realization of how strong that desire really is--that gives Fuu the ability to break out of an illusion that Umi and Hikaru couldn't fight. She is very honorable, to the point where she will not ask for help if she feels that it is asking too much of someone, and will not take more if she has only asked for so much.

When things calm down, though, Fuu can be Captain Obvious, which is a particularly annoying trait of hers. She does find it necessary to tell you, for example, that you are under water. She's got a very dippy attitude and comes off as somewhat shy when it comes to personal matters. She's easy to make blush and stammers when flirted with and complimented, though she’s ready and willing to compliment others and put information about herself out there. Fuu is the first of the magic knights to offer an introduction, despite the situation, and this is used repeatedly in the manga.

Her almost carefree, sweet attitude is greatly lost after Fuu has experienced taking someone else's life. She is certainly still kind, but between the first and second manga, Fuu's smiles are visibly sadder, she cries more, and she drops weight. She's lost her love of video games, since she can no longer see the villain as truly bad, and grows quiet around her family, worrying her sister a great deal.

Fuu is the kind of person who thrives off having people around her, and being alone can take a heavy toll. On that same note, Fuu is the kind of person who will never let anyone else see her tears. Hikaru makes a statement to Lantis “They tried to cheer me up, but I know they cried when they were alone.” Ferio, so far as the series states, is the only exception to the “ cry when they’re alone” rule. Fuu desires to keep herself and her heart strong, so that others can rely on her, and sometimes forgets that she needs someone to rely on, too. Her sister, Kuu, makes it very apparent that this is an issue when she tells Fuu that she knows something very serious is wrong, but things aren’t as hard when there’s someone to talk to. Fuu works so hard to make sure everyone else around her is all right, that it’s very obvious she forgets herself at times.

I spent a lot of time deciding on this one--superficially, I think Priestess is what most people would go for. Fuu represents intelligence in the series, being the "smart one" of the group. She's quiet and feminine, and believes in doing what's right. But Fuu matches little to no "reversed" qualities. She's not rash, she's not ignorant and she is anything but selfish.

So that got scrapped fairly quickly. However, upon looking further, I found the Star fits Fuu beautifully. Fuu is always portrayed as calm and hopeful, always optimistic, even if it's for the sake of others, always having her head on straight. Her entire point in Rayearth is to be the healer. In a world that's based on will, most of her spells are to heal and protect others. Fuu has little expectations when it comes to her friends--she approaches her relationships with an unconditional, unknowing care. It doesn't matter what or who they are. In the end, they are dear to her. She tells Caldina that she knows almost nothing about her friends, but is still willing to die for them. When she finds Ferio lied to her about who he was it barely registers--only enough for her to feel guilt at having killed his sister. Fuu's willpower derives from strong belief and confidence in herself and her friends, fully and completely believing that her heart will guide her.

At the same time, she fits the reverse well. When Fuu is confident in herself she is downright confident, but at her lowest of lows, Fuu relies on Umi and Hikaru to make sure she is doing what's right. Her relationship with Ferio showcases this side of her very well--she's unsure of herself around him, not sure if she is completely in the right in what she's done. Fuu is only ever really sure of herself in a situation where others are involved--her worth derives from the others who have aided her this far. She can also be painfully stubborn, though it's probably better worded as determination, unyielding in her belief in others and her desire to be polite to everyone. Obstacles in the way of happiness is probably the easiest to point out for her: Fuu's happiness, again, resides with those around her. After doing the unthinkable, taking another's life, her happiness is completely gone, and only able to be regained after righting her mistakes.

Even within the Fool's Journey, the Star suits her--hope, faith and regeneration after trials. This is what Fuu has achieved within her own canon, what she has strived for, what she believes in.

The star isn't a perfect fit, but it's a good one. Healing and hoping are what define her within the series.

I suppose before I go on, it would be wise to at least offer an introduction of myself, wouldn't it? After all, one would think it would be best to get to know the people that will be surrounding you for as long as you might stay here. [The blonde is beaming. She rarely isn't, but the smile that is on her face is wide and kind, and very unassuming. Not entirely real, but certainly kind.]

My name is Fuu Hououji. I'm fifteen years old, a Sagittarius, with a blood type of A. I'm not entirely sure how injuries work here, but if I am ever in need of a blood transfusion, and unable to communicate this properly, it would be imperative that someone knew. I normally reside in Tokyo, Japan, though I suppose that has changed, now.

I'm not entirely sure what to make of all this; however, I will do my best to do whatever is required of me.

[Fuu pauses to think. What else could she introduce about herself? That she'd been in battle before, that she was versed in traveling between worlds? No, that would remain unsaid, at least for a little while.

Here, she would start from square one.]

I appreciate the warm welcome to the city, and I'm sure it will be a pleasure to meet all of you. I know I'm new, but if there is any way I could help in this situation, please do not be afraid to ask.

At least, she thinks, there is school. A silly thing to be grateful about, and one most students would groan about, but it's a relief to her nonetheless. School was a familiarity, something Fuu understood. Without Hikaru and Umi, it was something that Fuu needed. For the first time in her life, she was in a situation where she was completely alone. There was no one here who knew her Tokyo, no one here who knew Cefiro, no on here who could offer a sense of understanding about her world. Friends from other worlds remained wonderful, but still, the sense of familiarity was something she sorely missed.

Still, at the same time, she really wondered if she should focus on a single thing--fighting monsters greatly cut into her study time, and study time greatly cut into fighting monsters. In battles before, Fuu had one thing and one thing alone on her mind--surviving. The next battle, how she would handle this one, what she was doing, leading back to simple survival. It was a far different situation, but fighting, in the end, was fighting. Even for one as studious as she was, Fuu had to admit that there was something much easier about fighting without worrying about whether or not you were prepared for a test in the morning.

Focusing on such things, though, would get her nowhere. Regardless of what would be easier, Fuu had to focus on what was. She was strong, she was talented and she was experienced. She had to keep on top of her studies, anyway. High school would be beginning for her soon, in her own world. If she could handle fighting monsters and studying, high school would be simple. She'd just have to get ahead of the game here.