Tsubomi Takane

Tsubomi Takane (高嶺 ツボミ, Takane Tsubomi) is a middle school student that attends Salt Mid and Shigeo Kageyama harbors an intense crush on her, which causes Tsubomi to be one of the most important characters in Mob Psycho 100.

Appearance
Tsubomi is a pretty girl with upper-back length dark-blue hair (shoulder-length as a child) that has a small pink hairclip on the left side with bangs parted off-center on the right side where she has a single long hair strand hanging on the same side and large round sapphire-blue eyes with long visible eyelashes.

In her season 3 design, she is missing her hairclip and her eyes appear to be less round, becoming more akin to her manga appearance.

She is regarded as the "idol" of Salt Middle School. Because of her good looks, several boys, including Mob, have a crush on her, which was why when Tsubomi was about to move, many boys arrived and announced their crushes on her, although Tsubomi rejected all of them.

Personality
Most of what we know about Tsubomi's personality in the manga is from what Mob and other characters say about her. However, in the anime adaptation, there are extra scenes of Tsubomi that add to her character and personality and make her a more compassionate individual.

In the manga, we learn that Tsubomi cares for her image. After a sneezing fit, she hides from her friends that she has a runny nose. She does this because she fears what people will think of her image. This implies that Tsubomi cares about how others perceive her. She shows gratitude when Mob provides her with a handkerchief.

In the anime, extra scenes in the second season provide depth to Tsubomi's character and personality. These scenes include Tsubomi saying, "That wasn't so bad", about Mob's putting back together Emi's novel at the end of the first episode. The implications of this are currently unknown. But this does show that Tsubomi can recognize kindness when she sees it.

Another extra scene that offers additional insight into her personality is a scene in the second season where Tsubomi and her friend visit Reigen's office for relationship advice. Tsubomi displays a cunning nature after tricking Reigen into thinking that she has an interest in a special boy. She does this to determine whether Reigen's advice can be trusted by her friend. This further proves that Tsubomi has a kind-hearted nature to her. In addition to showing more of her kind heart, this scene demonstrates that Tsubomi is intelligent.

In another extra scene that is exclusive to the anime, Tsubomi motions to cheer Mob as he runs in a marathon, but stops when she sees how tired he is. This can be interpreted as her being concerned for Mob and encouraging him.

During the same arc, Ritsu recounts how he found her hard to deal with when they were kids, remembering how she went home in the middle of a hide-and-seek game. This shows that as a child Tsubomi was very noncommittal and usually came off as very blunt. This characteristic seems to have stuck with her into her teen years, as shown by how straightforward she was in explaining why she rejected one of her schoolmates right in front of his face.

Later on in the Divine Tree arc, Dimple described her as “The type of person to honestly say she doesn’t want something.” shoving a random pedestrian’s hand away when he tried to force the candies on her and remaining indifferent to her friends when they tried to offer her some. He also labeled her as “someone who doesn’t conform to others and lives by her own set of values”. This emphasizes Tsubomi’s uniqueness and a strong sense of self in that she doesn’t waver or give in to others easily.

During the Confession arc, Mezato provides an interesting layer to Tsubomi, giving the possibility that Tsubomi isn’t being honest with those around her and is instead hiding how she truly feels. This is supported by how she seems overly polite with her friends when she’s in their view, but as soon as they look away she looks distant and almost bored.

She goes on further, viewing her as someone who doesn’t trust anyone and is simply uninterested in other people. This is backed by how after her sneezing fit, she felt worried that her friends will humiliate her in front of the entire school.

History
Tsubomi is Mob's childhood friend. Growing up, the two would play in a park together. Mob has fond memories of when the two would play.

Mob recounts how he used only to show his psychic powers to Tsubomi to impress her. However, eventually, Tsubomi grew bored with watching Mob's powers. This led to Mob and Tsubomi growing distant from one another. Eventually, they stopped talking and playing together.

She attended the same elementary and middle schools as Mob. Mob thinks Tsubomi doesn't recognize him, but he still cares for her deeply.

Plot
Tsubomi plays the role of an unknowing guide in Mob's life. Many of her actions have a large impact on him without her knowing.

Mob describes Tsubomi as his childhood friend. However, the two stopped playing together after Tsubomi presumably grew bored with Mob's psychic abilities, and Tsubomi eventually started pursuing more athletic boys instead. This preference for other boys with athletic abilities impacts Mob's life, causing him to join the Body Improvement Club. Tsubomi's actions of moving on to different, more athletic boys leave another impact on Mob's character. By ignoring Mob's psychic abilities, Tsubomi effectively shows Mob that psychic power does not inherently make someone better or more interesting than others.

Mob's feelings for Tsubomi are so powerful that the mere mention of her name helps to completely restore Mob to his former self during the Keiji Mogami Arc. After Dimple mentions the name of Mob's long-time crush, his memories are restored, and he gains the strength to defeat Keiji Mogami and his begrudged souls. The memory of her and Mob's goal of entering a relationship with her gives him the strength to oppose Mogami because he does not want to disappoint her somehow by acting out in violence.

Towards the end of the series, a rumor spreads across the school in the manga that Tsubomi will be moving away in three months. This rumor leads many boys to confess to Tsubomi their true feelings for her, and Mob is one of them.

After working up his courage, Mob calls Tsubomi on her home phone to ask her if they can speak the next day at the park they played in as children. Tsubomi agrees, mostly because she is worried because that Mob's voice was shaking so heavily on the phone.

The next day, Tsubomi goes to the park to wait for Mob, and he receives a bouquet of sunflowers for her as a gift. On his way to the park, Mob is hit by a car after saving a child and a cat. This causes Mob to go on a rampage where he tears much of Spice City apart. In his rage, Mob's goal is to go to Tsubomi and give her the flowers.

An evacuation order is given to the city, but Tsubomi refuses to leave the park, knowing that Mob wouldn't leave her waiting.

Mob confronts himself about his feelings for Tsubomi, realizing it will be okay if she rejects him. This causes him to calm down. He walks to the park with only a single sunflower and tells Tsubomi his true feelings for her. Tsubomi rejects him by saying, "I have never thought of you that way before." This makes Mob cry, but he is content and willing to accept Tsubomi's rejection.

The next year, it is implied that Mob and Tsubomi have kept in touch after her move, and the two frequently talk on the phone.

Powers & Abilities
None.

Quotes

 * "That wasn't so bad."
 * "Get a clue." - to Mob when he could not perceive the room's atmosphere.
 * "Nice one Mob."

Etymology
Her full name is a pun on the phrase 高嶺の花, takane no hana (lit. flower on a high peak) which means "a prize beyond one's reach".


 * The forename Tsubomi means "flower bud" (ツボミ) in Katakana.
 * However, when written in kanji (蕾, 蕾美 or 蕾実), it could possibly mean:
 * 蕾 - "bud (plants, mushrooms not yet opened), flower bud".
 * 蕾美 - "bud (plants, mushrooms not yet opened), flower bud" (蕾) (tsubo) and "beautiful" (美) (mi).
 * 蕾実 - "bud (plants, mushrooms not yet opened), flower bud" (蕾) (tsubo) and "fruit, good result, truth" (実) (mi).
 * Tsubomi's surname Takane means "tall, high" (高) (taka) and "ridge, peak, summit" (嶺) (ne).

Trivia

 * Tsubomi is often seen surrounded by friends.
 * Her specialty is playing piano.
 * Her favorite food is Beef Bowl (Gyudon).
 * Tsubomi’s least favorite thing to eat is Sea Urchin.
 * According to the fan-book, Tsubomi has recently gotten into yelling out loud in the soundproof piano room.