Where appropriate, plot descriptions mentioned below refer to the anime television series. Other parts of the franchise, such as the manga and novel series, feature some variations in the storyline.
Aqours ; : :Chika is a second-year student at Uranohoshi Girls' Academy. She always claimed to be too ordinary, but became inspired after finding out that the members of μ's managed to "shine" brightly despite also being normal students. This leads her to form a school idol group, with her determination compounded by the fact that her school is facing the potential crisis of consolidating with another school (with Uranohoshi's students moving to another campus), similarly to how μ's formed after their school, was at risk of shutting down. The youngest among three daughters, her family runs a
traditional inn known for its
open-air hot springs with an ocean view. Sometimes Chika loves to insert terrible puns between her words, even explaining them. She acts as Aqours' leader and primary lyricist. ; : :Riko is a kind, polite, modest, and down-to-earth second-year student at Uranohoshi Girls' Academy. She previously went to μ's former school, Otonokizaka Academy in
Akihabara, but was unaware of the group before becoming a school idol. She is a talented young pianist, but felt that she had stopped improving, and moved to Numazu to take inspiration from the sea. She is also a capable
violist. She has a fear of dogs, which is not helped by the fact that the Takami family's dog, Shiitake, seems to take an interest in her. She eventually gets over her fear of dogs to the point that she now loves them, and adopts her own puppy by the end of the series. She is also revealed to have an interest in various
shōjo and
yuri manga, often buying collections on her brief returns to Tokyo. After joining Aqours, she becomes the composer of the group. ; : :Kanan is a third-year student and Chika's childhood friend. Kanan lives alone with her grandfather on a nearby island where they run a diving gear shop. She is introduced as having taken a leave of absence from school, as she must take care of the shop alone while her father recovers from a fractured bone. She, Dia, and Mari are childhood friends who formed a school idol group in their first year named Aqours, but disbanded quickly, leading the three to separate. Kanan is responsible for their first disbandment, feigning stage fright to treat Mari's sprained leg and to convince her to pursue her studies abroad, all of which were kept secret by her and Dia. Kanan is the most athletic member of the group and acts as their main choreographer. She has a kind, supportive and selfless personality, and is also very mature and level-headed. ; : :Dia is the prideful third-year student council president at Uranohoshi Girls' Academy. She and her younger sister Ruby are part of a well-known and respected family. Dia is also a diehard fan of μ's, but hid her enthusiasm about school idols after she, Kanan, and Mari separated, until she was convinced to join Aqours by Chika and the others. She is the origin of Aqours' name, passing it on to Chika's group from when she, Kanan, and Mari were school idols. She scolds and corrects the other members with her catchphrase , the Japanese onomatopoeia for an incorrect buzzer. ; : :You is an energetic second-year student who is Chika's childhood friend. She also aims to become a ship captain one day, just like her father. Her catchphrase is , also known as
"Aye-aye!" in the English dub. She loves uniforms, whether they are idol costumes or work-related uniforms like police or shrine maiden outfits. Due to this, she is the main costume coordinator of the group. ; : :Yoshiko is a first-year who tries to hide her
chūnibyō persona and attend high school like a normal student. She claims that she became a fallen angel for angering God, and refers to herself as , wanting everyone to call her that (though nobody actually does). She became a
chūnibyō because she felt like she was too ordinary. After the other members of Aqours assure her that they accept her
chūnibyō persona, she joins the group. ; : :Hanamaru is a hardworking first-year student whose family runs a local temple without several modern-age utilities, such as computers and hand dryers. Because of this, she becomes enamored upon seeing modern technology, much to the surprise of others. She refers to herself as either "
ora" or "Maru", and ends many of her sentences with "-zura" because of her
Shizuoka dialect. She is also a member of a local choir due to her talent at singing. Before joining Aqours, she was an avid reader at the school's library. She and Yoshiko were friends during kindergarten, and Yoshiko calls her "Zuramaru." ; : :Mari is a third-year student at Uranohoshi. Her Italian-American father runs a hotel chain and she lives in one of their hotels. Mari is an energetic individual who prefers to take action by herself, and does not feel herself to be suited to become a school idol. Her favorite music genre is
industrial metal. Due to her background, Mari has an American accent and often mixes English and Japanese (Italian in the English dub) in her speech. Mari's family is one of the main sponsors of Uranohoshi, to the point she was appointed as the school's chairman despite being one of the students. She was childhood best friends with Dia and Kanan, and previously formed an idol unit with them, though it disbanded early on due to Kanan and Dia wanting her to pursue a scholarship she got at a school overseas. Her catchphrase is , which she tends to exclaim whenever she gets excited. ; : :Ruby is a first-year student at Uranohoshi Girls' Academy, as well as Dia's shy, timid younger sister, who has long since dreamed of becoming an idol. A very bubbly, sweet and kindhearted girl with reddish-pink hair, she is among the youngest members of Aqours as well as the most childlike in terms of looks and personality. Despite living in a seaside town, Ruby does not know how to swim at all and likes to avoid water. She also has androphobia (a fear of men), since she has never talked to anyone male outside of her own father. In the anime, her shyness is increased so she enters in panic when she is touched by anyone she is not used to regardless of sex, being only comfortable around Dia and Hanamaru at the start of the anime. Her catchphrase is , a
portmanteau of her name with the Japanese verb "ganbaru" meaning to try hard or persevere; in the English dub, this is translated as "Do my Rubesty!"
Saint Snow An idol unit from
Hakodate, Hokkaido, which serves as Aqours' rival. Despite being rivals, they are on friendly terms with Aqours. ; : :One of the members of the idol duo Saint Snow, a rival of Aqours. ; : :Sarah's sister and partner in Saint Snow. She and her sister were inspired by A-Rise to become school idols in a similar fashion that the members of Aqours are inspired by μ's.
Others ; : :Chika's eldest sister and the eldest of the Takami family. ; : :Chika's older sister and the middle child of Takami family. ==Media==