is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
in the
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series ''
To Love Ru
is a Japanese manga series written by Saki Hasemi and illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki. The manga was serialized in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine from April 2006 to August 2009, and the chapters collected into 18 ''tank ...
'', created by
Saki Hasemi
is a Japanese anime screenwriter and manga writer, best known for authoring the manga series ''To Love Ru'' (2006–2009) and '' To Love Ru Darkness'' (2010–2017) alongside illustrator Kentaro Yabuki. Together the two manga series have over 1 ...
and
Kentaro Yabuki
is a Japanese manga artist, best known for his series ''Black Cat'' (2000–2004) and for illustrating ''To Love Ru'' (2006–2009) and '' To Love Ru Darkness'' (2010–2017) alongside author Saki Hasemi. Currently, Yabuki writes and illustrat ...
. In the series, Momo is
Lala Satalin Deviluke
is a fictional character and the main female protagonist of the manga series ''To Love Ru'', created by Saki Hasemi and Kentaro Yabuki. In the series, Lala is an alien princess from the planet Deviluke who, to avoid marrying one of her marriage ...
's younger sister and the younger twin sister to
Nana Astar Deviluke
is a fictional character in the manga series ''To Love Ru'', created by Saki Hasemi and Kentaro Yabuki. In the series, Nana is an alien princess from the distant planet Deviluke who possesses the unique ability to communicate with different anim ...
, with Momo as the most mischievous of the three. Both twins flee to Earth to escape their studies on their home planet Deviluke. While Nana is able to communicate with animals, Momo has the unique ability to speak to plants.
Although initially featured as a recurring secondary character in the original ''To Love Ru'' series, Momo becomes one of the main female
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
s in the sequel ''To Love Ru Darkness'', in which she plots to build (and be part of) a
harem
Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...
of girls around protagonist
Rito Yuki, for whom she deeply falls in love with.
Characterization
Like her sisters, Momo also has pink hair (but much shorter than theirs). Unlike her
twin sister
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...
Nana
Nana, Nanna, Na Na or NANA may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Nana (given name), including a list of people and characters with the given name
* Nana (surname), including a list of people and characters with the surname
* Nana (c ...
, she has a much sweeter, more friendly and calculating personality, but when she gets angry, she is the most terrifying and
sadistic
Sadism may refer to:
* Sadomasochism, the giving or receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation
* Sadistic personality disorder, an obsolete term proposed for individuals who derive pleasure from the s ...
of the three sisters, completely changing her character and the way of doing things. Momo is highly intelligent (although less than Lala) and is an expert in the field of extraterrestrial
plants
Plants are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all curr ...
. She has a much more mature mentality in some respects, especially when it comes to
sex
Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, oft ...
, than her sisters. Similar to Nana, Momo loves to dress in a
Gothic Lolita
is a subculture from Japan that is highly influenced by Victorian clothing and styles from the Rococo period. A very distinctive property of Lolita fashion is the aesthetic of cuteness. This clothing subculture can be categorized into three ...
style, albeit her attire generally consists of black and green colours, as contrary to her sister's, which is of black and red.
[''To Love Ru'' Chapter 97: ] Among other things, Momo's tail is particularly sensitive, so much so that it can weaken her at the mere touch of a person, in addition to provoking arousal in her (in fact, Momo sometimes touches her tail to vent her own instincts).
Appearances
In ''To Love Ru''
As the daughter of
King Gid and
Queen Sephie of Deviluke, an alien planet far distant from Earth, Momo, the younger sister of
Lala Satalin Deviluke
is a fictional character and the main female protagonist of the manga series ''To Love Ru'', created by Saki Hasemi and Kentaro Yabuki. In the series, Lala is an alien princess from the planet Deviluke who, to avoid marrying one of her marriage ...
and twin of
Nana Astar Deviluke
is a fictional character in the manga series ''To Love Ru'', created by Saki Hasemi and Kentaro Yabuki. In the series, Nana is an alien princess from the distant planet Deviluke who possesses the unique ability to communicate with different anim ...
, holds the title of "Third Princess of Deviluke", as she is the youngest of the three sisters. Since childhood, Momo and Nana always argued. Whenever they fought, Lala would always found ways for the twins to reconcile and for
Zastin
The Japanese manga series ''To Love Ru'' and its sequel ''To Love Ru Darkness'' feature an extensive cast of characters created by author Saki Hasemi and illustrator Kentaro Yabuki. After high school student Rito Yuuki accidentally gets engaged t ...
(Lala's personal bodyguard) not to be angry with them. At some point in the time before the events of the series, Momo travelled through the galaxy and met tons of plants from different worlds, befriending all of them due to her ability to communicate with them.
Momo, alongside Nana, makes her first appearance in the manga in chapter 97 of ''To Love Ru'', in which the twins arrive on
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
and transport basically the entire cast of the manga into a
RPG world inside Trouble Quest, a
virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
game that Momo and Nana programmed and used to determine whether
Rito Yuki is worthy of being engaged to Lala or not.
In the end, after everyone exits Trouble Quest, the twins apologize to Lala for all the problems they caused before returning to Deviluke. A few chapters later, they went back to Earth after escaping from Deviluke and their studies. However, they forgot that Zastin was also staying on Earth, who was instructed by their father to bring them back home. In the end, they defeat Zastin and his assistants, and convinced their father that they are going to stay on Earth with Lala.
During Momo and Nana's stay at the Yuki household, they created their own house in the attic using space distortion technology. They also take care of all their necessities to avoid disturbing Rito's younger sister,
Mikan Yuki, for cooking, cleaning, etc. However, they still come down sometimes to eat Mikan's cooking. Throughout the series, Momo gradually develops affectionate feelings for Rito despite him being the fiancé of her sister Lala. She often fantasizes perverted situations with Rito, and desires for him to become sexually active towards her. Momo would constantly sneaks into Rito's room to sleep with him, sometimes even half-naked, revealing Momo's lustful side. Whenever she is asked of the situation, she simply says that she accidentally gets into Rito's room while she is half asleep. Momo has also stated that she knows Rito would not reciprocate her feelings, and that she is content just to be a lover.
In ''To Love Ru Darkness''
In ''To Love Ru Darkness'', Momo takes over the role of the main female protagonist alongside
Golden Darkness
, commonly nicknamed , is a fictional character in the manga series ''To Love Ru'', created by Saki Hasemi and Kentaro Yabuki. In the series, Golden Darkness is portrayed as the deadliest assassin in the galaxy who is hired to kill protagonist Ri ...
. Wanting Rito's love, but unwilling to cause conflict between Lala or Haruna, Momo realizes that if Rito becomes the next King of Deviluke, the laws of Earth will not apply to him, allowing Rito to create a
harem
Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...
where she can display her affections openly. To accomplish this, Momo organizes the , a plan originally proposed by Lala to ensure that each and every girl who is in love with Rito can marry him. The first phase of the plan is for Momo to enter Sainan High as a student so she can monitor Rito and the female characters closely, while the second phase is to turn Rito into a "
carnivore
A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...
" so that he would take it upon himself to create a harem. To do this, Momo manipulates various circumstances involving Rito and the female characters so that they end up in a romantic situation.
So far, herself, Lala, Haruna, Nana, Mikan (despite being Rito's sister), Darkness,
Yui Kotegawa,
Run Elise Jewelria and
Rin Kujou are part of the Harem Plan, with
Saki Tenjouin
The Japanese manga series ''To Love Ru'' and its sequel ''To Love Ru Darkness'' feature an extensive cast of characters created by author Saki Hasemi and illustrator Kentaro Yabuki. After high school student #Rito Yuuki, Rito Yuuki accidentally g ...
,
Risa Momioka,
Mio Sawada,
Mea Kurosaki
The Japanese manga series ''To Love Ru'' and its sequel ''To Love Ru Darkness'' feature an extensive cast of characters created by author Saki Hasemi and illustrator Kentaro Yabuki. After high school student Rito Yuuki accidentally gets engaged t ...
,
Kyouko Kirisaki,
Tearju Lunatique and
Sayaka Arai under consideration to be part of the plan but, it's still unofficial as to whether or not they'll be part of the plan in the end. As of the present time, Momo's Harem Plan is gradually taking effect as Rito, who initially rejected the idea, is slowly beginning to consider it. Throughout the manga, Momo continuously tries to find ways to make every girl around Rito fall for him as part of the Harem Plan. She would sometimes buy love simulation games as part of her research for the plan, which she uses to set the mood for him and a certain girl he's with or even when it's her. She hopes that one day Rito might return her love as well as the love of every girl who has feelings for him. After her mother, Sephie, comes to visit them, Momo hopes she doesn't find out about the Harem Plan, but after a brief moment with Rito, Sephie quickly realizes that her daughter is not only planning a harem for Rito but also hoping to be a part of that. Much to Momo's shock, Sephie tells her that she's fine with Momo trying to get what she wants as long as her heart is fine with it.
Ever since her talk with her mother, Momo has expressed doubts about whether she would be satisfied with the Harem Plan. Most notably, when she learns that Rito and Haruna accidentally kissed each other, instead of becoming happy and enthusiastic like she would whenever Rito gets development with the other girls, Momo becomes worried, restless and uneasy; she feels like a loser, much to her own surprise. Despite this, she pushes Rito to finally confess to Haruna. When Momo watches as Rito and Haruna's attempts to confess to each other once again went nowhere, Momo somehow feels relieved. However, after Lala reaffirms her own love for Rito and satisfaction in receiving love from him despite his love for Haruna, Momo also reaffirms her own satisfaction to receive his love and restores her resolve to resume the Harem Plan.
In other media
In addition to the anime and manga, Momo has appeared in four ''To Love Ru''
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s: ''To Love Ru Darkness — Battle Ecstasy'', ''To Love Ru Darkness — Idol Revolution'', ''To Love Ru Darkness — True Princess'',
and ''To Love Ru Darkness: Gravure Chance''. Momo also makes a
cameo appearance
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
in the third chapter of the manga adaptation of the
light novel
A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a ''wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...
series ''
Mayoi Neko Overrun!
is a Japanese light novel series by Tomohiro Matsu, with illustrations by Peco. Twelve volumes have been published by Shueisha under their Super Dash Bunko imprint. "Mayoi Neko" translates as "Stray Cats", referring the name of the cafe aroun ...
''.
Reception
Popularity
The June 2015 issue of
Shueisha
(lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...
's ''
Jump Square
, also written as , is a Japanese monthly '' shōnen'' manga magazine. Published by Shueisha, the magazine premiered on November 2, 2007 as a replacement for '' Monthly Shōnen Jump'', another manga anthology that Shueisha discontinued in June of ...
'' magazine included the results of its popularity poll for the heroines of ''To Love-Ru Darkness''. In the various categories presented, Momo ranked 1st as "which character would be your favorite if all the heroines were in an idol group?", 2nd as "which character would you want to be your girlfriend (or wife)?", 3rd as "which character would you want to be your friend?", and 4th as "which character would you want to be in your family (but not as a wife/girlfriend)?" and "which character would you want to switch bodies with for just one day?". In the same year, ''Jump Square'' presented the results of another popularity poll for the female characters of ''To Love-Ru Darkness'' in the October issue; this time Momo ranked 6th as "which character would you want to be your girlfriend (or wife)?" and "which character would you want to be in your family?", 7th as "which character would be your favorite if all the heroines were in an idol group?", and 10th as "which character would you want to be your friend?".
Critical response
In a review for ''To Love Ru Darkness'', Theron Martin, from
Anime News Network
Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...
, called Momo "conniving" and "calculating", and noted how she effectively becomes the lead female protagonist of the series, which led Lala and Haruna to be relegated to a "mere ensemble supporting status", with both making little more than cameo appearances in many episodes. Martin also said, "Momo is the driving force of the series in terms of both personality and pushing things to happen. And that changes the tenor of the first several episodes. She comes on to Rito like an adult seductress, one whose plays are certainly not innocent and whose schemes are designed to promote lustful scenarios both with her and with other girls she sees as potential harem candidates. Along the way she gradually starts to realize her own feelings towards Rito may go beyond just a play for position, and watching her trying to sort out her actual motivations for forming the harem gives the series a bit more depth than one might expect." In another review for ''Darkness'', Martin stated that Momo's ongoing introspection about what she's doing with the Harem Plan has become "less critical", but still "meaty enough" to maintain her role as co-protagonist with Rito.
See also
*
List of ''To Love Ru'' characters
References
External links
Momo's anime bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deviluke, Momo Belia
Comics characters introduced in 2008
Female characters in anime and manga
Extraterrestrial characters in comics
Fictional princesses
Teenage characters in anime and manga
To Love Ru
Fictional characters with personality disorders