Reiko Mikami

"Sis, what should I do?"

- Reiko in the manga.

Reiko Mikami is Kouichi Sakakibara's idolized aunt, whom he lives with after moving to Yomiyama. She was at Yomiyama North Middle School along with Katsumi Matsunaga and Ryoko Akiyama in 9th Grade Class 3.

Personality
She gives Kouichi lots of advice on how to get by living in Yomiyama. Many times, Reiko states that she hates the family pet bird, "Rei-chan." She seems to get very upset whenever someone talks about the incident 15 years ago, when she was in the 9th grade in class 3. Also, at that time she didn't believe in the curse until her best friend, Ryoko, died. When she saw that day by day more and more classmates and their relatives are dying, she wanted to find out how to stop the calamity, asking Mr. Chibiki about it. Reiko claimed that her eldest sister, Ritsuko, was the woman she admired the most and also her idol, and that she was very happy when she came to Yomiyama. She loved her very much, and Reiko frequently visited her at hospital after she gave birth to Kouichi. Also, before Kouichi comes to live with her she claimed the fact that she will protect him, as Ritsuko said that she will protect her shortly before she died. At the end of the manga, Tamie Mikami said after her death that she would offer herself to take care of Kouichi as Yousuke can't do it, even if she met Kouichi a few times.

Reiko is fond of alcohol, and often ends her days with drink. In the manga she seems to be a fan of Sapporo, a popular domestic Japanese beer, and in the anime, she can be seen fixing herself a "Bloody Mary."

Appearance
She looks young for her age, and is seen wearing a yellow top with long green pants at home. In the anime, she has long, straight brown hair, and brown eyes, just like Kouichi. She also wears her hair tied in a ponytail, a pink clip, and spectacles with squared lens. In the manga, she has long brown hair and brown eyes. She has more outfits she wears at home, unlike the anime, where she is constantly wearing the same outfit as well.

Plot
In Another 0 Chapters Reiko is seen in her younger days, when she was a student in the 9th grade class 3. At that time, she claimed the fact that she didn't believe in the calamity. Also, she often visited her eldest sister, Ritsuko who was in the hospital, shortly after Kouichi's birth. After her best friend Ryoko dies, she tries to find a way to stop the calamity.

In Episode 1, Reiko first appears at the hospital, when she visited Kouichi while he was sick. While there, she tells him information about how to live in Yomiyama, and which school he was going to attend. When Kouichi becomes suspicious about his class' curse he asks her about it, but she yells and says that she can't help him. She is Kouichi's aunt from Ritsuko's side and Class 3-3's deputy homeroom teacher. She gives her nephew advice about Yomiyama Middle School through a series of "rules". One of them, is to separate their private life from their school life, thus Kouichi addresses her as aunt or Reiko at home and Mikami-sensei at school.

In the original anime story Episode 8, Reiko takes Kouichi and the other to the beach resort to look for Matsunaga. They had fun on the beach and at the end of the episode, they witness Junta Nakao's death on shore.

In Episode 10, while Sakakibara and Misaki were looking at the pictures inside the box, they found a picture of Reiko painting. Misaki then asked Sakakibara if Reiko paints at home. He told her that her aunt does- and that Reiko considers painting her real job. In the anime, there were no episodes showing Reiko paint.

In Episode 12 the connection between her and Ms. Mikami is revealed. Also, it is revealed that she is the dead one this year. Reiko was stabbed by an unknown assailant and thrown in the river in October of 1996. Mei watched her die. After she was killed a second time, August 1998, nobody remembers her presence in 1998 or sees her in the photos made on the class trip except Kouichi and Mei.

Gallery
Main article: Reiko/Image Gallery

Kouichi Sakakibara
They were very close and often spoke. She often gives him advice while at home; their relationship is very different at school. Sometimes in the manga, they have a more intimate relationship. Kouichi was shocked upon realizing that she was the "Extra" and before killing her himself (instead of Mei), he said "Goodbye mother" suggesting that he saw her as a mother figure rather than an aunt. In the manga, he sometimes attaches "-nee" to her name, a shortened form of nee-san, or "big sister." They are seen to have a stable relationship.

Ryoko Akiyama
They were close friends. Reiko was shocked after her death; believing that the "Calamity" had begun.

Ritsuko Sakakibara
She is her older sister by eleven years. They were friends and Reiko admired and idolised her older sister and was very affectionate for her child (Kouichi) as seen in Chapter 0.

Mei Misaki
Not much is dwelled upon between them. In the climax, Reiko was willing to shield Mei from an angry mob when they thought she was the extra. When it turned out Reiko was the extra, Mei attempted to kill her, to spare Kouichi the heartache. Reiko herself was obviously terrified and confused, going as far as calling Mei a liar when the accusation flew. Misaki is the first to realize that Reiko is the dead one.

Katsumi Matsunaga

In Episode 8, Reiko along with Kouichi, Izumi, Nagoya, Yuuya, Takako, and Junta met Matsunaga on the beach to try and get information involving the Curse. Katsumi and Reiko were in the same class 15 years ago and seem to have a comical and good terms relationship as Katsumi says Reiko was a "shrimp" and Reiko says he is an "old geezer". They reconcile and talk about what they've been up to, with Katsumi bringing up another point on Reiko's death as he sought he saw and heard something about her recently.

Quotes

 * "Talent is a key factor, of course, but without some luck on your side you're likely to fail."
 * "If you want to drive that slow, get out from the fast line!"
 * "I'm sorry Kouichi. There was nothing I could do."


 * "I wonder if my adulthood has increased since then. What do you think, nee-san?"
 * "I have changed. I...grew up."
 * "I want to become like my sister someday."
 * "Back then, I wasn't able to do anything. But now I must...If the disaster begin again this year, I will protect Kouichi. Don't worry, nee-san."

Trivia

 * Although in the manga (and live film), she has her hair down and doesn't wear glasses as Reiko, and ties her hair up and puts the glasses on while teaching as Ms. Mikami, in the animated version these were switched. So anime-Reiko has glasses and tied-up hair while anime Ms. Mikami has no glasses and her hair down.
 * Reiko and Mikami-sensei are the same person whilst having different hair color.
 * Her home address is 5-1 Furuikecho Yomiyama City.
 * Reiko means "wise child", while Mikami means "three gods".
 * In the manga, Kouichi said that Reiko is a lot younger than his mother. More exactly, with 11 years.
 * In the manga, Mei didn't witness her "real" death.
 * When she was in 9th Grade Class 3 her best friend was Ryoko.
 * In the manga, the relationship between Reiko and her eldest sister, Ritsuko, is more pronounced and also closer than in the anime. In the first chapter of Another 0 she is seen standing at her memento and talking to her.
 * Also, Kouichi is more affected by her death. He is seen crying as everyone remembers how gentle she was. Reiko's relationship with Kouichi is more pronounced in the manga than in the anime.
 * Reiko's personality differs from the manga to anime. In the manga, she is more gentle, kind and heart-warmed while in the anime her personality isn't that complex.
 * It is revealed by Tamie at the end of the manga that after her "original" death, Ryouhei bought a parrot and named it "Rei", which is the abbreviation of Reiko.
 * Reiko was the second person the audience saw the color of death In Mei's POV. The first was Izumi Akazawa and the third (chronologically the first) was Misaki Fujioka.
 * Molly Searcy, Reiko's English voice actress is also known for voicing the titular character Akame in Akame Ga Kill! with Jessica Boone (Izumi Akazawa), Emily Neves (Takako Sugiura), Chris Patton (Naoya Teshigawara), Brittney Karbowski (Yukari Sakuragi), David Matraga (Shoji Kubodera), Clint Bickham (Yuuya Mochizuki), Christopher Ayres (Kouichi's Father), Margret McDonald (Aya Ayano), and Carli Mosier (Sanae Mizuno).
 * There are some hints that she died throughout the series:
 * Kouichi's grandmother saying that she think it was "a year and a half" since they bought the bird, after Reiko's funeral.
 * As Mikami, Reiko was the art-clubs leader and as she died one and half year ago, there was no art club during the second year as Mochizuki stated.
 * Kouichi's dad saying to him that it was a year and a half since they where there last time, although he didn't mention the funeral.
 * Izumi remembering hitting Kouichi with an empty soda can, and getting help up and Kouichi is hinting that he also lost someone.
 * Reiko Mikami from Ghost Sweeper Mikami shares her name