PROFILE: RIKA TAMURA

Full Name:  Rika Tamura A.K.A.:  None First Appearance:  "The Case of the Haunted House" Occupation:  Student, adventurer (secret) Ethnicity:  Japanese Citizenship:  Japanese (Canadian citizenship pending) Family:  Father (deceased), mother (deceased), grandfather, aunt Affiliation:  Strangers' Club Likes:  Helping others, drawing Dislikes:  Injustice, dishonorable acts

Background:
Hailing from Japan, Rika was placed into the custody of her grandfather after her parents' death.  She moved with him to Canada after he sold his electronics company, and they took up residence with her aunt, who worked for the Knight Foundation's public relations division.  She adjusted to her new home and became good friends with Lucy Knight and Arthur Kingston after her grandfather became a member of the company's board of directors.  With them and seven other kids (the Big Ten), they formed the Strangers' Club.  After being schooled by tutors hired by her aunt, Rika began attending Sussex Academy to serve as a contact to Bart and Shirley.

Physical Appearance and Other Traits:
Rika stands at the average height for girls her age.  Her hair is long and black, and her eyes are brown.

Personality:
Usually cool and collected, Rika becomes more aggressive in a fight.  She has a great sense of honor and justice, and she abhors people who commit evil acts like Molly and members of ENIGMA.  Outside a fight, she is friendly and social.

Relationships:
Rika loves her grandfather and aunt, although she thinks her aunt can be overprotective sometimes.  Lucy and Arthur were her first friends in Redington, and she gets along with the other Strangers.  She is on friendly terms with Shirley and her friends, and she detests Molly strongly. 

Abilities and Paraphernalia:
Trained in the martial arts, Rika can take on all comers.  Her fighting abilities are enhanced by her Dragon Gauntlets, which enable her to utilize her ki (chi), or inner energy.  Wearing the gauntlets, she can form energy shields, deliver energy-enhanced blows, and move at incredible speeds.  Her best non-fighting ability is to draw; she can capture something accurately in her drawings.

HA's Comments:
Rika was the result of wanting a Japanese character who wasn't a clown.  Her name is the result of me taking the name of an old schoolmate and changing one letter.  I also like the name "Rika."  Her face is an attempt to copy that of the young Japanese actress Yumi Adachi.  In fact, Yumi played a martial arts heroine in a Japanese TV show which I couldn't understand at all.  Come to think of it, whenever I draw Rika in battle attire, I always try to copy Yumi in that role.  The dragon gauntlets come from an episode of Lois and Clark.