Shinobu Miyake (三宅 しのぶ, Miyake Shinobu) is Ataru's childhood friend and classmate. At the beginning of the series she is also Ataru's girlfriend, but Lum's arrival strains the relationship. Shinobu claimed that if Ataru won the tag game, she would marry him, which encourages Ataru to win, but his victory cry leads to a misunderstanding with Lum agreeing to marry him.[ch. 1] Shinobu is a neat, sweet and petite young lady. Despite these feminine characteristics, she often displays super-human strength, able to easily throw the school desks or any other large/heavy object as needed; however, this strength tends to only show itself in anger involving either Lum or Ataru.[2]
When Shutaro Mendo arrives at their school, Shinobu, like all the other girls in class, develops a crush on him at first sight. This causes her to question her feelings for Ataru, and turns the love triangle of her, Ataru and Lum, into a four-way entanglement.[ch. 25,30] As the series progresses, however, Shinobu gives up on both Ataru and Shutaro and ends up meeting Inaba, who she eventually goes steady with. She is voiced by Saeko Shimazu, Katherine Burten (Those Obnoxious Aliens), and Danielle Sullivan (English Movies).
