I love Chiya. She's one of the cutest balls of sunshine I've ever laid eyes on, as almost anyone can tell, but there's more to it than that. I really like looking at how characters act when they're in bad situations; there's just something powerful about their actions that speaks to me in weird ways. Chiya is no exception. Experiences like these are what really makes me love characters - not only their personalities during every day events, but the way they handle themselves in the face of the shit life throws at them.
In Urara E11, Chiya was taken in by the maze itself, pretty much without explanation. What little that was said revealed the name of her mother, whose memory was the only thing Chiya carried with her into town on day one; however, it was also made clear that the beings who had captured her did not intend to let her get away from them. They showed Chiya that they hated her mother, and they wanted to steal Chiya away from her goal because of that. She didn't know what to do at that point:
Wh-What do I do? I might die for real this time. Just when I finally found a clue about my mom! ...What should I do at a time like this? I don't know!
It's a terrible sight to see when the character whose niche is to give happiness to others, whose defining characteristic is their ability to cheer others up, becomes so distraught they can't even cheer themselves up. That feeling of hopelessness becomes so palpable and real, because you can grow to take people like that for granted; when they themselves suffer from the very thing they protect others from, you feel it.
But you know what she did? She didn't sit back and let it happen... She refused to suffer on her own. Even though they weren't there, she relied on her friends for help, recalling what they had done together and using those memories to form a plan. She remembered the divination Kon had performed days earlier, took the reading that before she'd thought nothing of, and believed in it. And in the end, not only did she overcome her fear and escape from the pit, she even uncovered her own skill because of it.
I love characters that know when to rely on others. These characters can be put in any situation and still keep going, because they have their friends to rely on. They can use the memories they've made and the experiences they've shared with others to push themselves through anything. They might say that if there's any positive to be found, that positive is worth aiming for no matter what. And though they may be the brightest flames in the world most of the time, they still know how to take a light from others when they burn out.
This is the kind of person I want to be: Someone who can deliver happiness to others, someone whose personality uplifts and whose actions care. But sometimes I forget what to do when I need cheering up myself. So even more than that, I want to keep my memories and friendships in mind when I fall on tough times. I want to surround myself with the kind of experiences that lift me up when I need it.
That's why I love Chiya.
[Pic: Urara Meirochou E11 6:10, from this album]
(Also, as a total aside, you know a series is doing something right if you can get me to stop what I'm doing and write about just one of its characters for two straight hours.)