Hanako Kobayashi

Hanako Kobayashi is a character created by Ryan Nurse for the anime Vanishing Point, and one of the show's main protagonists. A cheerful, energetic but slightly naive girl, she was kidnapped by Shinsuke but rescued by Cobra before she could be experimented on. She then tags along with the other three as they attempt to stop Shinsuke's plans.

Early life
Not much is known about Hanako's early life; however, she is thought to have graduated from high school shortly before the start of the series.

Within the series
Hanako is first seen being rescued by Cobra during the events of "Fade In", and is the one who gives Cobra her name. She agrees to tag along and help her, Kiyoko, and Kamui to unravel Shinsuke's schemes, especially after Cobra points out that if she were to return home, she would be putting her family in danger.

Appearance
Hanako is 5'0" tall (152cm), and weighs 92lbs. Despite her short height, she has a full hourglass figure with an impressive bust. She has waist-length pink hair tied back into long twintails. Concept art variously depicts her as having either blue or green eyes; the Animatron DB spreadsheet lists her eye colour as "Sky blue", while in the above concept art from 2014, her eyes are clearly green.

Hanako's attire consists from a pink tube top, pink skirt, white thigh-high socks, and pink plimsolls. Her twintails are usually tied using pink ribbons. She sometimes also wears a pink open jacket, to preserve her modesty slightly more.

Personality
In contrast to the shy, reserved Kiyoko, Hanako is very cheerful and outgoing, something that is evident from her very first appearance, during which she gleefully hugs Cobra after the girl rescues her, before dragging her through the containment block towards the exit. She has a far more optimistic view of events than the other three protagonists, bordering on naivete at times. Like Kiyoko, however, Hanako undergoes significant character development over the course of the series, especially during the latter half and during her Addendum, becoming a stronger, more mature young woman.

Hanako idolizes Mizuki Sato, and is an avid fan of her TV show Life With Mizuki. Hanako has a speech quirk whereby whenever she gets flustered, her voice speeds up to almost unintelligible levels until she runs out of breath, at which point she calms down somewhat.

Abilities
Since she was rescued before Shinsuke could experiment on her, Hanako does not have any powers. However, she appears to be a very good singer.

Trivia

 * Hanako, like Kamui Matsuda, was partially named after Formula One driver Kamui Kobayashi. Contrary to popular belief, she was not named after the Katawa Shoujo character Hanako Ikezawa.
 * Hanako is the shortest adult character in any of Nurse's projects.