Iori

Iori is someone committed to her music with aims to be a professional musician. She believes there is a line to what you can accept from your agency in what stays as "your music" and that you can't compromise on your own core.

Iori has grey eyes as well as long dark brown hair with blonde under-layers. She dons a black skirt and a baggy white hoodie with dark brown strings and STANDOUT printed on the front in grey text, over her hoodie is a desaturated brown - bordering grey - jacket.

Female age: 19 Hobbies: Browsing vintage clothing stores favourite food: Chocolate banana crepes least favourite food: spicy food

"I'll sing with everything I have if it means you'll join." ―Iori

Hoshino Ichika: Fellow professional musicians, Iori acts as a reliable senior to Ichika and encourages her to express her thoughts straightforwardly rather than to choose words that sound cool or stylish. Tenma Saki Fellow professional musicians, Iori advises Saki on what a music festival is like and wonders whether Saki enjoys the personal atmosphere of the cafe or the large stage more. Hinomori Shiho: Fellow professional musicians, Iori attempted to recruit Shiho into her band since she liked her bass playing and overall sound. She later congratulates Shiho on her professional debut. Mio: Friend and fellow bandmate, the two had a falling out prior to the events of Though Wavering, You Continue Moving Forward leading to Iori trying to find a new bassist to replace Mio. They later make up and continue to play together in STANDOUT. Kosaka Saku: Fellow professional musicians, they met after hearing Leo/need's music together, having been "connected."

When they go to leave for the night, Iori asks a question to Saki, implied to be which one she enjoyed more between the JamFest performance the piano at the cafe. After Saki doesn't understand, she says she was happy to hear Leo/need's music and she will see them later.

During Happy Enjoy Music!, Saki runs into Iori at night when heading home. She tells Saki that they'll be performing at JamFest together and that she'll see her there. Saki then asks her what it's like to perform at a festival, and Iori elaborates that it's a huge stage and many people who aren't interested will be there. Saki asks more about preparing herself, and she invites Saki to go get a quick meal and chat with her.

During JamFest, Iori and STANDOUT are preparing when Leo/need enter and thank her. Ichika questions when Iori and Saki grew so close, and they say that they got to know each other after a chance meeting the other day and they talked about a lot of things, such as when they wrote songs together. Saku and anemone join, and they discuss Leo/need's tie-in song. Ichika says she wasn't sure about it originally, and Iori says that she understands. She relates an experience in which her agency asked her to write a song based on a popular melody, but she rejected it because she thought STANDOUT's music would die.

Ichika claims it was just because it was selfish, but Iori says there's nothing wrong with it and that there are lines to be drawn in what you can accept or else you will lose your own musical identity and their beliefs that cannot be compromised. She says that many bands have disbanded because they failed this, and to care about their core—why are they making music with these people?

STANDOUT perform at JamFest, encouraging their audience to get louder. She hears Leo/need's performance, and thinks it's a great live show and that the audience had found something they collectively were interested in. After the performance, the three bands meet backstage and congratulate each other. Iori suggests that they go to the usual place they go to in order to discuss music, and invites them to a small cafe. She tells them that it's a place where people gather to know each other through music, and she encourages Saki to play piano.

Iori appears again in Get over it., having watched Leo/need's one-man live. She thinks that the band's performance is on another level and that they might achieve their dreams of being a professional sooner than she thought. She meets anemone and Saku, and then goes backstage to congratulate Leo/need. She asks about the old man who passed by, saying she recognized him as possibly being a record company employee.

When Leo/need tell them that the one-man live was a gateway to their professional debut, Iori is impressed, and tells them about being a professional. She advises them about future prospects such as going on TV, music videos, and staff reserving venues for them. She tells them that they're ultimately just business partners though, and that the relationship is based on sales. She tells them that going professional involves other people, and it's important to remember that.

Iori appears briefly in Connected by Our Stellar Song, arriving to watch Leo/need's thank you live, held on the same stage Iori offered them awhile back. She thinks that she never expected them to grow this large, and remarks that they've changed to become one and that their straightforward feelings weren't bad.She reappears in The Night Sky We Saw That Day, Someday in the Distant Future, meeting with Shiho. She congratulates Shiho on her professional debut, and Mio says that was something Iori had wanted to say for a long time and that she wanted to do it in person. She compliments Shiho's bass playing and says she shines the most with Leo/need. She asks Shiho whether she had always wanted to play music as the four of them, and tells her that this is where the real thing begins as a professional.

She appreciates the attitude, and asks more about Ichika, learning she does street performances.

Iori finds Ichika singing on the street, and tells her it's a shame her singing is more fuzzy and she's having difficulty conveying her expression. She takes her to a cafe, and asks her if she has any worries. She relates her own experiences writing lyrics and how it was also difficult when she first started. She explains that when she writes, she convey her feelings to her listeners, and Ichika praises STANDOUT's music.

She asks Ichika why she wants to write lyrics like hers, and Ichika says it's because they're stylish. She presses Ichika, saying that is likely why she can't write if she's focused more on adding elaborate expressions. When Ichika doubts that plain words would help convey her feelings, Iori refutes it by saying her straightforward words of wanting to be in a band with Shiho resonated with her heart, and their performance moved the audience. She tells Ichika to have confidence and to convey her feelings in her own words and leaves. Iori watches their next live performance, thinking it was a good first song.

Iori tells her the live is already over and that they need someone serious who isn't willing to abandon an important live performance. Iori says that next weekend they will perform live at the outdoor stage in Shibuya Park, where they'll announce their professional debut. She tells Shiho she's welcome to join any time if she's serious about being a professional.

On the day of STANDOUT's solo live, Iori wishes that Mio could make her decision and decides to give up on keeping her as forcing her wouldn't be good for her or the band. She asks Shiho to play for them again, and Shiho asks about Mio. She tells Shiho that she would like to introduce her as a new member at the end of the live, but the other members of Leo/need arrive before Shiho can answer. They ask Iori for just a bit more time, and they each spill their hearts on how they want to be in a band with Shiho and how she has helped them realize their own feelings.

Iori remarks that she's jealous, and that she's involved everyone in her dreams. She offers Leo/need a chance to perform together as an opening act to convey their feelings to Shiho through their music. When Leo/need performs, Iori thinks they aren't bad. Mio comes to her during their performance, and tells her that she made up her mind and that she wants to perform with her and give her best performance. She tells Mio that she's caused a lot of trouble, and to convey her feelings through her performance. They then perform and announce their professional debut.She returns in Knock the Future!!, meeting Honami and Shiho at a livehouse. The manager suggests that they could receive help from Iori, who writes the lyrics to STANDOUT's music. She is confused by the situation, and they clarify that their lyricist, Ichika, is having trouble. Iori says that she'd like to help, but she doesn't know the problem and can't help. She says that Ichika is amazing and clearly putting effort into her lyrics rather than just stringing words together.

Iori is the leader and main vocalist of the band STANDOUT who tried recruiting Shiho as her band's new bassist before their professional debut.

Though Wavering, You Continue Moving Forward introduces Iori and STANDOUT at the end of the event, with her asking Shiho if she would be willing to join her band. Resounding Twilight Parade has her meet Shiho again, and she invites Shiho to join her band again. After Shiho rejects her, Iori tells her to watch her next performance live and that she'll sing her best in order to recruit her. She mentions that their professional debut is coming on soon, and that she needs someone serious about music to pursue her path. Shiho watches her performance, and feels conflicted.During Resonate with you, while working at her part time job, Shiho sets up an upcoming STANDOUT performance and encounters their bassist, Mio. They briefly talk and she requests Shiho to play her role and gives her the sheet music in a hurry before she leaves. Iori goes to ask Shiho to fill in for her absence, before realizing Mio had already came by. She tells Shiho that she lacks the resolve to be a professional, and asks Shiho to help them for today.

After the live, Shiho and Iori discuss their current offer again and the other three members of Leo/need go to meet her. They overhear a bit of their discussion, and meet Iori. She explains that she scouted Shiho for her bass skills, their lack of a bassist before their professional debut, and Shiho's own resolve to be a professional. She says that it's not a bad offer in order for Shiho to get closer to her dream, and that she's sorry to Leo/need. She appeals to Shiho's desire to reach her dreams, before Mio enters the scene again.