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Don't tell her not to panic...she's too anxious to hear you.

Ikuta Maki is a regular supporting cast member in the anime and manga series Umisho. While a skilled member of the swim team and reliable in a pinch, she is deeply prone to wild fits of panic and self-doubt, and has self-image problems stemming largely from her dimunitive size and small chest area on a team where most of the girls seem at least big for their age. Her obsession with chest size often leads Maki to engage in many absurd schemes to increase her size, none of which work and often rope in the other less-endowed girls, who eventually tire of or feel embarrassed by the effort.

Maki is second to none in her admiration and respect for her senpais, Okiura Kaname and Orizuka Momoko, and to her their words are law. She is one of those closest to the mercurial series lead, Ninagawa Amuro. Next to the frenetic Amuro, Maki seems almost calm. Because she takes things so incredibly seriously, Maki is less apt to make one of the spectacular blunders that often cost the swim team their victories. Her determination is a thing of legend, once winning a contest to sit in the onsen for hours on end, the heat and moisture causing many another to give out - however it should be noted she was always ready to faint--it was merely the others standing in front of her that kept her from leaving. In one of the silliest and wildest situations to develop from her chest obsession, she caused her teammate Shizuoka Mirei to be worshipped as a 'breast goddess' on the internet, with many desperate young women believing that a rub from her would aid their quest--until they saw Maki and questioned the effectiveness of this supposed method.

In the series finale, Kaname reveals that Makio-Chan's drive and force of will has taken her to the heights of multi-sport athletic competitions, both in and out of Japan. The woman so many still think of as a little girl is now being taken very, very seriously and looks to bring gold and honor to her homeland, with her will and determination admired by a great many who want to be just like her.

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