Sawako Yamanaka

Sawako Yamanaka is the music teacher of the Sakuragaoka High School and one of its alumni. During her high school career, she was a member of the Light Music Club and founded the rockband Death Devil with her friends Norimi Kawaguchi, Della and Jane, where she was a guitarist also the main vocalist of the band.

She eventually becomes the adviser of the two new generations of the Light Music Club under the leaderships of Ritsu Tainaka and Azusa Nakano, respectively.

Bio

An alumna of the school and a former member of the Light Music Club, she does not want people to find out that she was formerly a member of the speed metal band Death Devil since she fears it would destroy her gentle image. She tries to cover her past by being mild and gentle towards her coworkers and especially to students.

She names the club band "Ho-kago Tea Time" (or After School Tea Time in the English dub) after the members take too long deciding on a name themselves. She once momentarily pitches in for Yui with her Epiphone "1958" Korina Flying V electric guitar (anime only).

She becomes the girls' homeroom teacher in their third year, and puts Nodoka Manabe and all the band members (except Azusa as she is a grade lower) in the same class so she does not have to remember too many new names.

After all the senior members of "Ho-kago Tea Time" graduate, she becomes the adviser of the newly formed Light Music Club under Azusa's leadership, and renames the band "Wakaba Girls" (or Green Leaf Girls in the English dub), being that all the members are beginners (with the exception of Azusa).

During her career at the Sakuragaoka High School, Sawako was a rather shy and inconsiderable girl. She played guitar for some time and joined the school's Light Music Club. After some time, she fell in love with another male student and confessed her feelings to him. However, since he preferred "wilder" girls, he turned her down, leading her to change her nature and form the speed metal band Death Devil alongside her friends Norimi Kawaguchi, Della and Jane. Sawako took on the alias "Catherine". The band quickly became very famous and liked. Sawako completely changed her appearance by using makeup and wearing punk clothing, looking a lot wilder and more confident. Her crush, however, did not seem to be pleased, so she started to get even more serious, changing the image of her band and herself more and more until the fandom almost appeared to be a cult. As the band was more famous and wild than ever, she tried to ask her crush out once again. However, he turned her down again, stating that she "went too far".

Despite her misfortune, the band remained and the members started to form a strong friendship. The band was very popular among the students of their school, but it also earned them many problems with the Light Music Club's advisor Horigome. During her last year of High School, she struggled with choosing a career path. Since the boy she liked back then aimed to become a teacher, she chose to become a teacher as well. Before she graduated alongside her friends, the band wrote a song for the Light Music Club's juniors.

She then started to study to become a music teacher. The boy she follwed however turned her down as well, much to her grief. Eventually, the members of Death Devil parted ways and the band was not active anymore, presumably disbanded, but the members kept in touch and remained friends.

After she finished her studies, she became the music teacher of her old school.

As a new term started, Sawako is asked by Ritsu Tainaka and Mio Akiyama about the Light Music Club and has to tell them that it is on the verge of being disbanded. Only a few moments later, she meets Yui Hirasawa, and is acquainted with her unhandily nature.

Liam's Adventures of Pokemon the Series

As of Clefairy Tales, she often gets attacked by Twitter when she mentions embarrassing cosplay for Pokemon.

Personality

Though she has a mature and gentle demeanor for the generality, Sawako (affectionately addressed as "Sawa-chan" or "Sawa-chan-sensei" by both Ritsu and Yui) displays a totally different, completely authentic character when she is alone with the light music club or really angered. In reality, she is wild, lazy and quite an irresponsible teacher who enjoys dressing up the light music club in (sometimes embarrassing) cosplay costumes like French maid uniforms, much to the dislike of Mio and Azusa Nakano. In UnBEARable!, she is able to see through all of Teddiursa's tricks without being noticed, as shown in a similar way to Ui's disguise as Yui.

Relationships

Yui Hirasawa

Being an absolute beginner in music and playing guitar Yui was trained by Sawako. Sawako's training was useful but in the process Yui ended up losing her voice and was unable to be on vocals in the first year summer fest. However they share a close student-teacher relationship.

Mio Akiyama

Mio is often the test subject of dresses made by Sawako.

Miki Sunshine

When Miki became completely traumatized by the first encounter with the evil Pokémon Hunter J, Sawako noticed how scared the girl was of that terrible woman. She says to her, "I swear, if that evil witch J wants to hurt you or your Pokémon, she will have to go through me!"

Azusa Nakano

After she joined the club, Azusa was the one who had to suffer weird dress-ups by Sawako instead of Mio. Azusa also found Sawako's negligence towards the club activities and her support to 'tea-time' irritating in the beginning but she soon blended in like the rest of the group.

Ryan Freestar

She met Ryan when she and HTT arrive on vacation. She does like Ryan as a friend when she is in her mild and gentle side. In the K-ON episode ??, when Ryan found out she was a Light Music Club member and she showed him her wild side, he was amazed by her guitar playing skills.

Sawako Yamanaka's Pokemon

In Liam's Adventures of Pokemon the Series

• Eevee → Jolteon ♀ ("Pinshock")
• Zigzagoon → Linoone → Obstagoon ♂ (Galar Form) ("Spike")
• Piplup → Prinplup ♂ ("Groove")
• Hoothoot → Noctowl ♀ ("Hedwig")
• Toxel → Toxtricity ♀ (Amped Form) ("Rockshock")
• Swanna ♀ ("Hakucho")
• Golem
• Egg -> Turtwig
• Whismur ♂ ("Dolby")
• Wobbuffet ♀ ("Lipstick")
• Houndour → Houndoom ↔ Mega Houndoom ♂ ("Buster")

In Reserve

• Hypno ♂ ("Sandman")
• Sandile ♀ ("Sheila")
• Chikorita ♀ ("Mint")
• Egg -> ???
• Jaw Fossil
• Plume Fossil
• Egg
• Egg
• Egg
• Egg

Digimon Partner

Coronamon

Trivia

• In the English dub, she is voiced by Karen Strassman.
• Sawako had only been akumatized once, her only akumatization was in Undead Devil.
• When the Miraculous is inhabited by the OC, Libri, Sawako becomes Rock Eagle, a eagle-themed superhero who helps Master Bug/Ladyan and friends ‘during particularly different missions’ in the first season and beyond.

Gallery

A dark blue one piece swimsuit with light blue stripes down the sides that Sawako wore in season 1 of LAoPtS