Ely Otta

Ely is upbeat, stubborn, practical, compassionate, and unusually self-reliant. Growing up working on her grandparents' farm has given her a strong work ethic, and her ambitions are grounded in improving their lives rather than pursuing prestige. She can make sensible decisions under pressure despite her excitable behavior.

Her morality is heavily influenced by what she knows about her mother's criminal life. Ely believes that everything ultimately comes from the soil and that what is borrowed should be returned. She applies that principle even to relatively small matters, refusing to excuse taking something simply because she needed it at the time.

Ely also has a fierce temper toward people she considers cruel or exploitative. Her kindness does not make her automatically forgiving, particularly when someone has deliberately harmed her friends.

Ely initially fights using smoke abilities obtained from Chandra. She can generate extremely hot smoke, launch it offensively, create dense defensive clouds, propel herself through the air, and eventually transform portions of her body into smoke. Her control and output improve dramatically through training.

Her fundamental Choujin ability is Harvest, the power to steal abilities from other Choujin through physical contact. Partial Harvesting lets her take and use part of another Choujin's power, while more complete use can deprive the original owner of the ability. She can return stolen powers, fitting the personal rule she has tried to live by since childhood.

Ely eventually learns that her ability extends considerably further than simply copying techniques. She can accumulate multiple powers and, under sufficiently extreme circumstances, absorb far more from another Choujin than she initially understands, making Harvest both extraordinarily versatile and potentially dangerous to her.

Ely first appears aboard an aircraft when Chandra attacks its passengers. She refuses to surrender quietly, and the encounter results in her awakening as a Choujin with access to his smoke.

Her journey soon intersects with Tokio's after both become newly awakened Choujin. Ely's willingness to act contrasts with Tokio's uncertainty, and the two are drawn into Yamato Mori's world together. She trains as a Keeper while continuing to hold onto her goal of eventually returning to farming.

The true nature of her power gradually becomes increasingly important. What initially seems to be an unusual inheritance of Chandra's smoke is revealed to belong to a broader ability centered on taking powers from others.

Ely's ability to steal and retain Choujin powers makes her increasingly important to the conflict surrounding Zora and the prophesied calamity. The same power also directly challenges the moral rule she built her identity around: she possesses an ability fundamentally based on taking what belongs to someone else.

Tokio Kurohara becomes one of Ely's closest friends shortly after both awaken as Choujin. Ely Otta frequently pushes Tokio Kurohara to act when he hesitates, while his gentler temperament balances her impulsiveness.

Azuma Higashi becomes another close friend through Tokio and Yamato Mori. Ely eventually fights alongside Azuma Higashi as one of the organization's young Keepers.

Chandra Hume is responsible for the event that triggers Ely's transformation. His smoke becomes the first major Choujin ability she uses. Ely later struggles with guilt over taking away a power Chandra spent years developing, despite continuing to despise many of his actions.

Hoshi Sandek becomes one of the senior Yamato Mori figures responsible for Ely and the other young Choujin. His organization gives Ely Otta the training and structure needed to understand her powers.

Ichiiro Sato helps train Ely as a Keeper, pushing her toward greater control and combat proficiency.

Sora Siruha becomes deeply connected to the larger conflict in which Ely is involved. Their competing ideas about prophecy, power, and the coming destruction of Yamato force Ely to decide how much authority she is willing to grant visions of the future.