Nekomi Nabeshima

Nabeshima is cheerful, cocky and almost constantly smiling. She has several catlike mannerisms and enjoys manipulating situations from the sidelines rather than confronting every problem directly.

She strongly dislikes natural geniuses. Nabeshima believes hard work should be capable of defeating innate talent, making Akune's effortless mastery of judo particularly irritating to her. Her admiration for Zenkichi comes from the opposite direction: she values his willingness to struggle against stronger opponents.

Nabeshima freely calls herself a coward and avoids unnecessary battles where she expects serious injury or defeat. That pragmatism also makes her difficult to psychologically break; she is often able to move past situations that leave more idealistic characters shaken.

Nabeshima is an exceptional judoka whose practical combat skill exceeds even Akune's despite his status as a second-dan prodigy. Her reputation as the Foul King comes from her willingness to abandon competition rules outside official matches and use whatever dirty tactic produces victory.

Her fighting style emphasizes experience, deception and tactical awareness rather than overwhelming physical power. She understands how opponents think and exploits their assumptions about what a martial artist is supposed to do.

Nabeshima later develops the Style Tactician, formalizing her talent for strategy within the series' language-based Style system.

Nabeshima initially tries to solve two problems simultaneously: removing Akune from the Judo Club and recruiting Zenkichi as her successor. She arranges a match in which Akune can earn a place on Medaka's Student Council while Zenkichi can be drawn into judo.

Her plan does not unfold exactly as intended, but it succeeds in moving Akune toward the Student Council. Nabeshima remains connected to Medaka's group and participates in several later conflicts despite her preference for avoiding hopeless fights.

During the battle involving Class -13, Nabeshima joins the Loser Team. Her willingness to use tricks and even play dead distinguishes her survival-minded approach from the more straightforward fighters around her.

Kouki Akune is Nabeshima's talented junior in the Judo Club. She dislikes Kouki Akune's natural genius and deliberately engineers circumstances that move him away from the club and toward the Student Council.

Zenkichi Hitoyoshi interests Nabeshima because he succeeds through persistence rather than effortless talent. She repeatedly expresses a desire for Zenkichi Hitoyoshi to inherit the Judo Club.

Medaka Kurokami becomes Nabeshima's friend despite their contrasting approaches to confrontation. Nabeshima dislikes openly admitting that she regards Medaka Kurokami that way.

Betsuhei Jounan is Nabeshima's vice-captain and the student ultimately selected to succeed her as Judo Club captain.

Myouga Unzen fights Nabeshima during the Flask Plan conflict, giving Nabeshima an opportunity to demonstrate how dangerous her rule-breaking combat style can be.