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Ami's most-emphasized character trait is that she is enormously intelligent. Her peers view her with a mixture of awe and
distaste, misinterpreting her inherent shyness as snobbery, and so she tends to have a difficult time making new friends.
Naoko Takeuchi gave Ami genius-level intelligence to give the impression that Ami was not quite human, but her editor objected
and this inhuman trait was later toned down. Ami is depicted as sweet, gentle, and loyal, as well as slightly insecure. Early
on in the story she relies heavily on the approval of her mother, teachers, and friends, basing her self-worth on academic
success,[citation needed] but as the series progresses she becomes stronger and more confident in herself. She is generally
the most sensible of the main characters, and is often the only one embarrassed when the group has a dull-witted moment. As
the story begins, she attends Azabu Juban Junior High along with Usagi Tsukino and Makoto Kino.
Throughout the series, much of Ami's free time is spent studying. She loves to read, and dreams aloud of one day being
a doctor like her mother. She has great appreciation for art as well as science, and contrary to the usual depiction of a
bookworm, even enjoys pop culture and romance novels (though she is usually embarrassed to admit it). In the both the anime
and the manga, Ami's diligence in her studies becomes a running gag; she often comically scolds Usagi and the others for not
doing their homework, and she can become obsessive about being the best student. She sometimes displays attraction to boys
her age, and other times aversion to the idea. Love letters are listed as the one thing she has most trouble with, and when
she later receives one, it gives her a rash. In the anime, a classmate named Urawa learns her identity and expresses attraction
to her, but this is never resolved, as he disappears after just two appearances in the first series.
Besides reading, Ami is shown playing chess and swimming in order to relax. As the team scholar, computers are listed
her strong point; she even belongs to the club at school. She loves all her classes, especially mathematics. Her favorite
foods are given as sandwiches and anmitsu, with her least favorite being yellowtail. Other loves include cats and the color
aquamarine. Ami stands approximately 158 centimeters tall (5 ft 2 in), though this varies slightly according to the version
of the story and passage of time. She is blood type A.
Ami is one of the few girls in the series whose family situation is explicitly mentioned in the anime. Her parents are
divorced, and she lives with her mother, a busy doctor who is not home very often. They look very similar, and Ami admires
her mother and longs to live up to her example. Besides her workaholic tendencies, Ms. Mizuno is portrayed as a good person
who openly resents not having more time to spend with her daughter. Ami's father is never named, but is stated in the manga
and anime to be a painter. The manga says that he never visits them, having decided one day not to come home from the forest
where he was relaxing and painting, but he sends her postcards on her birthday. Thinking about this, Ami sometimes resents
her parents' selfishness in separating, partly because divorce in Japan is taboo. However, in the anime Ami seems to appreciate
her father and seems to share some of his artistic traits, even composing a song at one point. In the manga, Ami's mother
is revealed to be fairly rich, as they live in a condominium. Ami is shown testing the strength of a sword that the Sailor
Senshi received on the moon by using it to chip a diamond ring. (Classically, a diamond is the hardest mineral.) When the
girls panic, she calms them by saying that her mother has many more.
In the live-action series, Ami is especially shy and usually wears glasses while in public, even though she does not need
them. At her middle school, she has no friends before meeting Usagi and always eats lunch alone on the roof so she can study.
Usagi seems to be the only one to realize that Ami is merely shy, not truly standoffish, and in befriending her gradually
helps Ami to learn that she is more than just a bookworm. By Act 34, when Ami's mother attempts to transfer her to another
school because she thinks Ami's friends are bad influences, Ami rebels, avoiding the admission interview and spending the
night at the Senshi hideout with Rei Hino. Later she tells her mother that what she's doing in her life right now is more
important than studying, and her mother understands.
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