Origin
Ryōko Tokuno is a beach volleyball player that represented Japan in the 2004 Athens Olympics. She retired from playing the sport, but follows the game closely and it’s up and coming talent. When she watched the previous year’s Madonna Cup competition, the most prominent star was Sanae Hayakawa.
Creation
Ryōko Tokuno (徳野 涼子, Tokuno Ryōko) is a supporting character of The Beach Stars manga series created by Masahiro Morio. It originally began publication in Shogakukan’s Shūkan Young Sunday magazine No. 14, 2007.
Her first appearance was in The Beach Stars Volume 1 CH.1 “Iruka Nanase!“.
Ryōko is based on the real Japanese beach volleyball player Ryōko Tokuno (徳野 涼子) who competed in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Along with her partner Chiaki Kusuhara (楠原千秋), they ranked 17th in the world.
Character Evolution
Major Story Arcs
Ryōko was at the Hitatsuka Beach Park to watch the training during a promotional event when she saw Sanae Hayakawa arguing with a short high schooler named Iruka Nanase. Rather than see the conflict turn violent, Ryōko suggested a friendly match of Iruka and her three friends against Sanae and her teammate. Ryōko watched as the students struggled against Sanae, but Iruka shocked everyone when the short kid jumped in the air so high it seemed she was flying. Though the students get a single score, Iruka actually made Sanae serious.
Ryōko ran into Iruka, Rin, and Kotomi the next day at the beach. They had come to train but didn’t know anything about the Madonna Cup competitions. It was then that their teacher, Kyosuke Honda, recognized her from the Olympics coverage. To help them train, Ryōko gave the girls a trick to practice for a test she would give them to see if they were even worthy of aiming for the Madonna Cup. It was to race across the field, pick up the water bottle with one hand and rebound a serve with their one free hand. Kyosuke knew she gave them an impossible task, but Ryōko managed to pull it off by using her leg. Ryōko then agreed to help coach the girls in her spare time.
Powers & Abilities
Ryōko is an Olympic level athlete who represented Japan in the 2004 Summer Olympics. With her training comes an incredible skill in speed and stamina.