Ah, main character syndrome.

It's a little weird that Rina's former career (as a construction worker) is never mentioned in Theater, and her mildly-superhuman strength takes until #1128 to show up. (She mentions she's confident in her strength in #229 but it's downplayed.)

I can't think of another Cinderella whose previous job/hobby isn't played up. I mean, Rina has a lot of attributes -- gal, fashion, laid-back but excitable, poyo -- but you'd think you'd at least see her in the background toting amps or something.

(It's also kind of refreshing that the closest that Cinderella Girls gets to the old "bitchy" gyaru stereotype is Risa, and that's mostly her daddy's-girlness and a distressingly realistic view of her fans.)

Sincere said:

It's a little weird that Rina's former career (as a construction worker) is never mentioned in Theater, and her mildly-superhuman strength takes until #1128 to show up. (She mentions she's confident in her strength in #229 but it's downplayed.)

I can't think of another Cinderella whose previous job/hobby isn't played up. I mean, Rina has a lot of attributes -- gal, fashion, laid-back but excitable, poyo -- but you'd think you'd at least see her in the background toting amps or something.

(It's also kind of refreshing that the closest that Cinderella Girls gets to the old "bitchy" gyaru stereotype is Risa, and that's mostly her daddy's-girlness and a distressingly realistic view of her fans.)

There's plenty of idols who's pasts remain unclear or are never detailed in Theater. I mean, no one knows where Helen, Layla, or Noa came from and I don't believe it has ever been stated what Tokiko or Wakaba used to do. Heck even some very popular idols like Kaede and Kako have no past associated with them.

I think the fact that her uncanny strength isn't focused on has to do with the fact that it doesn't really impact her personality, (certainly it impacts her character but not her personality). In storytelling, personality is easy to depict immediately through speech/chothes/etc., but character takes time to develop. It's similar to how Kozue is kind of a genius but because it doesn't impact her personality as a cute, dreamy little kid, it isn't often portrayed.

The reason you don't see her randomly in the background is because of panel space. There isn't a lot of it and it has to be divided between essential characters and speech. Unless a background character is going to appear again later in the comic as a foreground character, you don't usually want to use resources to draw them because it distracts from the story you're trying to tell.

Primarily she's a gyaru, and that's what gets focused on.

Good points (particularly on the panel space) though I'd argue that for Helen, Layla, Noa, and to a lesser extent Kaede, the lack of clear background is the point; they're all very much _about_ the mystery.