Caren

Karen (かれん) is a fictional character in the manga and anime series Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch. She is the Keeper of the Purple Pearl and Mermaid Princess of the Antarctic Ocean, which is also known as the Southern Ocean.

Karen has a twin sister named Noel who is Mermaid Princess of the Arctic Ocean. After finding out that Noel has become captured by the sea monsters, Karen sought out on a quest to find her and meets Lucia, Hanon and Rina Tōin. She initially despised Rina and blamed her for leaving her sister behind and running away on her own until she learns the truth, but she is still reluctant to being with them. But whenever she needs to, she will appear to assist her friends.

In the end, they work together to confront their enemy and Karen finally frees her sister, along with Coco, the Mermaid Princess of the South Pacific Ocean. Karen's name means pure. Karen is a mature person and dislikes Rina for what she did.

Though Karen lacks a real love interest like Lucia, Rina and Hanon, she had fallen for a man named Subaru in the anime.

Karen can mean 'pure' or 'beautiful' in Greek.

Caren's Forms
Caren has three forms: her mermaid, human, and Purple Pearl Voice form.

Mermaid
Her mermaid form follows the trend of all the other mermaid princesses, with two pearl bracelets around her right wrist and tail.

Human
In her human form, her light purple hair becomes a wine purple color with series of separate curls(like an octopus's tentacles), and her eyes also become a brown color. In the manga, Caren initially sports the same hairstyle but the color is light pink and her eyes are blue. She wears a necklace with her pearl inside it like the other mermaid princesses. In the manga, Karen (in the human form) first appears in chapter 9. She often wears purple clothing.

Purple Pearl Voice
Lastly, there is her idol form, her Purple Pearl Voice.

Her costume is a white short strapless dress with purple ruffles down the one side and it is above knee length with purple trim at top. Her bow is a slightly brighter shade with lighter purple ribbon on the end. Her gloves are white with purple cuffs that extend to her mid arm and her high-heeled boots have the same colors. She has a purple and white barette in her hair.

Transformation
In the anime, Karen shouts "Purple Pearl Voice!" to transform. In the manga, she can transform at will with no incantation.

Voice
In her idol form, like Lucia and the others, Karen can use her singing voice to get rid of enemies.

Her song is 'Aurora no Kaze Ni Notte', (オーロラの風ニッケルノッテ Riding on the Winds of the Aurora) and in the manga, at the end of her songs, she uses 'Cutie Hot Pitch'. In the anime, she uses 'Love Shower Pitch' with the rest of the mermaids.

Anime
Caren's first appearance in anime is episode 21. Her first introduction is in episode 26. She saves Lucia, Hanon and Rina from the Dark Lovers by transforming into Purple Pearl Voice. For most of the episode, Caren's criticism causes Rina to take a guilt trip as to why she abandoned Noel when Gaito attacked the Arctic and North Atlantic Kingdoms.

Manga
Caren makes her first appearance walking past Taro Mitsuki on the sidewalk in human form. She first appears as a mermaid, handing Lucia back her mic after Izuru knocks it out of Lucia's hand. Caren appears in her idol form as Purple Pearl Voice in chapter 12 of the manga.

Actresses
Karen was voiced by Ema Kogure in the Japanese anime

Ema Kogure singing voice was Caren Carter (St. Helier, Jersey)