She was the biological daughter of the woman who would eventually become the high-ranking yokai known as the Acrobatic Silky. Mai's tragic and untimely death is the reason that drives the Acrobatic Silky's motivations, leading the spirit to wander the earth in a desperate search for her lost child.
She only appears in flashbacks and spiritual visions. Her death caused her mother to descend into a spiral of grief and suicide, ultimately transforming her into a vengeful spirit. In the present day, the Acrobatic Silky mistakes Aira Shiratori for Mai due to a perceived spiritual similarity, which triggers the conflict between the yokai and the series' protagonists, Momo Ayase and Ken Takakura. Mai represents the innocence lost to poverty and tragedy, and her memory eventually allows the Acrobatic Silky to find peace and perform a final act of self-sacrifice.
Mai was a young girl of elementary school age or younger. She had large, dark, expressive eyes and light-colored hair styled in a short bob with a small clip or ponytail on the right side of her head.
In her mother's memories she is most frequently seen wearing a light-colored, long-sleeved sweatshirt featuring a stylized sun or flower emblem on the chest, paired with a dark skirt and small sneakers. The author emphasizes her small stature and fragile appearance to contrast with the imposing, grotesque height of her mother's yokai form.
Based on the flashbacks provided through her mother's memories, Mai was affectionate, playful, and entirely unaware of the hardship surrounding her. She shared a deeply loving bond with her mother — often tugging on her dress and calling out to her. She was prone to running ahead, causing her mother to chase after her. She appeared oblivious to the extreme poverty her mother endured to provide for them, focused only on their shared moments together.
The Mother's Memory — Chapter 14
As the Acrobatic Silky battles Momo and Ken, she experiences vivid hallucinations of Mai. She sees Aira Shiratori as Mai and becomes obsessed with reclaiming her.
The Truth Revealed — Chapter 16
The full backstory of Mai's life and death is shown through a series of flashbacks. Her mother worked as a professional ballet dancer and took on multiple grueling side jobs to support them, often leaving Mai alone. During one of these absences, Mai accidentally fell from a high-rise location and died. Unable to cope with the loss, her mother committed suicide by jumping from the same location — transforming into the Acrobatic Silky through grief.
The Parting — Chapter 17
The Acrobatic Silky finally recognizes that Aira is not Mai but chooses to use the last of her life force to save Aira's life — viewing it as a way to protect a child in the way she could never protect Mai. In her final moments, she sees a vision of Mai waiting for her in a kinder world.
The Acrobatic Silky — Her Mother
Their relationship was defined by mutual love and her mother's extreme self-sacrifice. Mai was the entire reason her mother worked multiple jobs in poverty. Her death is what broke her mother completely and produced the yokai that drives the arc's conflict. In the end, the Silky's final act of saving Aira is framed as the thing she could not do for Mai — a gesture made possible only after accepting that her daughter was gone.
Aira Shiratori — The Surrogate
Mai and Aira never met. The Acrobatic Silky perceived a spiritual similarity between them and became convinced Aira was her daughter. The entire arc conflict runs on this mistaken identity. When the Silky gave her life to save Aira, she was using the moment as a second chance to be the mother she failed to be for Mai.
- Her name Mai (マイ) is confirmed during the climax of her mother's backstory arc.
- Mai represents the "lost child" trope of Japanese urban legends — specifically those associated with high-rise buildings and construction sites.
- The sun or flower emblem on her sweatshirt is a recurring motif in the series that appears during moments of maternal or domestic warmth.
- She appears only in flashbacks and visions — Chapters 13–17 — yet is the single event around which the entire Acrobatic Silky arc is built.
🇯🇵 Japanese Voice Actors
Kino, Hina
🇯🇵 Japanese
🇺🇸 English Voice Actors
Lauda, Brittany
🇺🇸 English