Ni and Li (ニィ & リィ, Nii ando Rii) are two of Riser Phenex’s Pawns.
Appearance[]
Ni and Li are two young girls, appearing to be in their teens. Being twins, they sport similar appearances, with the major difference being Ni's red eyes and blue hair, in contrast to Li's blue eyes and red hair. Also, Ni ties her hair in a ponytail, while Li has hers in a braid with a pink bow tied at the end. Due to them being Nekomatas before being reincarnated as Devils, both of them retained their trademark light brown cat ears with black stripes. They also wear piercings on their ears, with Li having two gold earrings on her left ear and Ni having blue-colored ones on her right. Similarly, both of them have a fang sticking out of their mouths, with Ni having hers to her left and Li having hers on her right, thus mirroring each other. While they appear to be the same height in the anime, in the manga Ni appears a bit shorter than Li.
Both of them wear short skimpy, white sailor uniforms that reveal their abdomen, shoulders, and lower breasts and wear short black skirts. They are also shown to tie their orange ascots in different ways, respectively. Also, they're always seen wearing red and blue fighter's gloves and leg guards matching their hair color, respectively.
Personality[]
Both appear to be equally cheerful and appear to be childish even during a fight. They also show a feline personality, sometimes ending their sentences with a "Nya" (にゃ), mimicking a cat's meow.
History[]
Not much is known about Ni and Li, other than at some point before the series they joined Riser's Peerage after being possibly reincarnated by him.
Plot[]
The Red Dragon Emperor's Awakening[]
Ni and Li first appeared in Volume 2 at the Occult Research Club, when Riser introduced his peerage, having decided to have a Rating Game against Rias to settle their engagement issue. During the Rating Game, they fought Issei alongside Siris and Mihae but were forced to retire from the game due to being overwhelmed by the combined abilities of Issei and Yuuto.
The Legend of Oppai Dragon and his Lively Companions[]
In the Extra Life of DX.1, Ni and Li participated in their master's rematch against Rias. They both wanted to get payback on Issei for the last time but couldn't since Koneko intervened, saying that she wanted to take them on instead due to them being fellow former Nekomatas. The two of them were eventually defeated by her.
In Volume 19, both Ni and Li participated in the Rating Game between their master and Diehauser Belial.
Powers and Abilities[]
Demonic Power: As Devils, both girls have all the common skills and powers of one.
Ki Manipulation: While it is unclear to what extent, Koneko has noted that both Ni and Li are ki users just like herself.
Enhanced Strength: As Nekomatas, Ni and Li have natural high physical strength and were strong enough to deal significant damage to both Issei's legs.
Heightened Senses: As Nekomatas, Ni and Li naturally have great senses such as smell and hearing.
Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Together, the two are shown to be skilled in close-quarters combat, which they use along with their incredible reflexes. They're also shown to be rather quick and agile.
Flight: As devils, they can fly using their wings.
Equipment[]
Pawn Piece (兵士の駒, Pōn no koma): Ni and Li were reincarnated using a Pawn Piece, which initially doesn't grant any special abilities like the other Evil Pieces but which possesses the ability to use Promotion to gain the abilities of other Evil Pieces.
- Promotion: Being Pawns, Ni and Li can use Promotion to temporarily gain the traits of a Queen, Rook, Knight, or Bishop.
Trivia[]
- Ni and Li are one of two pairs of twins in Riser's peerage, alongside Ile and Nel.
- Ni and Li are Chinese unisex names.
- Ni can mean "small child," "small and weak," "origin or beginning," "bound, limit, or extremity," "to differentiate," and "I or we."
- Li can mean "plum," "plum tree," "beautiful (fem)," "black or dawn," "logic or reason," "power or strength (masc)," and "stand."
- Li is also a Hebrew unisex name meaning "to me."
- Ni shares her Japanese voice actress with Issei's alarm clock, while Li shares her English voice actress with Lady Phenex.