http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/DeconstructedCharacterArchetype/APlaceFurtherThanTheUniverse
This series tends to do this with its
characters, as it goes out of its way to
not be a
Schoolgirl Series despite having the trappings of one.
- Kimari appears to be the Idiot Hero and Genki Girl. In most series, someone like her would be the catalyst for the plot moving forward by inspiring others to follow her, but not here. She doesn't end up being the driving force behind the plot or any of the other characters' development; with no deeper reasons for going to Antarctica rather than having an adventure, she ends up being a Pinball Protagonist who's just excited to be there, just the same as the audience.
- Shirase looks like The Stoic and has the appearance for it, but she's actually the Determinator whose desire to get to Antarctica no matter what provides the impetus for the plot to move forward. That attitude, however, gets her mocked by others who consider her weird for being so obsessed with that one thing, and she ends up being driven to prove them wrong. She does make it to Antarctica, but sheer determination doesn't quite prepare her for accepting the fact that her mother's death or finding emotional closure.
- Hinata has the appearance of another Genki Girl, but is actually The Stoic and Wise Beyond Their Years. But why is she that way? Well, because she was bullied so badly in school that she ended up dropping out. Her mature attitude is a result of being forced to grow up before she was ready for it.
- Yuzuki is a deconstruction of the "popular kid" tropes like the School Idol or Idol Singer: she is a relatively famous child actor, but unlike what's usual, she absolutely hates it, suffering under the thumb of a Stage Mom and not being allowed to experience any of what normal high schoolers do. She's been friendless seemingly forever because everyone who claims to be her "friend" has only been interested in her popularity and not her as a person.
- Megumi deconstructs the Satellite Character. Much like Nodoka Manabe from K-On!, she generally exists in the first few episodes as someone for Kimari to emote to, while providing a little exposition about their backstories. As Kimari starts to hang out more and more with her future expedition mates, Megumi appears less and less, only to cheer her on. It turns out that far from being happy for Kimari to go on an adventure, Megumi is genuinely hurt by being pushed to the background of Kimari's life in favor of her new friends. She ends up going to great lengths to sabotage Kimari's trip to Antarctica because she's jealous of her new friends, but more importantly, she's scared of losing her Only Friend for good.
- Shirase's mother Takako takes the Determinator deconstruction even further. She managed to piece together the first civilian expedition to Antarctica seemingly single-handedly just by never giving up and getting others to follow her lead, and she winds up leading a large expedition that is completely loyal to her. In an utterly tragic example of this trope, her inability to know when to quit ends up getting her killed, when she goes back for the laptop that her daughter uses to contact her via email, and gets lost in a sudden blizzard. The rest of the crew are left with crippling guilt over failing to prevent her death, the expedition is left on life support with sponsors pulling out over the bad publicity, and Shirase is left without a mother during the most important years of her life.
