WOOOOOW! SO BIIIG! I'VE NEVER SEEN ANKLES LIKE THESE! ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE HUMAN? Maybe you're big-boned...How strange... Don't be like that. Let me have a closer look!
„
~ Shijima Mei
“
So? Where are you headed next? I really don't mind letting you wander around wherever you want to go...But please don't forget. You are on my canvas. I am always watching you.
„
~ Shijima Mei
“
......I... ...I am fiction. A dream. And a supernatural. I've wanted to apologize to you for so long. I'm sorry... ...Mei Shijima. I couldn't do what you asked me. I was born to protect you... ...But I couldn't.
„
~ Shijima Mei
“
I am on your side. I assume you've realized that this world is fake?
„
~ Paintbrush-Chan
“
Now do you trust me?
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~ Paintbrush-Chan
“
Don't talk like that :C
„
~ Paintbrush-Chan
“
EEEEEEE! WOOOOW! IT LOOKS SO GOOD! Aren't pancakes the best!? Yours look good too Nene-Chan!
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~ Mei Shijima
“
It's been so long... ...Since I've to eat pancakes with a friend. Thank you for hanging out with me. I had a lot of fun!
„
~ Mei Shijima
“
You were never meaningless. Reality can hurt sometimes... So we close our eyes to dream... ...To see us through another tomorrow. You are my drawing. My dream. And my hope. It's because you are here that I will open my eyes again today. It's because of you that I can go on living. And hey. What's wrong with being a supernatural? You're going down in history as a school ghost story! That's so cool! Thanks for coming to see me... ...My other self
„
~ Mei Shijima
“
Understood...I apologize for being unable to fulfill your request~ We'll be going back to the first one then, yes?
„
~ Shijima Mei
“
THAT'S ENOUGH! We may be inside of a picture... ...But this is still part of my boundary. And that makes it my territory. My Shrine. I'd appreciate it if you'd leave your Tsueshiro at home... ...Honorable No.7. There. Now you can't use Hakujoudai.
„
~ Shijima Mei
“
Welcome to my boundary. It's nice to meet you... ...Nene Yashiro-San.
Shijima Mei was a 3rd-year high schooler attending Kamome Academy before she passed away due to an unknown illness. While attending school, she was shown to have an aptitude for drawing and painting, amassing encouragement by her parents. Her last project was to paint a tower, to which she drew a tall Atelier tower on her sketchpad while being situated in a hospital bed. Already understanding that she was unable to live much longer, she decided to envision that a healthier version of her would live inside the tower, continuing her painting after her legacy. Enduring through the pitiful remarks, she took solace in the comfort of her fictional version. Because of that, she still retained her confident, positive, and self-reliant nature. Several of her traits were then passed down to the supernatural, Shijima Mei (also known as No.4 of the School Mysteries), who was simply a proxy or replication of her human version. However, she took full responsibility for granting Mei's wish before the rumors spread. Because she couldn't do anything against the rumors, she lost hope in trying to make fiction into reality; therefore falling into a sense of hopelessness and distraught.
Shijima Mei appears at the end of the arc, being revealed by Tsukasa as a present for Mitsuba. She is seen crying and cowering under a table in fear.
Shijima Mei was first noticed by Yashiro Nene after cleaning the pool. She appears to be drawing flowers in her sketchbook behind the fence. Shijima then disappears from sight. In the tower, she tells both Kou and Nene to kill Mitsuba and Amane to escape. After Nene was taken by Hanako and imprisoned, Shijima checks up on Nene before getting threatened to make a deal with her. This eventually leads to Tsukasa showing up and granting her wish. He grants her wish to kill herself, the original, before she finishes or submits the tower that will create her. It fails because of Nene's inference with Mei.
Shijima Mei was originally tied up by Kou before escaping and doing the same to him. She participates in the plan with Mitsuba, Kou, and Nene to escape the fake world before its finished. She tells Nene to go to No.1 for information that may help with her short lifespan, in addition to offering her sketchpad with her yorishiro to undo the fake world. She was seen talking to Tsukasa after the fake world is destroyed, and the two discuss in the art room about the payment for the wish she made.
Paintbrush: Shijima Mei is able to create a paintbrush as one of her avatars to interact with the fictional world. This paintbrush is able to create things by drawing such as a flying vehicles and other items. This paintbrush is also able to attack people and ignore their durability while turning them into paint.
Paint: Shijima Mei is able to make paint supplies from nothing to restrain an opponent to stop them from moving. This paint is also able to silence her opponents while also being able to stretch to accommodate for the enemy's strength. This paint is also able to make a person stick to any surface to restrict their movement even further. She is able to create more of the paint if an enemy were to get free from her restraints.
Notebook: Shijima Mei carries a notebook everywhere she goes. This notebook is able to create things based on the things drawn in it. She is able to make perfect replicas of things such as chocolate, an elephant, weapons, and even people. When she copies a person, she is able to copy the abilities of said person that she copies.
Miscellaneous Weapons: Shijima Mei is able to create any weapon or object from her notebook and make it come to life. She can add any property to the weapons she makes such as making extremely heavy weapons light or making explosives that can erase abstract beings.
Intangible Knife: Shijima Mei created a knife that is able to cut through anything as she describes it. This knife is able to completely ignore a person's defense and cancel out their abilities. She uses this knife in order to cut down the rumors around her, completely negating their physiology.
Notable Techniques
Narrative Erasure: Shijima Mei is able to use a knife in the real world to destroy your body while not allowing you to regenerate until she redraws them.
Other
Standard Tactics: Shijima Mei sends you to her fictional world, which is filled with all of your wants and desires. Her avatars will keep the world in check while stopping you from leaving if you were to find out that the world is fiction. If the opponent were to further resist, she will erase you from the world.
Weaknesses: If Shijima Mei's Yorishiro is broken, he will become far weaker and will be vulnerable. The only way to break said Yorishiro is to be bonded to a School Wonder.
Trivia
As stated on her student card, Shijima Mei was in class 3-E of the Kamome Academy Highschool Division. This places her age at 17-18 at the time of her death.
As stated on the card, she was born in the Shōwa era. Her birth year was partially blurred, but the numbers resembled Shōwa 58 (1983).
Shijima uses "ワタシ" (watashi, katakana) while the original Mei uses "わたし" (watashi, hiragana).
In Chapter 53, the "real" version of Shijima Mei enjoys eating fluffy pancakes, which is seen when she and Nene have a brief lunch at a cafe.
The 四 in Shijima means four, a reference to her position as No.4.
In the pilot chapters, there was a unnamed ghost apparition that had her spot as No. 4 of the Seven School Mysteries.
The official appearance of Shijima was made in Chapter 40 when Tsukasa unveiled her under the tablecloth. Although it doesn't correlate with No.2 or No.5, the other School Wonders aside from Hanako have been introduced in their numeric chapters respectively.
Shijima is curiously indifferent towards lightning, while the original Mei calmly sees it as an exciting moment.