Chiyo Mihama, usually called Chiyo-chan, is a child prodigy, having skipped five grades to 10th grade (the first year of high school in Japan) at the start of the series, yet she is still at the top of the class. The other characters find Chiyo amazingly cute, but sometimes take advantage of both her youthfulness and her scholastic abilities.  Her diminutive stature leads to her having a lack of confidence, particularly in sports where she fears she is a burden to others. Chiyo is frequently viewed with envy by fellow students, initially because of her intelligence, but later also because of the discovery that her family is exceedingly wealthy.