Maya Yamada is known for her gentle, timid, and kind-hearted nature, which stands in stark contrast to the strict and commanding presence of her colleague Chifuyu Orimura. She is typically soft-spoken and affectionate toward her students, often responding to awkward or embarrassing situations with unexpected warmth or humor. A notable example is when Ichika accidentally grabs her chest during a crash landing rather than scolding him, Maya awkwardly begins to joke about marriage and familial ties, leaving Ichika flustered.

Although she usually presents a passive and modest front, Maya is capable of asserting herself when necessary. She is not afraid to discipline students who step out of line and can take control of a situation with surprising efficiency. Despite having once been an IS Representative Candidate, she downplays her own abilities, often brushing off compliments from Chifuyu and others by insisting that her days as a pilot are long behind her.

Maya also has a playful and teasing side, particularly around those she knows well. She occasionally makes lighthearted comments about Chifuyu’s relationship with Ichika, though she often retracts them when Chifuyu threatens to spar with her. Maya also enjoys flustering her old rival Djibril by exploiting her prideful and impulsive personality, a dynamic that traces back to their student days.

In combat, Maya undergoes a dramatic shift. Her usually shy and reserved personality gives way to a focused, confident, and even aggressive combat style. This transformation has caught students off guard, especially when she steps in to protect Ichika from the overreactions of his classmates. On the battlefield, she maintains a cheerful and composed expression, yet demonstrates overwhelming force, relentlessly pressuring opponents with gunfire. Her fierce tactics earned her the nickname “Killing Shield,” a title she finds both embarrassing and undeserved, given her reserved personality off the field.

Maya Yamada is a young woman in her twenties with short green hair and matching green eyes. She wears glasses and has a gentle, unassuming look that complements her reserved personality. Maya is of average height and has a slender build, though she is often noted for her notably voluptuous figure, particularly her large bust, which becomes more apparent when she wears her form-fitting IS pilot suit.

Outside of training sessions, Maya is typically seen in a distinctive short sleeved yellow dress with black trim along the sleeves and hem. The outfit is somewhat revealing, often showing part of her bra—pink in most depictions, though black in the CHOCO illustrations. She pairs this outfit with knee-high black boots, giving her a unique appearance among the faculty members.

During official training exercises and combat simulations, Maya wears the standard IS suit. In the Cannonball Fast practice session, she briefly wore a custom IS suit featuring a V-neck design, but ultimately discontinued its use after it proved distracting to Ichika.

Little is revealed about Maya Yamada’s background prior to the events of the main series. It is known that she once held the position of IS Representative Candidate for Japan, though she never advanced beyond candidate status. Despite her capabilities, she eventually transitioned from active training to an instructional role and currently serves as an assistant homeroom teacher at the IS Academy, working alongside her colleague Chifuyu Orimura.

In Volume 2 of the light novel, Maya is identified as the instructor whom Ichika Orimura inadvertently “defeated” during his entrance exam. This event played a part in confirming his unique compatibility with the IS system and his subsequent acceptance into the academy.

Despite her reserved personality, Maya Yamada is an exceptionally skilled IS pilot and a highly capable member of the IS Academy’s instructional staff. Her combat abilities have earned the respect of Chifuyu Orimura, herself a legendary IS pilot, which speaks to Maya’s proficiency and tactical acumen.

Maya is known for her extraordinary accuracy as a sharpshooter and her agility in battle. In one training demonstration, she was able to defeat both Cecilia Alcott and Lingyin Huang simultaneously despite piloting a modified second-generation mass-production IS—while her opponents used more advanced third-generation personal units. Her nimbleness and ability to evade incoming attacks make her a difficult target to pin down.

She later demonstrated her strength during the confrontation with Shirokishi, while it was in control of Ichika Orimura. Though she arrived after Shirokishi had already fought several first-year Representative Candidates, including Madoka, Maya was able to successfully subdue it using her own IS, Show Must Go On.

Maya’s combat style is based on cornering her opponent and finishing the encounter with overwhelming firepower. Her strategy involves trapping her adversary using energy shields, then delivering rapid barrages of bullets to prevent escape. These aggressive and decisive tactics have earned her the nickname “Killing Shield”, a title she is known to feel embarrassed about, given her gentle personality off the battlefield.

Her personal IS is the Raphael Revive, developed by the Dunois Company. Introduced at the end of the second generation of IS units, it features specifications that rival those of early third-generation models. While it was the last among mass-production IS units to be released, it quickly became the third most widely adopted worldwide. The Raphael Revive is highly versatile; with customizable equipment, it can be configured for a variety of roles including close combat, long-range sniping, and defensive operations.

Maya’s given name (真耶) is composed of the kanji ma (真), meaning “true” or “genuine,” and ya (耶), a character often associated with Buddhist or spiritual connotations. Together, the name can be interpreted as “true one” or “genuine spirit,” which may reflect her honest and sincere nature.

Her surname, Yamada (山田), is a common Japanese family name that combines yama (山), meaning “mountain,” and da or ta (田), meaning “field” or “rice paddy.” The name evokes a natural and traditional rural image, contrasting with Maya’s high-tech role in the world of Infinite Stratos.