History Characters / TheDangersInMyHeart

** [[spoiler: Once she finally corners them into a public confession, Ichikawa and Yamada invoke this so she stop being a nuisance, so they pretend Yamada rejected him]].

* EveryoneHasStandards: While everyone talks about memories of grade school, Moeko learns of just how Ichikawa came to her defense when a boy decided to call her a hag rather than admit to a crush. Ichikawa had apparently frightened him to tears with the threat of lifelong debt should he ever be taken to court for defamation. Despite seemingly [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys liking her boys on the scoundrel side]], [[WhatTheHellHero she calls Ichikawa scum]] upon hearing this side of the story.

* NightmareFetishist: The whole aesthetic behind his Chuunibyou phase, at first thinking of himself a budding SerialKiller and imaging cutting his classmates to pieces ...He's past that, but it still remains a common theme of his interests.

** Whenever he gets the chance to draw, it's usually something ghastly; like a zombie version of Adachi. He also gives Yamada pointers on how to color blood realistically when she thinks of applying red paint to her face as a ghost for the school culture festival.

** In spite of being an Otaku himself, he internally derides his classmates in their work-study trip for getting excited over manga. Then an illustrator shows up with a ''Manga/{{Baki}}'' manuscript and he gets internally excited while still resisting the urge to go and see. Then Yamada takes him over to see it and he ''expresses'' [[WhenHeSmiles his excitement.]]

* {{Protectorate}}: To Yamada, even during his "I want to kill her" phase. He frequently assists her when she's having trouble, tries diverting unwanted attention from her, protects her from potential embarrassment, and keeps her from getting in trouble with the school with her snacking habits.
* TheQuietOne: Early on, Ichikawa's monologues made it easy to forget that he didn't actually speak that much. Maeda-Sensei is impressed that he spoke more than usual when speaking for Yamada, and Moeko was surprised that he talks at all. He becomes more comfortable with speaking over time, which led to Chii lampshading how he usually mutters to the point where it feels like [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall he's speaking in squiggly speech bubbles.]]

* ShrinkingViolet: He tends to avert his eyes when talking to others, and he generally keeps to himself. In fact, when he successfully convinced his teacher that Yamada was innocent of bringing snacks to school (against school regulations), the teacher praised him and mentioned that was the first time he heard Ichikawa speak so much.

* SituationalSociability: He speaks more casually to Yamada the more he hangs out with her, something Chii lampshades (without realizing why).

* CloudCuckoolander: Ichikawa, her friends, and others who've met Yamada have all concluded that she's a total oddball and get repeatedly lost trying to comprehend her behavior and sense of humor.

** It's also deconstructed. Yamada ''isn't'' a fan of being this (again, ''[[{{Slimeball}} Nanjou]]'', for example) to the point where it's speculated at times that she may have a case of Androphobia and her friends form a PraetorianGuard around her to keep boys at bay.

* NonPOVProtagonist: While she shares the lead with Ichikawa, he's the only character in the series whose thoughts are unambiguously presented to the audience in narration boxes. Yamada's side of the story is mainly tied to Ichikawa's perspective, and her own thoughts and feelings are conveyed through ShowDontTell. The most obvious she gets are occasional {{Imagine Spot}}s. Other times her facial expressions and actions coincide with either Ichikawa's thoughts or someone else's dialogue.

** At one at the beach, Ichikawa was checking out the girls walking around. And despite what [[ClingyJealousGirl Yamada thought]], he was ''only'' paying attention to them looking at Yamada more than any guys passing by.

** His favorite movies are the ''Film/{{Memento}}'' and the ''Film/TheButterflyEffect'', both psychological thrillers. His favorite animal is the Pillbug/Roly Poly.

* FirstNameBasis: Whereas every other student is on LastNameBasis, she calls her friends either by first name or an AffectionateNickname. ''Ichikawa'', on the other hand, is a different story and she struggles to say his first name whenever it comes up. [[spoiler: After a sleepover at his house, she starts calling him by his first name, but still refers to him as "Ichikawa" in public.]]

** She's all but stated to have been sniffing his Phys. ed jersey under his notice, and outright shown doing it in the anime.

* TheLoad: PlayedForDrama in addition with laughs. Putting it nicely, Yamada is rather... clumsy in most fields. She knows it to the point of tears, and wants to avoid being seen as a burden and someone who can't be relied on.

* MsFanservice: Outside of the series, Norio-sensei tends to make splash color pages of her in ''much'' saucier outfits and positions than she draws Yamada in the story itself. They typically involve [[WorkoutFanservice active wear.]] Other times it's cosplay.

* SexySweaterGirl: Sweaters and other knitted clothing tend to look very good on her, let alone her indigo cardigan she uses for day to day wear.

* SmarterThanYouLook: Yamada is a genuine goofball, but she can be more observant than she tends to act, possesses a good memory (Something acknowledged in Vol. 6's Q&A chapter), and shows moments of emotional wisdom regarding Ichikawa, verbal or otherwise. She also sets up moments to either spend time with him or goad affection from him. [[spoiler: Later on in Karte 63, she demonstrates self-awareness; thinking about why she had been more conscious about her GuiltComplex at the time and almost comes to the conclusion that it's because [[LoveHurts she's in love.]]]]
* SmittenTeenageGirl: Big time. She frequently seeks Ichikawa out, looks at him with a smile, looks for opportunities to stare at his face, lets it slip a couple of times in Extra Chapters that she thinks of their outing in Shibuya as a date, is (secretly) less resistant about acting on her physical attraction to him, and is set on marrying him one day.

* YoungerThanSheLooks: Due to her height and occupation, Yamada appears older than she actually is; capable of passing for a high schooler (Which lands her movie roles as such) or a young adult. Her normal behavior readily reveals that she's indeed a kid still. The English dub makes her ''sound'' older than she is as well.

** In the manga, when Nanjou discovers that Ichikawa has Yamada's number, he becomes a NervousWreck, incapable of forming a coherent sentence, and Moeko has to take him out of the place immediately. Meanwhile, in the anime, he puts himself together fairly well and gives him a BluntNo when Nanjou tells him, he's not going to spill the beans if he gives him her number.
** Downplayed in the White Day's arc. In the manga, he's so insecure about his gift for White Day, that he stays the whole trip, decided he's going to throw it in the trash once he gets home, and only reconsiders at the last minute. In the anime, he's still insecure but decides to gift it much sooner and never considers throwing it away.

* CharacterDevelopment: As time goes on, he becomes more comfortable and confident when talking to Yamada. He's still no social butterfly, but at the very least he can actually talk to her somewhat normally.
** After the events of Kartes 68-70, he outright admits to his sister that he likes Yamada a lot and wants to go out with her.

* NightmareFetishist: The whole aesthetic behind his Chuunibyou phase, at first thinking of himself a budding SerialKiller and imaging cutting his classmates to pieces. ....He's past that, but it still remains a common theme of his interests.

** Whenever he gets the chance to draw, it's usually something ghastly; like a zombie version of Adachi. He also gives Yamada pointers on how to color blood (I.e. paint) realistically when she thinks of applying some to her face as a ghost for the school culture festival.
** His favorite movies are the Film/{{Memento}} and the Film/TheButterflyEffect, both psychological thrillers. His favorite animal is the Pillbug/Roly Poly.
** Some of his favorite manga include Manga/JujutsuKaisen and Manga/TokyoGhoul, both of which incorporate horror elements.

* OddCouple: On a surface level, attractive, popular and outgoing Yamada and introverted, socially awkward and edgy Ichikawa are this. [[SubvertedTrope However]], as the series progresses it becomes more obvious they really are NotSoDifferent.

* OddCouple. On a surface level, attractive, popular and outgoing Yamada and introverted, socially awkward and edgy Ichikawa are this. [[SubvertedTrope However]], as the series progresses it becomes more obvious they really are NotSoDifferent.

* FateDrivesUsTogether: Beyond them sharing the library, Ichikawa crosses paths with Yamada at a magazine shop, on the way to school or from school, at the nurse's office, near a snack shop, and at a restaurant by sheer coincidence. Yamada and her mother even come before the Ichikawa's at a parent-teacher conference, share a seat with his mom, and interact with her while he watches from afar.

* IDidntMeanToTurnYouOn: Quite often early in the story, Yamada unknowingly curses Ichikawa with a RagingStiffie after getting too close to him.
** It also goes both ways. Ichikawa gives her an ear stimulation when he's just trying to quietly warn her to hide some candy from the librarian. In trying to keep Yamada from seeing some magazines that she models for in his bedroom, he pins Yamada to the bed and awakens her to a collarbone fetish.

** Ichikawa is physically less mature compared to his classmates, but putting aside his hangups he displays [[WiseBeyondTheirYears more maturity and awareness than what's expected out of his age group]], and engages in situations they would avoid. In addition to his growth in character, he gradually develops physically overtime as the series progresses; growing a few centimeters taller, changing his hair, and developing a bit of muscle through casual exercise.
** Yamada is physically more developed than kids her age and already has a growing career, yet her [[KiddieKid true personality is considerably more childish]] than those of her peers than anyone would guess from at first glance. Or even those who ''do'' know, as Ichikawa finds out that she speaks in the third person at home. That said, she's very understanding, considerate and emotional receptive while harboring a real desire to be more grown up and responsible, even wanting to follow Ichikawa's example.

* PervertedSniffing: Together with SmellsSexy. Both Ichikawa and Yamada have gotten a whiff of one another, be it directly or from clothing or shampoo. Ichikawa would like to think he has a little more self control about it, while Yamada is more inclined to just go for it.

** PlayedWith. No one ever pin-points anyone specifically, but when a couple of girls insistingly assume that Yamada has a boyfriend she vehemently denies it... them and ''then'' to Ichikawa, who's standing right next to her pretending to mind his business.

* AffectionateNickname: His family calls him "Kyou-chan" or "Kyou". [[spoiler: Yamada tries to get in by asking if she can call him the latter but just settles for his regular first name. Probably both for her [[TwiceShy own peace of mind]] and [[SensoryOverload because he nearly died]] [[ItMakesSenseInContext the second time she did it.]] That said, Karte 101 shows that she still wants to call him this, when she marks "Kyo" down in the library while they're marking each other's heights.]]

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The series opens with him by myself reading a book in class, and monologuing about being a budding serial killer with his sights on Yamada, showcasing his early {{Chuunibyou}} mindset. He also imagines cutting Adachi to pieces after the latter bumps into him. Although he admonishes himself for it, possibly a first hint that he's ''not'' this disturbed being.

* GibberishOfLove: Early on, he's very prone to stuttering with speaking to Yamada. He's evolved into having normal conversations with her, but still delves into it in more sightly romantic territory.

[[quoteright:250:[[labelnote:Click here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gal_yamada_6.PNG[[/labelnote]] to see [[spoiler:upon Karte 117]]]]

* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: While waiting for their turn at a parent-teacher meeting, Anna's mother tells Anna to uncross her legs and sit up straight. Feeling self-conscious, Kyōtarō's mother mimics Anna. Kyōtarō, who's atching them from afar, is mortified.

Kyōtarō's older sister. A university student and musician.

* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: While waiting for their turn at a parent-teacher meeting, Anna's mother tells Anna to uncross her legs and sit up straight. Feeling self-conscious, Kyōtarō's mother mimics Anna. A watching Kyōtarō is mortified.

!!!'''Debut:''' Karte 50

Kyōtarō and Kana's father.

* AllInTheManual: The Volume 6 Q&A reveals him to be a university professor.

* AdaptationalComicRelief: The conversation she and Ichikawa had in the manga goes a bit more in depth about the feelings of her daughter for him. In the anime the bit is shorter so it somewhat leans more to the AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents part of the instance.

Anna's dad. A tall, quiet man who works as a chef at a French restaurant.

* AdaptationalSeriousness: In contrast to [[AdaptationalComicRelief his wife]], the anime omits or downplays some of his more comedic moments from the manga.

* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: His parents belive her to be the foolish sibiling to his brother's responsible sibiling. In reality, Moeko is simply unmotivated, because of [[AbileneParadox the lack of faith his parents have on her]].

* PerpetualSmiler: Her expression seems to be stuck as a semi-permanent CatSmile.

* EveryoneWentToSchoolTogether: When to the same elementary school as Ichikawa and Chii. In the former's case, they were in the same class in third and fourth grade (Which Ichikawa remembers and she doesn't.)

* CannotTalkToWomen: He went to a private school for boys, so his ability to interact with girls, let alone Yamada, isn't all that great. He quite literally turns to stone when she grips his hands to say hello.

* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: He confesses to Yamada that he didn't fit in during his first year at school because of his interest in murderer's psychology, driving off students who wanted to interact with him at the sight of the book he was reading. Episode Zero expanded on this, showing that he dropped out of the school's outdoor field trip because of that event and convinced himself that they were ''hoping'' that he would get sick.

* ConsistentClothingStyle: Regularly wears dark clothes with skulls or death motifs outside of school. He claims it's out of convenience when Yamada lampshades the former, though he clearly has a preference.

* [[DefrostingIceQueen Defrosting Ice King]]: His main character arc is this. From thinking of himself as an aloof loner who gets by being outwardly weird so as to not attract attention, he gradually defrosts and becomes more open thanks to his interactions and budding feelings towards Yamada. Eventually, he made friends and can be seen hanging out mostly with Yamada's clique or some of his male friends like Adachi, but by the time of his [[spoiler: LoveConfession]], his character is now a far cry from what he was in Episode 1, much to Yamada's delight.

* DidIJustSayThatOutLoud: Funny considering how he tries keeping to himself, but he has a habit of blurting out things that sound different from how he intended.

* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: He mentally badmouths or dismisses other people's antics and/or whatever activity he's forced to take part in as though he were above them, noticeably earlier on in the series. The story focuses much more on the inferiority part of this trait after he drops his "hidden killer" phase, and he's much harder on himself. He had more confidence at a younger age, and the circumstances behind his enrollment into middle school, amongst other things, took a significant blow to his self-esteem.

* SugarAndIcePersonality: Aloof and prickly on the outside, kind and a huge softie on the inside.

* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Downplayed. He's more introspective, observant and morally-tuned than his classmates, but he can be socially dense and prone to bias and paranoia.
* WhatBeautifulEyes: Yamada is implied to think so, having stared into them a couple of times and teasingly commenting whenever both of his eyes are visible. [[spoiler: Yamada's manager outright says it. (In a creepy manner, that said...)]]

** Karte 76, she received [[spoiler: two discount coupons for a romance movie from her agency's office. One in her bookbag and another in her cardigan pocket. She intended on asking Ichikawa to go see it with her, but couldn't bring it up thinking he wouldn't like it. Then he asked her.]]

** On about three occasions, Kana, Kobayashi and Ichikawa take note of how ''particularly'' dressed up she is. As it happens, ''all'' scenarios involve Ichikawa being around. Kana is the only one who realized it and it further cemented the sparks between them for her.

* BespectacledCutie: She wears glasses when reading indoors. Kana thinks she's this full-time when she first sees Yamada with them on her brother's video chat (In addition to assuming she's around his height.)

* BuxomBeautyStandard: [[StatuesqueStunner Something else]] Kana is surprised about when she meets her in person, much to her brother's annoyance.

* ThePowerOfLove: A more down-to-earth example, and something Ichikawa himself has lampshaded after a period of time; [[ShrinkingViolet he has pushed past his comfort zone]] to do things he'd never imagine for himself under normal circumstances, simply because Yamada was there.

* UnscrupulousHero: One flashback reveals him to have met Moeko during elementary school and witnessed a moment where a guy called her "hag" after his old group of friends started teasing the two to be dating. Once he sees her crying, he goes to the guy and makes him apologize to her. [[spoiler: It turns out he did it because he really hated the guy and took it as a chance to torment him by convincing him that if he didn't do it, he'd be sued for defamation and be in debt for the rest of his life]]. Averted in the present day where his motivations are much less selfish. And Yamada is more amazed by his "sense of justice" than pretty much ''anything'' else.

* UsedToBeMoreSocial: Downplayed. He was still an introvert, but he had friends whom he regularly hung out with in elementary and cram school and didn't seem to have as much of a problem with speaking to others as he does now, appearing more deadpan than nervous. He lampshades it during [[spoiler: the farewell ceremony arc, comparing his younger self's proud attitude before a crowd during an art contest to his present case of stage fright.]]

** Ichikawa grows accustomed enough to this habit, that in Karte 137, [[spoiler: he makes it his goal to keep her from saying "I'm sorry" on their date.]]

* PositiveFriendInfluence: Sometimes it's intentional, sometimes it isn't. Either way, her companionship with Ichikawa has helped him enjoy going to school more and motivate him to self-improve; steadily growing past his fear of attachment and inferiority insecurities. [[spoiler: He says as much during his confession to her.]]

* ThePigPen: Because there's hardly a moment when she's not snacking on something, she'll have crumbs all over herself if she's ever caught off guard.

* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Other would-be suitors ([[AbhorrentAdmirer to be generous...]]) include an [[OpenMouthInsertFoot unfiltered pervert]] and [[{{Slimeball}} a playboy who won't take a hint.]] She falls for Kyōtarō and actively seeks him out after a string of genuinely decent acts that he never even expected her to notice or thank him for.

** She hands out empty snack bags among other trash for Ichikawa to throw away after she's done eating, sometimes when it seems like she's about to share some. Other times she hands out ''some ''of her food, like sprinkles, before eating the rest in one go. She has no idea why Ichikawa's shocked when she gives him a whole bottle of Papico for giving her a ride on his bike.

* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Zigzagged. Yamada is an upbeat, weird, and attractive young girl as well as a major catalyst of positive growth in Ichikawa's life. That said, their interactions started out as more indirect and [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre it was Ichikawa's own actions in helping her]] that [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan gradually drew her to him.]] She also has her own set of issues and insecurities that ''he'' helps her reconcile with just as much. Karte 57 even has Yamada argue that all of his positive change was his own doing as much as him starting to interact with her.

* MsFanservice: It's implied most of the saucier splash color pages of her are the [[ShowWithinAShow result of her modeling shoots.]] They typically involve [[WorkoutFanservice active wear.]]
* NeverGetsFat: She stays thin no matter how much she eats, despite her worries whoever someone brings it up. It helps that she works out. Ichikawa's mom even notes she's ''worried'' about her thin figure [[spoiler: when she's over at their house for his birthday.]]

* PositiveFriendInfluence: Sometimes it's intentional, sometimes it isn't. Either way, her companionship with Ichikawa has helped him enjoy going to school more and motivate him to self-improve; steadily growing past his fear of attachment and inferiority insecurities.

** Even Ohta and Hanzaki can get fed up with his antics. They start to wonder if he actually ''outright practices'' [[HeadsOrTails his tie-breaking games when they're daring each other to do something]]. Depending on whether you're reading the manga or watching the anime, either Hanzaki or Ohta respectively will express annoyance that Adachi baked [[DoubleEntendre not so subtle sex jokes]] into his pep speech heralding the Sports Festival.

* DudeMagnet: Aside from Ichikawa himself (who once thought that getting a boyfriend would be like breathing for her if she tried), Adachi and Nanjou (unfortunately...) also have thing for her. Earlier on, Moeko uses it to her advantage to get picked up both in class and out, but it's later implied that she actively does it far less when [[spoiler: Ichikawa and Yamada start dating.]]

%%* DudeMagnet:

* Even when a character overview chart is featured in a later volume where Ichikawa and Moeko would be on friendlier terms, Ichikawa refers to her as "A slut."

The main protagonists. Two dorky, second-year middle school students and classmates who frequently visit the library on class break for their own privacy, starting out as just being aware that one-of-the-other exists but steadily growing closer and closer as time passes on.

** Ichikawa is physically less mature compared to his classmates, but putting aside his hangups he displays [[WiseBeyondTheirYears more maturity and awareness than what's expected out of his age group.]] In addition to his growth in character, he gradually develops physically overtime as the series progresses; growing a few centimeters taller, changing his hair, and developing a bit of muscle through casual exercise.
** Yamada is physically more developed than kids her age and already has a growing career, yet her [[KiddieKid true personality is considerably more childish]] than those of her peers than anyone would guess from at first glance. Or even those who ''do'' know, as Ichikawa finds out that she speaks in the third person at home. Despite this, she expresses a real desire to be more grown up and responsible, even wanting to follow Ichikawa's example.