Line #343 Characters/SpecialA


1	This is a listing of characters who appear in the anime and manga series ''Manga/SpecialA''. Names are in Western order (ie. First name first). Beware of '''''unmarked spoilers!'''''
2
3	[[hardline]]
4
5	[[foldercontrol]]
6
7	[[folder: Special A Students]]
8
9	!!Hikari Hanazono
10	[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/38867_jpg_2989.png]]
11	->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YukoGoto (Japanese), Creator/MonicaRial (English)
12
13	Hikari knows what it feels to always be second to someone else. After all, she's still ranked second in the school, meaning she's still failed to beat Kei Takishima at ''something'': something she's been trying to do since they were six years old. She even followed Kei to Hakusenkan just to beat him, which costs her family a lot of money. It's not that she's incompetent, however: Hikari is still [[SuperStrength incredibly strong]], [[DitzyGenius incredibly smart]], and incredibly pretty. She's just ''that'' [[ObliviousToLove oblivious to Kei's feelings for her.]]
14	----
15	* AcademicAthlete
16	* ActionDressRip: Chapter 10/Episode 6.
17	* ActionGirl: Hikari is frequently shown training, and it shows -- the only times she's collapsed involved injury/illness combined with a rather large amount of exertion (after competing in several matches). Moreover, the only time she's lost any of those is, of course, when up against Kei. Further, she's yet to lose any physical fights she's been in, though you'd think she was made of cracked glass the way Kei reacts to the prospect of her fighting.
18	* AlliterativeName
19	* AlwaysSecondBest: To Kei. She's very athletic and smart but has never beaten Kei at anything. No matter how much she tries, she will always rank second after him.
20	* BadassAdorable
21	* TheBeautifulElite
22	* BerserkButton: Anyone claiming that she's second-best. Kei intentionally invokes her ire most often by constantly calling her "Miss Second Place," but Yahiro isn't above teasing her with this. Exaggerated in the final competition between Kei and Hikari in the series - Kei has to find the real Hikari amongst [[MesACrowd a host of impostors]], and Kei gets creeped out when they ''all'' respond appropriately to "Miss Second Place" in unison.
23	* BewareTheNiceOnes: You don't want her mad at you. Really.
24	* BigEater: Oh, dear.
25	* CanNotSpitItOut: [[spoiler: Mere minutes after realizing that she's fallen for Kei, she hears someone say that "the first one to fall in love loses." As she continues her obsession with defeating Kei in something, she absolutely refuses to be the first to confess.]]
26	** [[spoiler: Chapter 53/54 in the manga, she does spit it out. MUCH EARLIER THAN THE ANIME.]]
27	* CantHoldHerLiquor: A slightly justified given that she's still underage, but when Hikari accidentally drinks half a bottle of alcohol (suggested to be on the lower end of the proof scale), she almost instantly gets drunk, becoming a cross between a LoveFreak, a CuddleBug, and a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}.
28	* ChildhoodFriendRomance: With Kei.
29	* CloudCuckooLander: Whenever she's sick or drunk.
30	* CuteBruiser
31	* DitzyGenius: Extremely smart but lacks common sense.
32	* GenkiGirl
33	* HeIsNotMyBoyfriend: Anytime anyone assumes Kei and Hikari are dating, her response is a cheery "He and I are rivals," with her laughing merrily and Kei looking like he just ate a lemon.
34	* HotBlooded
35	* HumbleHero: She has no problem asking for help or admitting she's wrong. She is also the only one who regularly attends her classes. A lot of this is due in part to the fact that a) she comes from a working-class family and must do her best to pay back her father and b) her constantly losing to Kei makes her root for any underdog that the rest of SA might write off as unimportant/annoying.
36	* LethalChef: The area in which she is ''least'' talented in, and only because she's so strong. It's also shown that she doesn't really bother to season her food. So not only is it a dense, homogenized mess, it takes like dishwater (unless you're named Kei Takishima).
37	* NaiveEverygirl
38	* NiceGirl: All the SA members are nice in their own way, but she is the only one who tries to get along with and help everyone, including people who go out of their way to insult her.
39	* NoodlePeople: Considering how strong she is - she's able to casually make and lift rice balls that can crack the ground when dropped from around 4 or 5 feet in the air.
40	* ObliviousToLove: Oh, so much. She's so focused on her and Kei's rivalry that she can't even take a hint. [[spoiler: Note that this continues even after she and Kei get together - Aoi outright says that he plans on seducing her, and she thinks he's just joking.]]
41	* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: She sees herself as this towards Kei; which is why Yahiro pisses her off when he declares he's beaten Kei once. [[spoiler: Of course, the game of tag was rigged.]]
42	* PennyAmongDiamonds: Granted, Hikari's family isn't poor, but the Hanazonos have several orders of magnitude less money than the families of Hikari's friends and associates. It's regularly brought up that Hikari participates in much of Special A's shenanigans due to gifts from the others (most frequently, Kei and Akira are the givers).
43	* PluckyGirl: Hikari will not give up, no matter how many times she's been defeated, at beating Kei. She won't give up on anything else, either, though her intelligence and strength result in her not needing to continue for too long generally.
44	* RedOniBlueOni: The impulsive, dense Red to Kei cool, aware Blue oni.
45	* SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl: With Kei.
46	* ScholarshipStudent: Well, not really, as the Hanazono family is shown to scrimp so that Hikari can go to the same school as everyone else, but the effect's the same.
47	* SelectiveObliviousness: Only towards her, though. She quickly perceives someone's attraction to someone else - more than one FacePalm ensues after people realize she sees everyone's romantic intentions ''except'' Kei's.
48	* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Kei.
49	* SinkOrSwimMentor
50	* SeriousBusiness: Beating Kei.
51	* SuperStrength
52	* UnknownRival: Hikari gets a bunch of these, as several people wishing to become the center of attention for Kei try to get rid of her. She completely misses the point.
53	* YouAreNumberSix: Kei often calls her "Number Two" to provoke her. It works.
54	* YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry
55
56	!!Kei Takishima
57	[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/38866_jpg_3192.png]]
58	->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JunFukuyama (Japanese), Creator/BlakeShepard (English)
59
60	So you're the handsome elder son of the filthy rich CEO of the Takishima Corporation. You're ranked first in your school and have [[TheAce a natural talent for everything you do]]. You excel in every single subject, from athletics to mathematics. Everything just comes easy for you, doesn't it? Oh, wait. That's not ''you.'' That's ''Kei.'' And it's true: the only problem poor Kei has is that Hikari just doesn't get his feelings for her.
61	----
62	* TheAce: Textbook example.
63	** AcademicAthlete
64	** SmartPeoplePlayChess
65	** SupremeChef
66	* AloofBigBrother: To Sui.
67	* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: To Hikari. No matter how much she tries, she can't beat him and will always rank second after him.
68	* ArrangedMarriage: To Sakura. Later, to Alisa.
69	* BackToBackBadasses: Every time Kei and Hikari get into a physical fight with anyone else, expect this to occur in the middle of the CurbStompBattle they're about to give out.
70	** BattleCouple
71	* TheBeautifulElite
72	* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: It's suggested that part of the reason that he loves Hikari's cooking so much is that she's the first person that ever tried to make him a homecooked meal.
73	* BerserkButton: Do not try to hurt or kiss Hikari in his presence. ''Ever.'' Also, don't insult her cooking to his face - your best-case scenario is receiving a DeathGlare.
74	%%* BigFancyHouse: Lives in one.
75	%%* BishieSparkle
76	* BridalCarry: To Hikari.
77	* TheBully: How Akira sees him.
78	* CanNotSpitItOut: Despite being number one in everything he does (literally), the one thing he can't seem to do is tell Hikari how he feels about her.
79	* ChildhoodFriendRomance: With Hikari.
80	* TheComicallySerious
81	* DeadpanSnarker
82	* DungeonBypass: Yahiro tries to beat Hikari in a game of tag in the same way he beat Kei years ago - locking the door to the exit. Kei, now older, stronger, and in no mood for Yahiro's tricks ([[spoiler: which include, at the time, doing anything he can to keep anyone else from getting close to Kei]]), simply kicks the door down for Hikari.
83	* EveryoneCanSeeIt: His feelings for Hikari.
84	* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Kei + Anything that might come between him and Hikari = This.
85	* IWasJustPassingThrough: He cites this as his excuse every time he rescues Hikari from whatever sort of trouble she gets herself into. Of course, nobody but Hikari believes a word of it.
86	* LoveEpiphany: The manga's finale shows a flashback of it, which also answers a question that floated around at various points - if Kei has issues with Hikari's constant challenges, why doesn't he just sandbag it and let her win? [[spoiler: Shortly after meeting her, he ''did'', throwing a foot race to her. Hikari saw right through it; and, in begging Kei to try his best and be a real [[TheRival rival]], she inadvertently revealed that she knew just what Kei was really like under it all. That was the moment that he fell in love with her, and the challenges became fun for him.]]
87	* LoveHurts: In the first half of the series, about the only thing that can make Kei suffer in any way are the headaches and ulcers he receives from dealing with Hikari's obliviousness or seeing Hikari in a situation that ''might'' be dangerous (even if he rationally knows that she'd be fine).
88	* NonChalantDodge: The only way Kei gets hit is if he wants to be hit.
89	* NoodlePeople: The most extreme case in the series. He's able to shrug off blows from Hikari, who's shown randomly doing property damage from when she goes all-out, and yet he's got the same build as Jun (who is completely a NonActionGuy).
90	* NotSoStoic: When Hikari gets in trouble or whenever Hikari misinterprets him, he shows real visible emotion.
91	* PatientChildhoodLoveInterest: ''VERY'' patient.
92	* PhotographicMemory: He has one.
93	* RedOniBlueOni: The cool, aware Blue to Hikari impulsive, dense Red.
94	* TheRival: Hikari views him as this. He [[InvokedTrope plays it up]] to spend time with her, and occasionally [[BatmanGambit to manipulate her into doing what he wants]].
95	* SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl: With Hikari.
96	* SingleTargetSexuality: Kei is Hikari-sexual.
97	* TheStoic: Until Hikari gets in trouble.
98	* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Anything Hikari makes. At first, it seems like he just appreciates that the person he loves made food just for him, and that he's talking it up to her because he likes her. Later, however, he reveals that he's utterly baffled at how everyone else could describe the not-currently-present Hikari as a LethalChef - he insists that she's a SupremeChef. Everyone looks at him like he's insane.
99
100	!!Jun Yamamoto
101	[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/32395_5790.jpg]]
102	->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TsubasaYonaga (Japanese), Kirby Brister (English)
103
104	The son of two famous musicians and Megumi's younger twin brother, Jun is ranked third in school. Because of his upbringing he loves music more than anything else: it's just that he has little to no talent for it. Jun, like Megumi, is fiercely protective of Ryuu because he's been kind to them since they were children and is always looking out for the two of them. Generally quiet and unassuming, [[spoiler: whenever he's kissed by a girl, his SplitPersonality ("[[SuperpoweredEvilSide Dark Jun]]") comes out, giving him the ability to charm all women effortlessly. This was the result of a TV program he watched as a child.]] Jun is terrified of this because it caused the girl he was dating to dump him in disgust. [[spoiler: And the reason he falls for Sakura is because [[JustTheWayYouAre she's willing to accept him despite this.]]]]
105	----
106	* BrownNote: Every time he tries to sing.
107	* BigFancyHouse: Lives in one.
108	* [[spoiler:TheCasanova: Dark Jun]]
109	* CurtainsMatchTheWindow
110	* TheCutie: Along with Megumi, they're considered to be SA's "mascots".
111	* DepravedBisexual: [[spoiler: Again, Dark Jun.]]
112	* DreadfulMusician
113	* GreekChorus: His most frequent role, with Megumi and Ryu, is commenting on the current Hikari-centric shenanigans.
114	* HalfIdenticalTwins: With Megumi.
115	* NiceGuy: His major personality trait [[spoiler: aside from 'Dark Jun']].
116	* NonActionGuy
117	* TheQuietOne: To the point of being OutOfFocus - he gets all of two focus chapters, and both of those are equally about Sakura (one of which he mostly spends running away from her).
118	* SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl: [[spoiler: With Sakura]]
119	* SplitPersonality: [[spoiler: When kissed by a girl, he becomes '[[SuperpoweredEvilSide Dark Jun]]': a personality that allows him to charm all women effortlessly.]]
120	* WeakWilled: Big time. [[spoiler: The whole reason for his split personality is that he was hypnotized by a TV program, of all things.]]
121
122	!!Megumi Yamamoto
123	[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/91160_6521.jpg]]
124	->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AyahiTakagaki (Japanese), Creator/BrittneyKarbowski (English)
125
126	Jun's older twin sister, Megumi is ranked fourth in school. Like Jun, she values music more than anything else and is a singer. She rarely speaks to preserve her voice (and her singing is [[BrownNote ''quite'' powerful as a result]]. [[spoiler: However, her voice is gorgeous when she sings in an open area.]]. Also, like Jun, she's very protective of Ryuu for the same reasons her brother is (ie. during tests he's making sure they don't fall asleep, etc.) [[spoiler: Later in the anime she develops a crush on Yahiro. In the manga, this is after pretending to like him to make sure he doesn't mess up Akira and Tadashi's relationship.]]
127	----
128	* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Her crush on Yahiro. [[spoiler: Or not.]]
129	* TheBeautifulElite
130	* BecomingTheMask: Pretends to like Yahiro in order to get him to leave Akira alone. It ends up [[spoiler: turning into the real thing]].
131	* BigFancyHouse: Lives in one.
132	* BrownNote: Every time she tries to sing ''in a closed area.''
133	* CuteMute: A variation. She doesn't talk a lot of the time, but this is just to preserve her voice.
134	* TheCutie: Along with Jun, they're considered to be SA's "mascots".
135	* CurtainsMatchTheWindow
136	* DeadpanSnarker: Made even funnier because she uses her sketchbook.
137	* DreadfulMusician: Her singing can cause quite a lot of damage to her surroundings [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope but it's lovely if she sings in an open area.]]]]
138	* GreekChorus: With her brother and Ryuu.
139	* HalfIdenticalTwins: With Jun.
140	* TheQuietOne: The reason she's so quiet is as to preserve her voice when she sings.
141	* TalkingWithSigns: Although she is most definitely not mute or anything, she just needs to preserve her voice.
142	* TheVoiceless
143
144	!!Tadashi Karino
145	[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/32393_2884.jpg]]
146	->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/HiroShimono (Japanese), Creator/AndrewLove (English)
147
148	The cheerful son of the school's director, Tadashi is ranked fifth in school and is always goofing around. He has a tendency to just wander around and do what he wants to do. He has a penchant for [[SweetTooth sweet things]] and [[TeamChef Akira's cooking]]. Because of his personality, he ends up being [[ButtMonkey the character most comically attacked]] by [[{{Tsundere}} Akira]].
149	----
150
151	* ArrangedMarriage
152	* BelligerentSexualTension: With Akira.
153	* BetaCouple: With Akira.
154	* BigEater: And he especially loves Akira's cooking. [[spoiler: Although [[SupremeChef Akira's cooking being what it is]], nobody takes this as a sign of affection.]]
155	* BunnyEarsLawyer
156	* ButtMonkey: Although by the way he reacts you'd think he actually ''enjoys'' being the ButtMonkey.
157	* ChildhoodFriendRomance: With Akira.
158	* CoolBike
159	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: As part of his wanderlust, he is often spacey and says whatever comes to his mind without wait.
160	* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: Ironically, as the SA member least worried about social conventions, he is the least worried in expressing his feelings and occasisonally prevents conflict by expressing himself freely. For instance:
161	*** When Aoi was sent to take Kei home and all the SA members tried overcomplicated methods to make him stay, Tadashi was the only one who made their intentions clear to Kei: They were his friends and they wanted him to stay.
162	*** When Akira was forced into an arranged relationship he genuinely wished her well, but when she accidentally let it slip she liked him, he had no problem reciprocating those feelings. Akira even lampshades the fact that she is causing more problems than him.
163	* CurtainsMatchTheWindow
164	* DitzyGenius: On the other hand, he's apparently rather competent: he's ranked fifth in school and it's hinted he could be higher, he's quite athletic, and knows his way out of awkward situations. On the flip side, he has little to no tact, common sense, or wit. Most of the time.
165	* InnocentlyInsensitive: Tadashi is honest and blunt to a fault, and his lack of common sense results in him saying things that only he would think of as complimentary. That said, for all that he's probably the most prone towards being offensive, he's never malicious, and he's never pleased when he finds out he's offended someone.
166	* NiceGuy: Underneath it all.
167	* OfficialCouple: [[spoiler: With Akira.]]
168	* SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl: With Akira.
169	* SlapSlapKiss: With Akira.
170	* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Anything Akira makes. In fact, he tells her point blank that anything tastes better when she makes it. However, unlike the example with Kei's fondness of [[LethalChef Hikari's]] cooking, this doesn't strike anyone as odd because Akira [[SupremeChef is so good at it]]. While his comment to Akira made her blush, she didn't take particular note of it.
171	* WalkingTheEarth: Downplayed in that he's at school often enough to participate in shenanigans (and participate in ShipTease), but Tadashi's dream life would be to just wander from place to place, taking in the scenery. There are times he's absent because he's doing just that, and it's worth noting that Saiga was only able to stick around with Tadashi long enough to give his usual IfYouDoAnythingToHurtHer threats to Tadashi was by accompanying the latter on one of his wilderness hikes. It's also hinted that some of his {{Cloudcuckoolander}} tendencies are because he's more interested in enjoying outdoors time than in learning social niceties.
172
173
174	!!Akira Toudou
175	[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/38863_jpg_8899.png]]
176	->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/HitomiNabatame (Japanese), Creator/LuciChristian (English)
177
178	Akira is ranked sixth in school and is the daughter of the owner of a famous airline company. She has a talent for cooking and is the one who whips up the group's afternoon snacks. She is very fond of Hikari and usually won't do anything unless Hikari agrees to it. [[spoiler: She was good friends with Kei and Yahiro as a child, except that after Yahiro drove her only friend Sayo away she began hating him for it.]] She enjoys beating Tadashi up [[spoiler: and they end up as the series' first OfficialCouple.]]
179	----
180	* AdaptationDyeJob: Her hair was quite black in the manga, but is changed to purple in the anime.
181	* BelligerentSexualTension: With Tadashi.
182	* BetaCouple: With Tadashi.
183	* BigFancyHouse: Lives in one.
184	* ChildhoodFriendRomance: With Tadashi.
185	* DoesNotLikeMen
186	* ImportantHaircut: When she was younger, she had waist-length hair. She later cut it probably to ensure she'd stop being such a crybaby.
187	** ExpositoryHairstyleChange
188	* [[spoiler:OfficialCouple: With Tadashi.]]
189	* SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl: With Tadashi.
190	* SlapSlapKiss: With Tadashi.
191	* SupremeChef: By far, she's acclaimed to be the best cook and baker in the series, to the extent that she's the one Hikari approached to see if Hikari could improve at all at cooking.
192	* TeamChef: She is ''the'' chef of the group, seeing how she makes all their afternoon snacks.
193	* TeamMom: Definitely.
194	* {{Tsundere}}: Blatant Type A here, although she shifts into more of a Type B if only girls are around.
195
196	!!Ryuu Tsuji
197	[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/32394_331.jpg]]
198	->'''Voiced by:''' Kazuma Horie (Japanese), Creator/ChrisPatton (English)
199
200	Seventh in their grade, Ryuu is the son of a sports car company's CEO. He is very good at handling children, animals, and plants. The twins adore him, primarily because the three of them have been together since childhood and since meeting them he's always been looking out for them.
201	----
202	* AdaptationDyeJob: He had reddish-blond hair in the manga and green hair in the anime.
203	* BunnyEarsLawyer: He is a ''lot'' smarter than seventh place. The only reason he's seventh is that he keeps worrying about the twins, who tend to get bored and sleep while studying.
204	* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Anime only.
205	* FriendToAllChildren: Let's face it, Ryuu is the ''ultimate'' babysitter.
206	* FriendToAllLivingThings: Goes both ways - not only does Ryu instantly befriend pretty much any animal instantly, he prefers to spend his free time with them, to the extent that it makes Megumi and Jun jealous at times.
207	** TheBeastMaster: [[spoiler: Especially in the anime's finale, in which his taming skills help get rid of the guard dogs to the mansion.]]
208	* GreekChorus: With the twins.
209	* OnlySaneMan: The go-to character for bewildered reaction shots.
210	* ParentalSubstitute: Serves as this for the twins. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Sakura, when she notes how weird it is that Jun asks Ryuu for permission to go on a date, which Ryuu admits is true.
211	* SuperSpeedReading: Pulls this one off in a test battle which is part of ThePlan aimed to kick him out of the [=SA=]. He reads all the 1000 questions by ''casually'' flipping the pages ''really fast'', and ''then'' answers all of them in 10 minutes. '''''He got all of them right'''''!
212	** In the manga, he also takes the time to give the guys who made the test corrections on their grammar.
213
214	[[/folder]]
215
216	[[folder: Other Hakusenkan Characters]]
217
218	!!Finn Coupe Shuzette
219	----
220	* {{Bifauxnen}}
221	* GenreSavvy: Doubly so when Finn and Hikari are being held under confinement at Finn's palace. [[spoiler: Finn knows all about Hikari's LethalChef tendencies, so she leads Hikari to the nearest kitchen because she knows that Kei and Ryu will FollowTheChaos when - and not if - Hikari causes explosions in the kitchen. On top of that, because Finn knows all about how Hikari's food comes out denser than lead, it gives them a bludgeon to defend themselves against the palace guards.]]
222	* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething
223	* WholesomeCrossdresser
224
225	!!Iori Tokiwa
226	----
227	* LikeBrotherAndSister: Hikari sees Iori this way, to his dismay.
228	* TheRival: The first one that Kei finds exceptionally difficult to get rid of.
229
230	!!Hajime Kakei
231	->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YoshinoriFujita (Japanese), Creator/ClintBickham (English)
232	----
233	* OutOfFocus: First appears to be set up as a major antagonist for the Special A kids, but then gets [[PutOnABus sent to the hospital]] and doesn't reappear until near the end of the series.
234	* StudentCouncilPresident: Although the student council is weak and ineffectual as compared to the influence the Special A class has.
235
236	!!Sumire Karino
237	->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AtsukoTanaka (Japanese), Creator/ShelleyCaleneBlack (English)
238	----
239	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Maybe.
240	* SerialRomeo: Is [[InformedAttribute said to have been this]] before settling down with Tadashi's father (who was said to be the same way).
241	* SinkOrSwimMentor: Probably, if Tadashi's flashbacks are anything to go by.
242
243	[[/folder]]
244
245	[[folder: Other Characters]]
246
247	!!Yahiro Saiga
248	[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Yahiro_Saiga_5370.jpg]]
249	->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KisshoTaniyama (Japanese), Creator/ClintBickham (English)
250
251	An old friend of Akira and Kei's, they haven't seen much of him after a mutual falling out that no one likes to talk about. A seemingly affable young man with a sinister streak and a love of screwing with people's heads, Yahiro serves as the main antagonist for the first part of the series. A master manipulator, Yahiro does his utmost to conceal his real agenda from ''everyone'', all while doing his best to look like an unsympathetic jackass.
252	----
253	* AdaptationDyeJob: His hair is brown in the manga, pink in the anime.
254	* AlmostKiss: In the anime, he almost kisses [[spoiler:Megumi]] but is interrupted by Tadashi. He actually yells at him for spoiling the mood.
255	* AmbiguouslyEvil: It's pretty hard to tell how we're supposed to view Yahiro for much of the series.
256	* AntiVillain: He's very defensive of his first two friends, Akira and Kei. There are no ends to which he's willing to go to keep anyone from taking advantage of them - which tends to make him act like a KnightTemplar and isolate off anyone that even ''could'' be in a position to hurt them, only backing off when it becomes clear that the people in question (for example, Tadashi and Hikari) wouldn't dream of it.
257	* BecomingTheMask: He won't admit it, but it's pretty obvious by the end that [[spoiler: he's not just pretending to like Megumi anymore]].
258	* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler: In the anime finale. ''Twice.'']]
259	* BrokenAce: He's a toned down Kei with a side of self-loathing.
260	* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: He actually managed to beat [[TheAce Kei]] in a game of tag when they were younger by locking the door while Kei was counting. Slippery.
261	* EasilyForgiven: Averted for some time, to the point where when Jun and Ryu catch him with Megumi violence nearly ensues. Also completely averted with Akira, as it's hinted that she's refused to speak with him for seven or eight years due to her anger.
262	* EvilFormerFriend: How Akira and Kei see him anyway.
263	* EvilGenius: He's at least as smart as the members of the Special A.
264	* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: After Akira gets together with Tadashi and Megumi takes an interest in him]].
265	* HiddenDepths: [[spoiler: He really does value both Kei and Akira and is willing to appear the villain to both of them to keep them from getting hurt.]]
266	* HiddenHeartOfGold: Make no mistake, Yahiro has justified reasons why he believes that people who are lower from their station would take advantage of them. He is not exactly wrong when Akira's former friend Sayo took advantage of her loneliness to exploit her wealth and privileges, but he is also wrong on keeping them under wraps from Akira that perpetuated the misunderstanding between them, leading him to lose Akira to [[spoiler: Tadashi.]]
267	* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: His entire motivation. He drives off anyone who poses a threat to Akira while taking the blame so she'll never know she was betrayed. After she gets together with Tadashi, he promptly drops out of the picture.
268	* IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer: He mentally remembers doing it to multiple people [[spoiler: in regards to Akira]] in the past, and he does it in-series to Tadashi, who isn't threatened at all by it (Yahiro assumes, initially, that it's because Tadashi is an idiot).
269	* ItAmusedMe: In the manga, he claims this is why he hangs out with Megumi and helps her with her singing. Right...
270	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He might be slimy, but he has always has best interest towards people who gain his trust.
271	* KnightTemplar: Towards Akira and Kei. Deconstructed however, since this trope is also the reason why he has strained relations with them.
272	* LonelyRichKid: He's got more money, and fewer friends, than even Kei.
273	* LoveMakesYouEvil: He's acts like a possessive jerk towards Akira and is a poisonous friend to Kei. In both cases, he's motivated by genuine concern and believes they'll be better off for it.
274	* ManipulativeBastard: Does his best to make sure [[HiddenAgendaVillain no one understands his motives]].
275	* OddNameOut: Although this is obscured in translation, Yahiro is this - he's the only major character whose personal name is not a single kanji character (there are author notes even in the translations that take note of this, however).
276	* RealMenWearPink: Despite his pink suit and hair he's never made out to be a SissyVillain.
277	* ShipTease: With Megumi. They never come out and admit they're together but EveryoneCanSeeIt. Here's a hint guys--after your third or fourth pretend date you've officially [[BecomingTheMask Become The Mask]].
278	* {{Tritagonist}}: He is clearly the third most important character by the end, given his intimate connections with three of its members. He plays a larger role in a higher number of arcs than any character not named Hikari or Kei.
279	* {{Troll}}: Acts like this is his motivation for screwing with Akira and Kei.
280	* {{Tsundere}}: By the end, the dynamic he develops with [[spoiler: Megumi]]. Yes, he continues to act like a ManipulativeBastard that wants to mess with everyone's mind, but push comes to shove, he readily agrees to [[spoiler: go to a concert with her]] - with an obligatory "Might as well" as if he has nothing better to do.
281	* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: [[spoiler: Towards Akira.]]
282	* WellIntentionedExtremist: His intentions are good. His methods suck.
283	* WickedCultured: He's an opera buff, and actually enjoys Megumi's singing.
284	* ZeroApprovalGambit: He'd rather have Akira focus her hatred on him, completely destroying their friendship, than admit he was trying to protect her from a GoldDigger friend. He later pulls a similar routine on Kei.
285
286	!!Sakura Ushikubo
287	->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/NatsukoKuwatani (Japanese), Creator/HilaryHaag (English)
288	----
289	* ArrangedMarriage
290	* BerserkButton: She (and her father) absolutely detest lies and becomes ''extremely'' violent when lied to.
291	* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler: In the anime finale.]]
292	* BirdsOfAFeather: Non-romantic example with Hikari.
293	* {{Cherry Blossom Girl}}
294	* TheDitz: She's a bit oblivious to Yahiro's more sadistic moments. Of course, it's because she's one of the few people he shows his [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold hidden heart of gold]] to.
295	* [[DoggedNiceGuy Dogged Nice Girl]]
296	* GenkiGirl
297	* HotBlooded
298	* JustTheWayYouAre: The reason she accepts Jun.
299	* LivingLieDetector
300	* SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl: [[spoiler:With Jun]]
301	* UglyGuysHotDaughter
302
303	!!Alisa Appleton
304	----
305	* AlliterativeName
306	* ArrangedMarriage
307	* BigEater: Food is pretty much her only motivator.
308	* [[DoggedNiceGuy Dogged Nice Girl]]: To Kei.
309	* SupremeChef: It only shows up once or twice in the manga, but she's shown to be just as adept at making food as she is at eating it.
310	* TrademarkFavoriteFood: She seems particularly obsessed with tacos. However, she never actually ''gets'' one.
311
312	!!Sayo
313	->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/NorikoShitaya (Japanese), Creator/ShannonEmerick (English)
314	----
315	* FalseFriend: She was hanging around Akira just because Akira was rich.
316	* IdenticalStranger: To Yui.
317
318	!!Aoi Ogata
319	->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KojiYusa (Japanese), Creator/DavidMatranga (English)
320	----
321	* HeroWorshipper: He adores Kei.
322	* PickyEater: Aoi apparently has an extremely dull sense of taste, and thus everything tastes remarkably bland to him. As such, he tends to not eat.
323
324	[[/folder]]
325
326	[[folder: Family Members]]
327	!!Sui Takishima
328	->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KaoriShimizu (Japanese), Creator/ClintBickham (English)
329	----
330	* AdorablyPrecociousChild
331	* BigBrotherWorship: To Kei, after realizing he's not the AloofBigBrother Sui thinks he is.
332	* BrattyHalfPint: Initially to his former tutor, to Hikari and even to his brother. He later becomes more respectful after Hikari indirectly helped Kei warm up to him.
333
334	!!Nagi Takishima
335	----
336	* ClingyJealousGirl
337	* KissingCousins
338
339	!!Satoru Takishima
340	->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MegumiOgata (Japanese), Creator/ClintBickham (English)
341	----
342	* CrossDressingVoices
343	* BunnyEarsLawyer: He's competent enough (though not nearly as much as his wife or son), but he acts about as old as he looks.
344	* OlderThanTheyLook: He looks like an extra-tall version of Sui, although he's in his late thirties.
345	* WrestlerInAllOfUs: He's a huge fan of pro wrestling, and attempts to wrestle with Hikari whenever they meet ''as a greeting''. Stretching back, the entire plot is set in motion ''because'' of his wrestling fandom. He's a part of the same wrestling fan club as Hikari's father, who invited Satoru and Kei over to visit... which resulted in Hikari challenging Kei, losing to him for the first time, and starting her obsession.
346
347	!!Midori Takishima
348	----
349	* BerserkButton: Anything to do with Kaname.
350	* {{Tsundere}}: Unusually, as a reaction, not as a default. She's more ''tsuntsun'' towards people who act stoic towards her (like Kei), but she has no problems opening up if people are acting warm towards her (she positively ''adores'' Hikari).
351	* UncannyFamilyResemblance: Kei looks like a male version of Midori with shorter hair. It gets more uncanny when Midori takes Kei and Hikari out for a day; she also reacts to Hikari in the same way as Kei.
352
353	!!Kaname Takishima
354	->'''Voiced by:''' Kazuya Ichijo (Japanese)
355	----
356	* AntiVillain: [[spoiler: Eventually revealed to have tried pushing Kei and Hikari apart because he didn't want to see Kei go through the heartbreak of losing someone dear to him, like he did.]]
357	* TheAtoner: [[spoiler: Towards Midori, as he blames himself just as much for his wife's death as Midori does.]]
358	* BigBad: Drives much of the "keep Kei and Hikari apart" plot once they get their RelationshipUpgrade halfway through the manga.
359
360	!!Chitose Saiga
361	->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AmiKoshimizu (Japanese), Creator/BrittneyKarbowski (English)
362	----
363	* BrattyHalfPint
364
365	!!Atsushi Hanazono
366	->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MitsuhiroIchiki (Japanese)
367	----
368	* BigBrotherInstinct
369	* BewareTheNiceOnes: You don't want him mad at you either.
370	* YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry
371
372	!!Jiro Hanazono
373	->'''Voiced by:''' Atsushi Imaruoka (Japanese), Jason Grundy (English)
374	----
375	* HotBlooded
376

Context Characters / SpecialA