Line #243 Manga/AiYoriAoshi


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4	[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_1477_6393.jpg]]
5	[[caption-width-right:275:[[YamatoNadeshiko Aoi Sakuraba]] and [[NiceGuy Kaoru]] [[DarkAndTroubledPast Hanabishi]]. Also pictured: [[RedStringOfFate true love]].]]
6
7	-> ''"Indigo-dyed kimono are very dark at first. But if you keep wearing them, as the time passes, the color blends, and the indigo becomes more blue and vivid. Aoi wants to cultivate our love over time, too. Just like this kimono, it will continue to grow more intense, from now on into forever."''
8	-->-- '''Aoi Sakuraba'''
9
10	Kaoru Hanabishi, an [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent ordinary college student]], runs into a beautiful young woman dressed in an old-fashioned kimono, lost and flustered in the complicated Tokyo subway system. After taking great pains to escort the woman to her destination, he discovers that she is really his childhood friend, Aoi Sakuraba, whom he had [[ChildhoodMarriagePromise promised to marry almost two decades earlier]]...
11
12	Except that the engagement was annulled by the Sakuraba clan when Kaoru left the Hanabishi clan, after years of abuse from his [[GruesomeGrandparent grandfather]]. Aoi -- who had loved him since childhood and dreamed of marrying him -- is unable to accept the annulment and tracks down Kaoru to find out ''why'' he doesn’t want to marry her. After they meet up again as adults, and he [[OfficialCouple properly falls in love with her, they decide to reaffirm the engagement]] but are forced into an unusual situation: in order not to shame the Sakuraba family, they must keep their relationship a secret even as they move into a Sakuraba mansion with the help of Aoi's guardian, Miyabi Kagurazaki.
13
14	Sure enough, almost immediately a [[UnwantedHarem group of college girls move into the mansion, one by one... and those who aren't already in love with Kaoru all quickly fall for him]], as Kaoru and Aoi (who pose as a tenant and landlady, respectively) try to keep their relationship a secret.
15
16	''Ai Yori Aoshi'' ("Bluer than Indigo") began as a manga by Kou Fumizuki, which was serialized in ''Young Animal'' from 1998 to 2005. It received an anime adaptation in 2002 and a second season, ''Aoi Yori Aoshi: Enishi'', in 2003. A VisualNovel with an original story taking place in the anime's continuity was released for Platform/PlayStation2 in Japan in 2003, and a special English-language version was released for PC in North America by Hirameki International Group Inc..
17
18	See also ''Manga/UmiNoMisaki'', the creator's subsequent series, also a harem-based romantic comedy but with very different relationship dynamics.
19
20	----
21	!!This series provides examples of:
22
23	* TwelveEpisodeAnime: The anime sequel, "[[OddlyNamedSequel Enishi]]" has only 12 episodes.
24	* AccidentalPervert: Kaoru has several clumsy, often-half-dressed girls chasing after him every which way. Something of an inversion in that it's nearly always the fault of the girl in question. Also arguably subverted, in that everyone knows and admits that it's not Kaoru's fault. A couple of them, [[spoiler:Chika and Tina]], even attempt to use the situation to their advantage in their pursuit of Kaoru. One fairly innocently, the other... considerably less so.
25	* AcheyScars: Kaoru's, courtesy of his old mean grandpa.
26	* AdaptationDistillation: At least as far as the anime covers, it resequences certain events, yet maintains a coherent story flow.
27	* AdultAdoptee: The Sakuraba family adopts Miyabi after Aoi firmly declares that she will marry Kaoru, even if it means severing her family ties.
28	* AllJustADream: Subverted on two occasions in the ChristmasEpisode. The second subversion (and indeed the entire episode) may also be an example of OrWasItADream?
29	* AllLovingHero: Aoi loves ''everyone'', and ''everyone'' loves Aoi. Pretty much every female member of the cast aspires to be like Aoi. Ironically, however, Aoi seems a bit oblivious to the depths of devotion of her own mentor, Miyabi.
30	* AlmostKiss: Several instances of interruption by others when Kaoru and Aoi are about to kiss.
31	* ApologisesALot: There are '''lots''' of apologises from everyone to everyone in this series.
32	%%* ArtificialRiverbank: Tina's favorite place.
33	* ArtShift: Frequent in {{Imagine Spot}}s. Also when any character is embarrassed or, sometimes, just witnessing someone else being embarrassed.
34	* BarbieDollAnatomy:
35	** In the manga partially averted - there's not much to see down below, but the girls' nipples are always visible when they are topless (and sometimes visible through their blouses / swimsuits).
36	** In the anime version, everyone has BarbieDollAnatomy. Except Tina (very briefly) in the episode where she and Kaoru get stuck in town and have to spend a night together at a {{love hotel\|s}}.
37	* BedmateReveal: Kaoru wakes up more than once to find someone else sleeping next to him. See also: [[DudeShesLikeInAComa Dudette, He's Like, In a Coma!]], below.
38	%%* BigFancyHouse: Lots of them.
39	* BitingTheHandkerchief: Tina does this in Mayu's ImagineSpot when Mayu envisions making a perfect lunch for Kaoru.
40	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Aoi and Kaoru are together like they wanted, but they've been estranged from their families. On the one hand, Aoi says she and Kaoru are happy. She also says that she doesn't get to see him as much as she might like because he works long hours to support them. There is also the big fact that the TrueCompanions have gone their separate ways, although Aoi says they do get to see each other sometimes]].
41	* BrattyHalfPint: Mayu. Not always the youngest, but always the brattiest.
42	* CannotSpitItOut:
43	** With the notable exceptions of Mayu and {{Chi\|ldrenAreInnocent}}ka, pretty much all the girls, in their feelings toward Kaoru. Especially {{T\|earJerker}}ina, who's loved Kaoru for years.
44	** Also, for a different reason, Kaoru and Aoi are unable to reveal their relationship to the other characters.
45	** In "Moonlight" and the preceding episode(s), Tina's inability to admit she's leaving Japan to return to her family home in America -- or even, when the time comes, to say goodbye.
46	*** This is in character for Tina according to the various bits of backstory revealed earlier in the series; most notably when it's revealed that Tina's abrupt disappearance on her year-long around-the-world backpacking trip was the result of her inability to deal with her feelings for Kaoru. She also claims later [[spoiler:to have seen something between Aoi and Kaoru right away]] as a major reason why she ''still'' couldn't spit out her feelings to Kaoru even after coming back.
47	* CheerfulChild: Chika may be slightly old for this, but she's within the extended parameters of the trope.
48	* CherryBlossoms: A recurring theme, visually almost omnipresent but also occasionally referenced in the dialogue. See also MeaningfulName.
49	* TheChewToy: Taeko. Which is not to say Taeko is never TheWoobie; [[TearJerker sometimes she is]], especially in regard to her [[TragicDream hopeless]] love for Kaoru. But as a combination of TheDitz and the CuteClumsyGirl, Taeko brings a lot of "hilarity" down upon her own head (often [[CuteClumsyGirl literally]]), and this is nearly always played for laughs.
50	* ChickMagnet: Kaoru, although [[SelectiveObliviousness he never seems to]] [[ObliviousToLove pick up on]] [[TheUnwantedHarem it]].
51	* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Kaoru Hanabishi and Aoi Sakuraba. They first met as toddlers and their families put them in a PerfectlyArrangedMarriage at an early age. As a result of Kaoru leaving the Hanabishi family, the engagement was cancelled, but Kaoru and Aoi still want to marry each other.
52	* ChildrenAreInnocent: Chika acts (and [[TokenMiniMoe looks]]) more like a nine-year-old than like a junior high student (or, in [[OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo Enishi]], a high school student).
53	%%* ChristmasEpisode:
54	%%** Doubled as a ShoutOut to ''Manga/AhMyGoddess''.
55	%%** Was also an {{Omake}} and a BonusEpisode in that there are twelve other episodes in the season.
56	* ClingySleepers: Aoi climbs into Kaoru's futon with him. When he questions her about this, she states that he clung tightly to her in his sleep, which makes her very happy.
57	* CordonBleughChef: Taeko is capable of producing decent meals, but she has a tendency to mix her normal meals with chocolate.
58	* CrossPoppingVeins: Miyabi gets a whole flock of them around her during a montage of Taeko's clumsiness.
59	* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Fairly tame example, but [[CuteClumsyGirl Tae]][[TheDitz ko]], of all people, is the one to lead the charge to take down the {{Obake}} haunting the mansion. [[spoiler: Although it turns out to be just [[WeaselMascot Tina's ferret Uzume]].]]
60	* CuteClumsyGirl:
61	** Combined with her role as TheDitz, this can lead Taeko into TheChewToy territory.
62	** Chika's friend Chizuru is also a CuteClumsyGirl, but seemingly a milder example than Taeko. She certainly swims like a [[TheKlutz klutz]], especially for someone on the school swim team. If you can even call what she does swimming.
63	* DiegeticSoundtrackUsage: In one episode, Kaoru of all people sings karaoke to the end theme. A different song (sung by Tina) plays over that episode's credits, perhaps indicating some kind of theme conservation law. Also, episode 15 starts with Aoi humming the opening theme.
64	* DinnerBathOrSexOffer: Aoi says this during an ImagineSpot by Kaoru. Inside it, it didn't matter which choice he picked, because he gets her no matter what.
65	* DisappearedDad: Kaoru's father died when he was five.
66	%%* DistractedByTheSexy: Kaoru with "Santaoi" in the special episode "Miyuki".
67	* DoggedNiceGirl:
68	** Tina gives it her best. Except, you know, actually admitting anything. [[spoiler: Until "[[TearJerker Moonlight]]."]] Arguably Taeko, who, one episodes suggests, may have been a {{Dogged Nice G\|uy}}irl toward Kaoru for [[IdenticalGrandson several generations]].
69	** Aoi, before the series begins, when she learns that her engagement to Kaoru has been broken. Played straight in the sense that Aoi gets her man. Mild subversion in that it wasn't Kaoru but rather her family who broke the engagement, so in a way she was pursuing a love interest she had already won.
70	* DrivesLikeCrazy: Taeko treats driving an actual car like doing it in an arcade. The maneuvers we are shown are actually quite skillful, but scare the bejesus out of her passengers.
71	* DudeHesLikeInAComa:
72	** Tina and Kaoru are forced to spend a night in a love hotel (chaste, since they're [[JustFriends only friends]]), on account of rain and having missed the homebound trains. While Kaoru is asleep, Tina silently debates with herself about kissing him. Judging from her thoughts the next day, she went through with it several times -- and seemed alternately happy and regretful about taking advantage of him. Kaoru didn't notice.
73	** Tina and Aoi have each kissed a sleeping Kaoru on several occasions, starting [[PuppyLove when Aoi and Kaoru were toddlers]]. Aoi usually told Kaoru about it afterward. Tina, [[CannotSpitItOut for whatever reason]], didn't.
74	** Also, those {{Bedmate Reveal}}s indicate that [[TheUnwantedHarem the girls living in]] [[BigFancyHouse the manor]] have no qualms about entering Kaoru's room, climbing into his bed, and cuddling up with him -- all while he's fast asleep.
75	* {{Eagleland}} (type 2): Kinda. Tina, the only major character from America, is rather brazen, especially by Japanese standards.
76	** Although technically Japanese, Mayu has spent a considerable portion of her life in Britain and the U.S. Naturally she's the brattiest character in the series.
77	* {{Ecchi}}: Skyrockets to this level in a chapter of the manga, [[spoiler: when Kaoru and Aoi have sex]].
78	%%* FaceFault
79	%%* {{Fanservice}}: In many episodes of the anime, and much of the manga.
80	* FirstGirlWins: The female protagonist Aoi is Kaoru's childhood friend and fiancée. Actually, she wins ''before'' any potential love rival has the chance to even show up.
81	* ForgottenFirstMeeting: Kaoru and Aoi knew each other when they were children. After Kaoru left the Hanabishi family, they didn't see each other for years, but Aoi still can't forget Kaoru and goes to look for him. She finds him almost immediately, but they don't recognize each other until Aoi shows him a childhood photo of them together.
82	* FreudianExcuse: Kaoru's abusive grandfather turned him into a recluse. Mayu's workaholic parents never paid her attention except when she accomplished something, so she's constantly craving attention, especially from Kaoru.
83	* FromRoommatesToRomance: After Kaoru left the Hanabishi family, his arranged fiancée Aoi chased after him to convince him to return and marry her. Since Kaoru has no intention of going back, Aoi ends up staying at his apartment as she traveled with no plans for lodge. After living with Aoi for a while, Kaoru comes to love her back and decides he does want to marry her after all.
84	* GargleBlaster: Tina's mysterious purple liquor [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom of doom]] [=KOs=] Kaoru and Miyabi in one shot. In the anime, it's ''multicolored'' and ''glows in the dark''.
85	* GirlsLoveStuffedAnimals: There are lots of stuffed animals which where given to her by her father in Mayu's bedroom. Ussa, her favourite, reminds her of her first meeting with Kaoru.
86	* GoodScarsEvilScars: Kaoru has "good" ones, after all he went through thanks to his grandpa.
87	* GorgeousGaijin: Tina, the blonde American who's already MsFanservice in a {{Fanservice}}-heavy show.
88	* GratuitousEnglish:
89	** Tina and Mayu have both spent a lot of time in English-speaking countries, yet neither speak it very well. Mild LampshadeHanging when people keep asking Tina if she is really American.
90	** {{Lampshade\|Hanging}}d more obviously when Tina and Mayu first meet; and Tina momentarily forgets how to speak English.
91	* GreenEyedMonster:
92	** Mayu Miyuki. The other members of the UnwantedHarem evoke jealousy, envy, and resentment in her heart, and she inspires similar feelings in some of them -- especially Tina. Of course, Mayu's all-around [[AlphaBitch nastiness toward Tina]] doesn't help matters.
93	** [[OfficeLady Miyabi]] resents Kaoru for hogging Aoi's attention all these years, and she flat-out tells him so. She also feels jealousy ''on Aoi's behalf'' whenever she sees him with the other girls.
94	** Aoi feels jealousy much more readily over time in the manga, especially once the harem reaches critical mass with the addition of Chika. She doesn't show it as much given the pronounced pressure from her family to keep a lid on the relationship. She finally admits it to Kaoru later on, and the pressure of having to keep the relationship a secret while watching other women be so openly affectionate puts a great strain on her.
95	* GruesomeGrandparent: Kaoru's grandfather forbade him from every seeing his mother after he adopted him as the Hanabishi heir, burned nearly all of Kaoru's possessions relating to his mother, and savagely beat him with his cane when he tried to stop it. This ultimately led to Kaoru leaving the Hanabishis for good.
96	* HardDrinkingPartyGirl: Tina, and to a lesser extent Taeko. Not ''much'' lesser, though. Tina is an interesting case. She's clearly a HardDrinkingPartyGirl, yet she's also clearly the [[FanPreferredCouple runner-up]], the closest thing the series has to an ChildhoodFriendRomance. (They were about seventeen or so when they met, so Tina's more JustFriends than anything.)
97	* HauntedHouse: It seems like a ghost haunts the [[BigFancyHouse mansion]], terrorizing the girls (especially Tina) while they try to sleep. {{Subverted\|Trope}} since [[spoiler: it turns out to be just Tina's ferret Uzume.]]
98	* HeadTurningBeauty: Aoi draws all sorts of unwanted attention whenever she shows up on campus, not in spite of her extremely conservative attire but rather because of it.
99	* HeIsNotMyBoyfriend:
100	** Inverted by Chika. At first she encourages her {{Those Two G\|uys}}irls, friends Natsuki and Chizuru, to leap to the wrong conclusions about the nature of her relationship with Kaoru. Later, when they call him her boyfriend, she corrects them and says he isn't -- but wistfully. She'd love to be able to tell them he is.
101	** Aoi also has an atypical relationship with this trope: whenever any member of TheUnwantedHarem inquires about her feelings for Kaoru, she gets flustered and denies them. The initial reason is to keep their betrothal secret so as not to create scandal for the Sakurabas, but as the series progresses, the plausibility of this reasoning weakens.
102	* HopelessSuitor: Any girl who isn't Aoi has no chance to get Kaoru.
103	%%* HotSpringsEpisode: Multiple instances.
104	* {{Identical Grand\|son}}father: An old photograph reveals that [[spoiler: some presumed ancestor of Taeko, who looks identical to our Taeko even down to the glasses and maid outfit, had an unrequited crush on some presumed ancestor of Kaoru, who looks identical to our Kaoru]].
105	* InnocentInnuendo:
106	** When Kaoru is spending the night at Mayu's BigFancyHouse they have some very suggestive dialogue which turns out to be about a card game.
107	** And in chapter 41 of the manga, when Kaoru and Tina are forced by heavy rain to spend the night in a love hotel, there is suggestive dialogue which turns out to be about a video game they are playing.
108	* IntimateHealing: When Kaoru gets a fever, Aoi gets naked inside Kaoru's futon to warm up his body.
109	%%* {{Joshikousei}}: Chika and her classmates.
110	* JustFriends: Tina. Except she probably didn't meet Kaoru until they were about seventeen, so more literally an Unlucky Teenhood Friend. Other than that, fits the trope perfectly.
111	%%* LethalChef: Taeko (at first), and Mayu.
112	* LonelyRichKid: Mayu's FreudianExcuse is her ''extreme'' case of ParentalAbandonment.
113	* LovableSexManiac: Tina, considering she's groped every female in the cast [[strike:except Mayu]], as well as practically assaulting Kaoru on a couple of occasions.
114	* LovedByAll: In one episode, Chika corners each of the girls and badgers them to find out if they "love" Kaoru, only to end the episode with the gleeful proclamation that ''everyone'' loves Kaoru. Since ChildrenAreInnocent, to her that counts as a happy resolution to the issue.
115	* LoveHotels: Tina and Kaoru have to stay in a love hotel overnight when they get stuck in the city.
116	%%* LuminescentBlush: Lots of 'em.
117	* MagicalGirlfriend: Aoi sometimes borders on this. Except in the ChristmasEpisode, in which she really ''is'' this - to be exact, a SantaClaus who loses her magic necklace (the key to her homeworld), and grants Kaoru a wish after he finds it. He wishes to spend Christmas with her, and names her Aoi. The rest of the episode focuses on "Aoi" and Kaoru's special Christmas encounter.
118	* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Averted. Although definitely a dream girl, and arguably pixie-ish, Aoi is decidedly ''not'' manic, or overtly quirky, or even [[GenkiGirl all that chipper]] except when basking in her love for Kaoru. And if ManicPixieDreamGirl-wannabee Tina ever had any chance at a beyond-platonic relationship with Kaoru, her abrupt disappearance for a year -- ironically, in part to try to get her act together for Kaoru -- completely sabotaged it.
119	* MarshmallowHell:
120	** Kaoru is sandwiched between Tina's and Taeko's considerable chests in chapter 36 of the manga.
121	** He also gets a dose from Aoi, thanks to her more-prodigious-than-advertised assets and her tendency to grab things in her sleep.
122	* MeaningfulName:
123	** Aoi's surname (桜庭 Sakuraba) means "[[CherryBlossoms cherry-blossom]] garden" -- she informs Kaoru that her family is named after a grove of cherry trees they've owned for centuries -- and the name Aoi can mean "hollyhock flower" (which is the kanji she uses to spell her name, 葵) as well as "blue."
124	*** Aoi can also mean "pale," "green," "unripe," or "[[NatureAdoresAVirgin inexperienced]]."
125	** Mayu's family name is Miyuki, which means something like "[[AlphaBitch beautiful]] [[IceQueen snow]]." Fitting, given her [[SpoiledBrat haughty personality]].
126	** And to round out the flower-themed naming, (花菱 Hanabishi) is a flower shaped family crest and Kaoru spells his name with the kanji for "fragrant," 薫
127	** The title "Bluer Than Indigo" comes from the saying about indigo dye being bluer than the leaves it comes from, as a metaphor for the student surpassing their teacher. [[spoiler:This is what Kaoru and Aoi do in the end when they separate from the families that brought them up and elope together, having learned what true love and family really mean to them]].
128	** And then, of course, there's the fact that the 藍 (''ai'', indigo) in the title is a perfect homonym for 愛 -- that is, love, in the romantic sense that is usually reserved only for people truly dedicated to one another.
129	* MeetCute: In Kaoru and Aoi's first encounter as adults, Kaoru helps Aoi get up after she trips at the train station. He then helps her get to the destination she was trying to reach, only to find out she was looking for ''his'' house as she's his childhood friend who has come to ask him to marry her.
130	* MissingMom: The Hanabishi clan took Kaoru from her, at age five, when his father died. A few years later, she too died. Not just that, but his grandfather destroyed all her photographs and belongings. All of them, that is, except [[spoiler: a jewelry box key young Kaoru gave young Aoi as a [[{{Tearjerker}} Very Special Present]].]]
131	* MoodWhiplash: The show bounces bizarrely between lighthearted (if not outright filler) {{fanservice}} and [[TearJerker poignant]] romance. In the first season and much of the second, most of the poignancy comes from the backstory of Aoi and Kaoru. During the [[OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo sequel Enishi]] -- by which point most of the reasons for Aoi and Kaoru to worry for their future, and to keep their romance a secret, have been resolved -- the poignancy tips increasingly toward [[JustFriends Tina]].
132	%%* NakedApron: Aoi, but only in Kaoru's {{Imagine Spot}}s.
133	* NiceGuy: Kaoru, once he [[ShrinkingViolet comes out of his]] [[TheWoobie shell]]. From a certain perspective, his tolerance of TheUnwantedHarem is cruel both to Aoi and to the duped girls in question, but it's mostly his own kindness that keeps him from driving them off. That, and also they eventually become TrueCompanions.
134	* NightmareFetishist: Taeko ''likes'' the idea of ghosts and poltergeists. Everyone else wants nothing to do with it.
135	* NippleAndDimed: To an extent. You can see nipples in close up, especially in the bathing scenes (good god there's a lot of them) but at other times, they're non-existent.
136	* NobodyPoops: Averted once in the manga. Chizuru, trying to calm herself down and get over her fear of swimming, is shown sitting on a toilet with her swimsuit actually pulled down, implying that if she's not pooping, she's at least peeing.
137	* NotThisOneThatOne: Kaoru initially thinks he'll get to live in the [[BigFancyHouse mansion]], but in fact, he gets relegated to a much smaller house.
138	* NotWhatItLooksLike:
139	** Subverted, as Kaoru gets into improper situations, but the girls actually ''listen'' to his explanations and realize it's not his fault. Sometimes even realize that it's not his fault even without explanations. And Aoi ''always'' gives him the benefit of the doubt.
140	** Miyabi's first appearance didn't even give Kaoru ''time'' to explain before she [[MamaBear gave him a beatdown]].
141	%%* OcularGushers
142	* OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo: The second anime season adds ''Enishi'' to the title.
143	** Likely comes from a chapter of the manga where Aoi tells Chika that as a group, they're all tied together by a karmic relationship called "enishi." Something that would have similar connotations to calling the sequel "TrueCompanions" instead.
144	* OfficialCouple: Kaoru and Aoi are formally engaged from the beginning.
145	* {{Omake}}: One in each of the two seasons. [[OddlyNamedSequel Enishi's]] was also a ChristmasEpisode and a ShoutOut to ''Manga/AhMyGoddess''.
146	* OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent: Kaoru's the college version. Or so it seems, until TheReveal that he's the (self-renounced) heir to the powerful Hanabishi clan.
147	%%* OrWasItADream: The ChristmasEpisode.
148	* ParentalAbandonment:
149	** Kaoru's parents are dead.
150	** Mayu's parents are the president of the family business and a famous fashion designer, and thus always traveling.
151	** Tina's parents live in the States, and she goes to college in Japan by choice.
152	** Taeko's father is dead, and her mother raised her as a single parent, and might also be deceased, as Taeko refers to her in the past tense.
153	** Both of Miyabi's parents died in a car accident, and she was raised by Aoi's parents.
154	* PerfectlyArrangedMarriage: Kaoru's and Aoi's respective families had expected for them to marry each other. Kaoru and Aoi love each other, but unfortunately, Kaoru's leaving the Hanabishi family broke the arrangement, thus causing the drama in the story.
155	* PhenotypeStereotype: Tina is American, so of course she's tall, blonde, and blue-eyed.
156	* PleaseDontLeaveMe: Mayu does this to Kaoru when he attempts to leave her mansion to go home.
157	* PlotInducedIllness: When Kaoru walks through the rain to get Aoi, who's gotten lost on the Tokyo train system ''again''.
158	* PluckyGirl: Most of the girls in the cast are plucky (to varying degrees, of course) -- but it's Aoi's willingness to stand up to her family (and her [[TrueCompanions friends]] in TheUnwantedHarem) that prevents her from slipping into ExtremeDoormat status.
159	* ProdigalFamily: When Kaoru shows up, Aoi immediately thinks it's a ploy of his family to get him to return to them, which prompts him to kick her out of his house.
160	* PuniPlush: Only on occasion. Usually, it's when a character has been humiliated in some way. Often accompanied by a FaceFault or similar slapstick.
161	* PuppyLove: Kaoru and Aoi first meet and fall in love as toddlers. After being separated for years, they meet again and get engaged as adults.
162	%%* TheRashomon: Tina exaggerates this trope in chapter 13. Just a little.
163	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Aoi's mother, when she first comes to Kaoru's apartment, is prepared to take Aoi back home. She eventually relents and arranges the whole landlord situation for them to have a SecretRelationship. A major reason is that, during that meeting, she realized that fighting to stay with Kaoru is the first time Aoi ever actively disobeyed the family, taking it as a sign of just how determined Aoi was on the matter.
164	* RebelPrince: Justified by Kaoru who went from reluctant to rebellious. He was the eldest son of the head of the Hanabishi Zaibatsu and was set to take over the zaibatsu after his father retired. Yet Kaoru never felt at home in the Hanabishi family and left to live alone in self-imposed exile after his mother died. Not to mention, there's the physical and mental abuse that his tyrannical grandfather subjected him to...
165	%%* RedStringOfFate: Shown in second season OP, and mentioned a few times.
166	* RunningGag: Subtle, but Suzuki sure [[RailEnthusiast likes trains]].
167	* ScarsAreForever: Kaoru has many scars on his back because he was [[WouldHurtAChild mistreated]] in his childhood by his grandfather.
168	* ScreamingWarrior: Miyabi in "Phantoms" (''Enishi'' ep 4) definitely evokes this when she attacks Mayu by mistake. She might be a woman, but ScreamingWoman was not being used here (that was earlier).
169	* SecretRelationship: Kaoru and Aoi have a PerfectlyArrangedMarriage from way back when and are very much in love, but Aoi's family, in order to avoid a scandal (the marriage had been called off when Kaoru left the Hanabishis due to the abuse from his grandfather), force them to keep it a secret.
170	* SelectiveObliviousness: See ObliviousToLove, above.
171	** Conversely: it really should have been obvious to everyone that there was more going on between "Kaoru-sama" and "Aoi-chan" than just a tenant-landlady relationship. Leaving aside her odd deference toward him and his odd familiarity toward her ... how many words can Aoi go without mentioning Kaoru?
172	*** A possible RetCon, but late in the manga Tina [[spoiler:reveals she had known from the instant she first saw Kaoru and Aoi together that something was up between them, which contributed heavily to her most recent bout of CannotSpitItOut with regards to Kaoru.]]
173	* SexySantaDress: Not all that skimpy, but Aoi-Santa wears a Santa dress in the ChristmasEpisode.
174	* ShedTheFamilyName: Towards the end of the series, [[spoiler:Aoi openly decides to give up the Sakuraba name so she can be with Kaoru for good]].
175	%%* ShoutOut:
176	%%** To ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'', in the ChristmasEpisode.
177	%%** Also, some of the in-universe video games, and the in-universe movie "Pretty Horse." See also TakeThat, below.
178	* ShrinkingViolet: Several characters -- especially Tina and Kaoru -- are implied to have been this until soon before the series begins. [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation One explanation]] of Tina's bizarre LovableSexManiac antics is that she's still trying too hard to overcome her inner ShrinkingViolet.
179	* SignificantBirthDate: Aoi was born on the day of UsefulNotes/{{Tanabata}}, which celebrates the once-a-year meeting of Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair) across the Milky Way. It's the Japanese equivalent to Valentine's Day.
180	* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Nearly every female in the cast geels attracted toward the NiceGuy Kaoru -- at least three of them (Aoi, Tina, Mayu) from years before the opening of the series.
181	* SkinshipGrope: Tina is very fond of doing this to the other girls. It's most certainly ''not'' relegated solely to the furo house.
182	-->'''Suzuki''': Oh, don't mind. That's just Tina's socially awkward way of saying hello.\
183	'''Tina''': ''[groping Taeko]'' Man, you got some ''serious'' melons!
184	* SmugSnake: [[spoiler:Kaoru's half-brother, who outright abducts Aoi and manages to arrange for the manor to be closed down in an effort to make her marry him in place of Kaoru, so he can inherit.]]
185	* SocialServicesDoesNotExist: Kaoru's grandfather was apparently in the habit of beating the hell out of him with his cane while goons held him down and burning his ''deceased mother's'' last worldly possessions, just to show his tyrannical disapproval of her marriage to Kaoru's father. Kaoru should be nominated for sainthood for just running away without first snapping and murdering his grandpa, like any ''normal person'' would have done when pushed that far.
186	%%* SproutingEars: Aoi. Tina also did this in ep5 (see Cat Girl above).
187	%%* {{Squee}}: Tina in manga chapter 39, "Azure".
188	* SupportingHarem: The lead girl, Aoi, already won Kaoru's heart within the first few episodes. However, the girls of the supporting cast don't know and for various reasons, the main couple feel they need to [[SecretRelationship keep their relationship a secret]]. This leads to Kaoru getting into some situations with other girls, but he always stays committed to Aoi.
189	%%* SweatDrop
190	* TakeMyHand: Kaoru and Aoi in the first season opening. In the first version, they fail, but in the second, they succeed.
191	* TakeThat: Some of the in-universe video games seem to be light-hearted jabs at real-life video games. These may be more examples of [[ShoutOut shoutouts]]. A rare nasty example would be the in-universe movie "Pretty Horse," which seems to simultaneously a parody of movies about young girls and their love for horses -- and also a pointed jab at Creator/JuliaRoberts.
192	* ThanksForTheMammary: [[AccidentalPervert Kaoru]]. Not from collisions, though, but because he tends to [[BedmateReveal wake up and find this girl or that one has joined him in his bed]] while he was sleeping, [[SelectiveObliviousness for some inexplicable reason]].
193	* TheirFirstTime: Chapter 138 is all about [[spoiler:Kaoru and Aoi]] having sex for the first time.
194	%%* TigerVersusDragon: Mayu and Tina when trying on swimsuits.
195	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl:
196	** Most clearly paired off are ThoseTwoGirls Natsuki (tomboy) and her bff Chizuru (girly girl). The other examples are somewhat more mix-and-match. As the two youngest recurring characters in the original anime series, [[CheerfulChild Chika]] (tomboy) and [[{{Ojou}} Mayu]] (girly girl) could be paired off. One could make a case for [[FanPreferredCouple Tina]] and [[OfficialCouple Aoi]]. That would leave [[OfficeLady Miyabi]] (tomboy) and [[ExtremeDoormat Taeko]] (girly girl), although pairing them off is odd in that the two of them don't interact much.
197	** Another way to divvy them up would be Miyabi (tomboy), [[BodyGuardCrush who looks after]] Aoi (girly girl); and Aoi's would-be rivals [[LovableSexManiac Tina]] (tomboy) and [[{{CuteClumsyGirl}} Taeko]] (girly girl).
198	*** Worth noting: Tina is herself a mix of TomboyAndGirlyGirl. On the one hand she likes groping girls and playing video games and drinking too much. On the other hand, she adores animals and has long, flowing hair and wears sexy (if casual) clothes.
199	* TotallyTrustingLoveInterest: Despite having so many NotWhatItLooksLike situations, as the girls listen to Kaoru's explanations and actually believe him. Sometimes, he doesn't even need to explain anything. Except for his first encounter with Miyabi. He'd gotten out of the tub in an unsuccessful attempt to keep Aoi from coming in. Then he slipped and fell on top of her. So Miyabi enters and sees Kaoru, naked, kneeling between Aoi's legs with his hands [[ThanksForTheMammary firmly planted on her breasts]]. It was perfectly natural for Miyabi to [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom throw him across the room]] and start trying to stomp him to death.
200	* TragicDream: Everyone except Aoi who hopes to marry Kaoru.
201	* TranslationConvention: The dub of the anime had Mayu use a British accent for speaking English.
202	%%* TrueCompanions
203	* UnrequitedLoveLastsForever: As shown in the DistantFinale, despite Kaoru's marriage to Aoi, Mayu still hasn't given up on him and visits their house at least once a month, often getting on Aoi's nerves in the process.
204	* UnwantedHarem: Kaoru has Aoi, Tina, Taeko, Mayu and Chika in love with him. Out of all of them, the only one he wants is Aoi, but circumstances prevent him from letting anyone else know that he and Aoi are the OfficialCouple.
205	* VitriolicBestBuds: In the manga, Chika's assessment of the relationship between Mayu and Tina. Mayu loudly expresses outrage: "Just so we are clear, she will state it outright: Mayu absolutely hates Tina-san!" [[http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/9752/badfriends.jpg But then...]]
206	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The TeamPet Uzume doesn't show up after volume 9.
207	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes:
208	** Miyabi is physically capable of throwing Kaoru across a room -- but the sight of [[TeamPet Uzume]] bringing her a large dead bug makes her climb onto his back and wail, "'''''[[BigNo NOO]]!'''''" And Uzume, like a cat, brings her '''lots''' of bugs as a token of love.
209	** Tina has a phobia of thunderstorms.
210	* WouldHurtAChild: Kaoru's grandfather showed no discomfort about beating him with a cane after his mother's death.
211	* YamatoNadeshiko:
212	** Aoi wanted to be Kaoru's since childhood. She's got the skill set and general attitude of a YamatoNadeshiko, but her whole situation with Kaoru would be entirely different if she weren't assertive enough to defy her family's authority. She makes it abundantly clear that her ultimate devotion is to love, not a particularly traditionalist viewpoint.
213	** Taeko expresses her desire to be a YamatoNadeshiko, in part to be "worthy" of Kaoru's love. But she's really more of an ExtremeDoormat crossed with a CuteClumsyGirl. Adorable but rather hopeless.
214	* YourFavorite: The first meal that Aoi cooks for Kaoru at his apartment consists of all of his favorite foods. When he expresses surprise at this, she mentions that she'd remembered them since their childhood meeting.
215	* ZigzagPaperTassel: Done with the crew investigating the BigFancyHouse's attic. Boy, do they look cute in the miko getups.

Context Manga / AiYoriAoshi