Given the whole story is from Ichikawa's point of view, pretty much everyone else gets a share of this.
- Anna Yamada
- One of the major debates among fans is at which point she fell in love with Ichikawa. Was it as early as the bike incident? When he gave her the Milk Tea (which she keeps around since then)? The time he hid her candy so she wouldn't get banned in the library? (see more in Fridge Brilliance) Maybe she had feelings from very early on but didn't figure them out until one of those examples. Pretty much any fan has a different take on the matter.
- Another point of contention about Yamada is her intelligence. Some dialogues seem to imply she's The Ditz with her grades mentioned to not be great, being terrible at taking notes or writing, commonly failing to catch things that are not said literally, or failing to notice all the social cues around her. On the other hand, given her tendency of giving up on things when she isn't the best it's very possible she could fall into Brilliant, but Lazy. It’s also worth noting that she didn't seem to need help studying until she was looking for an excuse to be close to Ichikawa. Another possibility is that she's Obfuscating Stupidity in some areas like in her cooking abilities. In Karte 18 and 126 she considers things as basic as Nerunerunerune or adding Hot Sauce to be cooking, but in Karte 106 she's shown to be a natural chef.
- It's been speculated that Yamada was uncomfortable with talking men before meeting Ichikawa. Given how overprotective her friends are of her every time someone of the opposite sex approaches her, that despite her friendly nature she rarely talks with other guys, and that she gets nervous when "asking" for Ishimuro's LINE, despite the fact she has interacted with him multiple times before.
- Does Yamada having an easier time talking to Ichikawa have anything to do with the similarities between him and her father/Kobayashi? Or is she used to him after a long period of Because You Were Nice to Me?
- The Fake-Out Make-Out in Karte 42. The most popular interpretation is that she was doing it to discourage Nanjou's advances like Ichikawa supposed without noticing why this could make him feeling used like tool, but another interpretation is that she wasn't comfortable with Ichikawa running away every time someone else approached so she was telling him it was okay if he stayed. Alternatively, she did it precisely because it was Ichikawa who she was interesed with, rather that simply because he was there.
- Moeko Sekine
- Considering later chapters established her as The Gadfly and Smarter Than You Look, was Moeko already aware of what was going on between Ichikawa and Yamada back in Karte 31 and was she purposely teasing them? Or was the whole incident what made her connect the dots?
- Moeko's Shipper on Deck act can be read as her way of getting involved in romantic shenanigans to compensate her lack of success on getting a boyfriend.
- Haruya Nanjou.
- A Bitch in Sheep's Clothing who feels entitled to the girls he likes merely for his appearance and doesn't take Yamada's very obvious negatives into account believing he can conquer her at the end of the day, who just happens to gain the decency of taking the more explicit "no" for an answer. Or a legitimate Nice Guy who's completely clueless about how to deal with a girl in a non-superficial way and is possibly just as insecure as our leads, but deals with it in a much worse way?
- Also Nanjou fishing Ichikawa's bike. A legitimate Pet the Dog moment or another attempt to impress Yamada to get her LINE?
- An anime-only example in episode 18. Was he legitimately trying to make Ichikawa look bad by telling Yamada he gave him her number in episode 11 out of pettiness or was it a mere tease knowing Yamada wasn't gonna buy it? Or perphaps, was he trying to test how close they were? Or simply dropping a hint, in case he thought Ichikawa wasn't aware yet who Yamada was in love with?
- Kobayashi's Obliviousness To Love. Is she really that big of a ditz or just too indifferent to connect the dots? And there's of course some fans who believe she's Obfuscating Stupidity and is deliberately trolling her friends.
- Adachi's actions in Karte 103-106 can lead to many interpretations. Is he really challenging Ichikawa for Yamada's hand? Is he aware that he lost any chance with Yamada but is still frustrated and angry with Ichikawa for hiding it from him despite the friendship they formed and wants to release his frustration? Alternatively, he feels guilty for sexualizing someone whom Ichikawa had strong feelings for and wants to give him a chance to shine, thus why he let him take him down briefly before going all the way?
- Kanzaki is almost completely devoted to Hara...except in the chapters where he joins in Adachi and Chikara perving in the other girls. Does he do it simply to playfully interact with the other boys or is he just as much of a perv as Adachi and Chikara, just that with a love interest in the way and can hidded in front of Hara?
- Nico Kouda.
- Is she in love with Yamada or does just have a deep admiration for her that crosses in overprotectiveness? On one hand, her comments in Her Troll Account, her Death Glare when she saw Yamada talking with Ichikawa and her attempt on peeping on her during the Beach Arc seems to suggest the former. On the other hand, her stated choice to keep distance from her idols, her attempts to get her out of the drama out of worry she will be forced to do sexualized scenes suggests the latter.
- If it's the former, then her reasoning to not being around Yamada too much because she would prefer to keep a distance with her idols is true or is she trying to be away from her because she's still a middle-schooler and she a young adult so it wouldn't be a good idea?
- Why does a famous and popular model like Nico have a secret Troll account that paints her as a pathetic loser? Does she realizes some of her comments come up as creepy and prefers to keep them away from her public image? Does her agency forbid her from doing so? Perhaps it’s a way to deal with her Stepford Smiler tendencies by revealing her true feelings about stuff without intervention or does she want to say stuff specifically about Yamada that she would never tell her in real life?
- One non-canonical (yet) extra has Nico exposing Ichikawa and Yamada relationship on social media, given all the type of stuff she posted unconsciously in her account, is rather ambiguous whatever she did it purposely to cause them issues given her possible crush on Yamada or because of her ditzy nature not made her realize it could be a problem for them.
- Kyōtarō's mom. She seems aware to some degree of the closeness between her son and Yamada yet she doesn't seem to mention it much. Is she Locked Out of the Loop or does she have an idea of what's going on but doesn't want to pressure her son into revealing his true feelings?
- It's heavily implied that Ichikawa has a distant relationship with his father, but it is never explained exactly why. It is mentioned in Karte 94 that Ichikawa put up walls between him and his parents during his rebellious phase, leading to the interpretation that he's the one who distanced himself from his father. However there are multiple instances where Ichikawa mentions that his father barely talks to him, which either can be a sign of being emotionally distant, busy, or him simply being The Quiet One like his son. There's also the possibility that both of them are at fault. Ichikawa put up walls in his rebellious phase, but his father wasn't very communicative in the first place, leading to both of them having a hard time knowing how to reach each other.
- Maeda leaving Chii out of the official list. An honest mistake or a deliberate tease? If the latter is the case, was he trying to make Chii appreciate her friends more by frighten her a bit after seeing their fight the last day or did he saw through her intentions and refused to gave her what she wanted without teasing her a bit?
- Kana read Yamada's confession without really knowing what it was or that Ichikawa and Yamada had become a couple recently, but she quickly relates it to a love song and uses the lyrics as a base to create her song, opening the possibility that Kana believes Ichikawa is brainstorming a way to confess to Yamada, which could paint her insistence on making the pair go to the concert as her trying to be the Romantic Wingman considering Ichikawa isn't the best when it comes to expressing his feelings.
