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troperville

A character sheet for Kaori, Aoi, and the other inhabitants of the Sakuraba house in Ai Yori Aoshi. (Characters listed are sorted roughly in order of appearance)

Kaoru Hanabishi

Voiced by: Soichiro Hoshi (JP), Dave Wittenberg (EN)

Kaoru is a college student and exile from the Hanabishi house. Having endured years of physical and emotional abuse from his grandfather, he made the choice to break free and move out on his own.

Abusive Parents: Kaoru has the whip scars to show it.
- More like wooden cane scars. Kaoru was beaten bloody so badly by his grandfather no court in the world would call it discipline.
Bedmate Reveal: Number one recipient of this trope.
Childhood Friend Romance: With Aoi.
Heroic Bastard
Nice Guy: His dominant trait.
Parental Abandonment: Both his parents died on different dates, before the start of the story. However, his mother's fate was given more emphasis.
Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Kaoru and Aoi love each other deeply in addition to being arranged to marry. Unfortunately, the arrangement was broken when Kaoru left the Hanabishi family, which is the primary cause for the drama in the story.
Scars Are Forever

Aoi Sakuraba/Honjou

Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (JP), Michelle Ruff (EN)

Aoi is one of the living heirs to the Sakuraba dry goods* fortune. She had kept a Childhood Marriage Promise to Kaoru, even though her own parents were against the idea after he ran away from the Hanabishis. A chance encounter on a train has reunited them, and she has vowed to uphold her promise to stay with Kaoru for the rest of her life.

Apologizes a Lot
Childhood Friend Romance: With Kaoru.
Curtains Match the Window
Kimono Fanservice
Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Kaoru and Aoi love each other deeply in addition to being arranged to marry. Unfortunately, the arrangement was broken when Kaoru left the Hanabishi family, which is the primary cause for the drama in the story.
Shrinking Violet
Shy Blue-Haired Girl
Sleep Cute
Town Girls: The Neither to Mayu's Femme and Tina's Butch.
Yamato Nadeshiko: The poster girl for the trope. If the kimono doesn't give it away her gentle-yet-assertive demeanor will.

Miyabi Kagurazaki/Sakuraba

Voiced by: Akiko Hiramatsu (JP), Lia Sargent (EN)

Miyabi is Aoi's guardian. She is very strict about upholding the Sakuraba house's honor, and makes it a point to tell Kaoru and Aoi to hide their relationship from the public.

The Caretaker
Cross-Popping Veins
Defrosting Ice Queen
Happily Adopted: By the Sakurabas. Officially, in the ending of the manga.
Harem Nanny
Parental Abandonment: Her parents, who worked for the Sakurabas, were killed in a car accident.
Parental Substitute: Has one in Aoi's mother.
Stern Teacher: Sometimes was one to Aoi when training her.
Sugar and Ice Personality: Initially only affectionate toward Aoi, but as Kaoru earns her respect, she warms up to him.
Team Mom

Tina Foster

Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino (JP), Wendee Lee (EN)

Tina is an American-born college student who has lived in the Kyushu region for most of her life (so much so, that she's almost completely forgotten how to speak English).

All of the Other Reindeer: She was born in America and culturally Japanese, and as such, cannot easily fit into either country.
But Not Too Foreign: One of the most sympathetic examples.
Cat Smile
Cute Little Fangs: She shows one sometimes when she smiles.
Funny Foreigner
Gyaru: Naturally achieved, as Tina's hair and tan are real.
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy
Kansai Regional Accent
Stepford Smiler: Not quite as happy as she outwardly seems.
Town Girls: The Butch to Aoi's Neither and Mayu's Femme.

Taeko Minazuki

Voiced by: Kaori Mizuhashi (JP), Philece Sampler (EN)

Taeko is a close friend of Tina and belongs to the same photography club where Tina and Kaoru are members. She seems to have a very unlucky streak (mostly involving tripping over things), and has been unable to hold down any kind of permanent job because of this, until pleas from Aoi and friends convince Miyabi to allow her to work as a maid.

Cordon Bleugh Chef: Taeko is capable of producing decent meals, but she has a tendency to mix her normal meals with chocolate.
Cute Clumsy Girl
Gag Boobs
Meganekko
Meido

Mayu Miyuki

Voiced by: Sayaka Narita (JP), Karen Strassman (EN)

Mayu, like Aoi, is the daughter of a prestigious businessman. And also like Aoi, she has been in love with Kaoru ever since she was little. She spends a lot of time bickering with Tina.