This is the Character Sheet for Ao Haru Ride.
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Futaba's Group
Futaba Yoshioka
Voiced by: Maaya Uchida
Played by: Tsubasa Honda, Airi Tazume (young)
A formerly docile girl, Futaba wants to change herself for the better. She matures and learns through friendship, love, and growing up.
- Accidental Pervert: Kou's caught her unconsciously sniffing his neck a couple of times, and her first encounter with Touma resulted in her grabbing his junk.
- Big Eater: Futaba tends to eat a lot in public to downplay her Informed Attractiveness.
- Big Heroic Run: Kou's fondest memory of Futaba is literally her chasing him (to save him). He even considers her as a heroine.
- Damn You, Muscle Memory!: In chapter 5, Futaba was supposed to take the train that would take her to the bus for the leaders' training camp. Instead, she accidentally takes the train she normally takes to get to school.
- Does Not Like Men: In the prologue chapter, Futaba really didn't like boys. Part of why Kou caught her attention was because he hadn't hit puberty at that time and was thus "different."
- Dude Magnet: Besides Kou, and later, Touma, Futaba was known for being popular with boys back in her old middle school despite having a dislike towards them in general except for Kou. This drew in the ire and jealousy of her female schoolmates, including a girl who she was once best friends with, leading to Futaba being isolated for most of her middle school years.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: In the middle school Flash Back, Futaba's hair was shoulder-length and seemed more like a long bob cut.
- Friendless Background: In middle school, Futaba was ostracized by her female friends for being popular with the boys.
- Friendly Rivalry: With Yuuri back when Yuuri was still pining for Kou. They even wished each other the best of luck with little to no ill-will despite competing for his affections.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: Futaba's initial struggle was trying to find True Companions.
- Informed Attractiveness: Futaba is described as being attractive, but it's hard to tell with how the rest of the characters are drawn.
- Lead You Can Relate To: Many female readers (including Maaya Uchida) alike sympathize with Futaba's situation of wanting to fit in and keep a tight circle of friends.
- Meaningful Name: "Futaba" means "bud" in Japanese, symbolizing her room for growth.
- No Guy Wants an Amazon: Futaba exploits this trope by intentionally acting "unladylike" so she would come off as unattractive to the boys.
- Rose-Haired Sweetie: Futaba's hair color leans towards pink, and she largely remains optimistic and caring towards her friends.
- Selective Obliviousness: Futaba refuses to acknowledge that she still has feelings for Kou after she begins dating Touma.
- So Beautiful, It's a Curse: In middle school, Futaba was popular with the boys, and that led the girls in the class to cutting her off from their group.
- Trademark Favorite Food: From her character file, Tarako pasta.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Yeah, Futaba? Telling Yui not to hang out with Kou anymore wasn't a good idea.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Futaba becomes inspired to make the most of her life and seize whatever opportunities she can after she reunites with Kou.
Kou Mabuchi
Voiced by: Yūki Kaji
Played by: Masahiro Higashide, Mizuki Itagaki (young)
Kou is Futaba's First Love from middle school until he transferred school without notice. Upon re-entering Futaba's life, he's become jaded.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Kou is very academically gifted, and actually spent the majority of his middle school years studying. However, after his mother's death, he loses a lot of his motivation. When Futaba first meets him again in high school, he was in the advanced program until he drops back into the mainstream program.
- Broken Bird: The divorce of his parents and the death of his mother have shaken Kou up rather tremendously, so much that Futaba barely recognizes him when they reunite.
- The Cameo: Kou makes a cameo appearance in the crossover for Daytime Shooting Star and Heroine Shikkaku, drawn for Margaret's 50th anniversary.
- Chick Magnet: Futaba, Yuuri, and Yui all develop feelings for him, leaving Shuuko as the only major female character who doesn't fall for him. That said, Yuuri eventually gets over him after he rejects her, becoming a Shipper on Deck for Kou and Futaba and forming a Beta Couple with Uchimiya.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Kou's parents get divorced when he is in middle school, and he spends the majority of middle school studying so he could get a good job in the future to support his mother, so much that he wasn't able to spend much time with her himself. Then she dies.
- Deadpan Snarker Kou tends to be sarcastic around Futaba and Kominato.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": Kou doesn't feel comfortable when Futaba calls him "Tanaka-kun" like she did back in middle school, leading her to calling him on a First-Name Basis.
- Does Not Like Spam: He hates celery.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: In the middle school Flash Back, Kou's hair was shorter.
- First Love: One of the first things official material loves to point out about Kou is that he plays a big role in Futaba's life as her first love.
- Guilt Complex: Kominato tells him that his mother's death is not his fault and neither is what happened to Yui, but he still feels guilty about it.
- Jade-Colored Glasses: In flashbacks of Kou's middle school years, he generally seemed relaxed and got along with everyone (if not a bit shy). After his mother dies, he loses a lot of motivation in school, family, and even social life.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Kou often says things to Futaba that are downright pessimistic, but he really does care about her and tries to see her plans through.
- Kindhearted Cat Lover: Kou adopts a kitten and he often plays around with him at home.
- Master of the Mixed Message: Kou sends a decent amount of mixed signals to Futaba, repeatedly initiating intimate moments with her, and then claiming he didn't mean anything romantic. This comes back to bite him in the ass later on, when he tries to win Futaba back from Touma. Any time he actually tries to be romantic with Futaba, she assumes he's just playing games with her.
- Missing Mom: Kou's mother is dead.
- Not So Above It All: When the group is Watching the Sunset in Nagasaki, Kou tells them that someday they'll look back on this moment fondly. It embarrasses everyone, even Kominato, who has a habit of saying really cheesy things.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In Ore Ride, the Crossover with My Love Story!!, Kou has a "Freaky Friday" Flip with Takeo. Takeo himself is the complete opposite of Kou, and his antics in Kou's body cause Futaba and the others to be very suspicious about him.
- Parental Abandonment: Kou's parents divorced when he was in middle school, and all he had left was his mother, who later died. Subverted in the fact that when Kou moves in to live with his father and brother, his family really tries to be there for him, but he's still uncomfortable around them.
- Solomon Divorce: When his parents divorced, he went to live with his mother.
- Sour Supporter: During the camping trip, he's the least excited about the activities.
- Stepford Smiler: Kou laughs and jokes around his classmates, but only Futaba and Kominato really see his more unguarded moments.
- Stopped Caring: Kou became apathetic after his mother's death in middle school.
- Trademark Favorite Food: From his character file, chicken nanban (fried chicken seasoned with vinegar and tartar sauce).
- Tsundere: Big time. This is even pointed out by Yuki Kaji and Maaya Uchida. He's a big type A, where he tends to act "pricky" (tsuntsun) and is secretly "affectionate" (deredere), like when he stood up for Futaba in the cafeteria.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Kou is nothing like how Futaba remembered him from middle school.
- When He Smiles: Kou seldom smiles, and when he does manage to laugh from the bottom of his heart, Futaba feels as though she's one step closer to seeing through his heart.
Yuuri Makita
Voiced by: Ai Kayano
Played by: Izumi Fujimoto
Yuuri is Futaba's classmate and shares a similar past of being liked by the boys and hated by the girls. However, unlike Futaba, Yuuri doesn't mind her unpopularity with the girls in the class. She later becomes one of Futaba's True Companions in high school.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Yuuri really wants the best for Futaba because she was the only girl in her class who didn't treat her with contempt.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Yuuri is very protective of her friends and hates seeing them hurt. She also hasn't forgiven Kominato for taking her cupcake during the leadership training.
- The Cutie: Yuuri is very popular with the boys for being cute, but is accused by Alpha Bitch Asumi for being The Fake Cutie.
- Does Not Like Spam: From her character file, raisins.
- The Dog Bites Back: When Futaba calls out Asumi and Chie for treating Yuuri horribly, Yuuri counters them by humiliating them in front of the entire class.
- Eating Lunch Alone: In the beginning of the story, Yuuri often ate lunch by herself outside in the cold weather.
- Friendless Background: Yuuri was ostracized by the girls in the class for being popular with the boys in the beginning of the story.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Yuuri gives up her crush on Kou, but it's really Futaba who she wants to be happy, as she treasures their friendship more than her crush on Kou.
- Lost Food Grievance: Yuuri doesn't get off to a good start with Kominato at first because he takes her cupcake during the leadership camp when she had planned on saving it for later. She's cool with him now, but is still affected by it, since she tells him off for doing it again during the school trip to Nagasaki.
- Second Love: Becomes a Beta Couple with Uchimiya!
- Trademark Favorite Food: From her character file, lasagna.
Shuuko Murao
Voiced by: Mikako Komatsu
Played by: Yua Shinkawa
Shuuko is a lone wolf who doesn't like socializing with others after her experiences in middle school but is deeply attached to Tanaka. She later befriends Futaba and Yuuri.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Shuuko comes off as very uncaring, especially to those who don't know her that well. Also, she's often colored with darker tones in her hair, like black and purple.
- Beta Couple: Shuuko and Kominato eventually end up together as a couple.
- Brutal Honesty: Shuuko really doesn't mince her words, and it's this quality of hers that caused her to be ignored by her "friends" in middle school.
- Deadpan Snarker: She tends to snark around Kou and Kominato.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Initially the only person Shuuko was outwardly kind to was Tanaka, but she later accepts Futaba and Yuuri as her friends.
- Headphones Equal Isolation: When Futaba tries to talk to her in the beginning of the series, she puts on her earphones, signaling that she doesn't feel like talking to her.
- Friendless Background: In middle school, Shuuko was ostracized by the girls in class for sticking up for one girl who later did a Face–Heel Turn on her. Since then, she's never tried to befriend anyone and starts to hate school.
- Loner-Turned-Friend: Shuuko had no friends until Futaba and Yuuri befriend her.
- Loners Are Freaks: In the beginning of the series, all the girls avoid her because she looks mean and anti-social.
- Purple Is the New Black: In manga artwork, Shuuko's hair is sometimes colored purple.
- Secret-Keeper: Shuuko's the only one who knows that Tanaka has a beauty mark on his eyelid.
- The Stoic: Shuuko rarely shows any emotion on her face.
- Teacher/Student Romance: Shuuko develops a crush on Tanaka. On her future plans survey, she puts "Tanaka-sensei's wife" as her first wish rather than any career plans.
Aya Kominato
Voiced by: KENN
Played by: Ryo Yoshizawa
Kominato is Shuuko's cheerful classmate and has a crush on her. He also becomes The Confidant to Kou and routinely gives him advice.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Kominato fell for Shuuko when she told the boys talking behind his back to shut up. Granted she didn't do it for him, but still...
- Beta Couple: He and Shuuko eventually end up together as a couple.
- Big Brother Instinct: Kominato was a crybaby as a kid, but took it upon himself to be a good role model for his sick little sister, Lisa.
- But Not Too Foreign: Kominato is 1/4 French.
- The Confidant: Kominato acts as a confidant to Kou and routinely gives him advice on how to deal with his feelings for Futaba.
- Covert Pervert: Kominato reportedly has a Porn Stash.
- Does Not Like Spam: From his character file, he doesn't like freeze-dried tofu.
- Friendless Background: Surprisingly, for someone who's shown to have many friends in class, even Kominato has experienced this. When he was little, he was made fun of for crying a lot, and in high school, he even overheard some students complaining about his optimistic behavior.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Kominato gets really jealous whenever Shuuko is nice to a guy other than himself.
- Hopeless Suitor: For Shuuko. At least, it seemed that way at first.
- I Warned You: Kominato constantly warns Kou not to pay too much attention to Yui.
- Large Ham: He can be this sometimes, especially when showing off to Shuuko. He's also able to say rather cheesy things and not be embarrassed.
- Last-Name Basis: Everyone calls Kominato by his last name, and the only time he has ever been called by his first name was from a family friend.
- Men Don't Cry: He was teased in elementary school because he cried a lot, but changed after his sister was born.
- Messy Hair: Kominato has naturally Quirky Curls. On one instance, Touma called him "Yakisoba head" (though since he was arguing with Kou at the same time it's unclear if he was referring to him, Kou, or both).
- Piss-Take Rap: The anime has Kominato give a very noticeable one in the leadership camp. "Super orienteering!"
- Real Men Wear Pink: Kominato's favorite color is pink.
- Second Love: He becomes this for Shuuko.
- Shipper on Deck: Kominato is one for Kou and Futaba.
- Trademark Favorite Food: From his character file, yakiniku.
Touma's Group
Touma Kikuchi
Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka
Played by: Yudai Chiba
Touma is a boy from class 5 who crossed paths with Futaba during an Accidental Pervert moment. Seeing how good-hearted she is, he falls in love with her and dislikes Kou for allegedly playing with her feelings. He plays bass and provides backing vocals for his band.
- Affectionate Nickname: Some of his classmates call him "Kiku" for short.
- Chekhov's Gunman: He first appears on the rood while Futaba and Yuuri are talking, then becomes more important later on.
- Destined Bystander: Touma's first appearance is when he's eating lunch with his friends on the rooftop, but he doesn't get a bigger role until after chapter 16.
- Does Not Like Spam: He doesn't like tomatoes.
- Foil: Touma is the complete opposite of Kou. He's more straightforward, and likely to calm Futaba down instead of teasing her.
- Last Episode, New Character: In the anime, he shows up in episode 11, and appears again in episode 12. He has very little to do with the plot unless you're caught up with the manga, but that doesn't stop the official website listing him as one of the main characters. His voice actor even got to get his comments about the anime ending on the official website, and he also got to appear on the anime's official radio show, Aoharadio.
- My God, What Have I Done?: He realized that pressuring her to go out with him right after she got rejected was a mistake, and apologizes to her.
- Nice Guy: Touma is honest and considerate to people's feelings. His first appearance in the manga literally has his friends calling him a "goody-goody" for telling them not to eavesdrop on Futaba and Yuuri's conversation.
- Nobody Loves the Bassist: Subverted. He's the bassist for his band and is well-liked among his friends and classmates, but Futaba hasn't fallen for him.
- The Rival: He views Kou as a rival to Futaba's affections.
- Romantic Runner-Up: Touma falls for Futaba, but she ultimately breaks up with him when they become a couple because she realizes she can't get over Kou.
- Second Love: He tries to be this to Futaba, and even manages to (unsuccessfully) become her boyfriend for about 10 chapters.
- Stalking is Love: Touma's attempts befriend Futaba can come off as stalkery to a degree. Sometimes he eavesdrops on Futaba's conversations about Kou and he even joined the student council just so he could get close to her. On one occasion, he chased after Futaba when she was chasing Kou (who was going to comfort Yui) during the cultural festival's after-party despite that he had nothing to do with the situation, and he only found out because he was listening in on a private conversation.
- Trademark Favorite Food: He loves ginger-fried pork.
Haruki Uchimiya
Voiced by: Kenji Akabane
Uchimiya is one of Touma's friends and often encourages him to go after Futaba. He's very laidback and falls in love with Yuuri. He plays guitar and lead vocals in their band.
- Affectionate Nickname: His friends call him "Uchi."
- Does Not Like Spam: From his character file, he doesn't like fish skin.
- Pass the Popcorn: While Touma, Kou, and Kominato were having a pillow fight, Uchimiya was sitting off to the side eating up all of their snacks.
- Second Love: He falls for Yuuri, who is still getting over her failure over her first crush.
- Shipper on Deck: Uchimiya likes the idea of Touma and Futaba together, but only because Touma is his friend and he wants things to work out for him. He encourages him to go after her. One time, he played The Matchmaker when he "accidentally" pushes Touma into Futaba.
- Trademark Favorite Food: From his character file, he loves pizza toast.
Shun Tachibanaki
Shun is one of Touma's friends. He plays drums in their band.
- Does Not Like Spam: From his character file, green peas.
- If You Ever Do Anything To Hurt Him: Shun outright dislikes Futaba when he notices her spending time with Kou during the field trip to Nagasaki and thinks she's cheating on Touma. When he sees her in chapter 44, he implicates this to her.
- Slut-Shaming: Shun calls Futaba a "bitch" in chapter 44 after he saw her talking to Kou.
- Third Wheel: Heavily lampshaded in chapter 34, when Touma insists on going home with Futaba and Uchimiya with Yuuri. "Have they forgotten I exist?"
- Trademark Favorite Food: From his character file, tonkatsu ramen.
Other Characters
Youichi Tanaka
Voiced by: Daisuke Hirakawa
Played by: Yuu Koyanagi
Tanaka-sensei is Kou's older brother and a teacher at his school. Unlike Kou, he is very cheerful and friendly.
- Big Brother Instinct: Tanaka tries to keep an eye out for Kou, but Kou usually ignores his help.
- Cool Teacher: Tanaka is a lot younger than most of the teachers at school, and as such, some of the students don't see him as a teacher.
- Did Not Get the Girl: Even though Tanaka returns Shuuko's feelings, he prefers to keep their relationship strictly professional as they are student and teacher. Near the end of the series, he hints to Kominato that he'll pursue Shuuko again once she graduates, but this all goes nowhere, as Shuuko and Kominato end up together in the end while Tanaka decides to go abroad.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: In a Flash Back back to when Tanaka and Kou's parents divorced, Tanaka's hair was longer.
- The Gadfly: Tanaka often intimidates Kominato over their rivalry for Shuuko's affections just to see how he reacts.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Tanaka actually returns Shuuko's feelings for him, but encourages her to move on since he knows it's impossible for them to date right now.
- Impossibly Tacky Clothes: Tanaka has a very bad fashion sense and often wears strange t-shirts.
- Manchild: He mentions that he acts immaturely for his age.
- Messy Hair: Has been joked about a few times.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Even though Tanaka sometimes acts like a Manchild, it's an act. In fact, the times where he may or may not admit things that he did on purpose are quite jarring, especially during times where he drops hints to push Kominato into going after Shuuko more aggressively.
- The Rival: Kominato sees him as one due to his relationship with Shuuko, and Tanaka is more or less friendly about their rivalry.
- Shipper on Deck: He thinks Futaba would be good for Kou.
- Spit Take: Tanaka does one when Shuuko hands in her Future Plans Survey, as she put "Tanaka-sensei's wife", rather than what she planned as a career.
- Solomon Divorce: When his parents got divorced, he went to live with his father.
Yui Narumi
Played by: Mitsuki Takahata
Yui is Kou's friend from middle school when he moved to Nagasaki. She was once a Genki Girl and popular at school until her father's death has left her very disillusioned. This event naturally brings her close to Kou, who has gone through the same experience, and threatened by his relationship to Futaba.
- Accent Tropes: Since Yui grew up in Nagasaki, she speaks in Nagasaki dialect.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Yui dons a pixie haircut in the original manga, but in the live-action film, her actress has long hair.
- Birds of a Feather: Yui is drawn to Kou because their parents were hospitalized at the same hospital (with the same illness) and because he's gone through the same lifestyle changes as her.
- Broken Bird: Her father's death has changed her from being a cheerful girl.
- Brutal Honesty: Sakisaka drew Yui with the intention of making her a "very honest person." Yui doesn't mince her words when she helps Kou in middle school, or when she immediately admits that she doesn't care Kou's paying attention to her only because he feels sorry for her.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Yui feels threatened by Kou's closeness with Futaba so much that she tries to make him stick by her at all times.
- Does Not Like Spam: From her character file, peanuts.
- Early-Bird Cameo: In the anime series, she appears in the background of the beginning of episode 11, just when Kou leaves the hospital.
- I Just Want to Be Loved: Yui wants someone to be there for her.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Futaba gets on Yui's bad side when she basically tells her (in nice terms) that it's her fault that Kou is unhappy. Yui tells her (within reason) that she has no right to decide what she considers "best" for Kou.
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: She was the one who broke Kou out of his shell when he first transferred into her school.
- Manipulative Bitch: Yui tries to stop Kou and Futaba from getting closer by guilt-tripping him to stay with her and forcing him to give up on Futaba. The trope is subverted in the fact that Kou had known this the entire time, but still willingly went along with it because he felt sorry for her.
- One of the Guys: Yui is very popular with her male peers, and many of her friends are boys.
- Parental Abandonment: Yui's parents are divorced. Dad died; Mom didn't want to take care of her after she got remarried. She now lives with her aunt and uncle.
- Please, Don't Leave Me: Yui doesn't want Kou to leave her, because she has no one else she can trust.
- Trademark Favorite Food: From her character file, fried chicken.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: In Kou's flashbacks of when he moved to Nagasaki, Yui was a Genki Girl and was popular with the other students in class. All of that disappeared after her father's death.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Yui uses her weaknesses to get Kou's attention, which he's aware of.
Asumi and Chie
Asumi
Chie
Asumi is voiced by: Marina Inoue
Chie is voiced by: Ryōko Shiraishi
Asumi and Chie were Futaba's friends in high school, but their disdain for other girls makes Futaba uncomfortable and unable to be her true self. It's only when Kou convinces Futaba that they were False Friends that Futaba realizes that this. When Futaba stands up to their bullying of Yuuri Makita, Asumi and Chie admit that they can't be friends with Futaba because their opinions were too different.
- Alpha Bitch: Futaba notes that the reason why none of the girls talk to Yuuri is because of what Asumi said about her.
- Brutal Honesty: Asumi is very outspoken, which causes a lot of girls in the class to pay attention to her.
- False Friend: Futaba doesn't realize until Kou tells her, but she's been going along with what they say out of fear that they'll leave her alone if she didn't. Furthermore, Asumi and Chie never look out for Futaba or ask if they could help her when she gets stuck with menial tasks from the teachers.
- Forgiven, but Not Forgotten: Asumi and Chie accept Futaba's apology, but they also state that they can't be friends again because they're too incompatible.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Futaba points out that Asumi and Chie are rude to Yuuri because they're jealous of the attention she gets from boys.
- Hypocrite: Yuuri accuses Asumi and Chie of being jealous of her, precisely when they rag on her for being cute just to attract the attention of others when they actually do the same thing themselves.
- Social Circle Filler: Asumi and Chie were Futaba's friends for only the first couple of chapters until they decide to break off their friendship. They do not appear in the manga since, save for a prequel chapter released with one of the Blu-rays/DVDs.
- Those Two Girls: It's easy to dismiss Asumi and Chie as two random girls who were Futaba's friends.
- We Used to Be Friends: When Asumi and Chie find out about what Futaba really thinks, they think they're too different for them to be friends.
Naito
Voiced by: Daiki Yamashita
Naito was Kou's friend in middle school.
- Innocently Insensitive: When Futaba tries to return Kou's PE uniform, Naito teases her about liking Kou, only for her to not only scream, "He Is Not My Boyfriend", but also her Does Not Like Men status. Ouch.
- Oblivious to Love: Naito doesn't know Yumi has a crush on him, and we don't know if he ever found out.
Yumi
Voiced by: Yui Makino
Yumi was Futaba's best friend in middle school up until later on in their first year, where she joins the group of girls isolating Futaba out of suspect that Futaba likes her crush, Naito.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: Yumi's hair was shorter in middle school, but when we see her in high school again, her hair has grown to shoulder-length.
- Forgiven, but Not Forgotten: Yumi feels bad about ruining her friendship with Futaba. Futaba doesn't hold a grudge against her, but they don't become friends again.
- Regretful Traitor: Yumi promised to stay as Futaba's friend, but when she started suspecting that Futaba had a crush on Naito, she turned against her. When they meet again later on, Yumi regrets what she had done.
- We Used to Be Friends: Yumi was Futaba's best friend in middle school right until she ditched her because she thought Futaba liked Naito too.
