Characters / Café Stella and the Reapers' Butterflies

This page lists the characters of the Visual Novel, Café Stella and the Reapers' Butterflies, and the tropes associated with them.

All spoilers are UNMARKED. Proceed at your own risk.

This character sheet uses Eastern naming convention (surname first) for the Japanese characters.

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Main Characters

Takamine Kousei

Voiced by: Masaaki Mizunaka (drama CD)

• Accidental Pervert: When Kanna knocks him out, he then wakes up in the locker room in the cafe. And he happens to see Natsume changing, and she wants to kill him.
• Affectionate Nickname:
  • Nozomi called him "Kou-chan" back when they were kids, though she mostly sticks with "Kousei-kun" in the present.
  • If he and Mei get together, she'll start calling him "Kou-kun."
• Childhood Friend Romance: He and Nozomi grew up together, and they can become a couple if the player takes her route.
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Unlike most of the other Yuzu-Soft protagonists, Kousei was just a normal guy whose life immediately changed by dying. Whereas the other protagonists were drawn by their situations beyond their power, Kousei had to die first before realizing his role in the story.
• Forbidden Love: In Kana's route, Kousei thinks being in love with a Shinigami is forbidden, and when he asks Mikado about it, the latter tells him gods and humans are actually allowed to be together, which helps lift his spirits.
• Must Not Die a Virgin: This causes him to reverse his death after the car accident. Once he starts working at the café, he starts to date the girls working there.
• Reincarnation Romance: Played in an unusual way. His soul had been reincarnated three times, with his current incarnation living in the setting. Kanna had been watching his soul reincarnate up until he was born into the current setting where he would meet and fall in love with her.
• Sleeping with the Boss: If he chooses to romance Kanna, she becomes his boss at the café.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: In Kanna's route, Kousei had been falling in love with her, and just when he's about to her how he feels, she tells him her time is limited. Since she'll be reborn, she may never see him again. This causes his depression to the point that he accidentally went back in time before the café opens. Kanna asks him to move on for their sakes before he returns to his own time. This lasts until Kanna gains a human body.
• Time Master: His soul has the ability to travel back in time. The first time this happens, he was killed in the traffic accident that also killed Natsume. He was unaware of this ability until Kanna and Mikado tells him about it. This happens in Kanna's route where his desire to see her ends up causing him to go back in time with Mikado to the point where the café hasn't met its success yet, and she tells him to wait for her so he won't be in any danger from God's wrath.

Akizuki Kanna

Voiced by: Ai Shimizu

• Divine Date: A supernatural being who can potentially become Kousei's love interest. After she reincarnates, Kousei's desire to be with her causes him to unintentionally use the power of many soul remnants to create a new, completely human body for her.
• Hopeless with Tech: Kousei notices her complete lack of knowledge involving cellphones when she used the wrong kanji for his name.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Kousei's previous incarnations died at a really young age, and she had been keeping watch for his soul so that he could find happiness. She wants him to do so after her time to reincarnate would eventually come. As a result, she is happy no matter which route he takes, especially on her own.
• Lovable Sex Maniac: She is very prone to sexual innuendos when she's around Kousei, but it doesn't make other characters like her less.
• Mystical White Hair: She has long, white hair and is the titular reaper.
• Really 700 Years Old: She's lived for over a century, but looks around the same age as Kousei and Natsume.
• The Reveal: She was there from Kousei's first incarnation who died and reincarnated twice, and she wanted to help him find happiness.
• Shinigami: The titular grim reaper herself.
• Shipper on Deck: If her route isn't taken, she'll be more than willing to support Kousei dating the other girls.
• Troll: She enjoys making sexual remarks towards Kousei.
• Your Days Are Numbered: Grim Reapers like Kanna are created from the souls of the same soul remnants that they collect, and manifest as Grim Reapers in order to reconnect with humanity and regain the will to live. The happier and more satisfied Grim Reapers become, the sooner the reincarnate into a mortal body. On Kanna's route, she warns Kousei that being in a relationship with him will only speed up how soon she reincarnates.

Shiki Natsume

Voiced by: Akane Fujita

• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She has long, black hair, and she generally comes across as cool and indifferent.
• Deadpan Snarker: She is a heavy snarker, which never goes away even after her Relationship Upgrade with Kousei.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: She becomes significantly less cold as the story goes on, especially in her route; her snuggling up to Kousei is a sight that would've been unimaginable during the early parts of the game.
• Insecure Love Interest: Her route shows that she doesn't think she deserves to be loved by anyone, causing her to reject Kousei's confession despite her own attraction towards him.
• It's All My Fault: She thinks the reason why her parents couldn't open a café is because of her illness, and blames herself for it. The reason she opened Café Stella was to accomplish that dream. Her parents actually clarify that her health issues weren't the problem but that the economy decline was the reason they couldn't due to timing.
• Look Both Ways: How she originally died. She was there when Kousei was also the victim of the same traffic accident, and she was the main casualty. She did not take this well.
• Shipper on Deck: She gives Kousei a sound advice on what to do on his first date with Kanna during the latter's route, rather than trying to go all-out like Hiroto wanted to do.
• Tsundere: She does like Kousei, but her own insecurities, and finding out she died in the same car accident Kousei was depresses her. Eventually, her attraction towards him wins out in her route.

Sumizome Nozomi

Voiced by: Ai Fukada

• Always Someone Better: Further influencing her dislike of Miko duties is her belief that Yoshino Tomotake is far superior in regards to ritual dances.
• Childhood Friend Romance: She can get together with Kousei, who she's known since they were kids.
• Childhood Marriage Promise: Both her and Kousei have this.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: She becomes jealous when Kousei interacts with another girl. She was like this during their childhood when Kousei was in elementary school.
• Connected All Along: She's acquainted with the Tomotake family and their daughter Yoshino.
• Huge Schoolgirl: Despite being one of the younger cast members, she's noticeable taller than any of the other heroines.

Hiuchidani Mei

Voiced by: Yo Taichi

• Covert Pervert: The other characters have called her out on this, saying that conversations with her can take an abrupt turn for the dirty.
• Genki Girl: The most upbeat of the heroines. Her cheeriness is the primary reason she got recruited as Cafe Stella’s waitress.
• Girls Love Stuffed Animals: Her room is full of stuff animals and she goes ga-ga over any plushie that she think is cute, as well as fluffy-looking animals.
• Hiding Behind Your Bangs: She has bangs covering her left eye. This is a huge plot point because she has the ability to absorb butterflies called the Insect-Devouring Eye.
• Playful Cat Smile: Her mouth becomes cat-like whenever she gets very excited.

Shioyama Suzune

Voiced by: Yuri Yamaoka

• Drill Sergeant Nasty: While training Kousei, she straight up quotes Full Metal Jacket while teaching him to cook.
• Locked Out of the Loop: She is the only member of Cafe Stella's staff who has no awareness of the supernatural.
• Older Than They Look: She's got a younger brother in college, yet she gets mistaken as being younger. It's a bitter topic for her, as it's apparently made it hard for her to get a date.

Supporting Characters

Mikado Takanori

^{Human form}

Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita

• Butt-Monkey: He's been on the receiving end of everyone's affections in his cat form, and his dignity suffers as a result.
• Cuteness Proximity: Virtually every girl, plus Kousei, react with glee at how adorable he is in cat form.
• High-Class Glass: He wears a monocle, fitting as somebody who prides themselves as a noble.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: While he is a duke, Mikado is not hesitant to do whatever work is needed to keep the cafe afloat. He mostly does drink preparation and plays the role of owner and manager, and also handles accounting and supplying the store. On Nozomi's route he's also shown creating protective talismans to ward off vengeful spirits.
• Tsundere: He acts like a calm, aloof nobleman, but he quite frequently goes out of his way to help his coworkers, and Kanna ribs him on how much he actually cares about them.

Shioyama Hiroto

• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: The huge one to his tiny sister, Suzune. In fact, he's so tall that he's regularly shown with the top third of his head out of frame.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: After lamenting about his lack of a girlfriend for a good chunk of the game, he manages to get one in one of the routes.

Takamine Kazufumi

• Disappeared Dad: Is often away from Japan as an artist, which sadly means that he often isn't a part of Kousei's life.
• Fantasy-Forbidding Father: His parents discouraged him from being an artist which in turn causes him to rebel against them.
• Former Teen Rebel: Used to run in a gang with Nozomi's father. He considerably mellows out after being married to his wife Asumi.
• Hidden Heart of Gold: He does love Kousei, which is why he tried to return to Japan as soon as possible if something happened to him. He also supplied the café with his own paintings so that Natsume's business could bloom.
• Open-Minded Parent: A negative take by the narrative. He wanted Kousei to run his own life so that he won't be hung up by his strict family's traditions, something Kousei didn't realize due to the latter thinking he doesn't care about him. He further explains this in Kanna's route when she wanted the both of them to tie loose ends with each other.
• Parental Neglect: On the surface, Kousei thinks this about his father. But it's actually subverted for a specific reason: His father was the subject of one since his family had such fulfilling careers that his parents often neglect him, and when he desired to become an artist, they told him being an artist wouldn't amount to anything. Then he became friends with Nozomi's father who didn't want to be a shrine priest, and they ran a motorcycle gang together. Then he got into an accident, and his family cut ties with him. Then he met his future wife who had a similar circumstances involving her illness, and after Kousei was born, he wanted him to run his own life, unaware that Kousei thinks he doesn't care. They later patch up their relationship and become in good terms with each other.