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Class 1-A

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The class, minus (Anonymity)

The "indiscriminate decoding class". Their homeroom teacher is Shibori Nikueda, the P.E. teacher.

Always in Class One: Naturally. Most of the main storylines involve students in this class.
Jack of All Trades: Their trademark, as the "indiscriminate decoding class". They don't specialize in any particular code or abilities—simply a gathering of individuals who're strong in different areas. Some of them may be stronger or weaker than the other classes' students, depending on the cipher they're facing.
Passing Notes in Class: Surprisingly, this isn't banned, but encouraged... so long as they do it via codes.
Picked Last: They have an odd total number, so it's usually tricky dividing them neatly into groups during assignments, making this happen quite a lot.
Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Unlike the other classes, they have no ongoing theme or dress code. They're just... random, with differing personalities, abilities, specialities, and goals.
- This trait means they're ideal to test out Kogoe's various glasses weapons, relying on each individual's needs, strengths, and habits to gather as much varying data as possible to perfect Iroha's Super Prototype pair, before mass-manufacturing the finished product to use in Cipher Academy's metaverse.
True Companions: After everything they've gone through in the first semester, they're firmly this.

Iroha Irohazaka

Iroha Irohazaka (いろは坂いろは)

Seat number: 1

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fb304672_9859_4dca_b343_d9077cd83aa5.jpg

Iroha in Vol. 1

The main character. A token male student at class 1-A of the Cipher Academy, who gets embroiled in a conflict between Kogoe and Kyora, and soon finds himself striving for the position of the class's leading private. He has a strong sense of morality and justice.

Alliterative Name: Both his names start with "Iroha".
Badass Bookworm: He's read a lot of mystery novels, making him quite well-versed in non-standard ciphers. However, that makes him a...
Book Dumb: He states that he's bad at all school subjects, other than P.E. and music.
Call-Back: In Chapter 25, he uses Exact Words to get away with using a "glasses weapon" to solve a code (something that was explicitly forbidden); as he does so, he repeats a pose done in Chapter 16 by Anonymity, emphasizing that he'd learnt how to flaunt the rules from her.
Catchphrase: "It's elementary!"—doubles as Punny Name, since "Iroha" basically means this.
Dark and Troubled Past: He tells Kogoe that he had joined the Academy because he had "nowhere else to go". During the interrogation by Tayu, he also mentions that all his close friends are dead, that he has witnessed someone's death nine times, and that he's experienced child abuse. He later recounts the story in more detail: his middle school cheerleading club was sent to visit a refugee camp, and all the members save for Iroha, including Invalides's older brother, ended up killed by a gang of thieves.
- On a lighter note, during the same interrogation process, he implied he's confessed his love to a senpai in his cheerleading club, but she broke his heart.
Dude Looks Like a Lady: He is petite and feminine-looking; in fact, some of the girls in his class look more masculine than him, and it's mentioned that several of them have mistaken him for a girl. In his dark backstory, he only survived being kidnapped by a gang of thieves because they mistook him for a girl, and apparently were too honorable to kill "her".
The Fettered: He staunchly refuses to cheat (although he's not above exploiting rule loopholes, or smooth-talking his way out of an apparent loss). Although his glasses weapon would make him a formidable code solver, he's reluctant to use it, as he considers it cheating (and a crutch that might hamper his deciphering skills).
Gender Is No Object: Iroha being the only guy at the school is most notable for how little it matters to the plot or character. It doesn't even make him stand out visually when plenty of the girls look and dress at least as masculine as him, and the story is often vague about which other students even realize he's male.
- It finally mattered during "Trilemma Capture List", where it's obvious his physicality gave him a sizeable advantage against the girls, especially Invalides.
Goggles Do Something Unusual: His glasses weapon makes it far easier for him to solve codes, by highlighting the relevant parts of the codes he is reading, and creating a floating display of the code characters which he can manipulate by hand. It's Kogoe's Super Prototype made as the final step before mass manufacture and general use.
Has a Type: Likes masculine girls. During his interrogation by Tayu, he said he considered Ms. Nikueda as his ideal woman, plus he liked Yukako's super-short boyish haircut. Still, he also blushes at (Anonymity)'s beauty just like most people. This is likely an influence from Amvicious, the person he respects the most, who's a crossdressing, yet muscular young man.
Hidden Depths: Despite his lack of cryptographical experience and low self-esteem, he's got a natural aptitude for code-solving and is an empathetic leader. He's also a great dancer.
- He also has an explosive handling license.
In-Series Nickname: Ensa starts calling him "Iro-Iro" once she befriends him. In his childhood, he's called "Irorin".
Informed Flaw: Yukako threatened to have him sent to Trench Academy, Cipher's all-male commando-specialized equivalent, which Tayu thought would've killed him outright within the first 3 days of training. However, Iroha's repeatedly shown to be quite athletic and physically fit, much more so than most of the girls, and capable of several acrobatic maneuvers. His best subject is noted to be P.E.
Innocently Insensitive: His Nice Guy personality clashes heavily with the military atmosphere of Cipher Academy, meaning he often verbally butts into a student's personal and private issue without meaning to.
Nice Guy: He is always positive and kind to everybody. He even was willing to forgive Tayu despite how close to a mental breakdown she left him.
Power Copying: After he's elected as Class 1-A's leading private, he began to earnestly learn the ciphers and cracking methods his classmates excelled at, instead of relying on his own (rather futile) desperate self-study. He's now able to at least partially mimic (Anonymity)'s, Tayu's, Kyora's, and Oboro's specialities against various opponents in the class-wide competition.
Starring Smurfette: He's the protagonist and the first guy to attend an other all-female school.
Surrounded by Smart People: Iroha feels this way at the start—he is mostly flummoxed by the ciphers that are part of daily life at the school, while his classmates can solve them without a second thought. He also has a hard time keeping up with the school's advanced curriculum.
Took a Level in Badass: Somewhat, though this borders on Power Incontinence. At times, he's just as sharp and fast as his friends, other times he's terribly slow and full of mistakes. After his nomination as the class-leading private, he managed to beat 5 Class 1-F members in quick succession (who're trying to sabotage him), and led his class more confidently, instead of deferring to either Kyora or the others for big decisions.
- After becoming the grade-wide leader, he's become Class 1-A's most flexible cipher soldier, and while he's not the best at any of his classmate's speciality, his wide array of skills means he's typically the most suited to tackle any unforeseen situation. For instance, he beat both Shakunage and Invalides, a feat neither (Anonimity) or any other student is able to.
Trademark Favorite Food: Udon.

Sunka Umitsubame

Sunka Umitsubame (海燕寸暇)

Seat number: 2

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sunka.jpg

Ambiguous Criminal History: Something she shares with Oboro. Unlike Oboro, though, Sunka's clearly a repeat offender with a large amount of bails and penalties she plans to use the 50 billon Morg to pay off.
Animal Motifs: A bird, specifically the sparrow, befitting her name.
Cool Shades: Wears a pair star-shaped shades which emphasize her gyaru style. They are actually a glasses weapon, "Colored Glasses", with the special ability to rapidly sort objects by color, which helps with certain codes. She often lends them to Oboro.
Gyaru Girl: Explicitly referred to as "Class 1-A's sole gyaru". She claims she has joined the academy because "the uniforms are cute".
Ms. Fanservice: The girl with the most skin exposure in the class. Some of the camera angles also compliment her curves and cleavage.
Those Two Girls: Often seen hanging around Oboro, creating a typical Red Oni, Blue Oni dynamic. She also gets along with Kakune as the "live commentary team".
Valley Girl: Talks like this when she's really into her gyaru persona. She speaks normally at other times.

Soboro Oboro

Soboro Oboro (朧そぼろ)

Seat number: 3

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/94ed44c5644d366747b3f1412abe2e21.jpg

Ambiguous Criminal History: Iroha theorized she's this in the past, and Kogoe's info cards, which were at least partially reliable, mentioned Oboro's been in juvie. She's falsely accused and took the crime of another person upon herself, attending Cipher Academy to escape and hold off her pursuers.
Badass Cape: Always wears a black cape wrapped around herself.
Catchphrase: "Cipher Murder".
Cool Shades: She doesn't personally carry one most times, but funnily enough, people kept lending her theirs for her to try. Sunka specifically called herself Oboro's "glasses holder", and Sunazuna gladly placed hers on Oboro's face.
Defeat Means Friendship: Started off as being incredibly aggressive against Iroha, and unlike Kyora's gang, she did this seemingly out of personal dislike. After Iroha beat her to the answer during one of their class's assignments, she mellowed out considerably and respected him more. A 'political map' of Class 1-A even showed her as firmly in Iroha's camp.
Defrosting Ice Queen: Seen trying incredibly hard not to laugh at some of her classmates' lame jokes, blushing several times, when before she's very much The Stoic.
Emo Teen: She gives off the vibe of an angsty teen: apart from the black cape she wears, she claims to have joined the school out of "hatred and anger", tends to act serious and gloomy, and randomly threatens to kill people.
Facial Markings: She has an eye-shaped tattoo on her forehead, her info card claims she got it when she was in prison.
Goth: How she usually dresses. When imitating her, all Iroha did was find a black cloth from someplace. Her drawings are also goth-like, emphasizing a black background with the images drawn with the negative spaces remaining.
Heroic Sacrifice: Subjects herself to a 24-hour nonstop, no-rest holding in Digital Cipher Academy so Iroha and Ensa can rush ahead, skipping 60 floors at once. Iroha correctly predicts this after her confession regarding her past, when she's done the exact same thing for another person which landed her in juvie in the first place.
The Nicknamer: Somewhat. Instead of shortening Sunka's name, Oboro calls her "Tsubame of the Swallow" like in an old-fashioned setting.
Revenge: Her info card mentions wanting to get revenge on those who pushed false charges on her.
Shipper on Deck: After her Defeat Means Friendship moment against Iroha, Ensa, and Kyora, she fully supports Ensa's relationship with and dedication to Iroha.

Yukako Omomuro

Yukako Omomuro (徐綿菓子)

Seat number: 4

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1f1da2bdef57af4b6828d80f8161b5f2.jpg

Yukako's crossword introduction

One of Kyora's sidekicks.

Catchphrase: "Either a code battle... or a dance battle?"
Chain Pain: Usually carries a large loop of chain around, though she doesn't really do anything with them.
Dark and Troubled Past: During Class 1-A's battle with Class 1-F, several debates and exchanges between Kyora, Shutan, and Shitai indicated she was previously a freedom fighter working against Kick-Attack Planning, but was captured and tortured by Tayu (in the same manner, but much worse, than what she did to Iroha), then brainwashed into going under Kyora's service. The truth is likely to be more genial than this, as Kyora is shown to be a genuinely good person who frowns at torture, preferring to befriend people out of respect.
Does This Remind You of Anything?: Her playstyle in Digital Cipher Academy is an exact copy of how Dark Souls players tackle those games.
Expository Hairstyle Change: Post her Reforged into a Minion state below. Her hair◊ used to be at least as long as Kyora's, but she cut it to a short butch cut.
Her introductory tag in Chapter 5: Class 1-A's sole extremely short haircut
Hoist by His Own Petard: Iroha challenges her with almost the exact same cipher she gave him months earlier in Digital Cipher Academy so she'll back off and rest, after intentional repeated suicidal attempts. Unlike him, though, she solves it in seconds, but similarly relents and follows his order.
Informed Ability: Yukako was highly-regarded by Kyora and her classmates, but was seen constantly losing against them like drawing with Iroha and destroyed by (Anonymity), though she lost to (Anonymity) because she didn't see the latter's cheating coming. Her in-manga confirmed victory was against Hannari, and that's actually just a personality test for Kyora rather than an outright duel.
One Head Taller: She's the tallest student in Class 1-A, so she's this towards the shorter students.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: Forms such a duo with Tayu. While Yukako is hot-blooded and prone to anger, Tayu mostly keeps her cool and never raises her voice.
Reforged into a Minion: Kubinashi describes Yukako becoming Kyora's sidekick as this.
Sinister Geometry: Yukako's preferred cipher method. She used stars during her code battle with Iroha, then various squares during Class 1-A's leading private final round's Leaky Poker.

Ensa Kasuri

Ensa Kasuri (絣縁沙)

Seat number: 5

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/untitled_2716.png

Ensa's crossword introduction

^{SPOILER: Ensa with short hair}

A quiet student who usually keeps to herself. She becomes Iroha's close friend after he enlists her into his team during the Casse-Tete Quartet game.

Brilliant, but Lazy: She is one of the fastest code solvers in class, but she's too devoid of motivation to speak up or even turn in her completed assignments. However, she can show her true skills if slightly pushed.
Catchphrase: She has two catchphrases. Normally it's "A meeting by chance is preordained, as they say", the other being "This too is some kind of resentment!" when angry.
Cute Oversized Sleeves: Her sleeves are clearly too long for her, and they always hang loosely, obscuring her hands. Together with the hair obscuring her eyes, it gives her a slightly pathetic and helpless look. After she cuts her hair, she is shown rolling up her sleeves, signifying a newfound confidence and determination.
Expository Hairstyle Change: Cuts her hair short when she finds a new motivation for helping Iroha, instead of just going along with whatever he decides most of the time.
Greatness Mistaken for Failure: Ironically, due to her excellent speed, she initially has a reputation as the worst student in class: she's never been seen working on an assignment... because by the time any other student looks up from their desk, she's already solved it.
Idiot Hair: She's got a large one, though she's more lazy than an idiot. She can even use it to make an Ice-Cold Reading.
One Sided Rivalry: Seems to have one towards Kyora, the only one who can match her speed. Ensa's always flustered and got competitive whenever she was around, though Kyora didn't think much about it.
She Cleans Up Nicely: Just once, and it's not exactly "cleaning up". Iroha just happened to glimpse what she really looked like under her Blinding Bangs, and she's actually quite cute.◊ We get a better view of her face when she cut her hair short, as seen in the character image tab above.
Super-Speed: Her biggest strength is that she can move ludicrously fast—thus allowing her, for example, to rapidly assemble several large jigsaw puzzles mixed together, in the blink of an eye. Her hands are also fast enough to turn raw wheat to flour, simply by pounding it like a machine faster than the eyes can see. She also does other cooking-related stuff quickly and expertly.

Kakune Karigane

Kakune Karigane (雁音嚇音)

Seat number: 6

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b37aef7dbc053e7dddd8b0402ff5a057.jpg

Animal Motifs: Similar to Sunka, Kakune's a bird—specifically, the goose, as per her name.
Basass Bookworm: Turns out to be quite the powerful cipher soldier, despite her mediocre performance during the murder-mystery game. She single-handedely eliminated 3 other competitors form the digital Cipher Academy, and Byu, one of Class 1-E's best students, could only force draws with her.
Badass Pacifist: Crosses over with Cowardly Lion. To her, the only acceptable victory was if all participants were able to get home safely, victory or defeat be damned. Hence, she prioritizes beating her classmates just for the sake of eliminating them, not even considering working together to finish all the challenges of digital Cipher Academy at the risk of some sacrifices.
Cute Bookworm: Her passion and knowledge of detective books and associated literatures are massive, overwhelming even Iroha who has similar interests. The only thing preventing her from becoming a Badass Bookworm is her lack of results against her classmates.
The Glasses Come Off: Took off her glasses when Iroha accidentally (as usual) said the wrong thing and annoyed her, taking him on seriously without her glasses weapon.
Imposed Handicap Training: She wears a glasses weapon, called "Blindfold", which makes it harder for her to solve puzzles, as a handicap for training. It's also the only one shown so far which can actively contact Kogoe, instead of passively serving as the latter's surveillance tool.
Sherlock Scan: Her speciality, especially in regards to body language. During the mahjong game in digital Cipher Academy, she practically outreads everyone by observing the motions of their hands, similar to how Iroha relies on reading his opponent's expressions. Notably, she does this with her glasses weapon on.
Those Two Girls: Usually hangs around with Harukiri, though she also gets along well with Sunka as the "live commentary team".

Shitsuke Koshibai

Shitsuke Koshibai (小芝井躾)

Seat number: 7

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shitsuke.jpg

Shitsuke's crossword introduction, while she dresses as Tayu

Aloof Ally: According to Class 1-A's political map, she's not particularly close to anyone or belong in any group. Unlike Rokaku, who's of the same type, no one's particularly fond of her, either, though she's still affable with everyone. Kakune notes she's also not good in team battles.
Cool Shades: Wears a pair of large round shades, emphasizing her laid-back nature.
The Gadfly: Acts like this all of the time. To her, having success when being all serious is boring.
Shitsuke: Class 1-A's goof-off, Shitsuke Koshibai!
Goggles Do Something Unusual: Her shades double as a glasses weapon, "Black About", which can reveal hidden ciphers, although doesn't help in actually decoding them.
Lady Looks Like a Dude: You'd be justified for mistaking her for a lanky boy at first. Her first name, "Shitsuke", is also masculine.
Leaning on the Fourth Wall: She constantly (and correctly) predicts what's going to happen inside Digital Cipher Academy using her knowledge of video games, most of which sounds incredibly meta.
Non-Uniform Uniform: She is the only in class not to wear the tunic of her uniform, instead walking around in a loose T-shirt, although sometimes she carries the tunic tied around her chest.
Numerological Motif: Her ciphers are based on binaries and related numerical series.
Youthful Freckles: Has a minor one on both her cheeks.

Kyora Toshusai

Kyora Toshusai (東洲斎享楽)

Seat number: 8

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/98f226b8_cb31_42cd_b432_7b1f13f95898.jpg

Kyora in Vol. 3

A heiress to the weapon manufacturer Kick Attack Planning. She starts off as an apparent villain, but after Iroha proves himself time and time again against her and her sidekicks, they develop a friendship of sorts.

Alpha Bitch: She is haughty, dominant and terrifying. One of her first acts is taking Iroha out to the school's rooftop and threatening him that he'd better be friends with her, not enemies, unless he wants his life to become hell.
Badass Longcoat: She usually wears a longcoat, which she lets hang off her back without putting her arms into the sleeves.
Catchphrase: Says "I'll drop every non-nuclear weapon on your head" as a threat.
Embarrassing Nickname: Nohime calls her "Kyorarin".
Expressive Hair: Her long hair—or her bullet-shaped hair decorations—levitate menacingly in the air whenever she's pissed off.
Girl Posse: Yukako and Tayu serve as her sidekicks.
Honor Before Reason: Incredibly devoted to any promise she makes, such as debasing herself as Iroha's "servant" and saying "butt" ten times a day. It's clear she doesn't like it and tries very hard to intimidate Iroha and Nohime out of them, but she does it anyway.
Lovable Alpha Bitch: She seems to be an enemy to Iroha early on, but her intentions are actually good—she seeks to stop Kogoe, who she believes intends to double the number of wars in the world—and she develops into an ally to Iroha after he proves himself. She's also against her parents' business decision (and Kick-Attack Planning as a whole) to continuously develop lethal weapons and profit from deaths on the battlefield, choosing to focus on developing non-lethal ones instead. This was what initially drew her to Kogoe and allowed the latter to manipulate her so, because Kogoe promised to develop the glasses weapon to solve conflicts non-lethally.
Signature Headgear: She wears bullet-shaped hair decorations on her braids. This emphasizes she is the heir to a weapon manufacturer.
Sir Swears-a-Lot: Her tendency to say anything related to rear ends 10 times a day is usually mild and G-rated, but when she's angry, she throws all manner of dignity out of the window and lets out a tirade of foul worlds (most of which are censored).
"Super Sentai" Stance: She is very fond of posing like this. She twice strikes a fanciful group pose with her two sidekicks, Yukako and Tayu, including—for some reason—when returning from a honey-gathering expedition. At Iroha's insistence, she also strikes it with Iroha and Kogoe in Chapter 24, much to Kogoe's discomfort.
Verbal Tic: She seems overly fond of using the word "butt". However, in fact it's a punishment game from a wager she has lost with Iesuno.
- Looking closer, the wager was done over a three-way game of Scrabble, Tayu's speciality. Perhaps she set them up?
Wager Slave: Early on, she gives Iroha a code-solving challenge, stating that he'll become her manservant if he fails. Iroha (or rather, Dekiai's voice emitted from his glasses) turns it back on her by not just winning, but also persuading her that, since he won, she should become his servant. Unexpectedly, she obliges.
Warrior Poet: Kyora often uses Japanese literatures, especially poems, in her ciphers.
We Used to Be Friends: It's been hinted that she really saw Kogoe as a friend and she's bitter that their friendship was nothing more than a tool for Kogoe obtaining the passwords needed to upgrade the glasses weapons. Even in the present it seems she would like to fix things but, much to her disappointment, Kogoe won't do it.

(Anonymity Requested)

Seat number: 9

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1d094b2834639159644eac73c8445a31.jpg

(Anonymity)'s crossword introduction

^{Click here to see her unmasked}

An enigmatic student whose name is unknown, and her face is hidden.

The Ace: She seems to be one of the best, if not the best code-solvers in the class, at one point managing to solve ten different ciphers in an eyeblink after a mere glimpse. Kogoe mentions that even if she never cheated, she'd still be a formidable opponent.
- She took out three Class 1-B operatives in ten seconds, when they presented her with three different ciphers to solve.
Beautiful All Along: Class 1-A's "orthodox beauty", and the only girl to stun Iroha with her looks alone in one glance. Makes it a great irony when Tayu mocked her Censor Box glasses weapon, implicitly calling her ugly... then (Anonymity) took her mask off.◊
Censor Box: She wears a physical censor box, i.e. a transparent mask with a black rectangle covering her eyes. Called the "Personal Package", it's a special sort of glasses weapon that obscures her identity from every method of detection.
Cluster F-Bomb: Lets out a G-rated one towards Iroha when he goes against her message and comes in to save her from Class 1-F anyway. She's mostly calling him "stupid".
Combat Pragmatist: She sees nothing wrong with blatant cheating. She wins the murder mystery game against her group because she peeked at the game materials in advance, and she expresses surprise and contempt that the other groups' winners actually played honestly.
Cut-and-Paste Note: In keeping with her fixation on anonymity, her "introduction crossword" is not filled with her handwriting, but with cut-out characters. Turns out to be her Signature Move, since all her codes on paper are also written this way, even her solo chapter pages.
I Work Alone: Generally seen isolated and deliberately not mingling with her class, sitting quietly in the corner. Even after unmasking herself and letting more of her original cheerful persona out, she generally avoids parties and social gatherings. She only teams up when Ms. Nikueda orders everyone in class to do so, or when Iroha personally needed her to.
- Her distaste of crowds is so bad she keeps trying to escape whenever forced to sit down together with a large number of people without her glasses weapon, as shown in this image.◊
Medium Awareness: Although other characters occasionally break the fourth wall, she does it far more frequently. In Chapter 16◊, she interacts with the frame that usually introduces a puzzle—crushing it and spilling the "difficulty level indicator" stars into her hand, to symbolize her circumventing puzzles by cheating. In Chapter 18, she leans on the border between the two pages of a spread panel. In the beginning of Chapter 21, she is surprised that Iroha is suddenly way ahead of her in the poker game, and she wonders if she's somehow "skipped a chapter" since "last week's issue". In Chapter 22, she holds the narration box with her name in her fingers, and leans casually on a speech bubble.
No Name Given: Her name is yet to be stated in-universe. She is in fact called "Anonymity-San" or "Anonymity Requested" by other characters, for lack of a better name.
Non-Standard Character Design: Her eyes are drawn in much greater detail than other characters, more in line with a shoujo manga character.
One-Man Army: Some suggested this was her real speciality, though there's won't be a confirmation from her anytime soon. Her most impressive wins, indeed, were against multiple opponents, so maybe this was true.
Ship Tease: With Iroha during her capture by Class 1-F. They "confessed" to each other, though from their tone it's somewhat ambiguous whether they said it platonically or romantically.
(Anonymity): (being flung off the balcony of a treehouse) I like you too, okay?!
The Stoic: Retains a cool, neutral expression at all times, which is actually an effect of her glasses weapon. This is very advantageous in the Leaky Poker game, since it gives her a perfect poker face. Once she takes her mask off, her stoic demeanor goes out the window and she becomes a cheerful, over-the-top person.

Akina Namasu

Akina Namasu (膾商)

Seat number: 10

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/14e69fb49340c2ade831526b154cd908.jpg

^{SPOILER: Akina unmaksed}

A close ally of Iesuno Nohime.

Cool Mask: Always seen wearing a regular face mask. Though it's later revealed to be part of her Ninja identity.
I Have Many Names: Her shinobi name is "Giri Namasu".
Ninja: She's the "secret poilce officer and undercover spy of the Nohime family", complete with a set of popular basic ninja skills.
Odd Name Out: In contrast to most of her schoolmates who either have Overly Long Name or Meaningful Name, hers is strangely very short and simple, with only one kanji for each of her first and last name.
One-Word Vocabulary: Speaks this way, even to the point of shortening and abbreviating multi-word phrases.
Secret Art: Akina's extremely skilled in tatami-related ninjutsu, effortlessly handling Floor B175, a Japanese-themed floor.
The Quiet One: Rarely speaks, and even when she does, it's just one word at a time.

Shutan Nutaba

Shutan Nutaba (沼田場愁嘆)

Seat number: 11

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8e10cdf22ef615576b672f755e6d9227.jpg

Shutan's crossword introduction

^{Click here to see her without the head bandages}

Bandage Mummy: She is covered with bandages on her head and upper body, and wears an eyepatch. In spite of her apparent injuries, however, she usually seems cheerful. The bandages on her head and across her chest apparently are just for show (and to hide her hair accessory), though some of her injuries were real and remnants of the lethal accident which killed her parents, such as to her right eye and arms.
Connected All Along: In Chapter 27, she is revealed to be Kyora Toshusai's stepsister, taken in after her parents' death. She was close to Kyora because the latter wished to develop non-lethal weapons, away from Kick-Attack Planning's more traditional lethal focus.
Cute Clumsy Girl: Not good at physical activities, especially Iroha's acrobatics. It's unknown whether she's always been unathletic or this was caused by her current injuries.
Expy: A girl covered in bandages that is the main female character's sister makes her quite similar to Youka Naze from Medaka Box, another Shonen Jump manga written by NisiOisiN.
Laser-Guided Amnesia: She's always randomly asking people "who are you again?". It's revealed in Chapter 27 she just pretends to be amnesiac, as part of her cover.
- Her real reason for this pretense was so Kyora's parents wouldn't pressure her to continue her parents' work on developing lethal weapons—the very same weapons which killed them—playing the sympathy card.
My Parents Are Dead: Her birth parents, researchers for Kick-Attack Planning, were killed during a lethal weapon experiment—an accident which also injured Shutan and one she carried to this day.
Punny Name: She merged her first name with the word "question" during her last round of cipher battle against Byu ("Que-stion" into "Que-Shutan").
Signature Headgear: Once her head bandages come off, it's revealed she wears a large hair accessory shaped like a grenade fuse, similar to the accessory worn by her sister Kyora.
Third-Person Person: Usually refers to herself in the third person, but this seems to be an act for an unknown purpose, since she speaks normally once she reveals her true identity. The instant she dropped this trope by using first-person pronouns, Iroha immediately knew it's a code.

Iesuno Nohime

Iesuno Nohime (濃姫家雪)

Seat number: 12

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/49f3e939cd916b513952372ea5de90c0.jpg

Nohime's crossword introduction

33rd head of the Nohime clan, the family behind the Academy's founding.

Alternate Character Reading: The kanji 雪 (meaning "snow") would normally be read yuki, but in her name it's read suno, like the English "snow".
Animal Lover: Nohime's wealth means she can play around with many exotic and expensive animals, as shown in her character image. She's also not too shabby with more down-to-earth cattles, milking a cow expertly (something that's much harder to do that it seems). Her afternoon tea is also accompanied by a lot of birds relaxing around her.
Embarrassing Nickname: Kyora and Tayu call her "Non-non".
Eyes Always Shut: Almost always seen with her eyes shut and a gentle smile on her face. Seeing as she is almost blind, she probably doesn't see the need to open her eyes anyway.
Eye Scream: Her vision was damaged when she looked directly at a dazzling code.
Goggles Do Something Unusual: Like many of her classmates, she has a glasses weapon. It is a pair of contact lenses which allows her to (just barely) see.
Hiding the Handicap: Partially. She's not going out of her way to hide her blindness, but she's not open about it either, and Iroha needs to piece it together from clues.
Ironically Disabled Artist: The "Leaky Poker" arc shows that she is an excellent artist, judging from the cipher cards created by her (the 9's), which are decorated with technically brilliant drawings—all the more impressive since she is visually impaired. This contrasts with her attendant, Ransurotto, who prefers a more childish, cartoonish drawing style.
Meaningful Name: Her name includes the kanji 姫 (hime), meaning "princess" or "noble lady".
Money, Dear Boy: Her Character Tic. Nohime keeps constantly trying to buy her schoolmates, assigning them currencies according to how much value she thinks they have.
Noblesse Oblige: Her explanation for why she joined the Academy is simply "because of noblesse oblige".
Not So Above It All: Nohime blatantly cheated during "Trilemma Capture List" against the whole Class 1-D team by giving them a cipher with so many possible answers it's impossible to solve within the 30-second time allotted, having also stalled for 29.9 seconds from her own allotted time. She claimed it'd take them 45 minutes to solve properly later, much to Seppun's annoyance.
The Ojou: Called "the Academy's sole member of nobility".
Rich Bitch: Despite her "Noblesse Oblige" catchphrase, she considers Iroha beneath her, calls him a "commoner" to his face, and tells him that he should know his place. However, she later claims that it was an act to provoke him into a one-on-one code battle, to avoid factional infighting.
- She re-used this persona when faced against Seppun and her classmates in an attempt to enrage them, to limited success.
Sheltered Aristocrat: She doesn't know what a game of tag is.
Slasher Smile: She has a truly◊ horrific◊ one◊—a crescent-shaped smile stretching across her face and showing her teeth in a half-open grimace. Her first on-page slasher smile manages to spook several onlookers (including her own aides), and she promptly apologizes for doing something that "vulgar".

Ransurotto Hahakura

Ransurotto Hahakura (母倉乱数籤)

Seat number: 13

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ransurotto.jpg

Ransurotto's crossword introduction, with Nohime (right)

A close ally of Iesuno Nohime. She's usually seen drawing Nohime.

Meaningful Name: Her name is written with kanji, but spells out the Japanese spelling of Lancelot.
Military Brat: Her family's been in the military for generations.
Super-Deformed: Her drawing style, in contrast to Nohime's hyper-realistic drawings.

Harukiri Botayama

Harukiri Botayama (牡丹山春霧)

Seat number: 14

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/botayama.jpg

Harukiri's crossword introduction

Only Sane Man: Iroha, Ensa, and Kakune consider her charming and adorable because of this, much to her embarrassment. Considering their eccentric schoolmates, they have a point.
Those Two Girls: Usually spends her time with Kakune.

Otamajakushi Mamushihishimeki

Otamajakushi Mamushihishimeki (真蟲犇蝌蚪)

Seat number: 15

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Otamajakushi's crossword introduction, while she dresses as Shokuho

Animal Theme Naming: Insects. Doubles as an Ironic Name considering her glasses weapon, given most insects don't perceive sound very well.
- She's also enamoured with Arukuni (mantis), compared to her classmates who like Quokka's (bear) or Tonbo's (cat) fashion sense better.
Books vs. Screens: She really doesn't like analog games, preferring those presented in a more high-tech manner.
Enforced Method Acting: While a generally aloof and affable classmate, she admits to getting too into her acting as Shokuho during the "Murder at Cipher Academy" game (notably, playing as a villainous character).
Eye-Obscuring Hat: She wears a headscarf that covers her eyes completely.
Headphones Equal Isolation: Her glasses weapon, "Noise Counseling", converts sound-based ciphers into solveable data and vice versa.
Overly Long Name: At 13 syllables, her name is long enough that it doesn't fit properly into her "introduction crossword" puzzle, forcing her to split it up.

Ashibi Mokumokuren

Ashibi Mokumokuren (目々蓮馬酔木)

Seat number: 16

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ashibi.jpg

Ashibi's crossword introduction, while she dresses as Shutan

Classified Information: Half of the things she says are censored as a "compliance violation", although it's not clear what this means. At least once, she hastily corrects herself after her first speech bubble gets covered up with "compliance violation".
Expressive Accessory: When she is sweating nervously, her teddy bear sweats as well.
No Poker Face: Iroha was surprised by how easy she was to read during the Murder Mystery Class.
Perpetual Smiler: She almost always has a sweet, slightly dopey smile on her face, even when perturbed or confused.
Shoe Phone: Her teddy bear is not just a mascot, but contains a "remote glasses weapon", named "Wrapped Animal". What it exactly does is yet to be seen.
Those Two Girls: Usually hangs around Yukako whenever she's available.

Tayu Yugata

Tayu Yugata (夕方多夕)

Seat number: 17

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Tayu in Vol. 4

One of Kyora's sidekicks, and Kick-Attack Planning's torture specialist.

The All-Solving Hammer: Her cipher style, especially in duels. All she does is speak incredibly quickly and force her opponent to follow suit, lest they lose. Either way, she always gets what she wants.
Alliterative Name: Her name in kanji is this, with the same first and last syllable.
Asian Airhead: If it's not a cipher, she thinks very slowly (in exaggerated thought bubbles). Her art◊ also usually shifts into a Super-Deformed style.
Berserk Button: Iroha's tendency to act as if he's good friends with someone (even though she knows full well he's sincere) even when he knows nothing about them.
Born Unlucky: Her only weakness, though she's usually more than skilled enough to overcome this handicap. Still, she's usually helpless in pure luck-based games, such as poker or dice rolls.
Catchphrase: "I hate bullying the weak."
Character Tic: She always carries a wire puzzle with her (shaped like a key and padlock), and is frequently seen tossing it idly in the air.
Childhood Friends: With Kyora and Nohime. This is reflected by Kyora calling her a pet name, "Tayutan", and her calling Nohime "Non-Non". It's surprisingly a sore spot for her, and she's genuinely irritated at Iroha for querying about this in a later chapter.
Cuteness Proximity: She thought Rikukeito, Class 1-B's leading private, as 'cute'. Either that, or she has a soft spot for cat ears.
Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: Sports these◊ as a child after her father's scandal was exposed... by none other than herself. She was more shaken by the horrible public reaction to her deed, having done so out of a strong sense of justice, than the fact she's sentencing her father to life imprisonment. She's gotten better at emoting as years went by, but she's still rather quiet and withdrawn.
Easily Forgiven: Iroha forgave her easily despite the brutal torture he went through.
Invincible Hero: Implied to be such, though she drew twice with Iroha—once when they first duelled and she forfeited, the other when Iroha blatantly cheated (with a good dose of (Anonymity)'s bevy of tricks) but she let him win again. Nobody has beaten her head-on yet in this manga.
In-Series Nickname: Called "Tayutan" by Kyora (although she claims she's tired of being called that).
Irony: Completely mistook what Iroha would and wouldn't say against Shitai... which he of course said almost word-for-word a few chapters later to Yukako, one of her closest friends.
Tayu: This is what Irohazaka-kun would say... "Sounds elementary. A war of exile." (Actually, he'll never say that...)
Morality Chain: Kyora is this to her, since Tayu tends to go overboard with her "legal torture".
Not So Stoic: After Iroha manages to destroy Yukako's composure by reaching a draw with her, Tayu visibly struggles not to giggle. She also gives a beaming smile after Iroha manages to tie in her own code battle.
Riches to Rags: She was the daughter of the previous Minister of Defense, and came from a family influential enough to be paired with Kyora and Nohime when they were children. Currently, she saw herself as nothing more than a servant of the Toshusai family, owing to her self-esteem issues.
Rule of Symbolism: Broken glass, shattered as if a bullet's been shot through them, symbolizing her intention to utterly smash her opponents' (victims') psyche and traumatize them for life.
Self-Made Orphan: Non-lethal example. She personally uncovered her father's—then the Ministry of Defense—plot to overthrow the Japanese government, destroying his life and her family's public relationship with Kick-Attack Planning and the Iesuno family. She did this out of a personal sense of justice, but was emotionally scarred by the blowback she received, creating her current aloof personality.
Signature Move: Specializes in lipograms and other word-based puzzles. She's Class 1-A's foremost wordsmith.
Soft-Spoken Sadist: Her personality during cipher battles.
The Stoic: Almost always has a steadfast and slightly bored expression◊, even in the midst of a heated code battle. However, she can emote normally outside of ciphers.
Supporting Protagonist: Sees herself as this primarily to Kyora, though she also supported Nohime whenever she could. This stemmed from her self-esteem issues after she basically imprisoned her father by herself, before debasing herself as a maidservant just so she could stay by Kyora's side, having decided she'd never make any friend or have a family after this incident.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With Iroha. She respected him well enough, but couldn't stand his overly-friendly demeanour to both his teammates (whom she judged he didn't knew very well) and opponents (whom she wanted to hurt most of the time). Iroha himself was still working through the trauma she caused him, though he's always glad to have her by his side.
Trademark Favorite Food: Usually seen munching on a bowl of salad in the cafeteria.
When She Smiles: Gives a beautiful one◊ to Iroha when they drew the first time.
Willfully Weak: Kyora said she's this, locking away her full strength because she viewed herself as Kyora's servant. Kyora implied Tayu's far stronger than herself, and is currently working with Iroha to unlock her abilities back for use against Kogoe's machinations.

Rokaku Yosaimura

Rokaku Yosaimura (要塞村鹵獲)

Seat number: 18

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/c28316c6d4752484b0a2125c2c8a3b32_1.jpg

Adventurer Outfit: Her usual go-to fashion style (or what the school allows) with her aviator goggles and Swiss army knife.
Even the Girls Want Her: Rokaku's gentlemanly, courageous behaviour and masculine appearance constantly makes the girls (and Iroha) blush and squee.
Evil Counterpart: Kogoe considers herself to be Rokaku's. The latter's heroic, honorable, idealistic, and pacifistic nature contrasts heavily with Kogoe's cowardly, manipulative, two-faced, and ruthless personality.
The Fettered: To a ridiculous degree, much more so than the stubbornly anti-cheating Iroha. She'd cripple her own chances without hesitation if it allowed her to have a fair, just battle against her opponent.
The Leader: Iroha considered her as such, being the most mature, friendly, caring, idealistic, yet also a much more powerful cipher soldier than him. This is in spite of him being formally the class-leading private, plus Kyora and Nohime wielding considerable influences among their cliques on their own.
Loved by All: Everyone likes and admires her, even (Anonymity) (begrudgingly). It's notable she got the most early-stage votes during Class 1-A's class-leading private selection... by doing nothing (she even admitted this). In contrast, both Kyora and Iroha had to canvass for votes in the first few months they're enrolled ((Anonymity) didn't bother).
Her introductory tag in Chapter 22: Admiration Monster
Only Sane Man: Her personality is very different from the quirky students in her class (even Iroha).
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Rokaku is ready to kill Kogoe when the latter tried to barter using her deceased brother's remains, complete with this face.◊
Revenge: She claims she has joined the academy to avenge her older brother.
Stock Shōnen Hero: Her default personality. Seriously, she looks more at home in other Shounen Jump manga than this one.
Supreme Chef: Manages to not only cook up, but also lead a bunch of amateur cooks (her classmates, who at their best days don't get along well at all) to make an authentic, delicious baumkuchen with primitive tools.

Shokuho Yorokawa

Shokuho Yorokawa (羊狼川食穂)

Seat number: 19

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yorokawa.jpg

Shokuho's crossword introduction

A close ally of Iesuno Nohime.

Big Eater: She states she has joined the Cipher Academy for the free food. During the Baumkuchen episode, she can be seen devouring an entire Baumkuchen roll by herself.
Corporate Samurai: She acts like a yankee samurai serving Nohime, and carries a katana around. She uses it both to cut bamboo and cook.
Hot-Blooded: She acts like a yakuza bouncer around Nohime most of the time.
Meaningful Name: Her name includes the kanji 食, which means "eating"—plus "lamb" and "wolf", indicative of her aggressive nature.
Scary Teeth: Her teeth seem to be either filed or broken, giving her a fierce and crude appearance.

Class 1-B

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The "information scrambling class", trained to spreading misinformation, hoaxes, and manipulate public opinion. Everyone here wears Animal-Eared Headband (except the bear, who's at least wearing a full-body suit, if not an actual intelligent bear). Their leading students also have Rhyming Names.

Animal Motifs: Par for the course, though most of them only wore ear-shaped headbands as a fashion statement. Those who truly act their animals out are rare, such as Rikukeito or Quokka.
Chaotic Neutral: Their calling card, as the "information scrambling class". Their ciphers aren't particularly difficult, but they rely most on catching their opponents off-guard with their speed, mannerisms, and intimidation, aiming to make something as random as possible.
Cuteness Proximity: A lot of Class 1-A students found their fashion sense cute.

Arukuni Ikishiro