This is the characters page for Fence. Spoilers for the series may be unmarked.
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Main Characters
Nicholas Cox
- Bastard Angst: Nicholas, who is the son of fencing prodigy Robert Coste and Jesse's half-brother. His father left his mother when Nicholas was young, and Nicholas lived in poverty with fencing as his only escape.
- Determinator
- Embarrassing Nickname: Zero
- Friendly Rivalry: With Seiji, after Seiji warms up to him.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Nicholas harbors a lot of resentment towards Jesse, who has their father's love, attention, and his dreams involving fencing be fulfilled significantly easier than he's experienced. When Jesse shows up at King's Row for a practice demonstration and Nicholas sees Seiji's interest be piqued, Nicholas becomes angered at the thought of Jesse stealing Seiji away from him as well.
- Hot-Blooded: Nickolas is enthusiastic and passionate about becoming the best fencer he can possibly be.
- Incompletely Trained: Nicholas finds himself way out of his depth at Kings Row as his speed, strength and luck can't quite overcome his lack of fundamentals that weren't taught by his old coach.
- Left-Handed Mirror: Both Nicholas and Jesse are this to Seiji.
- Long-Lost Relative: Nicholas is the illegitimate son of Robert Coste, making him Jesse Coste's younger half-brother, not that Jesse, or Robert, is aware.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Seiji's blue. When fencing their shoes are Color-Coded for Your Convenience.
- Southpaw Advantage: Nicholas is left handed, which gives him an advantage because his opponents are not used to fighting someone who is left handed.
- Trademark Favorite Food: His profile states he loves cheeseburgers, extra pickles, and no sauce.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Nicholas was improperly trained by his coach before attending Kings Row (who admittedly told Nicholas he wasn't the best coach). He has terrible technique but he's also very strong and left-handed, which gives him an edge in the sport. Coach Williams even mentions that Nicholas is a prodigy, his issue is when he stacks himself against fencers like Seiji, he's facing prodigies with over a decade of training.
Seiji Katayama
- The Ace: Seiji is a well-renowned fencer and an excellent student, and invokes this fear in most of the fencing team tryout athletes and his opponents.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Boy
- Asian and Nerdy: Seiji is Japanese and is excellent at his schoolwork and at fencing.
- Brutal Honesty: Seiji's criticism of others is rarely mean-spirited, he is just painfully honest.
- Defrosting Ice King: Seiji gradually starts to like Nicholas.
- Friendly Rivalry: With Nicholas, after Seiji warms up to him.
- Inscrutable Oriental: Seiji is poised, polished, and cold towards others.
- Lonely at the Top: Seiji's skill sets him apart from other students and his teammates.
- Mirror Character: How he sees himself and Jesse.Seiji:I was… Jesse’s mirror, I reflected his—glow, his glories and his victories. I used to think it was an honor. We were similar, I told myself, in all the ways that really mattered.
- No Social Skills
- Not So Stoic: When shaken, such as when he lost to Jesse and when Aiden bested him in a round, Seiji became quite shaken.
- Parental Neglect: Seiji's parents are busy people who provided every material possession Seiji needed but were emotionally neglectful. Overlaps with Parents as People, as his father attempts to engage with Seiji's life, but still finds him a difficult child to communicate with.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Nicholas's blue. When fencing their shoes are Color-Coded for Your Convenience.
- Stock Shōnen Rival: Seiji doesn't believe in teamwork and is Nicholas's rival.
- Tooka Level In Kindness: Tries to be nicer the novels by joining the team at breakfast and doing things for Nicholas because 'that is what friends do'.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Triple fudge sundaes with whipped cream and sprinkles, though he would never admit it.
- We Used to Be Friends: With Jesse.
Harvard Lee
- All-Loving Hero: Harvard genuinely wants the best for everyone and his teammates, sometimes even his rivals.
- A Father to His Men: Harvard takes his leadership responsibilities very seriously, and he has the respect of everyone on the teams and those who went to tryouts.
- Childhood Friends: With Aiden.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Downplayed, but present. In Striking Distance, Coach Williams tells him he's selfless to a fault and that it's fine to actually take care of himself for once.
- Nice Guy: Harvard is friendly and nice to everyone. The worst thing you can say about him is that he ignores his needs to put others first.
- Straight Gay: Harvard comes to the realization that he's gay in the prose novel Striking Distance. He displays no camp characteristics.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Eye fillet steaks, with peas and potato gratin.
Aiden Kane
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Aiden puts off training and practicing a lot, but still manages to win matches and be competitive due to his talent and penchant for mind games.
- The Casanova: Aiden, who makes his way quickly through the population of the school.
- Childhood Friends: With Harvard.
- Even the straight Guys Want Him: Even a heterosexual boy is interested in Aiden.
- Good Stepmother: Aiden has a multiple of these among the women his father dated.
- Intentional Heartbreaker: Aiden is infamous for breaking hearts.
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Jerkass Woobie: Aiden is rather mean to everyone except Harvard, yet he has a neglectful father and talks to his teddy bear. - Ladykiller in Love: Aiden is in love with Harvard.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy
- Parental Neglect: Aiden's father is not interested in his son's life.
- Really Gets Around
- Smug Snake: Aiden is highly self-confident, both in fencing and dating.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Cupcakes.
Bobby Rodriguez
Bobby is a junior at Kings Row Boys School and fencing team manager as of volume 5. He is the first person at Kings Row to befriend Nicholas. He is Dante's roommate.
- Crush Filter: Multiple panels are dedicated to the romanticized way Bobby views Seiji.
- Height Angst: Bobby is the shortest at King's Row and understands he has a disadvantage due to his small size, but after some words of "encouragement" from Seiji and watching Hartley, who is even shorter than he is, fence incredibly well, Bobby swears to get passed his weakness.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: Bobby wears skirts and hairbows and is friends with the fencing team.
Eugene Labao
- Determinator: Has tried to make the fencing team for years.
Jesse Coste
Jesse is the legitimate son of Olympic medallist Robert Coste and Nicholas' half brother. He is ranked 1st in the national under 16s competition and is the captain of the Exton fencing team. As Seiji's former friend and rival, he wants Seiji to join him at Exton.
- Left-Handed Mirror: Jesse was this to Seiji growing up.
- Opposing Sports Team: Exton is this to King's Row.
- Privileged Rival: To Nicholas. Jesse is the acknowledged son of Robert Coste, who has trained him since he was young. He is also financially well off.
- Stalker without a Crush: Jesse shows up multiple times to ask Seiji to join him at Exton. It could be interpreted as Jesse asking Seiji back as his boyfriend too, but their former relationship is unclear.
- We Used to Be Friends: With Seiji.
