Characters / Itazura Na Kiss

Character sheet for Itazura Na Kiss.

Note: This sheet only concerns the original manga and anime adaptation, not the many live-action adaptations.

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Main and Important Supporting Characters

Kotoko Aihara

Voiced by: Nana Mizuki

Portrayed by: Aiko Sato (1996 J-Drama), Ariel Lin (2005 Tw-Drama, 2007 Tw-Drama), Jung So-min (2010 K-Drama), Honoka Miki (2013 J-Drama, 2014 J-Drama), Sucharat Manaying (2015 Th-Drama), Reina Visa (2016 J-Movie), Esther Wu (2016 Tw-Drama)

An excitable, ditzy klutz with coppery hair. Has been in love with Naoki Irie since the first year of high school.

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• Anguished Declaration of Love: Her repeated acknowledgment when Naoki says she will only ever love him despite just saying otherwise. Luckily for her, ensues an Anguished Declaration of Love from him.
• Beautiful Dreamer: As Moto-chan notes, she looks really cute when asleep. It's why Naoki kisses her when she falls asleep in the woods. It's also why Keita attempts to kiss her after she faints during class and is soundly sleeping.
• Betty and Veronica: The "Betty" (Book Dumb and relatively nice) to Yuuko's "Veronica" (Academic Athlete and cold) for Naoki's "Archie". In the end, Naoki chooses Kotoko.
• Beware the Nice Ones: While Kotoko can get annoyed, she usually won't get angry. However, if she's pushed too far, she won't hold back, especially if the person really does have it coming. Just ask Naoki after she slapped him for flippantly reciting her Love Letter solely to make fun of her.
• Big Damn Hero: Once saves Yuuki when he was about to drown in a pool. Not that he openly thanked her.
• Blithe Spirit: Pretty much so. She's cheerful, plucky and her ditziness doesn't stop her from paving the road for herself and changing the rules when she wants to.
• Book Dumb: Kotoko's scores placed her in Class F in high school. Despite working hard at studying, she just doesn't get it unless Naoki tutors her. Regardless, she eventually does achieve a Top 50 midterm in high school, get accepted into college, and then gets into and graduates nursing school.
• Broken Pedestal: Played for Laughs with her mother. She died when she was very little, and Kotoko has been always shy about speaking of her because she remembers very little of her and has built an idealized image of a flawless woman. A wacky visit to her mother's original town proves that she was instead the spitting image of her daughter in both appearance and personality (clumsy, hopeless with cooking and studying, and very determined in pursuing her eventual husband), much to Kotoko's shock and Naoki's huge amusement. Kotoko's shock doesn't last since she now feels closer to her.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: The sweet, encouraging Gentle Girl to Naoki's sullen, cranky Brooding Boy.
• Can't Hold Her Liquor: Definitely not. She ends up being loud and blubbering nonsense at the worst time. Hilarious to watch, though.
• City Mouse: When visiting Naoki's family in Kyushu, Kotoko doesn't fit into their country life and is the Butt-Monkey for most of the episode.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Downplayed. While she acts this way, especially as a young adult, it's never too obsessive.
• Cool Big Sister: To Konomi, whom she helped get close to Yuuki and bond on their shared personality traits.
• Cry into Chest: She does to Naoki numerous times throughout the series.
• Cute Clumsy Girl: Seen to fall or trip more often than not, fumble things constantly, and ends up relying on those around her because of it.
• Determinator: Nothing would dissuade her from her goals (either her pursuit of Naoki or anything she puts on her mind). She never gives up.
• Devoted to You: Very devoted to Naoki and played very straight.
• The Ditz: Completely, even her own surroundings or what she's doing at times.
• Dude Magnet: Her Nice Girl traits along with her cuteness tend to be quite the charmer for the guys around her. Just ask Irie, Kinnosuke, and Keita; two of whom even proposed marriage to her. In the manga, she also got crowned Queen of Tonan University by many male students.
• Endearingly Dorky: She's utterly ditzy and clumsy, but also insanely cute. Her father sums it up very well when Naoki is proposing:
  Shigeo: "Naoki, my daughter can't do anything right."
  Naoki: "I know."
  Shigeo: "She's quite stupid."
  Naoki: "I know."
  Shigeo: "She can't cook."
  Naoki: "I know."
  Shigeo: "She's always messing up by jumping to conclusions."
  Naoki: "I know."
  Shigeo: "But she's cheerful, brave, driven, and cute!"
  Naoki: "I know."
• Fairytale Wedding Dress: She gets to wear one. And boy, does she look beautiful.
• Fiery Redhead: Downplayed. She's sweet most of the time, but she has also the Plucky Girl personality usually displayed by this trope, and when instigated (by Naoki most of the time) shows how fiery she can get.
• First Love: Kotoko is Kinnosuke's first love. He doesn't get her. His Second Love, Christine Robbins, does. Also, Word of God confirms she was Naoki's First Love.
• Generation Xerox: She is the spitting image of her mother in both look and personality (clumsiness and cooking skills). Shigeo even tells his son-in-law Naoki that she pursued him by sitting every day in the restaurant where he used to work until he grew fond of her. Naoki is amused that they're two of a kind indeed.
• Genki Girl: Definitely so. At one point Naoki even tells her he actually envies her energy.
• Girlish Pigtails: When she's not wearing her hair loose, she usually wears it in pigtails or braided. Or even wears odango hair.
• Happily Married: To Naoki, plus Babies Ever After.
• Hidden Depths: Despite being a ditz with lackluster intelligence, she's hard-working, has high perseverance, and deeply cares for others.
• Hospital Hottie: Well, see it yourself◊. Not bad having her around, right?
• The Jinx: Played for Laughs in the chapter where Naoki is going to take his entrance exam and Yuuki tells her to stay away from Naoki since, when she's around, nothing good happens to him. Turns out he was somewhat right since everything Kotoko does with good intentions backfires with Naoki, getting him late to the exam or injured. He later tells her he's fine with it since he's never experienced difficulty or worry before, with everything coming easy for him. Hence, she's making his life more interesting and letting him experience "normal" things.
• Kick The Son Of A Bitch:
  • When Naoki ridicules her and her feelings for him in front of both their respective classes, she shows his Embarrassing Old Photo to everyone as payback. His horrified reaction is intensely satisfying.
  • The very first time she stands up to Naoki is when he's about to donate money for the rebuild of Kotoko's house to get her and Kinnosuke out of his way to class. But that comes after having rudely rejected Kotoko the day before, so he's the last person she'd like receiving money from and slams his money to his face giving him a well-deserved "The Reason You Suck" Speech. Even the usually emotionless Irie looks astonished.
  • Also, when she's bullied by Naoki's little cousins while trying to help them with their homework, knowing she's a Book Dumb, she pays them back revealed their dark secrets that she has unwittingly learned from the ghost of their ancestor. The little brats instantly leave her be and help her with her household chores.
• Last-Name Basis: She keeps calling Naoki "Irie-kun" even after living under the same roof for years and getting married. Ditto for Naoki, who keeps referring to her as Aihara until he eventually switches to her first name as a sign of growing affection.^note In Japanese, the "-kun" honorific is used primarily for young males or people of lesser rank (such as a boss talking to an employee.) In that light, as they become adults "Irie-kun" is less formal and applies less, making it more of an affectionate pet name at that point.
• Like Parent, Like Child: Her mother died long before anything shown, even flashbacks. She remembers very little of her and has idealized her to be a flawless lady. A wacky visit to her mother's original town proves that she was instead the spitting image of her daughter in both appearance and personality (clumsy, hopeless with cooking and studying, and very determined in her pursuit of her eventual husband), much to Kotoko's shock and Naoki's huge amusement.
• Living Emotional Crutch: To Naoki. He even confesses he can only be true to himself only when Kotoko is with him. He goes through a massive Heroic BSoD at the thought of her leaving him for someone else.
• Love at First Sight: She fell in love with Naoki when he pronounced the opening speech on their freshman year.
• Love Confession: To Naoki. Over and over, again and again.
• Love Letter: Her original way to tell Naoki her feelings. It was dismissed before even read. He eventually reads it when she was sleeping, naturally memorizes it, and flippantly recites it in front of the entire family and her father.
• Love Martyr: Despite the fact that Naoki is kinda a jerk, she refuses to give up him. He actually loves her just like she loves him, but has a hard time showing it.
• Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Downplayed. She's the one who defrosts a little Naoki, but by changing completely his ways, but rather helping him finding his path and come to terms with his feelings.
• Mistaken for Pregnant: In the first periods of her marriage, Kotoko is wrongly assumed to be pregnant. It was a false alarm but the experience made her and Naoki wish to have a baby.
• Nice Girl: She's a very sweet and friendly girl. Even when Naoki is briefly engaged to Christine, Kotoko couldn't bring herself to hate her for it (like Noriko instantly did) and treated her with kindness, even commenting that Christine is a nice person.
• Oblivious to Love: She's oblivious to her coworker Keita's feelings until he says it out loud. And of course was totally unaware that Naoki had fallen for her.
• Older Than She Looks: She's small and slim-built, so she's often assumed to be younger. A foreigner mistakes her for an elementary student, while in the manga Naoki teases her for being flat-chested like she stopped growing in primary school. Not that it stops him from being attracted to her.
• Plucky Girl: She's brave and optimistic. Even one of her best friends, Jinko, says Kotoko is her "pillar of hope for life".
• She Cleans Up Nicely: Kotoko is already pretty, but she looks absolutely stunning when she's dolled up, such as for the coming-of-age ceremony in the manga. Naoki even acknowledges this while he was upset about his mother organizing their wedding two weeks after their engagement announcement without their consent, given that Kotoko looks so gorgeous... he doesn't care anymore.
• Shipper on Deck: Tries to help any of her friends get with those they love. While she's generally mistaken (e.g. Tomoko for Keita), she does end up helping Chris and Kinnosuke get together. In the manga, she's the one who pushes Konomi to Yuuki.
• Single Girl Seeks Most Popular Guy: She doesn't like him because he's popular, but she is in love with and seeks Naoki, who's always the most popular guy.
• Single-Target Sexuality: She's never taking the slightest interest in others guys besides Naoki.
• Strong Family Resemblance: A photo showed that Kotoko inherited all' of her looks from her mother. In fact, when Naoki first sees her mother's photo, he genuinely thought she was Kotoko. Her father also comments that Kotoko and her mother are spitting images of one another.
• Tender Tears: She sheds these in the most emotional moments as a trait of her kindheartedness (and looking even more adorable).
• They Just Dont Get It: Generally speaking, she doesn't get a lot of things, even when Naoki tutors her.
• What Does She See in Him?: Zigzagged. On the face of everything, Naoki's an ace genius and very handsome. Other than that he's often cold, brash, distant, and/or insensitive. So those who only know his basic qualities and do the opposite, while those who know his true personality play it straight and even talk to her this way.

Naoki Irie

Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa (drama CD), Daisuke Hirakawa (anime)

Portrayed by: Takashi Kashiwabara (1996 J-Drama), Joe Cheng (2005 Tw-Drama, 2007 Tw-Drama), Kim Hyun-joong (2010 K-Drama), Yuki Furukawa (2013 J-Drama, 2014 J-Drama), Pirath Nitipaisalkul (2015 Th-Drama), Kanta Sato (2016 J-Movie), Dino Lee (2016 Tw-Drama)

He's a tall genius with sandy brown hair, the oldest child of his family, and often blunt.

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• Academic Athlete: Naoki is not only a brain, but he's capable of outrunning Kinnosuke in a race and an accomplished tennis champion in high school.
• The Ace: He's great at pretty much anything and everything he does - academics, sports, cooking, medicine, washing babies, etc.
• Aloof Big Brother: Played very straight. Uncommonly, he's a protagonist, and his relationship with his brother is given more depth.
• Arranged Marriage: Self-arranged to Christine Robbins for the sake of his father's company surviving. It's subverted though, when he realizes his love for Kotoko.
• Betty and Veronica: The "Archie" for Kotoko's "Betty" (Book Dumb and relatively nice) and Yuuko's "Veronica" (Academic Athlete and cold). In the end, Naoki chooses Kotoko.
• Big Brother Instinct: Whenever his brother is endangered, Naoki becomes very protective.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: He's able to get the top class score on exams but he doesn't study at all in high school. He gets better, especially concerning medicine.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: The sullen, cranky Brooding Boy to Kotoko's sweet, encouraging Gentle girl.
• Cannot Spit It Out: A ton of grief would have been avoided had Naoki simply voiced his growing feelings for Kotoko earlier instead of simply ignoring them. It took a Green-Eyed Epiphany to finally declare his love to her.
• Chick Magnet: Just ask Kotoko, the Matsumoto sisters, and the many other girls who are interested in him.
• Color-Coded Eyes: He has cold grayish-purple eyes that fit his demeanor very well.
• Covert Pervert: He never seems to be interested in girls as far as his family and schoolmates know but it's what Kinnosuke assumes about him, fearing that someday he'll make a move on Kotoko.
  • Played for laughs when Naoki himself exploits this trope by pretends to want to make a move to Kotoko. He just wanted to scare her away when she was in his room to steal his homework;
  • Also occasionally gives teasing comments on Kotoko's looks or appears to know her exact body measures. Kotoko wonders how can he be so accurate. Usually, he's being a Troll, but it's worth noting that he behaves this way only with Kotoko;
  • When the two of them are stuck in his flat during a storm and There Is Only One Bed, he trolls Kotoko with the possibility of having sex to make her uncomfortable. He won't since it's exactly his mother's plan to have them sleeping together. Mind that he never says he wouldn't like to;
  • After proposing to Kotoko they are talking about his feelings before going to sleep and Kotoko expresses her disbelief and that she may wake up the next day with Naoki no longer loving her. Naoki then suggests they could sleep together, with Kotoko freaking out at his audacity. He then jokes they'll save it for another day;
  • Although his behavior with people and Kotoko is not that changed, after marriage, he's rather enthusiastic about making love with wifey. In fact, when it was the last night of their honeymoon and they were so far unable to consummate their marriage, Kotoko says it's fine with her. Naoki replies that it's not okay for him and fully initiates Their First Time.
• Crazy Jealous Guy: Downplayed and deconstructed. For the former, he becomes only irritated and indifferent, not "crazy" when Keita Kamogari, a nursing classmate of Kotoko's, takes an interest in her. However, for the latter, the very fact that Irie doesn't understand what he's feeling (having considered himself above the emotion of jealousy and not experiencing it before) has him revert back to being a cold Jerkass to Kotoko again. Thankfully, he wises up when forced to accept he's not above such feelings after all and admits his feelings to Kotoko.
• Deadpan Snarker: He often delights in snarking at Kotoko's lack of common sense and poor performances at school. Being usually Surrounded by Idiots (average humans actually) does make him develop a sardonic sense of humor.
• Defrosting Ice King: It takes over a decade, but he goes from a cold jerkass to a loving husband and caring father.
• Deuteragonist: He's the male lead and goes through a Character Development as much as (or perhaps even more than) Kotoko. It's pretty much his story as much as it's hers.
• Disposable Fiancée: To Christine. He technically got engaged to Kotoko when he still hadn't officially broken off the engagement with Christine. Luckily, Christine didn't want to marry him either and admits to being relieved he called off the engagement. The only reason drama existed at all was that Christine's father wanted her to have an Arranged Marriage and dismissed her feelings of choosing her own husband.
• Dull Surprise: His facial expressions rarely change that much (save when he's incensed). It's justified since he has a reputation for being The Stoic.
• Embarrassing Old Photo: Has tons of these, courtesy of his mother. His mother dearly wanted a daughter and convinced herself she was having one, but was shocked to discover she had a boy. Regardless of his gender, she had him wear girl's clothing to satisfy her longing of raising a daughter. Kotoko's first tutoring sessions with Naoki are a result of her Blackmail regarding a photo she was given by his mother.
• Enraged by Idiocy: Naoki even loudly tells Kotoko's friend group he doesn't like stupid girls in high school. It even rubbed off on his younger brother, Yuuki. He gets better though.
• Even the Guys Want Him: We can't blame Motoki for being all over Naoki, hmm? He even founded a fan club.
• Faux Fluency: He supposedly speaks fluent English as far as any other character is concerned, but his actual dialogue is quite grating and somewhat broken. It's played straight in the 2013 adaptation since the actor (Yuki Furukawa) has spent many years living in Canada.
• First Love: Naoki is Kotoko's and was also her First Kiss. Word of God confirms that Kotoko was his.
• Freudian Excuse: Word of God confirms that being dressed up as a girl by his mother and finding out he was not supposed to dress like that (in kindergarten by his peers, no less) left an emotional scar on him, crippling his relationships with people; girls in particular. Hence, he copes with the fear of being ridiculed by acting icy to, well, everyone.
• Green-Eyed Epiphany: He was on the verge of marrying a girl he didn't love for the sake of the family business, ready to disregard his suppressed feelings for Kotoko forever. However, hearing that Kotoko herself was about to marry Kinnosuke makes Naoki finally snap and declare his love and desire to marry her.
  Naoki: Don't tell me that you love any other man.
• Happily Married: To Kotoko, plus Babies Ever After.
• Hospital Hottie: Becomes this after following his dream and becomes a doctor. The patients love his examinations.
• Improbably High I.Q.: Even he acknowledges he must be really a genius after managing to get a perfect score on his college entrance exam despite being drugged up on cold medicine and only having half an hour left to fill in the answers.
• Insufferable Genius: Tall, Dark, and Snarky Variant - Very smart, but such a Jerkass. He gets better.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: And hides it very well. This would not stop him from caring for the people he's closest to.
• Loving Bully: His endless teasing of Kotoko has an element of this. His Disposable Fiancé Sahoko rightly sees through it, saying that the always impeccable Naoki shows where his heart truly is when he's being mean to Kotoko.
• Master of the Mixed Message: The entire first arc has Naoki being first extremely cold, then unexpectedly gentle, and switch again to cold and even rude, much to poor Kotoko's confusion. It takes a huge Green-Eyed Epiphany to finally show his true feelings.
• Not Distracted by the Sexy: Immune to Yuuko's sexiness, can't be seduced by nurses or in Hawaii.
• Not So Stoic: Anytime anyone close to him is actually hurt or in trouble. Kotoko becomes his chief source of this.
• One Head Taller: He's considerably taller than Kotoko, which leads to Cry into Chest quite often.
• Photographic Memory: Remembers things in great detail after reading them once. Because of this, he has Encyclopaedic Knowledge. He also believes learning like this is normal.
• Shipper on Deck: In the anime, he's the one who suggests that Kinnosuke should propose to Chris. Also, he's amused by the dynamic between his little brother and Konomi.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Many pretty girls and attractive ladies have tried to date him or flirt with him, but he's usually not impressed. And that's why the only one who even meant something to him is Kotoko, and he's loved her and only her for a long time.
• The Smart Guy: Naturally, as The Stoic and The Ace with a Photographic Memory.
• The Stoic: Very rational and shows little emotion. At least a first, Kotoko softens him.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: It takes a while to see a caring side behind his usual aloof, arrogant demeanor.
• Supreme Chef: Can become this by just reading cooking books. Was doing professional-level things the first time he tried. He prefers others to cook for him though.
• "Take That!" Kiss: His first kiss with Kotoko was to get back at her after she publicly humiliated him with his childhood photo. She also declared that she was going to move on and find someone else in college, leading him to challenge her doing that after being kissed by him.
• Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Being an Insufferable Genius gave him a dry sense of humor to match his ''very'' good looks.
• Teen Genius: He starts at this. Naturally, it no longer applies as he becomes an adult, but he's still very much a genius.
• Troll: Naoki often delights in taunting Kinnosuke about Kotoko's feelings for him, when he's not trolling Kotoko herself on various occasions.
• The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter: A son example. Only his wife's genes could explain how plain Shigeki could have a ridiculously hot son. In the first episode, Kotoko thinks that this Irie could not be Naoki's father before Naoki shows up. Kotoko's father also notes that luckily for him, Naoki took after his mother in appearances.
• Uptown Guy: Naoki (born into an upper-class family) and Kotoko (born into a lower-middle class family).
• Wacky Parent, Serious Child: The Defrosting Ice King to his mother's Genki Girl.
• What Does He See in Her?: Constantly wondered by people. Even lampshaded by Kotoko's own father, Shigeo, after he asks his permission to marry her. ^Quote  Naoki: "Mr. Aihara, may we have your blessing?" Shigeo: "Naoki, my daughter can't do anything right." Naoki: "I know." Shigeo: "She's quite stupid." Naoki: "I know." Shigeo: "She can't cook." Naoki: "I know." Shigeo: "She's always messing up by jumping to conclusions." Naoki: "I know." Shigeo: "But she's cheerful, brave, driven, and cute!" Naoki: "I know." Shigeo: "Naoki, please treat her well." Naoki: "I will." — Episode 14 "The Greatest Kiss"
• Would Hit a Girl: Slaps Kotoko in the face after she calls him out for not caring for her.

Kinnosuke Ikezawa

Voiced by: Shuhei Sakaguchi

Portrayed by: Shinsuke Aoki (1996 J-Drama), Jiro Wang (2005 Tw-Drama, 2007 Tw-Drama), Lee Tae-sung (2010 K-Drama), Yuki Yamada (2013 J-Drama, 2014 J-Drama), Setthapong Phiangphor (2015 Th-Drama), Shimon Okura (2016 J-Movie)

An expressive and excitable idiot who wears his heart on his sleeve.

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• Book Dumb: Along with Kotoko and their classmates, there's a reason for him ending up in class F. Although his classmates managed to get accepted to university thanks to Naoki's tutoring, he was too proud to ask for help and ended up the only one who could not go to university. He's not bothered since he decided to become a Supreme Chef and scored an apprentice job.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: The Brooding Boy to Christine's Gentle Girl, since when he meets her he's still brooding about Kotoko's marriage and losing her to Naoki.
• Butt-Monkey: Often the butt of the joke due to his foolishness.
• The Chew Toy: He's the character most likely to have Amusing Injuries due to his Butt-Monkey status.
• Did Not Get the Girl: Since Naoki is the the male lead, it's rather obvious he eventually wouldn't. The second time he gets better.
• Drama Queen: He could get hilariously hammy in his reactions.
• Dumb Muscle: He's so strong he managed to dig Kotoko's father out of the house's rubble by himself, but he's also the most eager to do something foolish.
• The Fool: Foolish and academically-incompetent but he means well and tries hard.
• Greaser Delinquents: He and his posse in high school are drawn this way, but it's downplayed.
• Happily Married: To Christine Robbins, plus Babies Ever After.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: The guy loses it very easily.
• Hidden Depths: He may seem lazy, loud, idiot from Osaka but as his employer notes, he's a hard worker and good at his job. He can also act quite nobly and selflessly when his common sense has the best of him.
• Hopeless Suitor: For Kotoko. After Naoki's engagement to Christine, he does score a few dates with Kotoko.
• The Idiot from Osaka: Literally. He's an idiot from Osaka who speaks with a heavy Kansai accent.
• If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: When it turns out that Kotoko is going to marry Naoki, he says that he better treat her well, otherwise he'll take her away from him and be unable to forgive him.
• Like Brother and Sister: He didn't get Kotoko, and eventually married another woman but they still have a strong friendship of this kind.
• Race for Your Love: He tries to reach out Christine before she flies back to England, but doesn't get her in time. Luckily for him, she had already decided to stay in order to continue pursuing him.
• Start My Own: After years of apprenticeship, he's eventually able to open his own restaurant.
• Supreme Chef: Becomes this after apprenticing for years under Shigeo, Kotoko's father. Eventually, he opens his own restaurant with Christine.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: After losing Kotoko to Naoki after years of unrequited love, he eventually has a Second Love with Christine, ends up Happily Married to her (along with Babies Ever After) and starts his own successful restaurant.
• Tsundere: He's rude in his first interactions with very much smitten Chris. Justified since he's just recovering from a heartbreak and would eventually warm up to her, but he still doesn't show his affection blatantly.
  • Also after years of rivalry, he somewhat comes to consider Naoki a friend, but he would never say that out loud.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Him and Chris. While he's not ugly, he is funny looking. She, on the other hand, is just drop-dead gorgeous. Some have even commented on this trope being the case for them.

Jinko Komori and Satomi Ishikawa

Satomi (left) and Jinko (right).

Voiced by: Risa Hayamizu (Satomi), Kinoko Yamada (Jinko)

Portrayed by: Satomi — Tomomi Miyauchi (1996 J-Drama), Petty Yang (2005 Tw-Drama, 2007 Tw-Drama), Yoon Seung-ah (2010 K-Drama), Kasumi Yamaya (2013 J-Drama, 2014 J-Drama), Suthada Jongjaiphar (2015 Th-Drama), Nonoka Yamaguchi (2016 J-Movie); Jinko — Sakura Uehara (1996 J-Drama), Candice Liu (2005 Tw-Drama, 2007 Tw-Drama), Hong Yoon Hwa (2010 K-Drama), Nanami Fujimoto (2013 J-Drama, 2014 J-Drama), Paveena Rojjindangam (2015 Th-Drama), Atsuki Tomori (2016 J-Movie)

Kotoko's best friends throughout the series. Jinko is boyish with dark brown hair. Satomi is feminine with light brown hair.

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• Cannot Keep a Secret: Implied in the anime, despite being Kotoko's best friends, they can't keep any of the secrets she tells them. Exaggerated somewhat because once she tells them, pictures of her secrets are drawn and posted around the school. ^note The person(s) who drew the pictures are never identified in the anime, but in the manga it's revealed throughout all the years, it's been Mrs. Irie who has been doing it.
• Happily Married: To their own respective husbands, plus Babies Ever After.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: They're closer to each other than to Kotoko and are always together.
• Obnoxious In-Laws: Satomi's boyfriend's mother doesn't approve their relationship and keeps causing troubles to them.
• Surprise Pregnancy: Satomi gets knocked up by her boyfriend and after a bit of drama they get married.
• Those Two Girls: Not even this character sheet would see them separately.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Jinko is the tomboy, Satomi is the girly girl.
• True Companions: To each other and both to Kotoko. They're the best of friends, regardless of whatever or whoever comes along through life.

Christine Robbins

Voiced by: Yūko Gotō

Portrayed by: Larisa Bakurova (2007 Tw-Drama), Abigail Alderete (2010 K-Drama), Noémie Nakai (2014 J-Drama)

A beautiful, high-class blonde. Her father runs a large bank and her mother's a Hollywood actress.

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• Arranged Marriage: Arranged to Naoki, before it's subverted. She's relieved when Naoki calls it off, admitting it wasn't what she wanted. She also tells her raging father she's fallen for someone else and wants to only Marry for Love.
• Blue Blood: She's related to Prince Charles.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: The Gentle Girl to Kinnosuke's Brooding Boy, since when he meets her he's still brooding about Kotoko's marriage.
• Composite Character: The anime Christine is a fusion of Sahoko and Christine from the manga.
• Going Native: She longs to be a true Japanese more than anything else.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She's a very sweet blonde, quite feminine, and caring.
• Happily Married: To Kinnosuke Ikezawa, plus Babies Ever After.
• Has a Type: It was mentioned she has a strange taste in men, specifically those who look like Kinnosuke.
• Love at First Sight: She is instantly smitten with Kinnosuke upon seeing him for the first time. It showed.
• Nice Girl: She's exceedingly sweet and polite.
• Ojou: High class, very ladylike, and with parents connected to aristocracy.
• Second Love: To Kinnosuke.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Her and Kinnosuke. While he's not ugly, he is funny looking, while she's just drop-dead gorgeous.
• Uptown Girl: Christine comes from a very high-class family. And she ends up marrying Kinnosuke, who comes from a middle-class family.
• What Does She See in Him?: She, like her mother, has strange tastes in men. This is crystallized by falling in love with Kinnosuke, pursuing and, eventually, marrying him.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: While she's the perfect domestic ace, sweet, and often shy, she stands up for herself, boldly goes after what she wants, and will talk her parents down. Definitely a more wildflower variant.

Family

Shigeo Aihara

Voiced by: Bin Shimada

Portrayed by: Naito Takashi (1996 J-Drama), Tang Cong Sheng (2005 Tw-Drama, 2007 Tw-Drama), Kang Nam Gil (2010 K-Drama), Yoji Tanaka (2013 J-Drama, 2014 J-Drama), Jirawat Vachirasarunpatra (2015 Th-Drama), Takanori Jinnai (2016 J-Movie)

Kotoko's widower father. He owns his own restaurant where he works as head chef.

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• Big Ol' Eyebrows: Shigeo has thick, black eyebrows.
• Childhood Friends: With Shigeki Irie, Naoki and Yuuki's father. They originally met in middle school. He calls Shigeki "Iri-chan".
• Doting Parent: He dotes on Kotoko at times. It may be explainable as he's her only current parent.
• Happily Married: He was this, before his wife died.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: They were this with Shigeo in their junior high and become this again when they reunite their respective family under the same roof.
• The Mentor: Kinnosuke was on his apprenticeship before he could start a business on his own.
• The Mourning After: He still very much loves his wife, never remarried and raised Kotoko alone, saying to his son-in-law Naoki that for all her wackiness he could never wish for a better wife. He even takes the risk to come back to his home during an earthquake to save his wife's photo.
• Open-Minded Parent: Actually takes Kotoko's opinion and accepts various things other parents would at least criticize somewhat.
• Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: He and is late wife Etsuko seem to have shared this dynamic. He was the down-to-earth guy to his wacky wife, who resembled her daughter to a T.
• Shipper on Deck: Downplayed. Early on, he seems to be colluding with Mrs. Irie's shipping plans to some extent, though he tries to have Kotoko giving up when he thinks she cannot succeed. Later, he offers his son-in-law Naoki some good advice regarding Kotoko and Naoki's strained marriage.
• Supreme Chef: He's a chef with many years of experience and training. Everything he makes tastes extremely good.

Noriko Irie

Voiced by: Naoko Matsui

Portrayed by: Miyoko Asada (1996 J-Drama), Zhao Yong Hua (2005 Tw-Drama, 2007 Tw-Drama), Jung Hye-young (2010 K-Drama), Tomomi Nishimura (2013 J-Drama, 2014 J-Drama), Inthiporn Yuenyong (2015 Th-Drama), Hikari Ishida (2016 J-Movie)

Naoki and Yuuki's mother. Loves photography and video.

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• Amazingly Embarrassing Parent: And how. Her smothering ways and Shipper on Deck behavior extremely embarrasses Naoki and sometimes even Kotoko. She's one of the funniest characters for this.
• Camera Fiend: Nearly always with a camera, camcorder, or some type of photographic device. Takes pictures of everything. Her equipment ranges from miniature spy cameras to professional telescopic lenses on high-grade cameras. She also has tons of photo albums she puts them into.
• Curtains Match the Windows: Brown hair and eyes.
• Doting Parent: Dotes somewhat on Naoki and Yuuki, but intensely on Kotoko, as she always wanted a daughter.
• Fat and Skinny: Skinny to her husband's fat.
• Genki Girl: Extremely energetic and enthusiastic in everything she puts on her mind (most of the time is getting her son and Kotoko together)
• Housewife: She's very domestic and enjoys it thoroughly. Also tries to teach Kotoko how to be one.
• Information Wants to Be Free: At Naoki and Kotoko's wedding, she finally reveals Naoki's childhood photo to all the guests saying that since he's now married (and his wife already knows) she can finally free this weight off her shoulders. Naoki spends his entire honeymoon in a very bad mood for this.
• Like a Daughter to Me: She instantly adores Kotoko as the daughter she never had.
• My Beloved Smother: Though she is a well-intentioned one, her smothering ways with Naoki are probably the origin of his coldness (which she acknowledges with the embarrassing photo incident).
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Her insane efforts in getting her son and Kotoko together are only keeping him away from her. Had she not pushed him to Kotoko at every occasion, he'd have probably declared earlier, since he never acted on his feelings because feared (not without reason) his mother would use it to control his life.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: No one, even Kotoko, is ever fooled by Mrs. Irie disguises.
• Parental Substitute: Kotoko's mother is dead and Noriko wanted a daughter badly, she and Kotoko basically adopted each other as mom and daughter.
• Shipper on Deck: Extremely Exaggerated - Ladies and gentlemen, she is the Ship Captain. Nobody in-universe and out ships Kotoko/Naoki as much as her. Even before knowing about Kotoko's feelings for Naoki, she's saying they should get married. To this end, she tries to help Kotoko win her son's heart constantly, even up to giving an extreme cold shoulder to Christine Robbins and setting up a very elaborate wedding for Naoki and Kotoko's only two weeks after their engagement.
• Strong Family Resemblance: In her family they all look the same and also her two sons greatly resemble her.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: She's way prettier than her husband, even in their youth. In the manga family friend Shigeo says to their son that he's lucky that he looks like her.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Keeping to have her little boy dressed up as a girl led to rather traumatic discover of gender roles for Naoki. She (rightly) blames his coldness on this.
• Wacky Parent, Serious Child: She's the Genki Girl to her Ice King son, and to a lesser extent her youngest son qualifies as well.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: She comes from a family of upper-class landowners, grew up in a very traditional household, and air from her quirks she's very much an upper-class, traditional Japanese housewife. Note that in the manga when Chris Robbins is looking for a tutor in her Yamato Nadeshiko training, she goes to her.

Yuuki Irie

Voiced by: Romi Park

Portrayed by: Ryotaro Akashi (1996 J-Drama), Zhang Bo Han/Son Yang (2005 Tw-Drama, 2007 Tw-Drama), Choi Won Hong (2010 K-Drama), Yuga Aizawa/Yoshiaki Miyagi (2013 J-Drama, 2014 J-Drama), Yukung Watanabe (2015 Th-Drama)

Naoki's younger brother and basically a miniature version of him. Intelligent, but hot-headed, unlike his cold older brother. He has sandy brown hair darker than his brother's.

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• Annoying Younger Sibling: Downplayed. Is this to Naoki at times, mostly when he wants to be alone.
• Big Brother Worship: Has a serious case of this in his younger years. He idolizes Naoki and emulates him. He's lucky to be smart almost like him, otherwise he would be ridiculous. In the manga he even is content to be one day his brother's Number Two at the Family Business though he's the one actually interested to the job. After Naoki Took a Level in Kindness, he discusses with him that he admired his cool demeanour, but admires him even more now that he learned to pursue his dream and even start a family.
• Bratty Half-Pint: Other than being an Annoying Younger Sibling to Naoki, he's this to Kotoko and her clique, teasing them for being Book Dumb and being generally unfriendly. Thankfully he grows out of this as he gets older.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Downplayed. He's very smart and quite lazy, but less so than Naoki on both accounts. He pretends to put little efforts in his studying mostly to emulate Naoki.
• Child Prodigy He's an extremely smart kid, tough he's more hardworking than his Brilliant, but Lazy big brother. He has already a reputation in elementary school and then in junior high.
• Deadpan Snarker: Along with his big brother, he's usually very sarcastic towards Book Dumb Kotoko.
• The Dutiful Son: Plans to take over the Family Business so Naoki doesn't have to worry about it and can become a doctor like he wants. He's fine with this since, as Kotoko finds out, he has been always more interested than Naoki, but was content to be his big brother's Number Two since he was the second son.
• Enraged by Idiocy: Picked up by emulating Naoki. He gets much better, especially toward Kotoko after she saves him multiple times and to Konomi as he befriends her.
• Green-Eyed Epiphany: When in their teens Konomi gets popular with boys, he finally snaps and tells her to tell her suitors she already has a boyfriend. He's not his big brother's Junior Counterpart for nothing.
• Insufferable Genius: He's smarter than most older people and doesn't let anyone to forget this. He grows out of this while getting older.
• Oblivious Younger Sibling: He hadn't the slightest idea about Naoki's Embarrassing Old Photo incident (justified since he wasn't born yet) and he's shocked to find out. But subverted regarding big brother's feelings for Kotoko. He was one of the firsts who knew.
• Oh, Crap!: Has an hilariously epic moment of this when he catches his big brothers kissing Kotoko in her sleep.
• Precocious Crush: He has a brief one for Kotoko's coworker Tomoko, but he falls out when he's creeped out by her fascination with gore.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Despite being very much similar, Naoki is a cold and collected, Yuuki is more brash and a bit of a Tsundere.
• The Resenter: Other than being Enraged by Idiocy, the reason he doesn't like Kotoko at first is that he was kicked out from his room to make space for her, and also because he can tell that she's stealing attention from his mother and his big brother.
• Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: The savvy to Konomi's energetic girl. First as friends, then as a couple.
• Secret-Keeper: He's the first one who learns that Naoki actually loves Kotoko, when accidentally saw him kissing her while asleep.
• Shipper on Deck: Yuuki later comes to support Naoki and Kotoko becoming a couple after being the first one who finds out that Naoki loves Kotoko back.
• Strong Family Resemblance: He's basically a mini version of Naoki. He grows to look more and more like his older brother as he ages.
• Tsundere: A rare male example. He's somewhat more Hot-Blooded than his infamously ice-cold brother but has a cute side, though he pretends not to. The best example are his interactions with Kotoko and Love Interest Konomi and even better when has a fight with friend Nobuhiro, punches him and then forgives him but still pretends to want to punch him.
• The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter: A son example. Pretty much like Naoki, he luckily takes after his mother and grows up quite the looker.
• Wacky Parent, Serious Child: Like his brother, Yuuki is far more composed then their Genki Girl mother.

Shigeki Irie

Voiced by: Takashi Nagasako

Portrayed by: Yu Tokui (1996 J-Drama), Zhang Yong Zheng (2005 Tw-Drama, 2007 Tw-Drama), Oh Kyung Soo (2010 K-Drama), Kakaricho Imoaraizaka (2013 J-Drama, 2014 J-Drama), Puttipong Promasakha Na Sakoinakorn (2015 Th-Drama), Hidehiko Ishizuka (2016 J-Movie)

Naoki and Yuuki's father and Noriko's husband. He's short, fat, with black hair and mustache (albeit bald on top). President of his own company.

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• Big Ol' Eyebrows: Round, big, black eyebrows.
• Childhood Friends: With Shigeo, Kotoko's father. They met in middle school. He calls Shigeo "Ai-chan".
• Family Business: Wants Naoki to take over his business when he retires. Settles for Yuuki's offer after recovering from his heart attack.
• Fat and Skinny: Fat to his wife's skinny.
• Hollywood Heart Attack: Has one after Naoki declares his transfer to medical school and that he's not taking over the company.
• Scary Shiny Glasses: In the anime, when he's upset by Naoki's refuse to follow his steps.
• Self-Made Man: He was able to found his own successful company after years of hard work, and that's why he wants Naoki to be his successor.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Even in their middle age, his wife is way prettier than him, and this is also supported by a photo of them when engaged. His best buddy Shigeo lampshades this in the manga saying to Naoki that he's lucky to look like his mother

Kotomi Irie

Voiced by: Tomoko Kaneda

The daughter of Kotoko and Naoki. She's a cheerful, smart kid with sandy brown hair. She goes to kindergarten.

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• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Tough she's bickering with her mother most of the time, her last shot sees her hugging and kissing her mommy.
• Cheerful Child: Her mother has an hard time trying to keep her quiet.
• Child Supplants Parent: She worships her daddy, and competes with her mom for his attention. She even innocently says she wants to marry dad.
• Daddy's Girl: Her father extremely dotes on her, and she thinks her daddy is best dad ever.
• In-Series Nickname: Everyone calls her Mi-chan.
• Strong Family Resemblance: She is a carbon copy of Kotoko, but has Naoki's colours and she's smart like him.
• Theme Naming: Kotoko and Kotomi.
• Third-Person Person: She refers to herself as Mi-chan.
• Walking Spoiler: She is the living proof that Naoki and Kotoko would eventually be together.

College People

Sudou

Voiced by: Akio Ohtsuka

Portrayed by: Jason (2005 Tw-Drama, 2007 Tw-Drama), Choi Sung Guk (2010 K-Drama), Masaki Kaji (2013 J-Drama, 2014 J-Drama), Techin Chayuti (2015 Th-Drama)

The dark-haired, mustached president of the university tennis team. Has a serious long-term crush on Yuuko Matsumoto. Later a car salesman.

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• Berserk Button: Put a tennis racket in his hand. He becomes a sadist with Unstoppable Rage. It's why he's so good at tennis.
• Club President: Of the university tennis team and source of their Training from Hell.
• Dogged Nice Guy: For Yuuko Matsumoto. Sudou has liked Yuuko since college, but hasn't been successful in winning her heart. Eventually subverted, since they end up as a couple and possibly married.
• Happily Married: To Yuuko Matsumoto. Their marriage is heavily implied at the end, but never explicitly shown.
• Hopeless Suitor: For Yuuko Matsumoto. Eventually Subverted, after 8 years of unrequited love.
• Mistaken for Gay: People at the cafeteria mistook him for gay when he came to beg Naoki to join tennis club, not knowing what he did mean and his begging being rather suggestive.
• Nice Guy: As Kotoko states, he is a very kind man.
• Salaryman: As a car salesman, after university.
• Stalker with a Crush: Casually appears when Matsumoto is hanging around with someone else, or is plainly doing something by herself.

Yuuko Matsumoto

Voiced by: Yuki Masuda

Portrayed by: Maju Ozawa (1996 J-Drama), Tiffany Xu (2005 Tw-Drama, 2007 Tw-Drama), Lee Si-young (2010 K-Drama), Kanna Mori (2013 J-Drama, 2014 J-Drama), Pim Bubear (2015 Th-Drama)

A beautiful, black-haired tennis champion with a brain to boot. Attracted and after Naoki since meeting him.

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• Academic Athlete: Runner up in the regional high school girl's tennis championships and a fierce player, but also a science/engineering student at university.
• The Ace: Beautiful, confident, intelligent, outspoken, hard-working, and even starts her own company after college.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Very dark haired, very beautiful, very cold to anyone she doesn't like.
• Adaptation Name Change: Her given name in the manga was "Reiko", it was changed to "Yuuko" in the anime.
• Betty and Veronica: The "Veronica" (Academic Athlete and cold) to Kotoko's "Betty" (Book Dumb and relatively nice). In the end, Naoki chooses Kotoko.
• Brainy Brunette: Hey, she's an engineer.
• Deadpan Snarker: After Naoki, she's easy the snarkiest character.
• Enemy Mine: She teams up with Kotoko to spy on Chris/Sahoko while she is set to marry Naoki.
• Light Feminine Dark Feminine: The dark to Kotoko's light. They're both pretty, but in completely different ways.
• Ms. Fanservice: Hotter and sexier than any other girl shown. Deliberately sexy and flirty. Quite tall for a girl, but not into Statuesque Stunner territory.
• Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: It's long hair as well.
• The Rival: Kotoko's first serious romantic rival for Naoki. She doesn't get him though, and he never really has feelings for her.
• Romantic Runner-Up: Despite Christine actually being able to get engaged to Naoki, Yuuko was the second-closest ever to Naoki's heart.
• Tsundere: Although she cares for Sudou, she doesn't ever want to blatantly show it.

Watanabe

Voiced by: Yuuki Ono

Portrayed by: Ken Izawa (1996 J-Drama), Lai Zhi Wei (2005 Tw-Drama), Sara Kaai (2013 J-Drama), Takuya Ide (2016 J-Movie)

A smart college buddy of Naoki.

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• Flat Character: He receives no characterization, other than being Naoki's friend and a very smart person.
• Narrating the Obvious: If he shows up, he's probably pointing out Kotoko if she's anywhere nearby. (Usually with "Hey Naoki, isn't that the girl who asked you out?").
• Nice Guy: For what it's showed of him, he's never rude to Kotoko and her fellow Class F students.
• Satellite Character: He is only seen hanging around Naoki.
• Shipper on Deck: Vaguely implied. He once says to Naoki that actually Kotoko is rather interesting, and even jokes that the two of them probably will live together for ever, much to Naoki's annoyance.
• Smart People Wear Glasses: He's a science/engineering student like Naoki, implied to be smart, and wears glasses.
• Spear Carrier: Barely any lines or function. If present, he's shown one or twice and maybe has one line.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: He doesn't show in the latter half of the episodes. It could be because he got accepted in a prestigious university and he and Naoki are never seen hang out with each other outside school.