Characters / Kaguya-sama: Love Is War - Yu Ishigami

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War Main Character Index
High School Student Council (Kaguya Shinomiya | Miyuki Shirogane | Chika Fujiwara | Yu Ishigami | Miko Iino)
Second-Years | Family Members

Character sub-page for Yu Ishigami.

Yu Ishigami

Voiced by: Ryōta Suzuki (Japanese), Austin Tindle (English), Alejandro Orozco (Latin American Spanish), Fernando Peiter (Brazilian Portuguese)
Played by: Hayato Sano (live-action movie)

Debut: Chapter 11 (Manga), Episode 1 (Anime)

A first-year student at Shuchi'in and the treasurer of the student council. Incredibly unlucky, depressed, and cynical (at first), he lives his days scared of Kaguya.

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A-G

• Above the Influence: He nearly loses his virginity to his crush Tsubame on Christmas Eve, but wanting to do things properly, he formally confesses and asks her out before things go too far. When she turns him down, he doesn't go through with it.
• Abusive Parents: We don't see much of his parents, but his father is implied to be a firm believer in Corporal Punishment, as shown when he's suspended indefinitely for punching Ogino and he accidentally breaks Iino's arm. His mother is visibly shocked when his father smacks him for the former. Tellingly, he doesn't talk about his family as much as the other council members do.
• Ace Of Spades: The anime assigned all the members of the student council a Playing Card Motif. Naturally, Ishigami -who spent most of the earlier chapters afraid that Kaguya was trying to kill him- was assigned the Ace of Spades.
• Achievements in Ignorance:
  • According to his profile, he makes very astute observations on topics that would ordinarily be landmines. The reason he's able to do this is because he doesn't know they're landmines in the first place.
  • In Chapter 127, he manages to give a perfect confession to Tsubame due to not knowing the significance of giving someone a heart during the Devoted Heart Festival. Later Comically Missing the Point, he also gives Iino a heart locket to be placed in the lost-and-found, and Iino takes this gesture to heart too.
  • He makes friends with or gains the affection of all seven of Shuuchi'in's most beautiful girls — the three student council girls and the four Impossible Girls — without making an active effort at it.
• Achilles' Heel: As hilarious as it is, he's this to Fujiwara. While she's a master manipulator who can easily disrupt Kaguya and Shirogane's best-laid plans, Ishigami in turn is the only one who can reliably counter her, as he has no reservations about calling out Fujiwara's selfish tendencies.
• Adaptational Early Appearance: He gets several cameos throughout the first 5 episodes, though only the first one actually qualifies due to all the others taking place after his Early-Bird Cameo in the manga.
• All for Nothing: In Chapter 95 (Season 3 Episode 1A), he discovers that Iino did not properly plug the headphone jack onto her smartphone and is thus at risk of exposing her embarrassing playlist of motivational speeches. When the rest of the Council show up, he tries to protect her dignity by sacrificing his by letting them hear his idol-pop playlist. Unfortunately, Iino resumes playing her soundtrack, exposing herself as well.
• All of the Other Reindeer: Chapter 55 shows he is something of a pariah at school due to something that happened in middle school.
• Anonymous Benefactor: He was the one that sent Iino the flower and the letter back in middle school.
• Apathetic Student: He's very apathetic towards school, and instead of studying, he spends his time playing video games, watching anime, and reading manga and light novels.
• Audience Surrogate: As a cynical loner, he fits right in with some of the target audience. The fanservice special has him make all the comments a regular reader would make as well.
• Awesomeness by Analysis:
  • He states he can understand 5 to 6 percent of people's personalities by their stares. He states that Kaguya wants to kill him and gives murderous stares to Fujiwara a lot. He's proven right by the end of the chapter.
  • Chapter 76 has him correctly understanding Kashiwagi's frustrations with her boyfriend with only some information.
• Badass Adorable: He's a lovable and awkward geek who nevertheless shows to be capable of beating up unpleasant and petty guys when needed, like he did with Kyoko's boyfriend.
• Bait-and-Switch Sentiment: Subverted when he offers a giant heart-shaped gift to Tsubame during the Devoted Hearts Festival (which is a sign of eternal love in-universe). Ishigami doesn't know the legend behind it due to having a very small social circle and was just giving it to her as thanks for all the times she's helped him out, but everyone else in the school interprets it as a Love Confession. Of course, Ishigami actually does have a crush on her and had been trying to find a way to confess, but he remains completely oblivious to the fact that he's already done so even after she asks him to set a deadline for her response.
• Because You Were Nice to Me:
  • Why did Ishigami go so far to punch Kyoko Otomo's boyfriend and then refused to tell anyone the truth about the boyfriend cheating on her and then trying to buy Ishigami's silence by offering to pimp her out? Because Otomo treated him as nicely as she treated everyone else. He tried to protect her smile, which made him happy, and revealing the truth would have hurt her.
  • Chapter 89 reveals the reason for Ishigami's close friendship with Shirogane is because Shirogane found the truth about the Otomo situation and went to Ishigami's house to congratulate him for protecting Otomo's smile and tell him that he wasn't wrong. This leads to Undying Loyalty down the line, as by the end of the story he promises to be able to work at Shirogane's company once he graduates.
  • He develops a crush on Tsubame Koyasu since she was earnestly nice to him during his time in the cheer squad in spite of his dire reputation.
  • He starts admiring Kaguya after she selflessly helps him out loads of times. His determination to ace the exams in the "Kaguya's Impossible Task" arc was even motivated solely because Kaguya continued believing in him when no one else would rather than the fact that it might catch the eye of his crush Tsubame. When he failed to even enter the top 50 ranking among the first-years, he was understandably upset as he felt that he had disappointed her despite her efforts to teach him.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Ishigami and Iino do not get along very well and are constantly bickering, yet they actually care about each other because of their own principles. Some people may mistakenly believe they are just acting Like an Old Married Couple, but Iino's Childhood Friend, Osaragi, states that they are actually really on bad terms, yet she also clearly sees that they are not so different.
• Berserk Button:
  • Someone bragging about their relationship. In Chapter 48 when Tsubasa asks for advice again, Ishigami tries to kill him when it looks like he's bragging.
  • When a manga uses cheap tactics to hide its fanservice.
• Beta Couple: He and Iino function as one to Kaguya and Shirogane. Romantically, he's aiming for Tsubame.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Insult him, he doesn't care. Insult people he respects and cares about like Shirogane or Iino, and he can go so far as to beat you up. Which is how he became a pariah in middle school.
• Birds of a Feather: A part of Kaguya sees a lot of herself in Ishigami, which is why she starts to treat him much nicer as they become friends and she supports him in his studies and his love life.
• The Blind Leading the Blind: In Chapter 38, Shirogane asks him for romantic advice. He lampshades this of course.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: His very first dialogue is a complaint about his own character, as he doesn't see the point of a second male character in a rom-com.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: He is acknowledged as being very intelligent (to the point that Shirogane was willing to beg him not to quit his role as student council treasurer), but he was ranked third-to-last among the first-year students and on academic probation at the beginning of the series due to his apathy towards school. Kaguya theorizes that this attitude is a result of him having been suspended for several months during his final year of middle school, and later helps him start putting effort into his schoolwork by using the possibility of Tsubame returning his feelings as motivation.
• Bromantic Foil: For Shirogane. Where Shirogane is popular, a hard worker, and thinks before he speaks, Ishigami is a pariah, Brilliant, but Lazy, and has a bad habit of putting his foot in his mouth.
• Brutal Honesty: One of his bigger issues is when he talks, he rarely has a filter on, coming across as insensitive and/or creepy. Lampshaded in Chapter 51.
• But I Would Really Enjoy It: Rare Male Example. He turns down Tsubame's offer for sex on Christmas Eve despite clearly wanting to because she was only doing so to make up for the fact that she turned down his love confession. He refuses to sleep with someone who doesn't love him back.
• Butt-Monkey: Very rarely do things go his way. Especially at the beginning, most of his pure intentions are misunderstood, Kaguya scares him shitless with her mood swings and Fujiwara keeps making fun of him.
• Byronic Hero: Despite being a kindhearted and good-natured Nice Guy, Ishigami fits here. He's intelligent and talented while also brooding and depressed, he's self-destructive in his behavior yes at times, he's shown to be both cynical and idealistic depending on the situation, and despite his gloomy appearance he's good-looking and used to be more athletic.
• Caught with Your Pants Down: Subverted. In Chapter 70, he is caught by Kaguya and Fujiwara changing clothes in the student council room, where he is Mistaken for Masturbating by Fujiwara. However, he quickly explains that he had to help clean up after P.E. and didn't have time to change somewhere else.
• Celibate Hero: Inverted, he wants a girlfriend but he can't get one.
• Character Development:
  • Ishigami, who was already a loner and had a somewhat cynical view, became even more secluded after what happened in middle school. He starts to open up to the student council and the world again over time, becomes more self-confident, and starts to socialize more.
  • Starting off scared of her, Ishigami and Kaguya’s relationship vastly improved when she became nicer, to the point that the two have a brother-and-sister relationship.
  • Ishigami becomes more outspoken and acts as a straight man to Fujiwara, Iino, and Maki. He even becomes willing to scold Kaguya after she brags about her love life to Maki, but not without scolding Maki for calling Shirogane a "commoner."
  • In one of the best moments of the series, Ishigami had went from fearing people in general to being so brave towards not only Kaguya, but also towards everyone that when he confronts Oko, who attempts to hit Kaguya in a dispute between them, Ishigami went as far as grabbing Oko by the arm to shield her, not caring about the consequences he would suffer, which is a stark contrast to his former self who would have ran away instead of confronting Oko.
  • Overall, Ishigami went from a shy, timid, cynical, depressed, and pessimistic student to an outgoing, friendly, cheerful, and optimistic leader who would guide students during their time at Shuiichin Academy by the end of the series. Even so, He also becomes the next Shirogane after his former mentors have graduated from school and even engages in a form of confession war with Iino.
• Character Catchphrase: "I want to die, so I'm going home." This is followed by Shirogane telling him "Okay, but don't die."
• Character Focus: Ishigami starts getting more focus in the lead-up to the sports festival, which delves into his past in middle school. After that point, he gets upgraded to being the tritagonist.
• Chekhov's Gunman: He was mentioned multiple times, but he didn't appear in person until chapter 24.
• Classical Anti-Hero: Yu Ishigami is a perfect representation of the trope. He's a kindhearted guy, but also pessimistic, depressed, unlucky, with low self-esteem, a loser in many ways, and yet he's also shown to be very selfless, heroic and brave. And he manages to overcome this thanks to his Character Development.
• Closet Geek: Hilariously, Ishigami is revealed to be one in Chapter 110. While he's open about reading manga and playing games, he keeps his interest in anime and light novels secret, with only Shirogane being in on the secret. He also later bonds with Iino over their shared love of gaming.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Zig-Zagged as he's capable of being fairly levelheaded and act like a Cloudcuckoolander's Minder to characters like Fujiwara. However, he's shown to act a weird at times, as his imagination often gets the better of him and he invents wild scenarios off of tiny details that he notices, committing to them wholeheartedly.
• Clueless Chick-Magnet: While he is actively chasing Tsubame, who has started to develop feelings for him, he also unintentionally has Iino and Osaragi fall for him.
• Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: He's apparently based on Sho Hirano, which gets lampshaded in Chapter 140. Ironically, Hirano was cast in the Live-Action Adaptation, but as Shirogane rather than Ishigami.
• The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes: He is a lot better at restoring other people's faith in humanity than his own.
• The Confidant: When people come to him for advice, he usually can help them out. He acts at different times as an adviser for Shirogane, Kashiwagi's boyfriend, Maki, and Kaguya.
• Cool Kid-and-Loser Friendship: This pretty much sums up his entire social circle. Given the fact that his reputation was destroyed thanks to an incident back in middle school, all of his friends are vastly higher on the social totem pole. This extends all the way to Kaguya and Tsubame, who are two of the most popular girls in school. This ends up being averted at the start of the following school year since one of Tsubame's final acts before graduating was using her social influence to repair his reputation among the student body.
• Covert Pervert: Despite his calm attitude, he does make a joke about Kaguya and Fujwara's respective breasts sizes. Sadly they were right behind when he made them.
• Creepy Good: He may look creepy and gloomy and tends to have a pessimistic outlook on life, but he's undoubtedly a good person.
• The Cynic: He very rarely thinks anything good is going to happen and usually goes to the darkest explanation possible. Part of his character development is to become more optimistic. By the end of the series, this is no longer the case as he becomes more optimistic and cheerful, even guiding a student whose shoes he was once in to ensure that he becomes as optimistic as he is!
• Dark and Troubled Past: Something happened in middle school that made him into a pariah to the point that he started skipping school till high school and he's still treated as a pariah. We learn what happens in Chapter 88; he learns that Kyoko's boyfriend was actually just fooling around with her and didn't love her the way she did him, so he defended her honor by punching him. His doing so led Ishigami to be looked at with disdain by the other students, and Kyoko thought he was ragging on her boyfriend for no reason, due to her being innocent about his personality. He was then suspended till the end of middle school because he wouldn't say he was wrong. This led to his father continually yelling at him night after night, struggling to finish his homework due to not attending classes and him realizing that everyone at school hated him. It went unresolved until word gets out from the student council and the school's most influential students banned the offender from the school's perimeters.
• Deadpan Snarker: Especially around Fujiwara and Iino. His comments towards them are very snappy, for the former's foolish, ditzy and egotistical behavior and for the latter's obsession with rules and overly strict and dogmatic personality.
• Deuteragonist: Outside of the central romance of Kaguya and Shirogane, Ishigami's character arc is the most important plotline in the series. He's referred to as the "side hero" in the volume extras.
• Devoted to You: Ishigami has the complete devotion of Osaragi of all people. In most scenes where she appears, she is speaking in favor of him or approves of his intentions to court Tsubame. Chapter 192 reveals that this began in middle school after he called out jealous girls who were badmouthing Osaragi. From that point on, Osaragi developed feelings for him, and was looking after him, determined to help him find happiness, even if it's not with her. She goes so far as to prioritize his happiness over her best friend, Iino's.
• Did Not Get the Girl: His efforts to become someone Tsubame would fall for ultimately result in this, as while she does care about him deeply, she only sees him as an underclassman and not as a romantic partner. He does accept her friendship though, even if he's left heartbroken about it.
• Didn't Think This Through: He joined the cheer team to improve his demeanor, on the grounds that people on the cheer team always seem happy. It was only after he showed up at the first meeting that he realized the flaw in his logic; the only people who join the cheer team are those that are already too happy with their lives. Subverted in that it does give him a more positive outlook, just not in the way he envisioned.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: He is incredibly upset when Tsubame rejected going out with him and still tried seducing him to have sex with her, out of sympathy for his feelings for her. He doesn't want to sleep with someone who doesn't return his feelings in kind.
• Dragged into Drag: The cheer team for the Sports Festival more or less strong-arm him into agreeing with swapping the girls' and boys' uniforms. He can fit Kaguya's just fine, apparently. Hilariously, this act revealed that he has the bigger chest between the two of them, a revelation which makes Kaguya absolutely livid.
• Driven to Suicide: Usually treated as a joke, when he feels so upset, that he wishes to "go home and die", though he's usually fine the next day. It's taken seriously when he suffers from a Heroic BSoD in Chapter 155 after Tsubame rejects his confession, but offers to have Pity Sex with him. While he doesn't actively try to kill himself, he still wishes he ends up dead when he is about to fall down the stairs as he was so upset, he wasn't wearing his shoes properly. He might have ended up dead or at least heavily injured if Iino hadn't softened his fall, which resulted in her breaking her arm.
• Early-Bird Cameo: He shows up on the cover of Chapter 11, though he wouldn't get an on-screen appearance until Chapter 24.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: By the end of the manga, Ishigami has gone from a lazy, unpopular washout to effectively The Ace. His skill with tech has allowed him to perform his new duties as vice president with extreme efficiency, he's mentioned to have now reached the top 10 in exam scores, is probably still keeping up his workout routine, and is greatly respected by his underclassmen for all of the above. While his romance arc with Iino goes unresolved in the manga itself, it's indicated that they'll eventually get together.
• The Eeyore:
  • Very rarely is he happy and in nearly every chapter he appears in, he leaves crying. Kei even considers him to be emo as a result when she meets him. This is lampshaded in the anime, which assigned him the Playing Card Motif of the Ace of Spades, aka the Death Card.
  • He makes an effort to grow out of it around the time of the Sports Festival, though it still remains a subtle part of his character.
• Everyone Has Standards: While Iino's strict discipline has earned just as much scorn from him as many other students, he's frustrated at the jeers toward her stage fright while campaigning for Student Council President, believing that her efforts don't deserve to be mocked over unrelated matters.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: His hair used to be a lot shorter. He grew it out in order to shut himself off from the world.
• Flowers of Romance: Given that his mother works as a florist, his default idea for a romantic gesture involves offering flowers that have some sort of obtuse meaning behind them (such as their species names forming a backronym for a message). Kaguya has to keep convincing him that such things would come across as creepy rather than romantic. Iino seems to appreciate the flower he sent her anonymously, even if he didn't intend for it to be romantic.
• For Great Justice: In retrospect, Ishigami says that back in middle school he had this kind of attitude as a result of reading some manga he can't even remember anymore; this led to him beating the stuffing out of a guy who was cheating on his girlfriend.
• Four-Philosophy Ensemble: The apathetic at first, albeit due to his laziness and being uninterested in schoolwork, and because he mostly has different habits and interests from others. Not at all because of a Lack of Empathy or morals, as he's really one of the most upstanding characters in the series.
  • In fact, not surprisingly, as he overcomes his depressed side, he very much becomes the optimist in the group. He loses his cynical traits and his apathy towards academics through Character Development, and even encourages others to be more optimistic.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Phlegmatic all in all - while he was rather melancholic at first due to his Dark and Troubled Past, he becomes much more laid-back, optimistic and cheerful later on. And, of course, he's easily one of the kindest and friendliest characters in the series.
• Friendless Background: Downplayed. Ishigami was friends with his teammates back when he was on the soccer team in middle school, but it became too awkward to hang around them after he quit the team.
• Good with Numbers: Shirogane picked him to be the treasurer because of this trope. His report card in the handbook also lists math as the only non-elective course that he has an A in.
• Got Me Doing It: He briefly started talking like the members of the Cheer Team due to exposure to them while thanking Kaguya for lending him her uniform. Neither of them has any idea what he meant.
• Gotta Pass the Class: Ishigami is shown to be in danger of getting held back in Chapter 55 due to the incident back in middle school having made him apathetic towards schoolwork. Kaguya (who is looking for an excuse to pay back a favor she owes him) takes it upon herself to help him study and ensure that he passes.^note The anime changes some of the details like what test it was and Kaguya's reason for helping him, but for the most part, it's the same. This ends up having consequences that last for the remainder of the series, as it was the first step in the pair developing their Like Brother and Sister dynamic.
• Green-Eyed Epiphany: He starts to realize that Iino isn't just "someone else" to him when Onodera plants the idea in his head that she's seeing a sugar daddy.
• Green-Eyed Monster: When trying to set up the budget for clubs, he tried to dock the sports club 50,000 yen per couple. Seeing as he didn't have a girlfriend... Shirogane certainly thinks the trope is in effect. Ishigami states that his reasoning is different - any guy with a girlfriend should prioritize spending time with her over their club activities.

H-R

• Headphones Equal Isolation: Ishigami can occasionally be seen wearing a large pair of headphones that highlight his separation from the rest of the school.
• The Heart: He links a lot of otherwise disparate characters together - Iino (who he introduces to the student council), Tsubame (who occupies a different social circle to the protagonists), and Karen (whose manga he edits). That is, despite his gloomy and cynical outlook on life.
• Held Back in School:
  • Ishigami was in danger of getting held back at the beginning of the series due to a complete lack of desire to apply himself during exams. Kaguya ends up helping him pass a crucial exam due to owing him a favor and later convinces him to actually take school seriously by telling him that getting good grades could help him win Tsubame's affection.
  • He almost didn't graduate from middle school as a disciplinary punishment for his incident with Otomo, but was allowed to due to Iino's protests against the principal.
• Heroic BSoD:
  • Ishigami suffered one, after being ostracized by everyone in middle school, after being labeled a crazy stalker who beat up one of the most popular guys in school. He couldn't tell anyone why he punched that guy because he wanted to spare Kyoko Otomo the shame and trauma of being cheated on by her boyfriend, which only made the resentment worse. This almost got him kicked out of school if it wasn't for Iino, Shuchi'in High School's principal, and its student council - especially Shirogane - who figured out the truth by themselves.
  • Meeting Otomo again at the sports festival triggers Ishigami's middle school memories and leaves him in a catatonic state until Shirogane intervenes and snaps him out of it.
  • He is lost in depressing self-deprecating thoughts, after Tsubame rejects his confession, yet still offers Pity Sex to him. He rejects her offer in turn, and the harsh way he does it makes him loathe himself and distracts him so much that he almost could have died from a Stair Case Tumble if Iino hadn't appeared in time.
  • In Chapter 205, Tsubame rejecting his feelings once and for all leaves him so psychologically shattered that he spends most of the chapter speaking in complete nonsense. The rest of the council spends the chapter trying to snap him out of it.
• Hero of Another Story: Ishigami is referred to as such (more specifically, the "secret hero") in his character description.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Ishigami was openly hated by some of his classmates, particularly the girls since he supposedly stalked a girl and then beat up her boyfriend in middle school. In reality, the boy was a cheating scumbag who tried to buy Ishigami's silence by offering to let him have sex with the girlfriend, then pulled a Wounded Gazelle Gambit to make Ishigami look like the bad guy. The student council did their research and found the truth of the situation, and those who got closer to him know he was really a nice guy. Thanks to the efforts of those who know the truth, his reputation slowly gets repaired towards the end of the story, and the scumbag behind it all was permanently banned from re-applying for the school ever again.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Outsiders wouldn't think someone like Shirogane, the smartest and one of the most popular students in Shuchi'in, would be friends with a gloomy pariah like Ishigami, but the truth is that they are extremely close. Ishigami shares his love for video games and manga with Shirogane, and when Kaguya or Fujiwara declines to go to a place with Shirogane (like the aquarium or another festival), Ishigami is usually the one who accompanies him. Since Shirogane was the first person who believed in Ishigami and broke him out of his depression multiple times, Ishigami has Undying Loyalty for him. That said, Shirogane has Single-Target Sexuality for Kaguya, while Ishigami's love interest is either Tsubame, Iino, or Osaragi, though a crazy shipper like Karen can definitely see a romance happening.
• Hidden Depths:
  • He's very knowledgeable on all sorts of toys and games being the son of the president of a toy company. He gets to show off when he became very critical of the game the Tabletop Games Club made in Chapter 57.
  • Despite being cynical and The Eeyore, he has some rather idealistic ideas on love as shown in Chapter 64.
  • He demonstrates a wealth of knowledge when it comes to flowers in regard to their symbology, life cycles, and medicinal uses (which according to a Q&A on the manga's official Twitter is because his mother is a florist). This implies that he gave Iino her flower and note in middle school, which was confirmed in Chapter 192, where it's revealed that Osaragi saw him place the letter in Iino's desk.
  • His cooking is on par with Shirogane and Kaguya (Shirogane edges him out in a competition for achieving the same delicious taste with cheaper ingredients), and the anime shows him preparing it with style.
  • He was a talented runner in middle school.
  • He's an excellent treasurer due to his analytical thinking and keen sense of prioritization and visual representation, going as far as casually coaching Kei when she visits the student council.
  • He's the most empathic and perceptive of the people in the student council. He's usually the one who notices when other people are being dumb with their relationships or who likes who.
  • Chapter 205 shows that he's familiar with classic Manzai routines.
  • Chapter 268 reveals that he's been taking part in a language exchange program. Exactly what language isn't specified, but the fact that he's doing a homestay in Switzerland would suggest that it's most likely German.
• Hiding Behind Your Bangs: His hair is always styled to cover half of his face, which invokedhis profile states represents his fear of others and a way to block anything he doesn't want to see.
• His Own Worst Enemy: Part of Ishigami's problem is that he has no confidence in himself, because people rarely acknowledge the good things he does, making him doubt his actions. He gradually works on moving past his insecurities and gaining a more optimistic view, thanks in no small part to help from his growing circle of friends.
  • This is played for laughs when he for instance compliments Fujiwara, only to be called creepy, or when his genuine attempts to help Iino are misunderstood as hostile and condescending.
  • Played for drama in middle school. Ishigami wanted to help a nice girl, who was nothing more than an acquaintance to him, but his angry outburst led to him being framed as a violent stalker, causing everyone at home and in school to ostracize him. Ishigami eventually got better when Shirogane showed up and was the first person to believe in him, and after Kaguya and the school's most influential students got involved, Ishigami's reputation was wholly repaired by the final quarter of the series.
• Hopeless Suitor: Even from Volume 13, it's clear that Ishigami never stood a chance in winning Tsubame's heart since she regarded their relationship in a platonic way and not a romantic one. Predictably, he was rejected in Chapter 204, with him later on coping with his loss.
• Hyper-Awareness: He's shown to be the most observant of the student council, with the extras saying that he can easily see others' secrets.
  • This is one of the reasons why he's a bit scared of Kaguya at first, as he can see through the side of hers that she is deliberately trying to hide, which is also why he doesn't think that Kaguya (Ice) treats him any differently than Kaguya usually does. He's seen her hidden side already.
  • He instantly notices Fujiwara using a different hair conditioner, but the way he describes it in detail comes off as creepy. In another chapter, he smells the garlic in Fujiwara's breath and quietly offers her a breath mint, much to her embarrassment.
  • In Chapter 160, he notices Kaguya and Shirogane on a date, despite Kaguya's attempt to avoid them.
  • In Chapter 174, he notices how clean and elegant Iino's handwriting looks, calling it (and her personality) beautiful without thinking too hard about it. Since Iino is weak to compliments, she immediately starts treating him nicely.
• Hypocritical Humor:
  • Usually Played for Laughs, and often pointed out by Iino (or the narrator). For instance, he crushes any of the "four-eyed geeks" who try to impress Tsubame with their intelligent remarks despite himself being an otaku and countering their arguments to impress Tsubame.
  • Shirogane starts talking about the manga the two boys like with the rest of the council, only for Ishigami to claim he has no idea what the manga is due to his fear of being ostracized as an otaku. But when Shirogane backpedals and tries to deny being an otaku, Ishigami starts guilt tripping him for not actually enjoying the manga.
  • Also, his tastes in anime are surprisingly generic for someone who complains about "normies" (his favorite movie is Your Name, and two of his favorite series are Sword Art Online and Oreimo).
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Platonic example. Despite cursing happy couples, Ishigami decided to make an exception and genuinely wished for Otomo to find romantic happiness. When he learned that her boyfriend cheated on her, he tried his best to keep this ugly truth away from her, thinking that she should stay blissfully ignorant to protect her happy smile, even if she started to hate him.
  • Ishigami actually remarks that things "would have been easier" if he'd actually been in love with Otomo, implying in such a case the trope would be subverted, and Ishigami would have jumped at the chance to expose Otomo's boyfriend as a cheater so he could get closer to her.
• If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...:
  • Played With. Since he doesn't know the identity of the boy that Kaguya likes, he does the whole routine with her instead, saying that he'd have to intervene if the boy turns out to be scum. And considering the whole fiasco with Otomo in the backstory, it probably isn't an idle threat.
  • He also says this to Papa Shirogane when he misunderstands that Iino is going out with him. Fortunately, the situation quickly gets cleared up.
• Innocently Insensitive: Inevitably, given his habit of traipsing through verbal minefields without even realizing it.
  • When Fujiwara suggests Iino as a new girl to pursue a relationship with after Tsubame turns him down, he says that there's no way something like that could happen. Given that Iino had developed a crush on him and was sitting in the room at the time, she takes it rather hard.
  • As lazy as always, he comes to the dance in his school uniform. The rules permit it, but Iino takes offense as his date that he didn't make an effort to look his best.
• Irony: For all his love of emotional hyperbole and Grand Romantic Gestures, the most impact he ever made on someone's life came from a tiny flower.
• Jerkass Ball: In Chapter 188, he interprets Iino asking him about his date with Tsubame as her being a gossip, and rudely rebuffs her. He then uses the proceeding word game to further insult her. Kaguya calls him out on treating a fellow student council member this way once she hears the full story.
• Jerkass to One: To Iino. He's normally a Nice Guy (if somewhat inclined to put his foot in his mouth), but she notes during a drunken rant at Tsubame's Christmas party that he seems to exclusively be mean to her. The irony of this is that he's actually been looking out for and protecting her ever since middle school, he just doesn't tell her because it wouldn't be truly altruistic to hold good deeds over people's heads. Also, he actually isn't acting very nice towards Fujiwara very often as well, though it's quickly pointed out that he is just more willing to respond to her antics compared to the others.
• Knight in Sour Armor: Ishigami is a cynical man with a depressing view of the world, but he still is actually very idealistic, sees things mostly for what they are, and respects and defends people who are earnestly putting an effort.
• Lack of Empathy: Averted overall as he's possibly the most empathetic Student Council member, but it's Played for Laughs towards schoolmates with girlfriends:
  Tsubasa: I... had a fight with my girlfriend.
  Ishigami: Yeah, eat shit normie! Now go get yourself dumped!
• Laser-Guided Karma: Discussed. Following Tsubame's rejection of his confession, Ishigami wonders if this is punishment for all those times he mocked people that suffered from rejection.
• Learnt English from Watching Television: Invoked by Kaguya while helping him study for the end-of-year exams in Chapter 198. Unlike their previous study sessions where she confiscated all of his consoles and handhelds, she allows him to play video games during his free time in the student council room. However, she limits him to dialogue-heavy games with the language set to English so he can get in some extra foreign language practice.
• Like Brother and Sister: At the start of the series he's deathly afraid of Kaguya due to a series of misunderstandings, but as the two spend more time around each other this fades away to the point where they almost have a big sister/little brother-type relationship (seen in Chapter 153 where Ishigami says that he won't let "lousy" people get near Kaguya). While Kaguya (Moron) is in control, she openly admits that she likes Ishigami more than Fujiwara.
• Lovable Jock: Formerly, back when he was on the track/soccer team.^note The manga is somewhat ambiguous about whether he was on both teams, if Kazeno was simply mistaken about him running track, or if it was a retcon.
• Love Triangle: He ends up in the middle of one with Tsubame on one end and Iino on the other. It even leads to some in-universe Ship-to-Ship Combat among some of the other girls.
• Maybe Ever After: His story ends on the same note Kaguya and Shirogane's began — With him locked in a duel with Iino over who can force the other to confess first. Assuming it follows the same beats as their predecessors, eventually they'll get together. We'll just never see it happen for ourselves.
• Meaningful Name: "Yu" (優) can mean skilled, superior, excel (in grades), or kind/gentle. While he's not actually a top student, since he's Brilliant, but Lazy, he is definitely a Nice Guy who likes to help others. Tsubame even lampshades this after the Christmas party.
• Mirror Character: One reason Iino and Ishigami don't get along is that both are forthright and critical. Without other people around to mediate them, they get deadlocked in endless arguments. There's also the fact that neither tells the other how they keep each other from harm. Iino did her best to keep Ishigami from being expelled in middle school and shields him from the other public morals committee members, while Ishigami secretly (and sometimes openly) does his best to spare her from humiliation or keeps her away from suspicious people. However, since they both think true altruism doesn't need any recognition, neither of them knows and interprets the other's actions as being hostile.
• Mistaken for Gay: Despite being aware of the Love Triangle he's in the middle of, Karen is wholly convinced that he's part of Shirogane's harem.
• Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: All of the first-year girls hate Ishigami for what he (supposedly) did in prior years, and his constant visits to the disciplinary committee for minor charges don't help his case at all. The fact is, while he is still gloomy and a bit of a downer, he's way nicer and more hardworking than most people give him credit for. The main reason behind his Undying Loyalty to his friends is that they bothered to properly do their research and understand his situation, paying off big time when they stick up for him and help repair his reputation.
• Morality Pet: Kaguya is significantly kinder to him than she is to others once they fall into the Like Brother and Sister dynamic. So much so that she doesn't treat him any differently while Kaguya (Ice) is in control, something that not even Shirogane can lay claim to — meaning her displayed feelings for him are the same as her deep ones: those of a caring big sister.
• My God, What Have I Done?:
  • In Chapter 37 he feels this way when he eats one of the two pieces of cake left and causes Shirogane and Kaguya to fight for the remaining one.
  • Played for Laughs in Chapter 133. Ishigami didn't know that giving someone something heart-shaped amounted to a confession. When at a performance about the Legend of the Devoted Heart, he realizes too late that the heart-shaped cookie he gave Tsubame was basically a public confession.
  • The flashback during Christmas Eve in Chapter 156 shows him hastily leaving Tsubame's house after she rejects his confession, but still offers to have sex with him out of sympathy. Iino points out that leaving like that must have hurt Tsubame, too, which makes him feel even more miserable.
• My Rule Fu Is Stronger than Yours: In Chapter 115, he's debating with members of the School Festival Committee about certain restrictions on what products they can sell and how much they can sell them for. Each time an issue is pointed out, Ishigami then spots a loophole that allows them to disregard said restrictions. This doesn't go over well with the boys he's debating with, as they're all trying to impress Tsubame but keep getting shut down by Ishigami.
• Nice Guy: It's even indicated in his name, Yu. While rather gloomy, he does treasure his friendships with the student council and is happy to help, that includes Kaguya. The full extent is shown in Chapter 67 when he refuses to let people mock Iino as he respects her work ethic even if they butt heads. Although the incident in his middle school made him earn kind of a Jerkass Ball towards characters who are not on his wavelength, especially Iino and to a lesser extent Fujiwara, Ishigami's desire to help those in need is still there.
• Noble Bigot: He is rather dismissive of girls' physical strength, but he never tried to force them to think the same way he does.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: His attempt to let Kyoko know of her boyfriend's true nature ended with Ishigami becoming a pariah. Fortunately, he gained friends who were willing to put things right.
• No Social Skills: Due to his lack of interaction with other people, he often comes off as creepy instead, despite his pure intentions. For instance, he tries to appeal to Fujiwara by noticing she changed her shampoo. Unfortunately, the way he worded it sounded like he smelled her every day.
• Not So Above It All: Despite frequently snarking at or dismissing Fujiwara's antics, many times he ends up participating in them anyway. Chapter 76 had him wearing Fujiwara's "Love Detective" hat after she handed it over to him, despite saying the hat makes people look stupid just two pages prior.
• Not Your Problem: He is incredibly annoyed whenever Iino butts into his love life with Tsubame.
• Oblivious to Love: He's so fixated on Tsubame that he doesn't figure out exactly why Iino has been spending so much time with him lately.
• Odd Couple: What started as a simple gag of Ishigami being scared of Kaguya by her presence alone evolved into quite an interesting friendship as the series progresses. Kaguya becomes supportive of Ishigami's growth out of his shell, hoping he achieves his objectives, while Ishigami sees Kaguya as someone he can confide in while becoming a better person, someone he fully trusts.
• Official Couple: If his final chapter is any sign, he'll eventually be this with Iino. After another war of love and brains.
• One of the Girls: His sentimental nature means he gets along well with girls, which is one of the reasons he was incorrectly believed to have romantic feelings for Otomo and Iino.
• Otaku: He's into gaming, manga, and anime, and likes to read light novels. The main reason Iino fights with him is that he indulges in these things while at school.
• Paying It Forward: Discussed. His penultimate focus chapter has him spending an afternoon helping Taikoku look for his shoes after some other students hid them. When Iino mentions how most people wouldn't do something like that for a complete stranger, Ishigami responds that he only got to where he is because of people like that (primarily Shirogane and the cheer team), and now it's his turn to extend that kindness to someone else.
• Plucky Comic Relief: The poor bastard just has to dig himself deeper whenever Kaguya's around...
• Poor Communication Kills: There would be less arguing and drama around Iino and Ishigami if either of them openly said what they did for the other person, but since neither Ishigami nor Iino thinks that they need recognition for what they are doing, they don't get along very well and Iino believes Ishigami is acting like a Jerkass to her.
• Pretty Boy: Of the cute and nerdy variety. Despite his gloomy appearance, Ishigami is a reasonably good-looking guy, and though now he's more slender, he even used to be somewhat of a jock.
• Properly Paranoid: A lot of his fears and thoughts about Kaguya are proven true when we see her point of view.
• Prophetic Name: He's named for the prince from The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter who was tasked by Princess Kaguya with retrieving a swallow's cowry, only to fall out of a tree and die (though he survives in some versions). Here, he's tasked by Kaguya with winning the hand of Tsubame Koyasu, and ends up falling down a flight of stairs after she turns down his love confession (only surviving because of Iino).
• Protectorate: To Iino. She has stood up for him multiple times without his knowledge and always downplays his actions whenever she writes him up in a morals committee report. She also saved his life during winter break, keeping him from suffering a Staircase Tumble at the cost of breaking her arm.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Like much of the main cast, he shares this dynamic with many others in the story, though he tends to flip-flop between the two one most of them.
  • Typically, he's the apathetic and lazy blue to the consummate and studious reds of Kaguya, Shirogane, and Iino, though they are flipped in several key areas.
    • Shirogane is accepting of others' relationships and is usually sympathetic to romantic plights. This is a stark contrast to Ishigami, who regularly and rudely dismisses and mocks them.
    • Kaguya lacks confidence in her ability to show empathy, while Ishigami's confidence in her is absolute.
    • It doesn't take much to make Iino excuse someone by praising her, meaning she can come off as an ineffective pushover. Ishigami, however, is not as easily swayed by similar gestures, and he is more than able to tell others off if they try that on him.
  • He flips between red and blue with Fujiwara, Osaragi, Tsubame, Maki, and Hayasaka regularly.
    • Outwardly, he is the quiet and snarky red to Fujiwara's bubbly and affable blue, but in reality, Ishigami's occasional Jerkass to One tendency belies his genuine Nice Guy personality, while Fujiwara's friendly demeanor is a cover for her Secretly Selfish streak.
    • Ishigami is at least willing to intervene in the open as opposed to Osaragi, making him the red to her blue. Osaragi, however, is unwavering in her views, whereas Ishigami is open to making small changes, making him the passive and accepting blue to her staunch and stubborn red.
    • It's immediately clear that Ishigami is the quiet and brooding blue to Tsubame's bubbly and lively red, but on the flipside, Ishigami is rather confident and dedicated in his crush on her, while Tsubame is too scatterbrained and indecisive to make a concrete commitment.
    • Whereas Maki is more than willing to confront Kaguya directly, Ishigami cowers in her presence, making him the blue to her red. That being said, though, Ishigami is more than willing to move on from a heartbreak, while Maki has been moping over a significant one for at least a whole year, making him the progressive red to her stagnant blue.
    • He's normally scared out of his wits by Kaguya while Hayasaka would rarely ever flinch at her mistress's worst moments, making him the cowardly and paranoid red to her firm and passive blue. However, Ishigami has a far more realistic view of romance and relationships, whereas Hayasaka is so clueless about the topic to the point it's almost as childish as Kaguya, making him the experienced blue to her aimless red.
• Rousseau Was Right: His character arc during the sports festival has him realize this. After coming in second in the relay race, he expects to get hatred and abuse from his teammates, but instead, they congratulate him for doing his best and try to cheer him up. At this point, he finally realizes that people are basically good and caring, but he was too busy shutting out the world to notice.
• Running Gag: He's quite a few running gags connected to his character.
  • His complete fear of Kaguya.
  • Him leaving the student council office crying and planning to die.
  • Him making Fujiwara run off crying.

S-Z

• Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: He wants to quit the student council because he's afraid that Kaguya will kill him. Unfortunately, he can't quit for the very same reason.
• Secret-Keeper: He knows that Karen writes Kaguya/Shirogane Doujinshi, having been recruited to be her editor.
• Secret Secret-Keeper:
  • A Meaningful Background Event in Chapter 160, as well as a comment he made in Chapter 162, suggest that he's fully aware of Kaguya and Shirogane's Secret Relationship. Kaguya suspects that he knows, though she doesn't bring it up with him until she and Shirogane decide to go public, with him (and Iino) admitting how obvious the two of them were.
  • If the Young Jump Love bonus chapter is taken as canon, he knows about Hayasaka's role as Kaguya's maid (since he casts her in that role during his harem dream). Unless he just dreamed it from Hayasaka dressing as such during the cultural festival.
• Seers: His insight is entirely non-mystical in nature, but it fits the trope anyway, being an ability of inexplicable origin that isolates him from ordinary people.
• Selective Obliviousness: He noticed early on that Kaguya seemed to be crushing on Shirogane, but after being threatened by her he retreated into a state of willful ignorance where he no longer notices the obvious signs.
• Serious Business: He believes school clubs keep society from collapsing.
• Shadow Archetype: To Osaragi. Osaragi is a victim of mockery and an Otaku, who hides behind her appearance and shut the world out, which is why many people appear or used to appear like The Faceless to her, just like with Ishigami. Like him, she can be very observant and wants to support her loved one without their knowledge. Even their Leitmotifs are similar, and they placed similarly in the exams in Chapter 105, with Osaragi being 151st and Ishigami being 152nd. However, Ishigami moved on from his insecurities and asked his crush out, which is something Osaragi wasn't able to do. He also puts an effort in to socialize more, while Osaragi still appears to be very introverted.
• Shamed by a Mob: Flashbacks reveal how Ishigami was shamed by everyone in middle school after he supposedly stalked a girl and beat up her boyfriend. Ishigami's attempt to make his friend realize what a scumbag her boyfriend really was only made it look worse. Fortunately, the rest of his friends in and out of the council learn the truth and help resolve and fix his situation.
• Shipper on Deck: He admits to thinking Kaguya and Shirogane would look cute as a couple, and expressed mild disappointment when she denied having feelings for him. When both of them come out and admit to being in a relationship, Ishigami gives them his full support.
• Ship Tease: With Iino. Ishigami has been watching over her and has tried to help her since at least middle school. He has seen the genuine effort she has put in to stand up for her ideals and is visibly angry with people who do not acknowledge this and mock her. Having seen her almost breaking from the constant abuse people hurled at her, he anonymously sent her a letter with a flower attached to it, encouraging her and telling her that there are people out there who recognize her hard work. To this day, Iino treasures this gift above all, and this has given her seemingly unrealistic expectations of what her romantic partner should look like, even though the description perfectly fits Ishigami. Iino in turn stood up for Ishigami and was partially responsible for him being able to attend high school. They have the same idea of altruistic love, but due to being Too Much Alike, their poor communication prevents them from seeing what the other person has done for them. However, Ishigami makes it clear that he had no romantic feelings for Iino when he sent her the letter, although he does plan to use it as his trump card once he finally gets the guts to confess to her since he knows how much it meant to her.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: Okay, so Otomo isn't really bad, but she still catches his attention during the Sports Festival just to belittle him for what she thinks he did. He utterly shuts her down with three simple words.
  "Shut up, stupid."
• Significant Birth Date: His is on March 3rd, the day of Hinamatsuri. It's even more significant due to the fact that he shares it with Fujiwara, which is something that she hates.
• Silent Scapegoat: He allowed the school body to consider him a violent stalker rather than risk Kyoko's boyfriend retaliating against her or even just having her hurt by the knowledge of what he'd done. However, he could not bring himself to give a false apology for something he hadn't done, which unnerved the boyfriend enough that he kept a distance from Kyoko anyway. After Otomo returns to his life, however, the student council and the school's most influential students spread the word about the truth, allowing Ishigami to leave his pariah status in the dust.
• Single Guy Seeks Most Popular Girl: He has a crush on Tsubame, and actually acknowledges that she is completely out of his league. If it wasn't for Kaguya's encouragement, he never would have even bothered pursuing her.
• The Smart Guy: In his role as treasurer. While not necessarily the most intelligent member of the student council, he's certainly the geekiest, and his knowledge of mathematics and accounting makes him indispensable.
• Spanner in the Works: In Chapter 54 when he reveals that he also got Shirogane a birthday present, this quickly shifts the conversation from Kaguya keeping Shirogane's birthday secret to Fujiwara being the only member of the student council that didn't know his birthday.
• Spared by the Adaptation: In The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, Isonokami no Maro fell to his death while trying to get a swallow's cowry from a tree. While Ishigami also falls after Tsubame turns down his first (well, second) Love Confession, he survives none the worse for wear thanks to Iino's intervention.
• Speaking Like Totally Teen: In Chapter 115 and later in Chapter 154, Ishigami tries to fit in with Tsubame and the other "normies" by using slang, but Onodera points out that what he picked up is outdated and makes him sound like an old man. It also doesn't help him understand Tsubame speaking in absolutely incomprehensible terms.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: In Chapter 39, he abruptly manifests to interrupt a conversation between Kaguya and Kei, who had thought they were alone in the room.
• Stalker with a Crush: He's a social pariah because it's rumored he beat up the boyfriend of a girl he liked. The truth is more complicated: He considered the girl one of his only friends, so when he found out her boyfriend Ogino was cheating on her and being super sleazy about it he attacked him. Ogino was more popular and a good actor, so he managed to spin the situation into being attacked by a stalker but loyally sticking by his girlfriend. Fortunately, Ishigami's friends managed to turn the tables, and he is in far better standing with the student body by the end of the story.
• The Stoic: Zig-Zagged Trope. He normally speaks in a quiet, dull voice to emphasize his depressive behavior, accompanied by lifeless eyes and an uninterested expression, but it often gets subverted a lot in that he is prone to frequent emotional outbursts of various kinds.
• Straight Man: Is often the one calling out his fellow student council members (particularly Fujiwara) for their antics, and in fact, this is how he gets back to normal after Tsubame rejects him.
• Straw Misogynist: The council's arm-wrestling tournament is set up by Fujiwara questioning his masculinity for struggling to carry a desk, which he derides as sexist. He then starts boasting that he couldn't possibly lose to a girl, casually agreeing to handicap himself with his left hand to accommodate for Kaguya... only to find he can't budge her arm an inch because she's built up more muscle from archery.
• Tall Poppy Syndrome: He feels intense hatred for students and groups perceived as popular, and once tells Shirogane to tax them for being happy and successful. Due to his Nice Guy nature, however, Shirogane refuses.
• Tears of Joy: He sheds them when Shirogane personally said he wasn't wrong for trying to help Otomo in Chapter 89.
• Throw the Dog a Bone:
  • In Chapter 54, Kaguya sincerely thanks him for unknowingly helping her. Of course, Ishigami just thinks he pissed her off.
  • In Chapter 57, Ishigami spends most of the chapter on the sideline snarking at Shirogane and Fujiwara while Kaguya is too miserable to pay attention to him. He even admits that he had a good time.
  • Ishigami is the only one of the three people Kaguya asks for love advice that actually gives her a satisfactory answer in Chapter 64. Of course, some shade is thrown his way, but he straight-up ignores it.
  • The entirety of Chapter 90 is one for him. While he didn't win the relay race, no one blamed him for losing and instead cheered him for getting second place. He realizes that the cheer group is made up of good people and finally sees their faces as he enjoys the rest of the sports festival.
  • Chapter 174 gives one towards his relationship with Iino, where after unintentionally complimenting her handwriting, she treats him nicer; Wiping off some water he spilled, getting him some coffee milk, and even letting him play an exercise video game in front of her. They even bond over video games.
  • Chapter 198, despite some initial difficulty studying, through the support of his friends and his own efforts, Ishigami manages to to rank 37th on his final exam, fulfilling his promise to make the top 50
• Took a Level in Badass:
  • Downplayed when he wanted to impress Tsubame by taking up exercises to bulk up. Even after Tsubame rejects his feelings, Ishigami continues his workout routine.
  • Played straight when he confronts Oko, who attempts to hit Kaguya, only for Ishigami to grab the elder brother's arm to prevent him from hurting Kaguya. This is a stark contrast to his pre-character development state, in which he would not only fear Kaguya, but at the same time, he would be too timid to even confront Oko, who ironically, is also a coward by default.
  • By Chapter 278 Ishigami rises to the rank of vice-president to Iino's president. Becoming very well respected by the school and his fellow Student Council members.
• Took a Level in Cheerfulness: Ishigami was once a depressed and cynical student with no hopes for the future. However, ever since his Character Development kicked in, he not only becomes more optimistic in his life, but at the same time, he was able to find a lot of happiness in his life by being with the people he loves.
• Too Much Alike: Both Iino and Ishigami secretly protect each other and share similar views on justice and altruism, but since neither has the intention to tell the other person what they are doing, everything they do and say to each other ends up being received as hostile and causes misunderstandings.
• Tritagonist: Gets more focus and Character Development than anyone beyond the main duo, especially from the Sports Festival arc onwards, where the series begins following his own romantic endeavors with Tsubame and Iino.
• Tsundere: For all his talk about disliking Iino, he goes through a lot to protect her from public humiliation and declares her his Protectorate inwardly. When Shirogane asks if she's a possibility for dating, he even blushes and smiles at the thought, but quickly reiterates that he definitely doesn't like her that way.
• Underdressed for the Occasion: Downplayed. He showed up to the second French exchange event in his school uniform, which is allowed by the dress code but still annoyed Iino because she went through the trouble of picking out a nice dress to wear. Fortunately, Kaguya knew him well enough at that point to figure that something like that would happen and had Hayasaka prepare a suit in advance for him to change into.
• Undying Loyalty: For Shirogane. Giving someone validation for actions that all but broke them will do that to a guy. If Hayasaka's vision of the future is accurate, he gets a job at Shirogane's company so he can continue working under him well into his adult years. This is confirmed at the end of the story, where despite not graduating yet, Ishigami promises to do so and become an employee for his former Class President.
• The Un-Favourite: Chapter 111 gives a reason for his carelessness about his studies, even before the middle school incident: his parents just don't care about his work, and his elder brother will inherit company leadership.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Ishigami's talk about preference in girls' chests in Chapter 215 with Shirogane leads to an incident where Kaguya eavesdrops on Shirogane, Tsubasa, and Mikado conversing on the same topic. The narrator noted that this will have an impact on their later relationship in the future, starting in 217 when Kaguya started to have perverted thoughts of Shirogane.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: He goes out of his way to help Iino and cares a great deal about her happiness and dignity, in spite of their obvious dislike for each other. He has stated that while he dislikes her, he admires her determination.
• Wants a Prize for Basic Decency: Deep, deep down, he really does want a girl to like him simply because he was nice to her, but he keeps this to himself. In his tie-in short story, he mentions that he's saving up his reveal as Iino's Anonymous Benefactor for a special moment so she can't possibly say no to dating him. Played with in that he's not portrayed as a bad person for these desires, but a lot more selfish than he lets on and ultimately more human in romance.
• We Used to Be Friends: He and Iino were actually friends back in middle school, though she still busted his chops whenever he played video games at school. Then the incident with Otomo happened, and when Iino directly confronted him hoping for some answers, he coldly refused to comment, creating a rift between them that wouldn't mend until well into their shared term on the student council.
• What You Are in the Dark: In order to help Ishigami stayed focused on studying, Kaguya gives him an electronic lock that doesn't open until the timer it's set to expires, which is also connected to her phone so that she'll know whether or not he's using it. Using this, Ishigami is to lock himself inside a small room with nothing but his textbooks and notes so that he'll have nothing to do but study. A few days into this, Ishigami realizes that he could just close the lock without actually hooking it up to the door and Kaguya would never know. He's tempted by the idea, but locks the door anyway, believing that he has more self-respect than that.
• Would Hit a Girl: Ishigami's method of rebooting Iino's defense system against boys trying to pick her up with cheap compliments is a Dope Slap. Tsubame sees him doing this, but fortunately, Kaguya is there for damage control.
• Wrongfully Accused: He was accused of stalking a girl he liked and getting into a fight with her boyfriend, making her transfer schools from all the commotion. However, some of this is on him; he never even tried to clear up the misunderstanding, making everyone accept the rumor as fact, though this is attributed to the threat of Otomo's boyfriend about hurting her (specifically, by releasing a recording of her having sex with him) if he let anything leak. The efforts of his friends quickly put this to an end, giving Ishigami a much better ending towards the final parts of the story.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: This is the reason he admires Shirogane, Kaguya, and Tsubame so much, as they chose to see the best of him and made him arise from the emotional nadir he sunk into back in middle school.
• Zero-Approval Gambit: He tends to try to protect others from humiliation or persecution by redirecting it toward himself, such as by embarrassing himself to make someone else notice and avoid an embarrassing mistake or insulting people who bad-mouth someone so that they turn their attention to him. In particular, while he didn't intend to become a pariah falsely accused of stalking Otomo, he did choose afterward to endure all the pain and persecution, accepting possibly the worst reputation in the school just to keep her from being hurt. Fortunately for Ishigami, his friends in the council and out of it are more than willing to understand the situation, and never fail to help him when he needs it the most.

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