The characters of the anime and manga series Kimi ni Todoke.
Some unmarked spoilers follow, including events in the manga not covered by the anime.
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Main Characters
Sawako "Sadako" Kuronuma
An exercise in contrast.
Motto: "Do one good deed each day."
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese), Xanthe Huynh (English)
A scary-looking, but incredibly kindhearted girl. Her resemblance to Sadako from The Ring has made her fellow classmates shun her for many years.
- All-Loving Heroine: A pure-hearted girl who finds compassion in everyone even if said people try to humiliate her.
- Animals Hate Her: She mentions animals really dislike her when she and Kazehaya first pick up Maru together. She grows on Maru though.
- Bait-and-Switch Sentiment: Does this when she and the girls are in Ryu's room; she tells Ryu she "likes" him, sending Ayane and Chizu into shock while Ryu remains unfazed. Then the girls ask her how she thinks of them, and Sawako promptly replies with, "Love!" When asked about Kazehaya, Sawako (who's not aware of her feelings for him yet) simply stares blankly, turns red and says, "...L-Love I guess?", making the girls wonder if it's the same love for them or not. This gets her into trouble further down the line, as both her and Kazehaya misinterpret their liking of each other as two entirely different types of "like".
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Toward Kazehaya. Her admiration for him is due to him being the few who treat her like everyone else instead of avoiding her like most do.
- Betty and Veronica: Betty (the sweet Girl Next Door-like personality) to Kurumi's Veronica (an icy and (initially) bitchy personality).
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: She does her best to help out in every single way, whether it be volunteering to help out in class (especially if no one else wants to) or picking up the trash while exercising. Her motto is "one good deed a day".
- Chronic Self-Deprecation: She really lacks self-esteem.
- Comically Missing the Point: Somewhat justified due to her lack of social skills which has made her naive and unable to pick up clues. To her advantage, it also keeps her immune from Kurumi's manipulations.
- The Comically Serious:
- Will do this when she doesn't quite get things and takes a light matter seriously.
- She seldom smiles, even when she's ecstatic, leading to many, many misunderstandings.
- Conveniently Seated: She sits on the second-last seat with the window on the left, with Kazehaya sitting next to her. Subverted in that her friends all made it a point to choose to sit near her despite the superstitious stigma surrounding her.
- Cuteness Proximity: Really adores cute things. Unfortunately, cute hairstyles just don't suit her, and cute animals hate her.
- Ditzy Genius: She's actually very smart and does very well academically, but often lacks common sense due to her Friendless Background.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Her pale skin and black hair, along with The Unsmile, makes her too creepy for people's liking.
- Entertainingly Wrong: The main ethos of her characterization. Sawako tends to arrive to the wrong conclusions in almost every interaction she is involved in, because she lacks the experience to know better. As such, she operates at a degree of awareness below her friends and fellow classmates, arriving to logical conclusions with the scarce information she was able to pick up, if any at all. She is about five steps behind whatever is being discussed by default. This is eventually Subverted when it's her, yes, her, who realizes that Ayane has a crush on Pin
- Extreme Doormat: Normally she's quick to apologise for anything she does that she thinks is offensive and rarely stands up for herself. She starts to defy this as part of her Character Development, for example when she refused to help Kurumi get together with Kazehaya, on the basis that she also has feelings for him.
- Face of a Thug: Her face is found to be creepily ghost-like by many, especially since she resembles Sadako from The Ring.
- Flash Step: Can be really fast.
- Friendless Background: Besides her childhood friend Shino-chan, she has no friends prior to the story. Making friends is one of her goals when she's introduced.
- Girlish Pigtails: During sports activities she usually dons these hairstyles which makes her even cuter.
- Hero-Worshipper: Towards Kazehaya. He has to tell her repeatedly that he's not in the pedestal that she puts him on, trying to hint that he's there for her taking; thing is, she's not a girl whose mind works with hints.
- Heroes Love Dogs: She mentions that her favourite animal is the dog.
- The Heroine: The female protagonist of the story.
- Hidden Depths: She is really smart academically and has the makings of an excellent teacher. She singlehandedly brought up the average scores for her class with her tutoring.
- Hime Cut: Long hair, sidetails black bangs and all, plus is also a Yamato Nadeshiko. Like the character page says, it is an exercise in contrast between Japanese style ghost and Yamato Nadeshiko.
- I Can't Believe a Guy Like You Would Notice Me: She's shocked when the popular Kazehaya runs out to talk to her in the first chapter.
- I Just Want to Be Special: She actually wishes she could summon ghosts so she won't let down people's expectations.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: Due to her Friendless Background, one of her goals at the start of the series is to make friends.
- I'm Taking Her Home with Me!: The author herself has said she feels like Sawako is her granddaughter.
- The Ingenue: Her naivety makes her a target for some bullying or otherwise. Chizuru and Ayane even tease about her "300% innocence".
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: She's kindness and innocence personified, and is an incredibly selfless and good person.
- Ironic Name: Played with. Sawako translates to "pleasant". It is accurate, but most others think it's an ironic name because she intimidates them.
- Literal-Minded: Painfully so. Ayane and Pin warn Kazehaya that Sawako is not the kind of girl that gets "hints" or "what ifs", so if he wants to get his point across, he has to say it loud and clear; Ayane even warns him that if he neglects to do so, Sawako will default to her "normal" lonely self.
- Mistaken for Undead: Her resemblance in appearance and name to The Ring's Sadako creeps people out since they mistake her for a Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl.
- Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: Her classmates think she's out to get everyone with her curses, but she's really a simple girl who genuinely wants to help and befriend everyone.
- Nice Girl: You'll be hard-pressed in trying to find a girl nicer than Sawako.
- Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: Often and unintentionally. For example whenever she forces a smile out of herself to look cheerful, it just comes out as The Unsmile which freaks people out.
- No Social Skills: Lacks the knowledge of typical social conduct due to her Friendless Background. Examples include her passing a note Kazhaya passed to her to Ryu in class and her marvelling at the how people are promoted to a First-Name Basis when they become good friends.
- Oblivious to Love:
- She's utterly oblivious to Kazahaya's huge crush on her and she has a hard time realizing her feelings for him are not mere admiration.
- On a more friendly level of love, she's initially unaware of how much Ayane and Chizu love her and care for her until they actually spell it out for her.
- Oh, Crap!: Due to the fact she takes everything as Serious Business, she's prone to moments where she realizes she's done something wrong.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Everyone calls her Sadako except for the main characters and her family. Several of her classmates even express surprise that Sadako isn't her name.
- Perpetual Frowner: She looks very intimidating, and her classmates have commented that even whenever she is happy and making an effort not to shed Tender Tears, she looks like she's about to blow off her lid. Otherwise, she's an angel. This is lampshaded later when she attends the temple with Shota and she's dolled up, making a considerable effort not to cry so that the makeup that Ayane put on her doesn't run
◊.
A major narrative theme is that each successive year, she becomes less and less this, and finds herself smiling from the bottom of her heart more and more. By the time she's going to the educator's University, she's become so incredibly cheerful that her best foot is always forward, and she's well liked among her classmates. - The Pollyanna: She's always trying to see the best in people, even in Kurumi despite outright stating she's there to compete for Kazehaya's affections.
- Poor Communication Kills: Not only at the romantic level - her unintentional falling out with Chizu and Ayane would have been avoided if she's just clear with her feelings for them.
- Serious Business: Everything - whether it be seriously going along with playing the part of the ghost when Ayane and Chizu only jokingly suggested it or her reaction to receiving a phone-call from a friend.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Ayane and Chizu make the effort of dolling her up for what would become a birthday/New Year's date with Kazehaya. It does its job - Kazehaya becomes more flustered than usual. Though, in all honesty, all she really needs to clean up is to smile in a non-awkward way.
- Shipper on Deck: Supports Chizu/Ryu.
- Shout-Out: The red track pants and grey sweater is the usual outfit of fellow frightening looking loner who cleans up nicely, Sunako Nakahara◊ from The Wallflower. The two couldn't be more different however: Sunako's given up on human interaction and constantly bickering with Kyohei; while Sawako just wants to make friends and oblivious to Kazehaya's feelings for her despite her own blossoming crush on him.
- Shrinking Violet: She's mostly low-key, a bit shy and very gentle.
- Single Girl Seeks Most Popular Guy: She admires Kazehaya's popularity and comes to crush on him.
- Single-Target Sexuality: Kazehaya is her first and only love.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Falls for Kazehaya who is both popular and a Nice Guy.
- Tender Tears: A frequent reaction of hers, for example in a flashback in episode 2 when she's tells Kazehaya (with Played for Laughs tears streaming down her face) how much she respects him.
- Terrible Artist: Chizu cries out of laughter when she first sees Sawako's drawing, and when Sawako demonstrates her skills for Pin he simply comments, "Give up, there's no hope for you [as an artist]."
- Textile Work Is Feminine: Sawako is a skilled seamstress who lovingly crafts hand-made presents for friends and family.
- Too Dumb to Fool: Kurumi's attempts at manipulating her fall extraordinarily flat because Sawako keeps Comically Missing the Point.
- Twice Shy: With Kazehaya - they're both in love with each other but refuse to outright admit it and don't think the other feels the same. Yes, this drives their friends nuts too.
- The Unsmile: This is how her smiles look when she's trying to force one out of herself. This is even lampshaded at one point in the manga, when Chizu gets scared at Sawako swooning while looking like this. Sawako can only say "...I thought I was smiling..."
- When She Smiles: Her classmates are pleasantly surprised whenever she smiles, but only when she has a genuine reason to do so, otherwise...
- Yamato Nadeshiko: Sawako is a fine example of this trope. First of all she looks the part with the black hair and Hime Cut. Second she's kind and helpful to the point of Extreme Doormat but not entirely pilable. Third she takes turns cooking for her family and is a good cook to boot.
Shota Kazehaya
As nice as he looks... mostly.
Motto: "Be guided by the truth."
Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa (Japanese), Khoi Dao (English)
Sawako's classmate and the most popular guy in school. On the first day of school, he got lost and was given directions by Sawako. He has since admired her and developed a crush on her, and is apparently the first person to ever stick around Sawako long enough for her to clear up a misunderstanding, and give her a confidence boost necessary to make more new friends.
- Betty and Veronica: Betty (the reliable and popular Nice Guy) to Kento's Veronica (flirty and mischievous).
- Butt-Monkey: Ayane (plus occasionally Chizuru) and Pin's favourite guy to pester.
- Chaste Hero: He wasn't interested in dating during his middle school days, much to the girls' frustration.
- Chick Magnet: Has a hoard of fangirls, to the point the girls agree with Kurumi to "share Kazehaya with everyone".
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Downplayed. It doesn't sit well with him whenever Sawako hands out or does something in particular with another guy (or even her own friends), but it’s a less expressed trait that’s presented more as humanizing than anything else. He expresses in his own words that he's got a selfish side, and underneath he's not as 'purely'-nice as everyone thinks.
- Deuteragonist: The most vital character after Sawako in the series. It's through him that Ayane and Chizu befriend Sawako, for one.
- Everyone Can See It: His feelings for Sawako are pretty obvious to everyone, save a few Oblivious to Love characters (including Sawako herself, unfortunately for him).
- Friend to All Living Things: Judging from how Maru instinctively likes him (and hates Sawako who wants to be this).
- Good Is Dumb: Or very naive, at least; the author even said she wanted to make a "guy who is so nice that he's dumb".
- Green-Eyed Epiphany: Over Kento Miura, when he comes across Kento badly comforting Sawako and a bunch of other guys also come along find them, which gets Kazehaya to admit that yes he does like Sawako. No one can really take it seriously though.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Ryu, his childhood friend... and also with Joe whom he also constantly hangs out with, unfortunately for the fandom.
- Hidden Depths: A lot of previous statements he's made about himself start being developed after the field trip to Okinawa, since his Almost Kiss with Sawako jumpstarts a massive internal conflict where he's caught between treasuring her carefully and his own desire to rush things, as well as between how Sawako sees him versus how he sees himself. Additionally, the shift towards discussions of careers and college also reveals a lot about his how he feels about all of his interpersonal relationships and his motivations for some of the choices he's made, such as quitting baseball so he can help out at home and avoid hating the sport due to his hardass baseball coach dad.
- Keet: A gentle and cute guy.
- Knight in Shining Armor: In training - he's a Nice Guy, well-mannered, chivalrous to girls without misleading them, and does his best to help out his classmates and their woes. It's how both Kurumi and Sawako fell for him - according to both of them, he's "a person who can't leave anyone in trouble alone".
- The Lancer: To Sawako. While she's (intially) friendless and often scares everyone, Kazehaya is the popular guy who draws everyone to him - and he becomes one of Sawako's closest friends.
- Love at First Sight: He fell in love with Sawako when he first met her and as soon as he saw her smile.
- Love Confession: He actually tries to ask Sawako out early on, but since he asks her indirectly she doesn't understand.
- Love Makes You Dumb: He's a pillar of confidence and a stalwart friend to lean on... except when it comes to his affections toward Sawako. When he's with her, he turns into jello. He even states that whenever he's with her, he can't think clearly.
- Luminescent Blush: Prone to blushing a lot when he's talking with Sawako.
- Nice Guy: Genuinely cares about his classmates, all of them, no matter where they are on the scales.
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Gender-inverted and downplayed, he's an optimistic and "refreshing" boy who gives some much-needed encouragement to the shy and reluctant Sawako.
- Noodle Incident: Pin owns a whole list of Noodle Incidents of Kazehaya (two of which are revealed in the Valentine's Day episode), ready to blackmail him with them when he wants to make the boy his servant.
- Pretty Boy: Very popular for this good looks, nice face and lean body and all.
- Single-Target Sexuality: Sawako is the only girl he's ever shown a hint of attraction towards.
- Twice Shy: With Sawako - they're both in love with each other but refuse to outright admit it and don't think the other feels the same. Yes, this drives their friends nuts too.
Ayane Yano
The girl behind the curtain.
Motto: "Handsomeness."
Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese), Erica Mendez (English)
Sawako's closest friend along with Chizuru. At face value, Ayane seems like a perfect Alpha Bitch, but is actually deeply concerned for her friends' wellbeing.
- Amicable Exes: With Kent by the end of the manga, as they still value each other as friends in spite of no longer being a couple.
- Cool Big Sis: The most mature of the group, especially in relationships. A variant as she's no older than the rest of the pack.
- Deadpan Snarker: Often snarks with a complete straight face.Sawako: (her first attempt to call her friends by their first names) A-A-A-A-Ayane-chan... Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Chizu-chan...
Ayane: I think you added a few extra A's and Ch's there. - Did Not Get The Guy: Towards the final stretch of the manga, all the Ship Tease with Pin finally pays off, and she realizes that she has a crush on him. However, when she confesses her feelings to him, Pin does what he did with Kurumi, and shoots her down.
- Evil Laugh: Often sports a sinister laugh when she's plotting something. Even Chizuru is scared of her when she does that.
- Good Bad Girl: Of a more G-rated kind, she's a genuinely nice girl but has gone out with a lot of guys and is quite casual about kissing a guy she barely knows.
- Subverted: she's definitely not ok with him anticipating "something more".
- Hidden Depths: Despite her Cool Big Sis status, she has has terrible insecurities about herself including how she doesn't like herself much and how she's never been in love, and later chapters show she's genuinely interested in going to Tokyo University.
- I Am Not Pretty: She says this in chapter 61 when she reveals her insecurities over her personality and looks.
- Lovable Alpha Bitch: She's fastidious about her appearances and socially adept, but turns out to be very kind.
- Manipulative Bitch: She's manipulative towards others for her own convenience - and (usually) in a positive sense. She would make a great scheming shoujo manga villian, but fortunately she's on Sawako's side.
- Not What It Looks Like: In the manga, when Pin sees Ayane with a swollen cheek (after having been slapped by her college ex-boyfriend for suggesting to break up), he automatically assumes a guy in the class did it.
- Official Couple: Dates Kent later, until Chapter 95 where their issues finally come to surface and they amicably break up.
- Self-Deprecation: She constantly complains about how she always blames others, runs away from her problems and calls herself a sly and terrible person.
- Ship Tease:
- She's often put in romantic moments with Pin of all of people, bordering on Belligerent Sexual Tension. She realizes she has a crush on him late in the series and eventually confesses to him, but is rejected.
- She and Kent get many romantic hints in Chapters 51 and 59 when they have some heart-to-heart moments, and they become official later on but break up eventually.
- Seems to have a Third-Option Love Interest in Chapter 54 in Mogi, but this sinks in Chapter 59 when he's revealed to be toying with her.
- Slasher Smile: Sometimes smiles in a rather threatening way. You better run, Kurumi.
- The Smart Girl: She's normally the one who figures out certain situations such as Kurumi's deal and just what the hell happened in Sawako and Kazehaya's feud.
- Straight Man: The more level-headed one who deals with Chizu's antics.
- The Strategist: She does her best to come up with realistic and reliable strategities to help out others, such as the way she deals with Kurumi. She even manages to make Pin put her in the same class as her group... by bribing him.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Considered as 'cold' and 'arrogant' by her classmates at first, but is really kind and caring person... unless you make an enemy out of her, that is.
- Team Mom: The more mature one of the group who deals with the character's emotional troubles and takes care of them (the girls anyways).
- Surrounded by Idiots: She acts as the Only Sane Man often when Chizu and Sawako have their oblivious moments.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Girly Girl (more level-headed, promiscuous and in feminine clothing), sort of, to Chizu's Tomboy (rough, tough, loud and in boyish clothing).
- Trickster Mentor: Has sprinklings of this; that is, intentionally tricking or being outright mean to Sawako, but purely for the sake of helping her and Kazehaya out. She also teases Kazehaya with the fact that as a girl, she can be more physical and affectionate towards Sawako than him, who has to keep his distance at first.
- Urban Legend Love Life: While rumored to have got around in middle school, Ayane frequently dates and at one point has a college boyfriend. However, when she suggests breaking up, her boyfriend slaps her. Despite his apologies, she breaks up with him anyway because of how clingy he's been acting.
- Vitriolic Best Buds:
- With Kurumi in cram school later on in the manga. The two trade quips but are otherwise quite comfortable with each other, which actually makes a lot of sense.
- With Pin, even though they get on each other's nerves in almost all of their interactions. Pin tends to provide uncharacteristically good advice and seems to be nurturing towards her more than to the rest of his students. She develops a crush on him but is gently rejected when she confesses to him.
- Younger than She Looks: As the author herself pointed out, Yano looks about ten years older than she is. Also, at the first day in the high school, Chizuru referred to her as 'sempai'.
Chizuru "Chizu/Chi" Yoshida
Smile. You'll live longer.
Motto: "Eat in moderation."
Voiced by: Yuko Sanpei (Japanese), Morgan Berry (English)
Ayane's other half, and the more physical of the duo. Chizu shares most of Ayane's concerns regarding Sawako. She shows great athletic prowess and occasionally suffers lapses in "ladylike"-ness. Chizu also displays romantic interest in Ryu's brother.
- Affectionate Nickname: Ryu's brother Toru has called her Chi since she was little due to the Like Brother and Sister nature of their relationship. His reason for it? Because one (or at least Toru) can't help but smile when saying it.
- Berserk Button: She will not abide for Sawako even remotely suggesting that she and Ayane became her friends out of pity, and tells her that by belittling herself, she's belittling them too.
- Best Her to Bed Her: From the early in the series when we learn that Ryu is the only guy she's never defeated, we can guess what's going on. And then, in chapter 51 when she holds an arm-wrestling competition, he's the only guy to beat her and wins himself a "date" with her.
- The Big Girl: The taller of the female trio and also the most athletic.
- Book Dumb: Moreso in the manga where her bad grades is a reoccurring topic. To the point that when Sawako is tutoring everyone, their classmates comment that she must be really good if she can get even Chizu to understand the content.
- Childhood Friend Romance:
- She's had a crush on her childhood friend and big brother figure Tooru Sanada since she was little.
- Is dating Ryu as of chapter 88.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Her way of thinking is strange, especially with food. She even puts down "ramen" when writing down what she wants to be when older.
- Comically Missing the Point: Normally not at Sawako's level, but still does it frequently. When it comes to Love Interests sheactually is worse than Sawako, as she somehow misses that Kazehaya likes Sawako and concludes that Kurumi likes Ryu.
- The Ditz: Most of the time she's Book Dumb and misses the point, although some scenes suggest otherwise.
- Genki Girl: Cheerful and possesses endless amount of energy.
- Girl Next Door: A nice girl and childhood friend to Ryu.
- Green-Eyed Monster: When she starts to realize that she has feelings for Ryu, she can get rather irritated when the topic turns to other girls having an interest in him.
- Hidden Depths: She doesn't quite look the part, but she's The Heart of the group. It's not an understatement to say just how much she loves Sawako and Ayane, and how many tears they've pulled out of her.
- Hot-Blooded: Super-enthusiastic and always puts her 110% into everything, especially if sports is involved.
- Huge Schoolgirl: Sawako's dad is pretty intimidated when he first answers the door to her, seeing as how she towers over him. She's fairly leveled with the boys, though.
- Idiot Hair: Has a strand of hair popping up on occasion, and it's more prominent at sometimes than others. It's not always unfitting, either.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Desperately, desperately tries to feel this way after the revelation that Ryu plans on going away to university and fails miserably, to the point where she tries to wish him luck and breaks down crying, begging him not to go.
- Nice Girl: Once you get past the rumors and her brashness, she's a cutie pie.
- Oblivious to Love: She doesn't know Kazehaya also likes Sawako despite it being glaringly obvious to everyone else, and she doesn't even suspect that Ryu had feelings for her, either (she had eyes for Toru instead). The latter might not seem so surprising given Ryu's nature, but considering how close the pair are and the fact that they've known each other forever, you'd think she'd have figured it out a bit sooner.
- One of the Boys: Until high school she hung out mostly with Kazehaya and Ryu and was considered by female classmates as their 'guy friend'.
- Platonic Life-Partners: How she feels about Ryu until later on. Like she says, regardless of who they marry and whether they ave kids, she thinks she'll always be together with him "without dating each other".
- Plucky Girl: Optimistic and will never back down.
- She Cleans Up Nicely:
- She's absolutely gorgeous◊ at Tooru's wedding where she dolls up.
- She's equally cute at the Christmas party◊ where she dresses more nicely than usual.
- She's absolutely gorgeous
- Shorttank: Feisty and constantly sports a tank-top or shorts. Hilariously lampshaded when she shows off to Tooru her school miniskirt and instead of impressing him he just comments how she's always shown off her legs since childhood due to her shorts.
- Tender Tears: Chizu is very sensitive, and as a person that wears her emotions on her sleeve she cries more frequently than one might think. It doesn't take much to pluck her heartstrings.
- Tomboy with a Girly Streak: She's a sporty loud girl who dresses boyishly sportishly. At one point however she's so used to dressing up in boyish clothing her plan to wear a mini-skirt is a big plot point as she hopes to do it to catch Tooru's attention. She also actually wears a dress when attending Tooru's wedding.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Tomboy (rough, tough, loud and in boyish clothing) to Yano's Girly Girl (more level-headed, promiscuous and in feminine clothing).
- Trademark Favorite Food: Developed a love for ramen after constantly visiting Ryu's family ramen shop in her childhood. A background conversation even details her wish to "be a ramen" when she grows up.
- Tsundere: Rough with Ryu but she cares about him enough to worry about his birthday present and how he's feeling.
- Violently Protective Girlfriend: As a child she had a big problem with anybody speaking negatively about Ryu, although of course she wasn't his girlfriend at the time.
- You Go, Girl!: Her beating up 99 guys in a row in middle school should say enough.
Ryu Sanada
Quiet.
Motto: "A man of action, not words."
Voiced by: Yūichi Nakamura (Japanese), Ray Chase (English)
Mostly silent, athletic, and non-judgmental classmate of the others. The few things he does say range from hilarious non-sequiturs to insightful meditations on human nature. He's in love with Chizu, and has been for a very long time.
- Asleep in Class: He's napping in most lessons, especially in early episodes.
- Brutal Honesty: Although any offense caused with it isn't really out of spite. He's just really not any good at telling lies, as Chizu's all too quick to point out.
- Childhood Friend Romance: He's been crushing on Chizu since childhood. They become official as of chapter 88.
- Cuteness Proximity: He really loves dogs and has a soft spot for Maru.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Downplayed, his mother died during his childhood.
- Establishing Character Moment: Takes his assigned seat behind Sawako without protest. This is before he even becomes friends with her.
- First-Name Basis: Only the polite Sawako reminds the audience what Ryu's surname is.
- Gentle Giant: Seems kind of intimidating at first due to his athletic build and stoic face, but he's actually really nice.
- The Heart: He's the first to defuse intense situations among his friends.
- Heavy Sleeper: Neither Pin's yelling, Kazehaya slapping his desk, nor karaoke seems to disturb the depths of Ryu's sleep.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Close friend to Kazehaya whom he's known since young.
- Malaproper: In regards to names. "...Kuroyama Takako?"
- Like Brother and Sister: He has this kind of relationship with Chizu for most of the time they've known each other, though it's not what he's aiming for in terms of what he wants with her.
- Not So Stoic: Occasionally breaks his emotionless demeanour, most notably in a flashback to his childhood when both he and Chizu break down in tears after the death of his mother.
- Only Sane Man: The most calm and straight-forward friend. Yes, he's able to play that role in a group whose members aren't insane by any meaning.
- Patient Childhood Love Interest: Isn't fussed by having to wait for love-interest Chizuru, who's been very Oblivious to Love since forever.
- The Quiet One: Ryu is a boy of few words. It doesn't help he's napping half the time.
- Single-Target Sexuality: Presumably towards Chizu; he's never shown interest in anyone else, and when asked to describe his 'type', he basically just describes her. Not that she realises.
- Sleepyhead: If he's not doing anything important in a scene, chances are you'll spot him quietly nodding off in the background.
- The Stoic: He's nearly always straight-faced and nothing more.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Onigiri. Chizu remembers his mother's onigiri as being the best onigiri she's ever eaten. After his mother passes away, Chizu teaches herself how to make onigiri just as good, and he's seen eating them fairly often.
- The Quiet One: Even when he's not sleeping, he's a guy of few words.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Tall, dark eyes, black hair and a Bishōnen. When he isn't making his blobfaces anyways.
Kazuichi "Pin" Arai
Ruler of his own little world.
Motto: "I'm always right."
Voiced by: Yuki Ono (Japanese), Keith Silverstein (English)
Spiky-haired, slightly delinquent-looking young substitute teacher of Sawako's class. Usually acts loud, cheerful and full of himself and likes to order around Ryu and Kazehaya, whom he's known since the latter's childhood. Also has a strong fear of paranormal things and is extremely suspicious of Sawako (he doesn't know it, but he has fairly high spiritual sensitivity).
- Apathetic Teacher: Most of the time. Sometimes he seems to care about his pupils, but he mostly seems to expect them to get on with it and leave him to do his own thing.
- This character trait eventually drops out of the manga, as his Hidden Depths are slowly revealed.
- Big Brother Bully: This is gradually revealed to be the reason why he loves picking on Kazehaya and is so casual around Ryuu; due to the fact that he was coached by Kazehaya's dad, and played on the same teams as Tooru, he's close with both families. Even Kazehaya attributes Pin's teasing to this trope, in that he refers to it as something an older brother would do.
- Comedic Sociopathy: Sees some enjoyment to annoying his students or seeimg them suffer in some way, Played for Laughs. He especially likes bothering Kazehaya and threatening to spill his embarrassing childhood to everyone. He even keeps a photo of himself picking on a kid Kazehaya, who was crying after losing a game.
- Cool Teacher: What he thinks he is, and what he isn't most of the time due to his embarrassing nature. He does start to show genuine shades of this when he actually motivates his students with good advice and encouragement in regards to their careers and futures.
- Dumbass Has a Point: When he acts like an actual adult, he can give great advice from time to time.
- Hidden Depths:
- Surprisingly, despite being as immature as he is, his advice is very helpful to both Sawako and Kazehaya, though his ego often takes over after he realizes he said something good.
- He even has a Pet the Dog moment with Ayane despite his usual apathetic attitude towards his students, showing he doesn't always ignore their troubles.
- In spite of constantly flirting with older women — especially the tour guide at their class trip to Okinawa — he reveals to Ayane that he has seriously liked girls in the past.
- A very heartwarming conversation he has with Sawako at the Christmas party reveals that he pays much more attention to his pupils (and, particularly, our main six characters) than anyone realises. He tells Ayane that he purposely kept the student roster for the final two periods the same as in the first so that his students don't get cut off from their friends, though he claims that he doesn't intend to give Ayane the credit for the idea.
- The reveal that he was a talented baseball player in his last years of high school and was highly sought after by universities and even professionals, but he chose to not pursue a baseball career. Played for Laughs rumours of him arguing about money and whatnot aside, his answer as to why he chose to become teacher? "I wanted to do it again, I wanted to play high school baseball again", paired with the fact that he likes watching his students grow as people.
- Hot-Blooded: He's over-enthusiastic about everything, especially the school festivals. Except for teaching itself, maybe.
- Hot for Student: Invoked and shot down by Pin himself when Kurumi is "found out" to have feelings for him (he misunderstands why she's acting so anxious around him). On the other hand, a lot of Ship Tease occurs with Ayane, although he rejects her when she does confess to him.
- Idiot Hero: He considers himself a hero or the good-guy protagonist sometimes, but even if he is he's not really a smart nor rational one.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Most of the time he's quite insensitive. However, as a teacher he does have his share of wisdom, particularly when the protagonists become second years/11th graders. From the Chapter 70s, his students go to him for careers/university advice and it's clearly shown he actually really cares about their futures and wants to lead them to the right paths.
- Manchild: A classic Spoiled Brat in his late twenties/early thirties.
- Moment Killer: Oh so much. An example is when Sawako, Ayane and Chizu make up in the girls' bathroom and he comes running in, expecting a fight.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Everyone but Sawako calls him Pin instead of Arai-sensei.
- Pet the Dog: He can be quite the apathetic teacher to his students and will annoy them when he feels like it, but he has his moments:
- In Chapter 45 towards Ayane, when she confesses that she doesn't believe she's kind (compared to Sawako and Chizu) because of how cunning she can be in front of him. She dreads another obnoxious lecture from a surprisingly quiet Pin, who instead stares at a candy Ayane gave him because he was whining about not getting one after the festival. Then, Pin literally pats Ayane on the head and reassures her that she is kind before walking up the stairs, leaving Ayane (and the readers) speechless that Pin could actually BE a nicer guy than he usually shows.
- Throughout their second and third years of high school, Pin makes an effort to encourage his students in regards to their careers, and also intervenes in some situations where it's necessary, like Kento and Mogi fighting in the hallway in chapter 71.
- Chapter 93 has him giving Ayane, who is visibly distraught post-Kent-fight, a... kind of rain-covering thing to cover them from the heavy rain. This is followed by him giving her a much-needed wake-up call, as he scolds her saying no one lives their life without regret and tells her to "Regret it and learn from this experience!"
- Plucky Comic Relief: In the anime at least, he's normally used to break the mood.
- Sensei-chan: A Rare Male Example, he's pretty much even more immature than his own homeroom majority of the time.
- Shipper on Deck: Even Pin can see that Sawako and Shota have feelings for each other. In episode 17, he even almost manages to trick the two of them into having their first kiss. Now if only he'd told Sawako to keep her eyes closed for ten seconds instead of five...
- Small Name, Big Ego: Even literally too; he's a self-proclaimed "wonderful teacher" and "ladies-man", but not even his tiny nickname can hold onto that fake imagery.
- Too Dumb to Fool: Partially. He sees through Kurumi's sweet facade... only to misinterpret it in his own twisted way.
- Trash of the Titans: His own students once find themselves cleaning his apartment when they visit him while he's sick. Since he was asleep and woke up to find everything cleaned up, he thinks they had simply exorcised his apartment (context:he had run into Sawako at a video rental store, and then later got bedridden; he thought she had slighted him, and wanted her to come over and lift the "curse").
- Unkempt Beauty: When he gets sick (or finished showering), he doesn't bother gelling his hair, which actually makes him look more like an adult (and much better looking).
Ume "Kurumi" Kurumizawa
Voiced by: Aya Hirano (Japanese), Kayli Mills (English)
A manipulative girl (pre-Heel–Face Turn) with a former crush on Kazehaya. She prefers the nickname "Kurumi" over her despised first name Ume. She used this level of familiarity to gain Sawako's trust and sympathy. Her plan backfired, and instead led Sawako to acknowledge her own feelings for Kazehaya. She also started rumors about Yano and Yoshida, and pinned them on Sawako to break up their friendship, before Character Development slowly morphed her into a close friend of Sawako.
- Alpha Bitch: A variant, as she's one of the most popular girls at school but her bitchy personality isn't known publicly at first.
- Be Yourself: After her true colours are shown to Sawako, Ayane and Chizu as well as some Character Development, she decides to not force herself to be sweeter than she needs to be and opts for the more naturally icy and hotheaded personality.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: As it turns out, her reason for liking Kazehaya isn't so different from Sawako's. He was the only person to treat her as someone with feelings, and saw through her happy facade and noticed that she was hurting back in middle school.
- Betty and Veronica: Veronica (an icy and (initially) bitchy personality) to Sawako's Betty (the sweet Girl Next Door-like personality)
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She's an attractive girl with a sweet face and seemingly warm personality, but she's also revealed to be horribly manipulative who's not afraid to hurt others to get what she wants. She gets better.
- Bishie Sparkle: Surrounded by them to emphasise her beauty and bubbly nature in the beginning.
- Character Development: A little in Season 1 where she drops the cutesy nice act, opts for a more genuine personality and confesses to Kazehaya thanks to being inspired by Sawako. Much more in Season 2 due to her somewhat more mature approach to Kazehaya and Sawako's feelings, and taken even further in the manga as everyone prepares for university entrance exams and she's one of the many who's determined to get to the top, becoming a close friend and study partner to Sawako in the process. By the end of the series, she even confesses that the whole experience of losing Kazehaya to Sawako was worth it because she gained Sawako as a dear, irreplaceable friend in her life.
- The Bus Came Back: She makes no significant appearances for a long time after the last episode of the second anime and its manga counterpart. She finally returns several volumes later when everyone starts to think about universities and their future.
- Curtains Match the Window: Brown eyes and (light) brown hair.
- Defeat Means Friendship: After a fashion; Sawako, who doesn't really understand what being a rival is, treats her as a friend even after Kurumi reveals what she's done. Kurumi eventually warms up to her, and by the spinoff that puts her in center stage, she and Sawako have become Platonic Life-Partners.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": The whole reason she has everyone call her by her nickname Kurumi is because she hates her first name Ume. Whenever Sawako tries to use it she gets really hot-headed.
- Dude Magnet: During the Okinawa trip, she has been confessed to eight times.
- Embarrassing First Name: She hates her "old-lady" first name Ume which is why she has everyone call her Kurumi. The only one she lets call her that way is Kazehaya (but even so, only in private).Hmph. Suddenly that old lady name doesn't sound that bad...
- Everyone Has Standards: Post Character Development. When learning that Kurumi likes Kazehaya, Kent suggests that she assist him in winning Sawako's heart, as that would mean she might have a chance with Kazehaya. Kurumi's response is to slap him in the face and tell him to mind his own business.
- First-Name Basis: Subverted - to Sawako and the audience at the beginning it looks like this, until it's revealed she's just an Only Known by Their Nickname case since she hates her first name.
- Freudian Excuse: In short, Kurumi grew dishonest and bitchy after learning just how two-faced the girls around her were because they assumed she was like that too, and so she decided she might as well prove them right.
- Heel–Face Turn: Starts when she decides to stop the manipulative Bitch in Sheep's Clothing routine and just be herself. Later she's given a heartwarming redemption in the anime's finale, when she defends Sawako from a bunch of girls jealous of Sawako's relationship with Kazehaya. Progresses even further in the manga, becoming more of a friend to Sawako as they study together at cram school.
- Humiliation Conga: Soft-shoujo level, but Episode 13 sure gives her a hard time as not only does her plan to get Kazehaya to stop liking Kuronuma fail, but she also gets mistaken by Pin for having a crush on him and he rejects her... and Kazehaya catches the whole incident.
- Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: For all of her malicious intent, she isn't nearly as good at carrying out her schemes as she thought she was, leading them to fail spectacularly and leave her humiliated. One of the reasons behind her Heel–Face Turn is her own acceptance of the fact that she doesn't actually have what it takes to be the classic shojo Manipulative Bitch.
- Kawaiiko: Cute hair, cute clothes, cute face and a (fake) bubbly and affectionate personality. To the point it makes some people like Pin uncomfortable.
- Lovable Alpha Bitch: Post Character Development, she still retains her cranky and questionable personality but also becomes nicer (and it's genuine this time).
- Manipulative Bitch: Every shoujo needs one; she's the one who manipulates all the girls into supporting the "Kazehaya is for everyone" idea so she has less competition, and she plays with Sawako's sweet nature and innocence to try and drive her away from Kazehaya. She stops being one after her plans backfire spectacularly, making her realize she isn't very good at this.
- My God, What Have I Done?: By the time she returns in the manga, the guilt she feels over that rumor-starting business has increased to the point of self-loathing, and even though Sawako, Ayane and Chizuru forgave her for it a long time ago, it takes quite some time before Kurumi can actually accept their forgiveness without feeling like she doesn't deserve it.
- Put on a Bus: The point where the anime ended is her last appearance in the manga for a long time.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: She gives a much-needed one to Sawako when she learns that Sawako ducked out of confessing her love to Kazehaya. Thanks to Sawako's influence, Kurumi was able to confess her love to Kazehaya even though it was rejected, and she is naturally outraged that her Worthy Opponent of a rival lacks the courage to do the same. This ends up being the prime motivator behind Sawako actually confessing her love and becoming an Official Couple with Kazehaya.
- The Resenter: Initially resents Sawako for being the object of Kazehaya's affections instead of her. She grows out of it.
- The Rival: To Sawako, first for Kazehaya's love and later in academics (although that second one doesn't last long before they're just outright friends.)
- Romantic False Lead: Subverted. Kurumi tries to win Kazehaya's affection, and it's the failure of her ploy which brings Sawako and Kazehaya even closer. Sawako outright acknowledges that she and Kazehaya probably would have never become an Official Couple if it wasn't for Kurumi.
- Self-Deprecation: When she comes back to the manga after a long absence, she describes herself as having a "bad personality" several times, smiling rather sadly as she does. Sawako vehemently disagrees with her on this.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Crushes on Kazehaya, one of the most popular and nicest guys at school.
- Slave to PR: She's known as a sweet bubbly girl to the cohort so she's forced to maintain the cheerful face. When she drops the act, she feels way colder.
- Stalker with a Crush: A minor example, Kurumi keeps an eye on Kazehaya and goes to the same school as him just so she can keep doing so.
- Stepford Smiler: She acts cheerful to maintain her sweet facade but deep down she's a more cranky girl with a few problems.
- Then Let Me Be Evil: She wasn't a bad person at first, but the other girls in her middle school treated her as though she was a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing that it's perfectly fine to manipulate because she deserves it anyhow. Once Kurumi realized this, she decided that if that's how she was going to be seen, then what does she have to lose in actually being that way?
- Tsundere: Moreso later on, she acts more aloof and cranky but is also shown to be capable of being kind such as defending Sawako from some of Kazehaya's fangirls post-dating-news.
- Vitriolic Best Buds:
- Becomes more of this to Sawako in the manga after her true colours are revealed, with the vitriol being only on her part naturally. She still treats Sawako as a rival but the two become friendlier as time passes, to the point that she's noticeably shocked and even saddened when she finds out that she and Sawako will not go to the same universities. By the end of the manga, the vitriol has faded to the point where Kurumi openly admits to herself that she now cares more for her former rival-in-love than she does for the former object of said love.
- She and Ayane also seem to share this kind of relationship in later chapters when they go to the same cram school along with Sawako, though the vitriol is more even-handed on both parts.
- Worthy Opponent: She ends up considering Sawako this, and she's outright offended at how Sawako keeps bungling her confessions to Kazehaya when she herself was rejected; it's fair, knowing that at that very moment Kurumi sees Sawako as her equal in the same goal.
- Yandere: Played with - Manipulative Bitch though she may be, but she doesn't go Ax-Crazy if things go south, instead opting to sink into personal depression that Sawako helps lift her out of.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: A big part of her character in the latter parts of the manga - even after Sawako and her friends have forgiven her, Kurumi struggles with forgiving herself. Sawako, Ayane and Chizuru, on more than one occasion, make sure to let her know that what's past is past, and that she's a good person now.
Kento "Kent" Miura
Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano (Japanese), Landon McDonald (English)
A new classmate of Sawako in her second year, Kent becomes interested in Sawako and tries to help her connect to the class. Sawako's friendship with Kent causes Kazehaya to become jealous.
- Adaptational Jerkass: Perhaps it was the voice-work or a desire to give his "rivalry" with Kazehaya more weight, but the anime tended to portray him as more arrogant and insensitive at times compared to how he was written in the manga.
- Amicable Exes: With Ayane by the end of the manga, as they still value each other as friends in spite of no longer being a couple.
- Betty and Veronica: Veronica (flirty and mischievous) to Kazehaya's Betty (the reliable and popular Nice Guy).
- Beware the Nice Ones: He may be friendly and caring (in his own way) 90% of the time, but when he finds out how Ayane's ex-boyfriend Mogi treated her, he punches him.
- But Not Too Foreign: Played with. Because of his name and his eccentricities, Sawako initially thinks that he's at least part-American. He's too unabashed and too forward from the get-go, much unlike how a Japanese boy would behave.
- Chivalrous Pervert: Not really a pervert, but a flirt for sure.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: In the anime's first season, the main romantic rival Kurumi was a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing who was well aware of that fact, whose antagonism was born from insecurity, and who wasn't as competent at causing trouble as she thought. Kent, however, is an Obliviously Evil Nice Guy who manages to accidentally inflict more damage upon Kazehaya and Sawako's relationship than Kurumi could when she was intentionally trying to.
- Didn't See That Coming: When he interlopes between Kazehaya and Sawako, he was not expecting them to be that much in love with each other as they are.
- Entertainingly Wrong: When he argues that Kazehaya might have been in love with another girl, Kazehaya and Sawako had drifted apart, making it not as obvious for him to figure out until Kazehaya outright points it out. He made a totally valid, but wrong assumption with what he had gathered.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Kent seems to have reconciled with the fact that Kazehaya and Sawako are a couple, but he is depressed when he sees them having fun together at the beach in Chapter 51.
- Nice Guy: He genuinely means well, as seen when he tries to help Sawako connect to her class more. He just has a huge blind spot in how damaging his actions are, and how self-serving they truly at at their core.
- Not What It Looks Like: When Kazehaya stumbles upon Sawako crying and Kent holding her by the arms, he assumes the worst out of a very confused Kent, who's just trying to comfort Sawako.
- Obliviously Evil: He genuinely thinks he's doing right by everyone, especially Sawako, unwittingly becoming a Spanner in the Works that just makes Sawako feel even worse than before.
- Official Couple: Dates Ayane until Chapter 95 where their issues finally come to surface and the two amicably break up.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: For the record, his actual name is Kento. Names of Japanese origin like Kento are written with kanji, and should be fully spelled out when romanized. The name Kent, on the other hand, is vaguely implied to be a nickname. Kent is the name seen most often (whether it be due to amateur translation or something else), so it has stuck with most of the fanbase.
- The Rival: To Kazehaya due to both having feelings for Sawako, though it's really one-sided on Kazehaya's part. Miura doesn't know at first that he's also interested in Sawako.
- Romantic False Lead: He sincerely wants to help Sawako connect more with her classmates, but his implied interest in her and the damage he does to Sawako and Kazehaya's relationship (though unintentional, because when Kazehaya told Kent that he liked someone, Kent told Sawako that she should give up on Kazehaya, unaware that Kazehaya likes Sawako) makes him one.
- Later in the manga, he proves to be this to Ayane as well, being an Official Couple with her until they both come to terms with how incompatible they truly are and break up.
- Shout-Out: To Kentaro Miura, maybe?
- Sixth Ranger: He joins Sawako and co's homeroom in second year/season 2 and hence their friendship group.
- Spanner in the Works: He unwittingly throws a wrench in the progress of Sawako and Kazehaya's budding relationship, causing them to misunderstand each other's motives. The virtue in this crass mistake is that he did not actually intend to do any harm, and that by giving them that unintentional shakedown, made them eventually realize that they're on the same page.
- Spell My Name With An S: See the Only Known by Their Nickname entry. Most fans are confused as to whether his real name is Kent or Kento.
- You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious: Sawako, who normally calls him Shishou/Master, calls him Miura-kun when he's complaining about how Ayane doesn't like him anymore so she can catch his attention and indicate that what she has to say next is damn important. It works - Miura stops what he's saying and stares at her blankly while muttering, "Mi...ura-kun?"
Minor Characters
Soichi "Jo" Jonouchi
Voiced by: Masahiro Yamanaka (Japanese), Caleb Yen (English)
One of Kazehaya's close friends. Joe idolizes Kazehaya and is often in his company. He is oblivious towards the budding romance between Kazehaya and Sawako.
- Butt-Monkey: Constantly rejected and often treated as a nuisance, even borderlines on The Friend Nobody Likes since he normally gets in the way of Sawako and Kazehaya's romantic development.
- Casanova Wannabe: He's always up for romance and dating, however no girls is willing to take interest in him.
- The Ditz: More like the resident idiot of the series. He's horribly oblivious to Kazehaya and Swako's feelings and is not good at sensing the mood.
- Eyes Always Shut: His eyes are never opened. It's apparently hereditary.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Kazehaya as he's the other male friend Kazehaya often talks to and hangs out with, like it or not.
- Hopeless Suitor: For Ayane, who's not interested in him in the slightest.
- Jerkass: Probably not out of malice, but he's certainly insensitive at times, especially when it comes to asking invasive questions or sharing gossip with an unnecessarily loud voice. He's also the one who suggests the "punishment" of making Kazehaya go out with Sawako in the first chapter.
- Lonely Together: That's the entire reason why he approaches Ayane in the first place; he's been recently dumped, and she's just dumped one of her boyfriends. But he misinterprets it as her being the dumped one instead...My heartbreak companion!!!
- Moment Killer: Causes this several times unintentionally, including interrupting Kazehaya and Sawako in Chapter 39, following the latter's confession to Kazehaya.
- He even tries following Kazehaya and Sawako as they go off to celebrate Christmas together until someone stops him.
- Oblivious to Love: Oblivious towards Kazehaya's and Sawako's feelings for each other, and the the fact that Ayane just isn't interested in Joe, himself.
- Spanner in the Works: For everyone that comes across him; he's just that stupid. The only virtue that can rescue him is that he's not malicious.
Eriko "Ekko" Hirano and Tomomi "Tomo" Endo
Eriko is voiced by: Mayuki Makiguchi (Japanese), Jackie Lastra (English)
Tomomi is voiced by: Miho Miyagawa (Japanese), Madeline Dorroh (English)
Two classmates who Sawako befriends.
- Chekhov's Gunman: When they first appeared they're nothing more than girls willing to befriend Sawako. Later these two are actually shown to have witnessed Kurumi's rumor spreading in the manga, which helps Ayane and Chizu to approach Kurumi.
- Insistent Terminology: They repeatedly tell Sawako that they want her to call them by their nicknames, Ekko and Tomo, instead of the more formal way she always uses. Given how long it took her to call Ayane and Chizu more familiarly, it doesn't come as a surprise for them, so they don't mind reminding her.
- Nice Girl: Both of them. They're the first people besides the ones in Sawako's friendship group to kindly approach her and befriend her.
- Those Two Guys: Two minor characters that are always seen with one another.
Chigusa Takahashi
Voiced by: Yurin (Japanese), Lily Ki (English)
An eccentric girl in Sawako's class who Sawako sits in front of during the third seating change in their first year class.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Quite an eccentric. For example she'll randomly tickle Sawako in class when sitting behind her. She's also a big fan in things Picasso-esque from her casual clothes to her drawings.
- Eyes Always Shut: Her eyes are usually never opened. She only opens them in the manga when she's scaring students in the class's haunted house.
- Genki Girl: She's always smiling and is energetic.
Tsuru
A boy who hangs around with Kento and Kento's, uh, fanclub. He has a summer job near the beach.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Kento it seems, as he's always seen with him and the only guy friend (before Kazehaya and Ryu) that Kento has.
- Satellite Character: Acts nothing more than Kento's friend who listens to his ramblings and whatnot.
Kitao and Youko Kuronuma
Youko voiced by: Sakurako Kishiro (Japanese), Julie Kliewer (English)
Kitao voiced by: Takashi Matsuyama (Japanese), Joe Hernandez (English)
Sawako's sweet, friendly mother and doting, overprotective father.
- Bumbling Dad: Kitao is a bit out of it and quick to jump to conclusions, such as when he first meets Chizu and Ayane.
- Doting Parent: Both of them adore Sawako, especially her dad. Justified as Sawako is their only child who was born late and is a good girl who doesn't ask for much.
- Good Parents: Most of the parents in the series seem to be doing a good job, but these two are the ones we see the most of, obviously, seeing how kind-hearted Sawako has turned out.
- Helicopter Parents: Very concerned for Sawako's well-being and her social life, especially if dating is involved. He's the one who gives Kazehaya quite a grilling when they first meet, to say the least.
- Happily Married: They're happy with the way things are with their marriage and family life, so it seems.
Toru Sanada
Voiced by: Wataru Hatano (Japanese), Nazeeh Tarsha (English)
Ryu's older brother and Chizuru's long-time crush. He lives in Sapporo with his fianceé Haruka, who later becomes his wife.
- Like Brother and Sister: How he feels about Chizu - he was more than willing to act like her big brother during her childhood (probably moreso than his own brother) and doesn't stop when he returns to visit everyone.
- Nice Guy: Although we don't seem much of him, he seems like a friendly person who genuinely adores and cares about Chizu.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Tooru gets his looks from his mom.
- His daughter takes after him as a toddler, and thus, her grandmother.
- Thicker Than Water: Invoked. Though they're not related, he adores Chizu as the little sister that he never had. He even comes back to town specifically to meet with her because they weren't able to meet when he brought his fiancee over the first time. It's precisely because of this that Chizu realizes that he'll never hold those kind of affections towards her.
Genji and Tetsuko Sanada
Genji voiced by: Naoya Uchida (Japanese), Dan Woren (English)
Ryu and Toru's parents.
- Good Parents: Basically, seeing how well they raised Toru and Ryu and what good guys the two turned out to be.
- Missing Mom: It's revealed that Tetsuko died when Ryu was a child.
- Mum Looks Like a Sister: Tetsu basically looks just like a female version of her oldest son, Toru.
- Snow Means Death: Well, it was the cause of Tetsuko's death, after all, as she died when she crashed her car in a snowstorm.
