History Characters / KoeNoKatachi

This is the character list for the manga ''Manga/KoeNoKatachi''. Potential spoilers ahead. NeedsMoreLove.

[[foldercontrol]]
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!!Protagonists
[[folder:Shouya Ishida]]
-->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MiyuIrino

[[quoteright:200:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/koe_01shoya.png]]
[[caption-width-right:200:The protagonist who wants to [[TheAtoner redeem himself.]]]]
* TheAtoner: His defining character trait. After completely ruining Shouko's days in middle school by bullying her relentlessly, he ultimately found himself feeling tremendous guilt after discovering that she was actively defending him from being bullied by his own classmates. He spends the entire series trying to make up for what he did. [[spoiler:He succeeds.]]
* AllergicToRoutine: His motive for bullying Shouko, mixed with ForTheLulz.
* BreakTheHaughty: Bullied Shouko to the point where [[spoiler:she wanted to die]], and when he was called out for it he was abandoned by basically all of his friends and was humiliated even more when he discovered that the girl he was bullying was actually trying to prevent others from bullying ''him''.
* TheBully: Being this led to one of the most humiliating and painful moments of his life. [[TheAtoner And his subsequent attempts at making up for being one]] serve as the impetus of the story.
* ClassicalAntiHero: Constantly dealing with self-doubt and remorse over what he did to Shouko in their youth.
* {{Determinator}}: No matter what he has to do, no matter what situations he finds himself trapped in, he ''will'' make up for what he did to Shouko.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:In fact was planning on killing himself out of severe depression, loneliness, and self-loathing after years of social neglect. When Shouko forgave him for his past transgressions, she effectively saved his life.]]
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: He wasn't ''evil'' as a kid. He was more or less just cruel. [[KidsAreCruel As most are]]. As such, he couldn't understand why [[NiceGirl Shouko]] would just ''not'' fight back when she was being so blatantly bullied by him.
* FaceOfAThug: He really ''did'' act like a thug when he was a kid, being a vicious bully and all that. But with age comes CharacterDevelopment, and he eventually plays this trope so [[NiceGuy straight]] that it honestly makes the audience root for him more.
* ForTheLulz: As a kid, he always sought a life free of boredom and was actually afraid of the thought of having nothing to do. This fear of his led him to do outright ''terrible'' things to Shouko just to excite him. [[IHatePAstMe He hates himself for it to this day]].
* FriendlessBackground: While he had friends in elementary school, he loses them all and doesn't make any more until reconnecting with Shoko in high school.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Saves Shouko from her suicide attempt at the cost of falling into a coma for two weeks]].
* HumbleHero: After his vicious BreakTheHaughty, he becomes a very insecure individual who finds himself constantly pushing to become a better person.
* IHatePastMe: Bullying Shouko beyond all reason out of fear of being bored is one reason for this. To the point he'd imagine killing his younger self.
* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoiler:With Shouko, by the end of the story. In fact, it might as well be a Pretty Much Ever After, considering how the two obviously have feelings for each other.]]
* MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold: While in high school, Shouya is socially ostracized by his peers for his anti-social behavior and rumors concerning his past as a bully. Little does anyone really care to actually try talking to the guy. They'd find out he's a big bag of regrets and a determined Atoner.
* ObliviousToLove: As a kid, he's completely blind to the hints that Ueno likes him (said hints only pile up when flashbacks to the past are shown from Ueno's perspective). In the present, not only has Ueno's feelings grown stronger, but Shouko also grows enamored with him, and he's still unaware of it. He's even oblivious to his own feelings towards Shouko by the end of the story, [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Ueno near the end. [[spoiler: But with the implications of the MaybeEverAfter above, this may not last very long]].
* TheScapegoat: Bullied Shouko relentlessly [[ForTheLulz because he was afraid of getting bored]], and when he was called out for it by his teachers, all of his friends pinned the blame on him...despite being in on the whole thing. This lead to his HeelFaceTurn and his prompt to atone for his actions.
* SignLanguage: Learns it in order to properly communicate with Shouko.
* SociallyAwkwardHero: After discovering the depths of his douchebaggery to Shouko, he ends up a social recluse, only able to cope with his own self-loathing by internally chastising his classmates. [[spoiler:By the end of the story, he generally becomes much more socially open towards others and has managed to make many friends.]]
* TearsOfRemorse: Weeps these after finding out how needlessly cruel he was to Shouko.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: His beyond cruel bullying of Shouko utterly destroyed his reputation several times over, and is a major focal point of the conflict in the story.
* WorkOffTheDebt: Ends up having to work for five years to pay for the hearing aids he took off Shouko. [[AllForNothing And then his mom burns it]] [[CrowningMomentOfFunny by accident.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Shouko Nishimiya]]
-->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/SaoriHayami

[[quoteright:200:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/koe_02shoko.png]]
[[caption-width-right:200:Our CuteMute heroine.]]
* AllLovingHero: Forgives Shouya (and all others who've had a hand in bullying her) almost immediately, even finding the courage to [[spoiler:give a LoveConfession to the guy relatively early in their rekindled relationship.]]
* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: She gives one to Ishida when Ueno re-enters his life. A combination of her SpeechImpediment and Ishida's [[ObliviousToLove obliviousness]] makes it fall flat.
* ApologizesALot: Is aware of how much her deafness can obstruct the daily lives of those around her, and as such apologizes frequently for causing everyone trouble. Unfortunately, everyone just becomes annoyed at her when she does this.
* BrokenBird: Experienced bullying throughout most of her life for being deaf.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:When Shouya and the other characters end up fighting each other because of the unresolved issues of the past, Shouko blames herself for it and attempts to commit suicide. Shouya saves her from leaping off the balcony of her apartment, and in effect ends up in a coma as a result of him falling]].
* EasilyForgiven: The girl is so nice she just forgives everybody as long as they apologize and make up for their mistakes, no matter how cruel they've been to her.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Not by her, but the reaction from the others to her. She is such a NiceGirl that everyone who bullied her would just bully her ''more'' because her niceness just aggravated them.
* ExtremeDoormat: This is deconstructed, as her deafness has made her so alienated with social norms that she tries to make do with neutral responses, unaware that her refusal to actually stand up for herself and her tendency to Apologize a Lot becomes a matter of contention among her classmates.
* FatalFlaw: Her extremely low opinion of herself leads her to making the rash decision of [[spoiler:committing suicide due to how her deafness would obstruct the lives of others]]. This leads to [[spoiler:Shouya falling into a coma in his attempt to save her from falling to her death]].
* FriendlessBackground: She always had a hard time making friends due to her deafness.
* ItsAllMyFault: Blames herself for [[spoiler:Shouya's comatose state]].
* LoveConfession: [[spoiler:Vocally gives one to Shouya at a relatively early point in the story, but because of her deafness, she pronounces the words wrong. Shouya, in turn, cannot understand her, and she runs away completely embarrassed.]]
* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoiler:With Shouya, by the end of the story. In fact, it might as well be a Pretty Much Ever After, considering how the two obviously have feelings for each other.]]
* NiceGirl: To the point where the other, cynical characters find themselves flabbergasted at how nice she is.
* TheQuietOne: Justified, due to her SpeechImpediment.
* SignLanguage: She's deaf, so it's the easiest way to quickly express her thoughts. Unfortunately, only three major characters also know it, inhibiting its usefulness.
* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: [[spoiler:Fell for Shouya after seeing his many efforts to redeem himself for the past.]]
* SpeechImpediment: Struggles to verbally communicate coherently.
* StepfordSmiler: Holds a lot of pain behind her smile, but smiles anyway, whether because she's just that nice or [[ExtremeDoormat she's trying not to offend anyone.]]
* TearsOfRemorse: [[spoiler:After Shouya falls into a coma, she becomes so engrossed in her own self-loathing that she can't help ''but'' cry]].
* TurnTheOtherCheek: No matter how anyone cruelly treated her, she's forgiving to nearly everyone over one apology.
[[/folder]]

!!Major Characters
[[folder:Yuzuru Nishimiya]]
* BigBrotherInstinct: Inversion, she's very protective of her older sister.
* CameraFiend: She's usually seen with her camera in hand, and prefers to spend the day goofing off and taking photographs instead of going to school. When we get to see her bedroom the walls are plastered in photographs.
* FrameUp: She frames the incident of Shouya jumping off a bridge to retrieve her notebook as him being a daredevil, getting him suspended from school. Shouya lets it slide because he knows why she did it, Shouko doesn't.
* LadyLooksLikeADude: Looks a lot like a boy, and actually manages to fool Ishida and Nagatsuka into thinking she is one for quite some time. The deception lasts up until Shouko clarifies the situation.
* NightmareFetishist: Only takes pictures of dead stuff. Subverted later when it's revealed she was only doing it to make an impression on Shoko.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tomohiro Nagatsuka]]
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: When he retrieves Shouya's stolen bike after it was lent to the student who pressured Nagatsuka to lend his bike.
* FriendlessBackground: Although he pretends otherwise for a long time, the truth eventually comes out that he doesn't have any friends besides Shoya.
* HiddenDepths: He's a surprisingly decent cook.
* NiceGuy: Goes to great lengths to retrieve Shouya's stolen bike.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Naoka Ueno]]
* ChildhoodFriends: Shouya described Ueno as his closest female friend when they were in Elementary School. Ueno is clearly trying to push this towards a ChildhoodFriendRomance.
* FashionDesigner: Designed costumes for contests and for the movie. After high school she's looking into it as an occupation.
* {{Jerkass}}: Participated in bullying Shoko, but unlike Shoya, shows no remorse for it. She also puts down Miyoko from time to time, and harshly insults Tomohiro when a mix-up leads to him thinking she was interested in him. Later, she, too, has the nerve to address Shouko's ''mother'' condescendingly.[[note]]Of all second-person pronouns, Ueno uses "omae" on Shouko's mother, in which its usage towards one's superiors is highly frowned upon.[[/note]]
* JerkassHasAPoint: Even though she treats Shoko terribly, she also sees through her StepfordSmiler facade and points it out to her.
* SelfServingMemory: Ueno blames Shouko's "snitching" to the adults as the reason why Shouya ends up getting [[AllTheOtherReindeer ostracized from the others]]. This conveniently ignores that Ueno also played a role in Shouko's bullying and she was quick to divert the blame over onto Shouya.
* {{Tsundere}}: With Shoya. [[spoiler: While Shoya is in hospital, she stays in his room to care for him, but doesn't want him to know it.]]
* TheUnapologetic: Years later, she still doesn't think she was wrong to bully Shoko.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Miyoko Sahara]]
* FashionDesigner: She did costume design for a school contest and made the costumes for the movie. After high school she's aiming for it as a career.
* HugeSchoolgirl: When Shoya meets her again in high school, she's grown a lot taller. ''And'' she wears heels on top of that.
* NiceGirl: Compared to the rest of the cast, one of the most kind-hearted and well-meaning characters in the series. Back in elementary school, she was the only one who tried to reach out to Nishimiya by volunteering to learn sign language.
* StatuesqueStunner: She does modeling for a club at school.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Miki Kawai]]
* BitchInSheepsClothing: She feigns innocence when pressed on her role in bullying Nishimiya.
* ClassRepresentative: In their elementary school class and in their high school one.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Of all the characters who bullied Nishimiya, she was the only one who didn't understand why the others felt remorse, nor does she understands why she should.
* NeverMyFault: Refuses to admit to any culpability in Shoko's bullying.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Satoshi Mashiba]]
* BerserkButton: Bullying behavior gets extreme reactions out of him.
* BigOlEyebrows: Had thick eyebrows in his youth, which he got teased for.
* BullyHunter: Has a great disdain for bullies, becoming violent if he suspects that someone is engaging in the act due to be picked on when he was younger for his thick eyebrows. This later gets [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] in his [[DayInTheLimelight spotlight chapter]] where it reveals he has a total complex about it and has trouble moving on for those who slighted him in the past.
* HiddenDepths: Seems like a regular popular guy at first, but it's later shown that he can't stand for bullying, having been on the receiving end of it in the past. He also proves to be a pretty good actor, surprising Shoya when the latter sees the completed movie.
* TranquilFury: While he has strong reactions to bullying, he does it with a calm expression.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Miyako Ishida]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Yaeko Nishimiya]]
[[/folder]]

!!Minor Characters
[[folder:Kazuki Shimada]]

* IWasJustPassingThrough: How he and Keisuke treat pulling Shouya out of the water before he drowned. They were actually just following him to cause trouble when they spotted him in the end.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: He used to be friends with Shouya, but wasted no time in bullying and turning on him afterwards.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Keisuke Hirose]]

* IWasJustPassingThrough: How he and Kazuki treat pulling Shouya out of the water before he drowned. They were actually just following him to cause trouble when they spotted him in the end.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: He used to be friends with Shouya, but wasted no time in bullying and turning on him afterwards.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Takeuchi-sensei]]

* ApatheticTeacher: In a nut shell. He doesn't encourage the bullying, but he doesn't step in to stop it until the Principal got involved. And once Shouya started getting bullied, he tells him that he brought it on himself for everything he did.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: [[AvertedTrope He ''started'' this way]]. But once he started getting tired of slowing down class to deal with Shouko, he starts letting Shouya's actions slide to the point where he just outright ignores the bully until the Principal of the school threatens to have the police get involved in investigating why so many of her hearing aids were being destroyed. Then he promptly turns on Shouya.
** And then, after five years, he states that the bullying was good for him in the end.
* JerkassHasAPoint: He points out that he did tell Shouya to stop (at first) and that its his responsibility for setting an example for the others by bullying her to relieve his boredom.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ito Nishimiya]]
Shouko and Yuzuru's maternal grandmother.
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* DeadManWriting: Left a letter behind for Yuzuru to get along with her mother.
* DotingGrandparent: Cares for her granddaughters, looking after them when their father left them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Maria Ishida]]
Shouya's niece and the daughter of his sister.
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* ButNotTooForeign: Half-Japanese from Shouya's sister's side, half-Brazilian from Pedro's side.
* CheerfulChild: Lightened the mood after a tense moment at dinner.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Shouya's Sister]]
* TheFaceless: On the few occasions that she appears, she's always drawn such that her face is obscured.
* HappilyMarried: To Pedro, a Brazilian.
* NoNameGiven: The manga never gives us her name, so she's known only as Shouya's sister.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pedro]]
The spouse of Shouya's sister, and his brother-in-law.
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* HappilyMarried: To Shouya's sister.
[[/folder]]

* FrameUp: She frames the incident of Shouya jumping off a bridge to retrieve her notebook as him being a daredevil, getting him suspended from school.

* BerserkButton: Bullying behaviour gets extreme reactions out of him.

* {{Jerkass}}: Participated in bullying Shoko, but unlike Shoya, shows no remorse for it. She also puts down Miyoko from time to time, and harshly insults Tomohiro when a mix-up leads to him thinking she was interested in him.