Characters / Komi Can't Communicate - Family Members and Related

Komi Can't Communicate Character Index
Main Characters | School Friends | Itan High School | Family Members and Related | Other Characters

Note: For consistency's sake, all names in the headings are in East Asian order, i.e. surname first. It makes it easier to see any Japanese-language puns in them. Furthermore, on this section, and due to their shared family names, Komi, Tadano, Katai and Agari will be referred to with their given names Shouko, Hitohito, Makoto and Himiko respectively in their family members' entries.

WARNING: This page may contain unmarked spoilers. Beware if you are not updated with the manga.

Shouko's family

Komi Shuuko (nee Niima)

Komi Shuuko (nee Niima)

Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue (Japanese), Dorothy Elias-Fahn (English), Romina Marroquín Payró (Latin American Spanish)

Introduction: Chapter 22 (manga), Episode 5 (anime)

Shouko's mother... who is practically her complete opposite in personality and social skills, despite the two having very similar appearances.

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• Actor Allusion: Often refers to herself as "forever 17 years old", a phrase attributed to Kikuko Inoue. Sure enough, Inoue became her actual seiyuu when the anime was made.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Invoked. She was this when she was in high school, but meeting her then-future husband Masayoshi put the brakes on that for good.
• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Shuuko enjoys acting like a ditzy teenager (even referring to herself as an "eternal 17-year old"), much to her daughter's embarrassment.
• Former Teen Rebel: She was nothing like how she is now back when she was her daughter's age. Back then, she was highly aloof and apathetic to the point where others felt intimidated.
• Good Parents: Her embarrassing moments aside, she is shown to be a doting parent to her children, even if she isn't as good at understanding Shouko as her husband is.
• Genki Girl: She is very enthusiastic, welcoming, and doting towards her daughter and her friends.
• The Heart: Implied to be this at home, as her husband and daughter are too shy, and her son is too aloof. Her home would be the Fortress of Solitude if she wasn't there.
• Hero of Another Story: Shuuko has gotten several spotlight chapters focused on when she was a teenager and her romance with her future husband, Masayoshi.
• High-School Sweethearts: Shuuko and Masa have been an item since high school.
• Mum Looks Like a Sister: She's sufficiently youthful-looking that the Strong Family Resemblance between her daughter and herself keeps leading other characters to mistakenly assume she's Shouko's sister when they first meet her.
• Nice Girl: She is a tremendously sweet, fun-loving, and doting parent and wife, showing that many of her daughter's virtues come from her.
• Older Than She Looks: She looks much younger than she is; her self-introduction includes her saying that she's "an eternal 17-year-old", and even when the narration brings up her age several chapters later, it simply reiterates that she's "forever 17 years old"... even though it's plainly obvious by simple math alone^note She started going out with her husband when they were 18, while her eldest child is age 16. that she has to be aged 34 at the youngest. Furthermore, in the anime, she is voiced by Kikuko Inoue, who is known for being an eternal 17-year-old herself.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Played for laughs. In chapter 98/season 2 episode 4, she blends in with everyone when playing the "King" game. When she gets the "king" stick, she orders number 4 to kiss number 9 with a completely serious face◊ (and with a contralto in the anime, to boot).
• Phrase Catcher: Her referring to herself as "an eternal 17-year-old", obviously, earns her an annoyed "Oi..." from Najimi. And later the more typical "Oi, oi!" from Aunt Ryouko.
• Punny Name: The pun in her name comes from her two last names: her maiden name is Niima, which is a play on the word Niimi, which means "new look"; her married name is now Komi, which means "old look", demonstrating the contrast between the delinquent she used to be at age 17, and the housewife she is now.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: Played with. One of the reasons why she refers to herself as "an eternal 17-year-old" is because it's the age when she met her future husband, being in love with him just as much now as she was back then.
• "Silly Me" Gesture: Does this in her introduction scene, when she tries to call her husband and son so they can meet her daughter's new friends, only to realize they're not home.
• Stacy's Mom: She's an object of admiration in her daughter's class, much to her daughter's embarrassment.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Mother and daughter are spitting images of each other save for the lengths of their hair (Shouko's flows down to waist-length, while Shuuko's is just above her neck) and their bust size (Shuuko is noticeably less well-endowed than her daughter), yet their personalities couldn't be any more different.
• Tsurime Eyes: Much like Shouko, who likely got them from her. While they contrast with her personality, they otherwise highlight her previous Aloof Dark-Haired Girl demeanor.

Komi Masayoshi

Komi Masayoshi

Voiced by: Mitsuaki Hoshino (Japanese), Xander Mobus (English), Gerardo Reyero (Latin American Spanish)

Introduction: Chapter 42

(He's happy because his daughter is picking his clothes for him) [My daughter's the best in the world.]

Shouko's father, who also suffers from the same communication disorder. Handsome in his own right, bystanders are quick to note how well-put together he is.

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• The Ace: Was somehow incredibly skilled at everything as a teenager, and rich enough to own a black credit card^(*) Credit card companies that have "richer than rich"-type memberships often have black credit cards for said members. The only thing he has trouble with is talking, something he still has difficulty with to this day.
• Affectionate Nickname: His classmates at school used to call him "Masa".
• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents:
  • He (despite being similar to Shouko) isn't much better than his wife about his tendency to embarrass his daughter, as when Tadano and his sister Hitomi first meet him at a shopping center, he's in a getup straight from The Godfather (chosen by his daughter) that unnerves Tadano. To be fair, however, he does try to be polite and make a good impression; he's just so socially awkward that it seems Failure Is the Only Option.
  • He is shown to be very passionate about ocean life and tends to unwittingly prattle on with abandon, something that neither Shouko nor Shousuke has much patience for; Tadano, however, finds the subject engaging coming from Masayoshi.
• Been There, Shaped History: A minor one, but he was responsible for the first ever Flash Mob in Japan, When he confessed his feelings for his future wife.
• Best Friends-in-Law: In Chapter 317 he "kidnaps" Tadano to gauge him as his daughter's boyfriend, and though he intends to be stern with the young man, they end up becoming friends and he implicitly gives Tadano the okay to date Shouko.
• Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: He is quick to notice how well Tadano understands his daughter, and he's not quite happy with it. He tries to play the part, but he has two impediments: he's tongue-tied too, so he can't convey it very effectively, and his daughter makes sure that he doesn't. He ends up "kidnapping" Tadano when he was about to go on a first date with Shouko to gauge his worth as her boyfriend, but Tadano is ultimately able to win his approval.
• Closet Geek: Despite seemingly being The Stoic and a man of few words, it turns out Masayoshi has quite a passion for marine life. To his own embarrassment, he once prattled on about it to the point where he bored his kids. He became mortified that he may have done it again, this time in front of Tadano, but Tadano assures him that he found it all really interesting.
• Distracted by the Sexy: During a beach trip with his future wife when they were 17, he spends most of the time building sand castles and apparently not paying attention to Shuuko. She gets offended and confronts him, only to see his embarrassed face. To him, she looked so cute that he was trying to distract himself to cope.
• Early-Bird Cameo: He is shown as early as Chapter 15, but wouldn't be introduced until more than 20 chapters later.
• Face of a Thug: Downplayed since he's not exactly ugly per se and is in fact rather handsome and manly, but his square-jawed looks and perpetually stoic expression often give off vibes of a stereotypical mob enforcer or assassin type, which actually gets lampshaded in one chapter.
• Family of Choice: He's so fond of Tadano that he considers the boy nothing short of family. He treats Tadano as almost a son.
• Good Parents: His interactions with his daughter are very sweet, with him doing his best to be supportive and keep up to date with her school life.
• Hidden Depths:
  • In spite of being The Stoic, Masayoshi is shown to have been a very sweet man throughout his life, this being the reason his wife loves him so much. A great deal of his personality has rubbed off on his son and daughter, Shousuke being as multitasking as him, and Shouko, just as sweet.
  • He has a passion for marine life to the point he can prattle on and on about various trivia and facts about the various species at the aquarium.
• High-School Sweethearts: Masa and Shuuko met in high school and became an item, and eventually married.
• Like Father, Like Son: Genderflip Shouko, and you more or less have her father. Subverted with his son Shousuke, who only superficially resembles his father in his taciturnness, but diverges drastically in the cause (Shousuke simply doesn't see a point, rather than being driven by anxiety).
• Morality Pet: His sweetness and love towards Shuuko are what made her stop behaving like a delinquent in high school.
• No Social Skills: He's pretty much just as socially awkward as Shouko is.
• Paper Tiger: Despite his intimidating presence, he's actually rather dorky, especially when it comes to his kids. In fact, he was so nervous about going on a one-on-one date with Tadano that he had to bribe Shousuke with a new laptop into being the third wheel.
• So Proud of You: He is touched to the core by the fact that his daughter would choose clothes for him. He considers her his treasure.
• The Stoic: We rarely see anything other than a blank, neutral expression on his face.
• Stoic Spectacles: He wears glasses, and he appears to most people as a completely calm and cool stoic... when the truth is that he's a bundle of nerves who laments his all-too-frequent failure to properly express himself.
• When He Smiles: His resting face is by no means unattractive or intimidating. His smiles are just that contrasting that his own wife becomes even more lovestruck than ever.

Komi Shousuke

Komi Shousuke

Voiced by: Jun'ya Enoki (Japanese), Jack Dillon (English), José Antonio Toledano (Latin American Spanish)

Introduction: Chapter 49

Shouko's hyper-competent younger brother, one year her junior. Like his father and sister, he doesn't talk much, but in his case, it's more because he chooses not to, rather than because he can't. Initially a middle schooler, Shousuke enrolls at Kisai High School with the top grades of the new students and becomes Hitomi and Ai's classmate and friend.

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• The Ace: Much like his father, he's skilled at everything he does (aside from getting Hitomi to stop bothering him). Indeed, every time they're shown competing he does better than his father. During the high school entrance ceremony, Shousuke is the students' representative, implying that he placed first on the entrance exams. It's noted that his aloof behavior and tendency to refuse to communicate is a consequence of him having gone through life being able to do pretty much everything on his own. It's not until he meets Hitomi that he has to deal with someone who exceeds him (at least in determination and martial arts skills).
• Allergic to Routine: Like his father, Shousuke is very restless, so he spends his free time engaging in a wide variety of pastimes like card house building and writing sutras on rice grains.
• Ascended Extra: Starting with chapter 133, Shousuke is now a first-year student at Kisai High School.
• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: None of his activities hold his attention for long, and he soon moves on to something different.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Unlike his older sister, Shousuke is quiet by choice. When he does choose to communicate, he's actually quite the eloquent speaker.
• Captain Ersatz: 5'8" tall, black eyes, scraggly black hair, a lithe physique, considered a Pretty Boy in-universe, doesn't speak much... all he needs is the domino mask to look like Ren Amamiya.
• Chick Magnet: When visiting the maid cafe that Shouko's class was throwing for the school festival, all of her female classmates started fawning over Shousuke.
• Death Glare: He uses one to keep people away from him, which doesn't work on Hitomi.
• The Drag-Along: He is the very definition. He's usually dragged by both his sister and Hitomi into doing stuff that he doesn't want to do, which is most stuff.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Like Hitomi and his own dad, Shousuke makes sporadic appearances in the manga before being formally introduced. He appears on the manga's introductory splash page.
• Elective Mute: His basic personality. He rarely if ever has speaking lines but this is by choice and not some disorder; he simply doesn't want to speak as he sees no point to it most of the time.
• Even the Guys Want Him: Shousuke has male admirers as well in his class.
• Foil: To his older sister. Shosuke, unlike Shouko, does not have a Social Anxiety Disorder, he just hates communicating.
• Hidden Depths:
  • In spite of his calm demeanor, Shousuke is shown to have a restless disposition just like his father before him. As such, when he's bored, he'll build a card castle, write prayers on a grain of rice, exercise, you name it. The only showings of this outside home come from the fact that he is a rather impatient person on the whole.
  • While he generally avoids anything social that would require much time or effort, and thus won't go out of his way to help someone unless it is demanded of him, Shousuke still usually acts for the benefit of the people that he does end up interacting with, all while never expecting or wanting to receive thanks for his deeds.
  • Shousuke is not very good at refusing kindness, which is why he's unable to rid himself of Hitomi and Ai.
  • Albeit he appears dispassionate and uninterested, Shousuke enjoys doting on his sister and likes to be praised by her. Though he has the usual teenage moods and angst, when it comes down to it he denies her nothing.
• Irony: Shousuke is intentionally what people mistakenly think his sister is. That is, beautiful, aloof, and unapproachable. However, Hitomi goes in the opposite direction, assuming he has Shouko's problem, and acts accordingly.
  • For a person that avoids communicating as much as possible, Shousuke is apparently quite eloquent when he does speak.
• Like Father, Like Son: He and his father are both quiet stoic-faced people who're talented at almost anything they turn their hands to. Subverted, however, as unlike his father, Shousuke is quiet by choice, not because he suffers social anxiety.
  • His standoffish nature is similar to his mother's attitude in her high school days, before she fell in love with Masayoshi of course.
  • Chapter 198 hints that he may be attracted to Ai, which would create another similarity as his mother was a Former Teen Rebel.
• Meaningful Name: His name shares the same pun as his sister Shouko, though he tends to be more quiet by choice than by an inability to speak.
• Mistaken for Badass: His classmate Ai thinks that he beat a rival gang on her behalf on his own, so she takes an immediate liking to him. In reality, and due to the fact that she had her eyes closed, she didn't realize that it was Hitomi who dispatched all of them easily, though they were defenseless because they were ogling at Shousuke's handsomeness and squeeing like little girls.
• Not So Above It All: Even when he's forced to go everywhere, it's shown that Shousuke sometimes ends up enjoying himself to some degree regardless.
• Not So Stoic: He is very impatient, though it doesn't show on his face.
• Pretty Boy: Every girl in Shouko's classroom immediately fawns over him when he enters the room at the first school festival. That should tell you something.
• Punny Name: Shares the same pun as "Komi Shouko". The difference is that, in his case, it's more like "doesn't" than "can't."
• The Quiet One: He doesn't talk much.
• Silver Tongue: He apparently made a commencement speech at school that almost led the audience to tears. Whenever he chooses to speak, he is both concise and eloquent.
• So Beautiful, It's a Curse: Unlike his older sister, Shousuke is very much accepting of the reasons for the attention he garners and absolutely despises it.
• The Stoic: He pretty much only has one facial expression.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Shousuke is arguably the most handsome boy in the story by far, being aloof and dark-haired to boot.

Komi Yuiko

Komi Yuiko / Grandma Komi

Voiced by: Kumiko Takizawa (Japanese), Andrea Soto (Latin American Spanish)

Introduction: Chapter 45

Shouko's paternal grandmother who lives in the countryside. Strict and rigid, but doting and demure, Grandma Yuiko is the matriarch of the Komi family. In her village, she's known as Grandma Komi. She is a close acquaintance of Shouko's classmate Inaka, as they are neighbors in their village and fellow contributing parishioners to the local temple.

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• Apron Matron: Downplayed; she has a very serious appearance (enough to pass off as an Evil Matriarch) and the authority position in the Komi family, but overall, she's quite a doting grandma.
• The Gambling Addict: Downplayed and played with. She likes to play games with her grandkids for their Obon/New Year's money, though she does it to be with them rather than deprive them of their allowance. Though she has a hand over Akira, and Shouko at times, it's shown that Shousuke is the one who can counter her effectively.
• Generation Xerox: Her sons look almost exactly like her, with only slightly more feminine features distinguishing her from them.
• Hidden Depths: In spite of being stone-faced, she is a very playful and kind grandma.
• Iron Lady: She dictates the do's and don't's in her family.
• Kimono Is Traditional: She's a proper Japanese matriarch, demure and ladylike but strict in running her household, and is never seen in anything other than a kimono.
• Misery Builds Character: Downplayed. Albeit she is strict and apparently unbending, it's the way she shows love towards her family. Whereas Shouko inherited her beauty from her mother, she inherited her demure nature from her grandmother.
• Not So Stoic: She is not too pleased when she hears that her granddaughter's first friend is named "Tadano Hitohito".
• Obnoxious In-Laws: She has very little patience for her daughter-in-law Shuuko, especially due to her lack of decorum. Shuuko in turn, is always delighted to spend time with her, unsuccessfully.
• One Degree of Separation: She's known Inaka for years, but she was entirely unaware that the girl goes to the same high school as her granddaughter Shouko.
• Perpetual Frowner: She's no smiling cookie, but much like her sons and grandkids, she's just stoic.
• Silent Treatment: She never responds to Shuuko's jokes or any interaction she wants to have with her. It's implied that it's not because she doesn't care, but rather because she can't handle how bubbly Shuuko is, so she doesn't indulge her.

Komi Sadayoshi and Ryouko

Uncle Sadayoshi

Aunt Ryouko

Voiced by: Emi Shinohara (Ryouko, Japanese), Rebeca Gomez (Ryouko, Latin American Spanish)

Introduction: Chapter 45

Shouko's uncle and his wife, who are considerably similar to Shouko's parents.

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• Best Friends-in-Law: Ryouko and Shuuko are very close friends and are always ecstatic whenever they meet.
• Cuddle Bug: Ryouko is very touchy-feely, just like Shuuko.
• Running Gag: As noted by Shouko, every time she and her family visit her grandma for the holidays, Ryouko always greets her mom with boundless emotion, always refers to Shouko as having become more beautiful, and always tries to glomp Shousuke.
• Strong Family Resemblance: In demeanor, Sadayoshi and Masayoshi are basically twins. Despite them not talking much, it's noted the brothers get along well.

Komi Akira

Komi Akira

Voiced by: Kaede Hondo (Japanese), Suzie Yeung, Yetzary Olcort (Latin American Spanish)

Introduction: Chapter 45

Shouko-nee-chan!!!

Sadayoshi and Ryouko's daughter, and Shouko's young cousin. A first-year middle-schooler, Akira is the closest thing Shouko has to a little sister.

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• Animal Motifs: She is the "kitten" to Shouko's "cat". Much like Shouko, Akira also sprouts cat ears when her interest peaks. Not to mention following Shouko around like a kitten.
• Cuddle Bug: She's very clingy towards her cousin Shouko. After some time, she begins doing the same toward Shousuke.
• The Cutie: One of the reasons her cousin Shouko gets along with her so well; Akira is a cute little button.
• Didn't Think This Through: Akira is always eager to gamble with her grandma, but she always loses categorically. If it weren't for Shouko's tremendous good luck and Shousuke's skills, Akira would always leave the holidays penniless.
• The Gambling Addict: Akira is a fearless player, always accepting bets from her grandmother and favoring aggressive, reckless strategies even when a conservative approach would be better. This tends to bite her in the ass, given her grandmother's superior skill in games.
• Inelegant Blubbering: She can go way overboard crying when her grandma tries to hustle her grandkids' Obon/New Years money (though her grandma does it more to play with them rather than for the money itself). "Melting in a puddle of tears" would be too little a describer.
• Meaningful Name: Albeit it's not a Punny Name like most of the characters in the manga, "Akira" means "bright and clear dawn", which puts her in stark contrast with her notoriously stoic family.
• Like Father, Unlike Son: Unlike her cousins who take from their dad, Akira takes more from her mom than from her dad, as she's very vocal and expressive. For a Komi, Akira is the exception to the rule.
• Shrinking Violet: She is usually very timid whenever Shouko visits, though she resolves this by cuddling her softly.

Hitohito's family

Tadano Hitomi

Tadano Hitomi

Voiced by: Maaya Uchida (Japanese), Suzie Yeung (English), Amanda Hinojosa (Latin American Spanish)

Introduction: Chapter 50

What's your fave color? What middle school you from? What's your blood type? Any clubs? Hobbies? Skills? Where do you live? Anything interesting happen recently? Any actors you like?

Hitohito Tadano's younger sister and initially a third-year middle schooler who becomes a classmate of Shousuke's in their first year at Kisai High School. She makes it her goal to assist Shousuke at communicating better with his classmates, whether he actually wants her help or not.

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• Action Girl: She's a competition-level judoka, and she is active and sporty.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: Although she loves her brother, she's not above making fun of him or doubting his proximity to Komi, as he's too plain to have someone that stunning close to him.
• Ascended Extra: Starting with chapter 133, Hitomi is now a first-year student at Kisai High School.
• Best Friends-in-Law: Played with. While Komi and her brother Hitohito are not in a relationship until Chapter 305, both Shouko and Hitomi manifest that they would be more than eager to become sisters-in-law, and they are markedly fond of each other.
• Beware the Nice Ones: As cheerful and kind as she is, it's not wise to get on her bad side. Case in point, when Shousuke rudely rebuffed her, she responded by laying him out with a judo throw and dragging his ass outside.
• Distaff Counterpart: Like her brother, she is her class' president and serves as a cohesive unit for her classmates, though unlike him, she is far more appreciated for her efforts and there is no resentment from her classmates stemming from her friendship with Shousuke. As such, she's not "average" like her brother is.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Hitomi makes several sporadic appearances throughout the story before being formally introduced in chapter 50. She appears in the manga's introductory splash page and has her first appearance in Chapter 37.
• Entertainingly Wrong:
  • Hitomi assumes that Shosuke doesn't talk because he must have a communication disorder. He literally just doesn't want to talk.
  • She also initially thinks Yamai might be her brother's girlfriend.
  • Upon seeing her brother in drag, she starts speculating that he might be gay, often discussing it with their mom.
  • In Chapter 307, she attempts to figure out which person gave her brother each of the Valentine's chocolates he got that year. Aside from Najimi's gag gift, she gets every single one of them wrong.^note She assumes Manbagi's one is from Komi due to the cute way she wrapped it up, that Katai's one is from Manbagi and the nice packaging was to hide the fact she bought it from a store (it was handmade), and that Komi's melted one is from Katai since someone as musclebound as him would have a high body temperature (Komi had been carrying it around all day, too nervous to hand it over). While she's initially right about Badou's one just being a token of friendship, she takes it back when she sees the message he wrote on it, assuming it must be from a secret fourth admirer.
• Foil:
  • To her older brother, Hitohito. Unlike him, Hitomi's actually well-liked by her classmates but she's considerably worse at reading the mood. Yet, she also realized Komi had a thing for Hitohito long before he noticed, in part because he was in denial about it.
  • To Najimi. She starts becoming the factor that leads to Ai and Shousuke gaining friends, and much like them, she has Moment Killer overtones, though she's considerably less of a troll than Najimi. They even have the same choice of drink at Starbecks:
  One no-fat-milk-pistachio-deep-mocha-dip-cream-frappuccino-with-choco-sauce, please.
• He Is Not My Boyfriend: She tells Ai that she doesn't have any sort of romantic relationship with Shousuke and that they're merely friends, though Ai has mixed feelings on whether or not she believes that.
• Hidden Depths: In spite of her friendly disposition, Hitomi has a strong, imposing, and no-nonsense personality and is noted to bend people through kindness. She is not the kind of person that takes "no" for an answer, and as her brother well knows, it's not wise to rile her up.
  • Hitomi is hilariously dexterous and strong, which fits neither her looks nor her body frame.
• Manic Pixie Dream Girl: An upbeat and friendly girl who literally drags Shousuke into social situations no matter how much he may fight it... and boy, does he fight it.
• The Matchmaker: She's one for Ai in her pursuit of Shousuke, but she's just as interested in Ai being friends with her.
• Meaningful Name: Shares the same Punny Name root in her name as her brother, only in her case, it reflects that Hitomi is "not just any girl".
• Motor Mouth: In her efforts to get to know Shousuke and Ai, Hitomi bombards them with endless questions.
• Not Distracted by the Sexy: Hitomi is one of the few people who's immune to Shousuke's charms, and her interest in him stems from the notion that he wants to gain friends so she strives to help him. Whether she's interested in him romantically, or whether it's mutual at that, is up for debate.
• The Pollyanna: Hitomi is immune to insults and rude behavior, and always has a sunny disposition. It's unclear whether she notices people being rude to her and just doesn't respond to it, or knows people to be better than what they show and takes it with a smile. That being said, she does have a limit.
• Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: The highly energetic and talkative foil to the willfully reserved Shousuke.
• Shipper on Deck: Downplayed in regards to her brother and Komi. Hitomi tries to give her older brother romantic advice, but she's actually in the dark about the fact that it's Komi that he is crushing on. If anything, she's a fan of Katai being her brother's significant other.
  • Fully onboard during their family trip when she complains they didn't do anything when she found them in a cabin alone.
  • Played with. She's one for Ai and Shousuke, but she also has a vested interest in making Ai gain friends too, which has interfered with the other goal.
• Shipper with an Agenda: Sure, she'll help Ai with get Shousuke's attention, but the condition is that Ai has to be her friend.
• Silk Hiding Steel: She did judo competitively, and it's shown in Chapter 182, where she singlehandedly kicks the asses of a gang of delinquents seeking retribution on her classmate, Ai.
• Stronger Than They Look: She is very athletic, and in spite of her girly build, she can overpower boys and girls who oversize her with relative ease.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Her face is basically an exact match of her brother's, just with slightly larger eyes.
• This Is Unforgivable!: Hitomi is shown to be absolutely livid at the possibility that her brother might be two-timing Komi with another girl, though she calms down once she determines that he's not aware of the situation and that he intends to be fair once presented with the possibility.
• Tomboy with a Girly Streak: She practiced judo and competed in prefectural tournaments, using it on Shousuke whenever he gets too aloof while being dainty and girly.
• Translator Buddy: Hitomi takes it upon herself to become this for Shousuke, making up excuses to their classmates why he refused to eat lunch for them. Though unlike her brother and Komi, she's just making up her own conversations instead of voicing Shousuke's thoughts.
• Unwanted Assistance: Hitomi takes it upon herself to try and be Shousuke's mouthpiece and help him make friends, much to his own exasperation.
• What Does She See in Him?: Tells Komi that it's weird she is interested in her brother because he's so plain. She doesn't mind and supports their relationship though.
• Yaoi Fangirl: A hilariously self-serving case. She thinks that her brother is aiming for Katai, partly due to her own desire to play like a little girl with a bulky muscle-bound hunk. That is, if her brother were gay, she'd want him to be with Katai.

Tadano Jeanne

Tadano Jeanne

Introduction: First appearance in Chapter 144; introduced in Chapter 338

Wait, as a parent, should I let the two of them be alone in his room!? But I want them to think I'm a reasonable adult! I want them to like me! W-what should I do to make Shouko-chan like me...!? What should I do...?^note Thinking, as she absentmindedly strangles Hitomi

Hitohito and Hitomi's mom. Something of a glass-half-empty lady, she's also shown to be quite jumpy and nervous. First shown during a family trip that coincided with the Komi family in Chapter 144, she later is formally introduced.

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• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: She's a nervous wreck when Hitohito first introduces Komi to her as his girlfriend, this since she was under the very wrong impression that her son swung for a different team. Fortunately, Komi was able to see her kindness in between the mess.
• Best Friends-in-Law:
  • She bonds with Shuuko in Chapter 144, on account of their shared experience with adolescent sons and daughters.
  • She is delighted that Komi is Hitohito's girlfriend, reveling in the thought that she wants Komi as a daughter.
• Entertainingly Wrong:
  • A Running Gag that ended up until her introduction is the frequent discussions between her and Hitomi speculating that Hitohito may be gay.
  • She was more than aware that Komi and Hitohito are best friends (even thanking Komi's parents for this with a Pose of Supplication), but she wasn't aware that they became an item.
• Eyes Always Shut: She doesn't open her eyes, even when she's nervous.
• The Faceless: Like Himeko, the audience is never given a good look at Jeanne's face. Until Chapter 338, her face tends to be obscured, not drawn properly, or only the back of her head is shown.
• First-Name Basis: She encourages Komi to refer to her as "Jeanne-san", while she refers to her as "Shouko-chan".
• Nervous Wreck: The poor woman spends her entire introduction in a panic that she's making a terrible impression on Komi.
• Obnoxious In-Laws: Invoked and subverted. She's fearful that Komi may think less of her for bungling their introduction to each other, but she later realizes that Komi was considerably more nervous than her at the moment. She's more than delighted to have Komi as her son's girlfriend.
• Pose of Supplication: To Komi's parents in Chapter 144 and later to Shouko herself, both as a reflex.
• Punny Name:
  • As her name is pronounced "zhon-ne" (a wordplay of the Japanese "janai", meaning "no"), her full name would translate to "not normal".
  • Her name is also self-referential, as she has an unusual name, not normal for a Japanese person.
• Shared Family Quirks:
  • She shares Hitomi's situational misreading traits, only that, unlike Hitomi, she doesn't create a productive situation out of her conclusions and makes a mess out of herself. She also can overpower Hitomi with ease, even though Hitomi is shown to be quite strong and dexterous.
  • As noted by Komi herself, Jeanne shares Hitohito's positivity despite her nervousness, stating that she likes Jeanne for it and that she realized that she approves of Komi and Hitohito's relationship.
• Shared Unusual Trait: Hitohito inherited the white hair corkscrew from both her and his dad. This, however, is not shared with Hitomi.

Other family members

Katou Yakuna

Katou Yakuna

Introduction: Chapter 149

Mikuni's mom. A traditionalist housewife and kimono maker, who in spite of her demure and Iron Lady appearance, is doting, if a bit nosy.

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• Aristocrats Are Evil: Parodied. She gives off the appearance of a snobby noblewoman who will kick out Komi and Sasaki for being riff-raff. She's anything but.
• Cuteness Overload: The first thing she does once she meets Komi and Sasaki is to immediately dress them in kimonos just for the sake of the image.
• Gossipy Hens: She's markedly nosy.
• Hidden Depths: She looks like a noble snob who discriminates against commoners, but she is kind and doting.
• Punny Name: Her maiden name, Sewa Yakuna, roughly translates into "meddlesome person".

Katai Ai

Katai Ai

Voiced by: Stefanie Izquierdo (Latin American Spanish)

Introduction: Chapters 179 & 180

All these people just talk and talk... They're nothing but softies!!

Ai is Makoto Katai's little sister, a senior middle schooler when first mentioned, becoming a first-year student at Kisai, and a classmate of Shousuke and Hitomi. She is a delinquent who bullies her brother, though she has a romantic side.

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• Adaptational Early Appearance: In the anime, she appears in episode 1 of season 2, during Makoto's introduction.
• Anger Born of Worry: She worries that her brother can be perceived as "lame" by his classmates, but lets him know through violence and abuse.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: Played with. She bullies her brother Makoto, so she deems him the annoying sibling in spite of being younger than him.
• The Beautiful Elite: Played with. Because of her attitude, people tend to overlook how beautiful she is; in hindsight, she's beautiful enough to grab Shousuke's attention.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted. She's pummeled unconscious during her first day of class by a rival gang.
• Because You Were Nice to Me:
  • Played with. Albeit she finds Shousuke gorgeous from the moment she first sees him, she starts liking him due to him beating up a rival girl gang who were threatening her... or at least that's what she thinks happened. In reality, it was Hitomi who took them down while they were ogling Shousuke, all while Ai was unconscious.
  • Eventually, this is the way Hitomi finds her way into her heart and becomes her friend. Anyone would submit if bombarded with relentless kindness like that.
• Bishie Sparkle: She sees one the first time she lays eyes on Shousuke, all while getting a Crush Blush and wearing a Kawaiiko expression.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: She's pummeled unconscious by a rival girl gang as retaliation. She is then saved by Shousuke and Hitomi's intervention.
• The Dreaded: Both her brother and her classmates are justifiably afraid of her. The only people that have shown her no fear are Hitomi and Shousuke.
• Early-Bird Cameo: She has sparse interactions with her brother several chapters before she is formally introduced. Predictably, she's bullying him in those. She appears in the manga's introductory splash page embracing her brother, but her name is not mentioned then.
• Entertainingly Wrong: She thinks Shousuke saved her from a rival girl gang and immediately falls head over heels for him, but she didn't know that it was Hitomi who did it because, at the time, she was unconscious. What makes it curious is that, even without intervening, it's shown that she was falling for Shousuke to begin with, and the situation led to her falling into Confirmation Bias.
• Friendless Background: Upon entering high school, she only has enemies and people that annoy her. That is until Hitomi barges in.
• Heir to the Dojo: Played with. Ai is usually the spotter for Makoto's exercise routines, but it's unknown if she's involved in the family dojo itself or whether she is instructed in martial arts by their dad. As her brother is considerably non-aggressive, it's suggested that Ai might have some standing in the dojo indeed.
• Hidden Depths:
  • She takes relationships between boys and girls very seriously and sets her eyes on Shousuke.
  • She is rather stalwart and brave and has no problem with putting herself on the line so that people don't get hurt on her account.
  • In spite of her desire to suppress it, Ai is shown to be considerably girlier and sweeter than she appears to be, and more susceptible to kindness than she thinks.
• His Own Worst Enemy: One of the reasons she hasn't been able to approach Shousuke like she'd want is because she comes off as too aggressive, which has been her default modus operandi for quite some time; the other reason is, she turns into a bashful tomato.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Upon befriending Hitomi, Shousuke and yes, even Sanjuurokurou, she starts considering the possibility of leaving her delinquent life behind.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: Played for laughs. Hitomi assumes that this is the case since she showed up so late in the school year and she doesn't have any friends, so she swears to help her find friends... whether she likes it or not. At the end of the day, and very much to Ai's chagrin, Hitomi becomes her first friend at high school.
• Japanese Delinquents: A hard-line delinquent, her rivals are even surprised that she goes to school in the first place.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
  • It's hinted that Ai's aggressiveness towards her brother stems from her worry that he might be bullied for being so meek, and might have manifested as a whole due to her family's notorious shyness.
  • It's also shown that in spite of her aggressiveness, she's noble and has a deep-rooted code of honor.
• Like Father, Unlike Son: She's nowhere as nice or tongue-tied as her parents are.
• Love at First Sight: She is immediately enthralled by Shousuke the second she lays eyes on him, and by the end of the day, she's head over heels for him.
• No Brows: Played with. Hers are actually tufty, short, and very faint, though this is one of the aspects that makes her seem brutish.
• Not So Stoic: Although she's commonly stone-faced when she first lays eyes on Shousuke, she turns into a Smitten Teenage Girl.
• Perpetual Frowner: Invoked. She actively makes the effort to frown all the time, but she drops it every time she interacts with Shousuke or whenever she's happy.
• Punny Name: Her name means "stiff love", referring to her unbending attitude.
• Significant Haircut: She dramatically cuts her hair short in Chapter 344 in order to convince her teacher to assign her to Shousuke's classroom in their second year in an effort to show how serious she is. Despite being taken aback by the gesture and (naturally) intimidated by Ai, the teacher insists he can't change the class listings, but then informs her that she's already in the same class as Shousuke.
• Skipping School: In her introductory chapter, she has thus far skipped a significant part of her first year at Kisai High, explaining why she hasn't met either Hitomi or Shousuke. Like a true delinquent, she's a truant.
• Small Role, Big Impact: She's one of the reasons her brother is the way he is; that is, buff like hell and cripplingly shy.
• Smitten Teenage Girl: Upon meeting Shousuke, she is immediately enthralled by him. It's so poignant that she has to regain her composure twice.
• Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Ai is confrontational and intimidating, but she's quite susceptible to kindness and sweetness dispensed to her. She also happens to be a markedly beautiful girl who is surprisingly open to girly and cutesy stuff, being a maiden at heart in spite of her intimidating aura.
• When She Smiles: In Chapter 198, it's shown that she's enjoyed her day out with Shousuke and Hitomi so much that she relents a shy and tender smile behind their backs, which is noticed by Shousuke (and from him, that's saying plenty).

Katai Ken and Misao

Introduction: Chapters 179 & 181

Ken and Misao are Makoto and Ai's parents, who run a martial arts dojo. While intimidating, they are painfully tongue-tied.

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• Captain Ersatz: Ken looks suspiciously similar to Tekken's Heihachi Mishima... at least in appearance. Not at all in personality.
• Face of a Thug: They look far more intimidating than they actually are.
• Like Father, Like Son: Makoto ended up as shy and tongue-tied as he is because of them, but inherited their sweetness and kindness. Like his father, he's built like a wall.
• Like Father, Unlike Son: Their daughter Ai could not be more different than them. Even though she inherited their menacing look, she has an attitude to match it.
• Punny Name: Katai Ken means "stiff sword", while Katai Misao means "stiff principles"
• Shrinking Violet: They are so shy that they can't talk.

Agari Matsuri

Introduction: Chapter 193

Matsuri is Agari Himiko's aunt, who runs a food stall in the summer festival. Unlike her niece, Matsuri gets overexcited under pressure during festivals, alienating her workers and hurting her own business.

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• Animal Motifs: Much like her niece Himiko, who is an overexcited puppy, Matsuri is in turn the overexcited adult dog.
• Cute Little Fangs: She sports two.
• Entertainingly Wrong: At first glance, she thinks that Tadano and Manbagi are sweethearts because a drunk client mistakes them for a couple; the drunkard also points out that Tadano and Komi don't suit each other, so arriving at a safe (but mistaken) conclusion, Matsuri sends Tadano and Manbagi alone to watch the fireworks.
• Foil: To Komi Shuuko. Like Shuuko with her daughter, Matsuri is like a bubbly, grown-up version of her niece with considerably fewer inhibitions and lacking shyness.
• Genki Girl: To a fault. She hypes herself so much that she fizzles out about five minutes into opening the stall.
• Has a Type: It's implied that she likes muscular men, explaining why she is given to touch Katai.
• The Mentor: Her running a food stall is implied to be the reason her niece Himiko is so partial towards trying new foods and restaurants, but lacking customer service industries, Himiko aimed for the food critic side of the equation.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Her actions unwittingly make Manbagi come to terms with her feelings towards Tadano, whom everybody including Komi bore witness to. All she did was give a little push to open the floodgates.
• No Sense of Personal Space: When the festival starts she gets so hyped that she starts groping Katai and Tadano.
• Oh, No... Not Again!: Matsuri's fellow stall neighbors lament the fact that Matsuri once again starts getting hyper, and if it weren't for Tadano's group taking over turns manning the stand, it wouldn't have had any business.
• Punny Name: "Agari" means "excited"/"flustered" and "Matsuri" means "celebration"/"festival", altogether means "gets excited during festivals".
• Shared Family Quirks: Like her niece, she gets flustered when put on the spot, but doesn't shut down like Himiko and becomes manic instead.
• Shipper on Deck: For Manbagi and Tadano, due to their interaction with a drunk client who calls them a "couple".
• Strong Family Resemblance: She looks just like her niece, but grown up.

Natsukido Rei

Introduction: Chapters 168 thru 177^(!) Excluding Chapter 174

A second-grader in elementary school, the daughter of one of Shuuko's school friends, who comes to stay with the Komi family for a week while her parents are away. A self-possessed little girl who seems mature beyond her years.

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• Animal Motifs: Cats, like Komi, although she shows it differently, having cat-like pupils, holding herself apart from others, and presenting herself as being independent.
• Armor-Piercing Question: One delivered by Komi:
  Komi: All those people you met until now... Do you hate them?
  Rei: (wailing) HOW COULD I EVER HATE THEM...!!!
• Cooldown Hug: She gets one from Komi when she questions her reasons to try to be her friend.
• The Cutie: She's cute and beautiful, enough to be confused as Komi's little sister.
• Dramatic Irony: In spite of her efforts otherwise, Rei becomes so close to Komi in a mere seven days that they're almost family by the time she leaves for America.
• Foil: To Komi; their first meeting is basically what'd happen if a nervous cat met an aloof cat. Both are viewed as being Aloof Dark-Haired Girls, which neither of them truly is. However, where Komi unintentionally comes off as aloof due to her anxiety and lack of social skills, Rei purposefully puts on a façade to keep herself from being hurt.
• Hates Being Alone: Implied Trope. In spite of her composed demeanor, it's shown that she is not okay with her parents being away for so long, and she misses her mom considerably. She does find some comfort when Komi falls asleep in her room, keeping her company.
• Hidden Heart of Gold: She tries her best to be as dispassionate and disengaged as possible, reaching a point where she tries to antagonize Komi by breaking a prized toy of hers and throwing a fit in the street, taking off running in order to dissuade Komi from trying to befriend her. It doesn't work for her.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: Due to the fact that her family moves very frequently, Rei has not been able to form lasting friendships with the people that she meets, having experienced nothing but goodbyes. This makes her sad to no end, and she tries to reject Komi because she doesn't want to form anything meaningful just to have it be taken from her. Komi doesn't let her, though, stating that even though she didn't share that much time with the people she's met, she cannot hate them or blame them for her sadness, implying that it's due to her own making. This makes her settle down eventually and accept Komi's offer of friendship.
• I Want My Mommy!: In the dead of night, Komi catches her silently crying for her mom in spite of her earlier composure. She's still a young girl, all in all.
• Irony: Despite all of her efforts otherwise, Rei becomes one of Komi's closest friends and one that can almost be considered family to her.
• Meaningful Name: "Natsukido" is a phrase that refers to getting closer to someone, and "Rei" means zero. In short, she tries to keep her distance from people emotionally.
• Nice Girl: In spite of her best efforts to alienate Komi, Rei is a sweetheart.
• Not So Above It All: Beneath the mature facade Rei likes to project, she really is prone to acting her age.
• Not So Stoic: She does her best to be proper and formal, but her true emotions eventually start to show through.
• Overly Long Name: Her teddy bear is named Elisabeth, short for Elisabeth Alexandrine Josephine Jeanne Catherine Christianne, a descendant of the Royal House of Alexandrine and the Noble House of Christianne.
• Only-Child Syndrome: Rei is an only child, which further exacerbates her need for lasting friends. Being treated as The Drag-Along by her parents has left her too frequently lonely for comfort. Through their interactions, she starts treating Komi like a sister.
• Pet the Dog: Komi does not take any offense from Rei's behavior, rather worrying at the possibility that she's offended Rei herself somehow. In spite of being the offended party, Komi tenderly consoles Rei for her outbursts and asks Shousuke to fix the Sokechu toy that Rei destroyed, which he does no questions asked, implying that he's fond of Rei too.
• Precocious Crush: Rei gets implied to have developed one on Shousuke after he repaired her broken toy. After that, she spends quite a bit of her remaining summer vacation with the Komi family silently following him around.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Puts on a mature facade, but beneath it, she really is a little kid who wants to play around with Komi.
• Tears of Joy: When blowing bubbles with Komi, Onemine, and the latter's little siblings, she's so elated that tears appear on the corners of her eyes.
• Tender Tears: When she questions Komi as to why she's trying to befriend her in spite of her ostensible rudeness towards her, and later, after she says her goodbyes to Komi.
• The Bus Came Back: She briefly returns in Chapter 284 when Komi (along with Manbagi) visits her in New York.
• Tsundere: What her relationship with Shouko ends up becoming, with Shouko being cuddly and affectionate towards her, while she feigns some resistance, only to give up and cuddle back.
  • Similarly, it's obvious she enjoys her interactions with Najimi when they first meet, only for Rei to insist that she hates them; Najimi, being the ultimate people person, is still easily able to press her buttons by invoking WcDonalds and Sokemon.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: How she presents herself to others, due to her parents being away a lot.
• You Keep Telling Yourself That: She tearfully states that she doesn't want to become close with anyone, all while being lovingly hugged and consoled by Komi. So much for that ethos...