All characters in Kono Oto Tomare!
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Tokise High School Koto Club
The Club as a Whole
From left to right: Kurata, Kudou, Hozuki, Kota, Kurusu, Sane, Mittsu. Not shown here: Yoshinaga and Momoya
- All Your Powers Combined: Although Hozuki’s skill is far beyond any of the other club members, only when the club plays as an ensemble do their songs really shine. Likewise, only by coming together did the team grow to love and understand their instrument - Hozuki to love the koto again after being disinherited from the Hozuki Koto School, and everyone to discover the koto.
- Book Dumb: With the exception of Kurata, none of the other members are shown to be particularly bright at academic subjects. Likewise, they learn better by listening to music and feeling its emotions instead of understanding its theory.
- Determinator: The club endures Training from Hell on a regular basis in order not to disappoint each other.
- Hidden Depths: Everyone on the team gets a significant amount of character development that prove that there's more to them than what meets the eye.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits:Fujimoto: An honor student next to a gyaru… like seven jigsaws mixed together.
- Stronger Than They Look: Many of their rivals initially write them off due to their lack of reputation, mismatching personalities, and seemingly delinquent style.
- True Companions: It's what brought them all together and why they're able to play so well together. This companionship also inspired Takinami to take up music again and Akira to defeat her own personal darkness and cynicism.
Third-year students
Takezo Kurata
Voiced by: Jun'ya Enoki (JP), Alejandro Saab (EN)
President of the Koto Club. At the beginning of the story, Kurata is the sole remaining member of the club, after Mashiro and the rest of his upperclassmen graduated. With Kudo's help and a little bit of luck, Kurata turns the floundering club into a formidable ensemble.
- Berserk Button: Do not insult any one of the club members. He can take jabs hurled at himself, but once you get his friends involved, his docile attitude does a complete 180 (after development kicks in). It tends to leave the target speechless; just ask Takeru and Hiro's ex-boyfriend.
- Bespectacled Cutie: He may be the archetypal nerd, but his glasses make his child-like features even more endearing. They also don't stop Hiro from becoming attracted to him.
- Beware the Nice Ones: The one time he really gets angry and confused over Hiro trying to break up the club, even Kudo, former delinquent and streetfighter, is terrified of his frustrated Death Glare.
- Extreme Doormat: Initially, he's submissive, passively pleasing and insecure. Overcoming this tendency is the crux of his character development. With the help of the rest of the club members, he grows into a respectable leader that guides the Koto Club to the national championships.
- He Cleans Up Nicely: During the school festival, he tidies up his hairstyle and his wardrobe. Naturally, Hiro becomes more attracted to him for it.
- Informed Flaw: Chika calls him 'baldie' a couple of times, despite him having a full head of hair.
- In-Series Nickname: “Glasses” from Kudo as a rough form of affection, “Nadeshiko-chan” from his bullies.
- Nice Guy: While it was taken to a needy extreme in the beginning, Takezo is always kind-hearted, well-behaved and compassionate, which is why he maintains his underclassmen's respect.
- Only Sane Man: When Takinami uses childish appeals to motivate the boys of the club (like when he said they were too young to understand “sex appeal”), Kurata is the only one who doesn’t fall for the ruse.
- Stereotypical Nerd: He starts out as one, with the Geek Physique, the Nerd Glasses and projecting an air of insecurity and neediness. He grows out of these stereotypes as the story progresses, however.
Hiro Kurusu
Voiced by: Sara Matsumoto (JP), Alexis Tipton (EN)
A student in Kurata's class, first appearing in Chapter 9. An attractive socialite unlike the rest of the club members, Kurusu seemingly joins the club on a whim. In reality, she joined to spread discord and destroy the fun atmosphere she witnessed at a performance last year. Gradually, her motivation transforms to more genuine reasons, and she becomes an equally dedicated member of the club.
- The Atoner: After her being figured out by the koto club, she musters the courage to head to everybody whose relationships she destroyed with her previous manipulations and apologize. Even if it got her beaten and bruised.
- Big Sister Instinct: She is very protective of the other members of the club, and holds their feelings over all else. When realizing that Dojima's presence was affecting the club morale, she tries to convince everyone that the club is better off without her.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Starts out manipulating the club members so she could ruin their camaraderie under a thin veneer of cheer. After she's called out for it and later resolves to involve herself more seriously at playing koto, her kindness is considerably more sincere.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Originally her defining feature. She joined the club because she was envious of the wholesome atmosphere. Although she makes vast progress, she occasionally relapses into bouts of jealousy, such as when Mashiro visited Kurata at the cultural festival.
- Genki Girl: After enrolling in the club fully, she often serves as the bubbly, energetic counterpart to the more stoic and reserved Hozuki.
- The Heart: She oftentimes is the first one to offer rallying words of encouragement to the rest of the club.
- Nice Girl: Her earlier stints aside, Hiro's truly a sincere, warm-hearted and friendly young woman who will always support her peers when they're in dire straits.
- Psychological Projection: She had a small case in the beginning; she reasoned that if her relationship and friendships could be ruined by a single lie, it meant that relationships were frail to begin with, so she resolved to do the same. Fortunately, all it took to snap her out of it was one group of friends (the koto club) who weren't so easily torn apart.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: She falls for the plain but serious Kurata when before she made fun of his unassertive personality.
Second-year students
Chika Kudo
Voiced by: Yūma Uchida (JP), Daman Mills (EN)
The first member to join Kurata in the club. Kudo brings with him a reputation for fighting and delinquency, which initially makes others distrustful of him. However, underneath his rough exterior is a kind heart who wants to honor his deceased grandfather by playing the koto.
- The Atoner: Kudo joins the Koto Club to honor his grandfather’s memory.
- Chick Magnet: He's a conspicuous Bishōnen, and girls begin to acknowledge him once they realize he's really not as dangerous as first thought, much to Hozuki's chagrin.
- Cute Little Fangs: Comical scenes always portray him with two sharp teeth sticking out of the corner of his mouth, to highlight his occasionally dopey nature.
- Delinquent: Former. Rehabilitated thanks to finding his path in the Koto club.
- Determinator: Although every member of the club is intensely dedicated, Kudo is a cut above, usually being the first one in the club room every morning, practicing until his fingers literally bleed, and playing through a concert with a sprained hand. All so that he can catch up to Hozuki and be worthy of playing with her.
- The Dreaded: At the beginning of the story his reputation is awful, and the entire school is afraid of him. Things get better.
- Guilt Complex: To the point that he took personal blame for what occurred to his grandfather's shop, despite that he neither participated nor incited the destruction, and it was just vengeance by members of his previous gang for deciding to finally remove himself from them to begin a new leaf. He was simply on the wrong place at the wrong time. Didn't help when one of the cops arresting him stated that even if he had nothing to do with it, that he probably deserved it due to his history of delinquency.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: He gets fired up very easily, which unfortunately has obscured his heart of gold.
- Happily Adopted: While it got strained due to his bad behavior, he absolutely loved and adored his grandfather for always having faith in him and attempting to change the misguided road he had taken. He also seems at ease living with his aunt once his grandfather passed away.
- Hot-Blooded: At the start of the story, he got riled up so effortlessly that he seemed uncontrollable, and resorted to violence like second nature. He improves.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He definitely does not provide the best first impression, but it doesn't take long for others to see his virtues and the softness underneath.
- Magnetic Hero: While Takezo is the club president, the entire Koto club kickstarted the moment Chika applied. His perseverance, determination to improve, and hard work continuously inspires the rest of the members, and when the chips are down and doubts fill in, it's him that provides the encouragement for them to push forward via figuring out musical epiphanies and indirectly prompting them to continue trying.
- Magikarp Power: Although he begins as an absolute amateur, his natural talent allows him to play basic passages with incredible emotion.
- Meaningful Name: His name is written with the character for “love.”
- Raised by Grandparents: By his grandfather, before the start of the series.
- Real Men Hate Affection: Kudo gets shy when his aunt hugs him in Chapter 54.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: With his background, it comes as no surprise that he can be rather foul-mouthed, and is the member of the cast who curses the most. He also uses keigo very little, and is criticized for it.
- Sour Outside, Sad Inside: His irate and aggressive tendencies appear to derive from being disowned by his father for being a "brat" and seemingly finding no purpose in life. He's terribly affected by his grandfather's koto repair shop being damaged and then has to deal with his subsequent death, although his grandfather was aware he was not at fault and stated so. Dealing with the loss is what actually spurs Chika to join the koto club, as his grandfather was the club founder.
- Sweet Tooth: Many of the after-chapter sketches humorously depict Kudo begging Tetsuki for sweets.
- Tame His Anger: As the series progresses, he is less prone to violence and hissy fits than he used to be, and has become more gentle and emotionally mature thanks to his friends.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Strawberries, or anything strawberry-flavored. He loves them so much he asked that his class serve strawberry daifuku in their culture fair festival, which is one of the first things that gets his classmates to realize that he's not as bad as the rumors say he is.
- Tsundere: And Class S to boot! Harsh type to all his friends, especially Hozuki.
Satowa Hozuki
Voiced by: Atsumi Tanezaki (JP), Amber Lee Connors (EN)
A koto prodigy, and a member of the renowned Hozuki Group, one of the most prestigious organizations in the koto world. After an infamous performance as a middle schooler, Hozuki joined Tokise's koto club with the intent to increase her own fame. After further reflection and the help of the other club members, she comes to appreciate the koto as not just an instrument, but something more.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: At the beginning, she's quite pompous and arrogant towards the other boys, but over time, mellows out once she gets to know them and connect with them. The black hair is self-explanatory.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Naturally, she's completely dumbstruck about expressing her feelings towards Chika. At least until later on.
- Crush Blush: Prone to this around Kudo after her defrosting. Chapter 74 takes the special kind of cake.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Her excommunication from the Hozuki Group left her cynical and unappreciating of other people's struggles. Playing in a group and understanding other people gradually warms both her personality and her sound.
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: After her disastrous solo in middle school, she lost the motivation to play the koto, thinking it to be pointless if she could neither help her mother nor reconcile with her.
- Irony: When listening to the original version of Tenkyuu that she played in the National Koto Competition, she realizes that such a harsh sound would never express the feelings of love she felt for her mother.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's quite arrogant and pompous upon introduction, as well as a rather impatient teacher that looked down on her teammates, but her heart is very much in the right place. She mellows out considerably as she spends more time with her clubmates.
- Lethal Chef: It is implied several times that she cannot cook. Justified since she hasn't seen anything but koto for several years straight.
- Minor Living Alone: Kudo visits her in Chapter 11, to find that she lives in a dinky one room house.
- No Social Skills: A life fully immersed in the koto world left Satowa with little else to socialize about. In brief scenes of her chatting with female classmates, she’s often left overwhelmed and confused, an embarrassed Luminescent Blush over her face.
- Tsundere: Towards Kudo; her lack of social skills leaves her quite embarrassed to show her Dere side. She's steadily growing out of it though.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Her only reason to excel at the koto was to earn her mother’s smile. As her mother grew more and more stressed from managing the Hozuki Group, Satowa pushed herself to higher levels of excellence to try to make her mother happy again.
Kota Mizuhara
Voiced by: Yūichi Iguchi (JP), Josh Grelle (EN)
One of Chika's three delinquent followers who originally joined the club for his sake, Kota is the most cheerful and affectionate of the trio, but also the one that struggles the most playing koto. He has very poor sense of rhythm, but he makes up for it with hard work and determination.- Camp Straight: His mannerisms, choices of colors and high-pitched voice are somewhat effeminate, but later chapters reveal that he's unequivocally attracted to girls.
- Cuddle Bug: He's very quick to hug people he likes, and he does it with maximum flare.
- Determinator: Frequently struggles with difficult rhythms, but works extra hard to get the hang of them anyway.
- Keet: The cheeriest and most energetic member of the idiot trio, as well as the whole club.
- Nice Guy: Sweet, outgoing, and very amiable; arguably the friendliest of Chika's three friends.
- The Nicknamer: He dishes out Affectionate Nicknames on the regular, such as calling Akira "Aki-chan-sensei" or nicknaming his underclassmen Yoshinaga and Momoya "Yoshirin" and "Momoyan", respectively.
Saneyasu Adachi
Voiced by: Haruki Ishiya (JP), Austin Tindle (EN)
One of Chika's three delinquent followers who originally joined the club for his sake. Seems to be the most musically skilled among the trio, for after his initial struggles, he's noted to have developed a good sense of power and balance in playing.- Chivalrous Pervert: All three boys have shades of this, but it's perhaps most prominent with Sane. He's experienced Nosebleed more than once upon meeting pretty ladies, and is usually the first to comment on them. One way to tick him off- as Mittsu knows and Chika finds out- is to say you were in closer proximity to a pretty girl than he was. However, he is respectful towards the the female club members and Dojima and a has a protective streak that eventually extends to include the whole koto club.
- Chekhov's Skill: He mentions during a dinner outing that he knows how to play guitar, which proves that he's musically inclined. This is why he lands a position playing a 17-string koto in the future.
- Jack of All Stats: Developing into one where his koto playing is concerned- and a few characters have acknowledged this. His familiarity with the guitar likely helps.
- The Leader: Subtle, but he's usually the one among the trio to take charge when Chika isn't around.
- Nice Guy: Friendly, reliable, and always loyal to and mindful of his friends.
Michitaka Sakai
Voiced by: Makoto Furukawa (JP), Anthony Bowling (EN)
One of Chika's three delinquent followers who originally joined the club for his sake. A plump boy who hails from a large family.- All the Other Reindeer: Starts feeling this at the beginning of his second year after being placed in a different class from his friends. The story notes that he isn't as naturally sociable as Sane or Kota.
- Anime Hair: His hair is pink, hedgehog-like and spiky.
- Big Beautiful Man: Being obese doesn't mean that he's spared the Bishie Sparkle.
- Big Fun: He's the only obese man in the cast, and often one who brings humor to the club. Though, it isn't always played straight.
- In-Series Nickname: Is affectionately called "Mittsu" by his peers.
- Massive Numbered Siblings: Four, all of whom are younger than him. They come into play later in the story.
- Nice Guy: He's quick to share his affection with others and is usually very gentle. He often generously gives his food to others when they're down.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Out of all his siblings, it's Michitaka who looks the most like his mother. It helps that both are obese.
- You Are Fat: Subverted. He's sometimes seen with food, and his friends make a references to his weight, but it's never intended to be as mocking or mean spirited, and he has no problem joining in from time to time. His development in the story actually has nothing to do with him being "the fat kid", and his friends remain fiercely supportive when he gets A Day in the Limelight.
Associates
Suzuka Takinami
- “Then practice. If you don’t want this to be the last one, then for the next two months, train like your lives depended on it. Efficiently, frantically, earnestly… train so that you can proudly say no one trained more.”
Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa (JP), Brandon Potter (EN)
The son of a composer and a top-tier pianist, Takinami is a math teacher at Tokise High School and the Koto Club's advisor. At first, he's very skeptical about the club’s prospects, but events in the story prompt him to reevaluate his stance towards music.
- The Ace: Although he wouldn’t have the club know it, it is clear that he is an absolute genius composer with keen understanding of each individual’s strengths and weaknesses.
- Affectionate Nickname: Hiro calls him Suzuka-chan due to him being her electives class teacher. Everyone else affixes the more respectful -sensei to his name.
- Brutal Honesty: He does not mince words or lie when the club performs poorly. On the other hand, this makes his rare moments of encouragement that much more powerful. The only exception to this is his notion that he has no experience working with music.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: Despite his outward presentation as a cold, unhelpful teacher to the Koto club, deep down, he genuinely hopes to see the kids strive to do their best and improve. The piece he writes for the nationals cements his complete trust in them.
- Stealth Mentor: His comments are often harsh, but they're said to make the club stronger.
- The Stoic: He always speaks with a low, even tone and almost never displays extreme emotions.
Akira Dojima
- “I understood from that one note alone – the overbearing, absolute difference. No matter how much I tried… I would never reach that place.”
Voiced by: Nao Tōyama (Japanese), Caitlin Glass (English)
The Koto Club Instructor. Her first appearance is in Chapter 33, when Hozuki comes back to her mother to beg for another seventeen-string koto, but she assumes the role of club instructor in Chapter 34. Akira first joins with the intent to break the will of the club members through spartan, traditional teaching methods. However, after witnessing the dedication and potential of the club firsthand, she turns around to genuinely wish for the club’s success.
- Always Second Best: Being surrounded by koto geniuses and strict teachers made her always feel like this. It’s the main reason she harbors resentment towards Satowa.
- Broken Bird: Despite what looks like a very successful koto career, she is absolutely miserable with her life. Until meeting the Tokise Koto Club, she did not think her effort had any value, when it was so easily surpassed by the naturally talented, like Hozuki.
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: Believes that her own worth is nil, when musical geniuses like Satowa and her brother exist.
- Empty Eyes: This is one feature that clues into her damaged mental state. Her eyes are without shine and completely dark. But when she begins to find purpose in life once again, the glow returns as well.
- Formal Characters Use Keigo: With the exception of her big brother, she always speaks the polite form of Japanese.
- Hates Being Touched: She's not awfully receptive to the bouts of affection she receives from her big brother.
- Jade-Colored Glasses: All she wanted was to be like her brother, who she idolized. When it became clear that his natural talent was on another level from hers, she grew disillusioned about loving music for music’s sake.
- Took a Level in Cheerfulness: After spending some time with the Tokise Koto Club, her disposition gradually brightens up, even though she remains overall demure and calm.
