Characters of Kowloon Generic Romance
Be aware that due to the First-Episode Twist at the end of the first volume, spoilers regarding that twist will be unmarked, especially in regards to the existence of "B".
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Main Characters
Kujirai
Kujirai Reiko
"Smoking tastes much better after eating a watermelon."
A 32 year old realtor.- Affectionate Nickname: Youmei calls Kujirai "Reikopon" after they start hanging out.
- Ambiguous Situation: It's unclear what she is, but she is either or a clone/zirconian or an even better version of those clones. According to Miyuki, clones shouldn't be able to reproduce the moles, which throws her nature in doubt.
- Bespectacled Cutie: The first chapter of the manga has the bespectacled Kujirai discover that her eyes have curiously healed and she no longer needs glasses. Kudou promptly voices the opinion that he likes her with glasses better, and by the next chapter she's switched to wearing glasses with blue light blocking lenses.
- Identity Amnesia: As the series progresses it becomes apparent from Kudou's flashbacks that "Kujirai-B" and "Kujirai-A" are very different from each other: "Kujirai-B" was a lot more easy-going and brash, leaning into being crass at times, while the Kujirai we now know is a lot more restrained and easily flustered. This difference is perhaps most vividly illustrated by Chapter 18 and Chapter 19. In Chapter 18, Kudou remembers Kujirai bringing him to her apartment and being very casual about having a man at her home, even laughing at him for being flustered when he saw her underwear, while in Chapter 19 he helps Kujirai take a goldfish home and takes the time to clean up before she lets him in.
- Trademark Favorite Food:
- Watermelon. She eats them daily, and believes that the mix of eating watermelon and smoking is one of the best things she has.
- Lemon Chicken note , though this has a more symbolic meaning. Unlike Kujirai-B, whose tastes were mostly composed of dishes she was nostalgic for, the current Kujirai actually develops a taste for new things, especially lemon chicken, further signifying their differences.
- Uptight Loves Wild: A by-the-book and professional woman, she falls for Kudou, who is much more wild and temperamental.
Hajime Kudou
"For me, such a nostalgic feeling is one and the same as love."
A 30 year old realtor. Reiko's coworker.- Borrowed Catchphrase: A lot of what he says and believes in was inherited from Kujirai-B's own life, sayings, and philosophies. After seeing his flashbacks, the reader can notice just how much of his habits and tastes have been borrowed from her.
- Loves My Alter Ego: He loved Kujirai-B and is still hung up on her. While he has some attraction towards Reiko, it's jumbled with his attraction to someone that is exactly the same but also different from her, which leaves him with a sour taste on his mouth whenever Reiko starts acting in ways that differ from Kujirai-B; like her newfound taste for new restaurants and lemon chicken, or a desire to see what is beyond Kowloon.
- Mysterious Past: His history with Kujirai-B is one of the main mysteries of the manga. Although how they fell in love and got together is shown in multiple flashback chapters, the ending of said relationship is a mystery.
Kowloon
The Hebinuma Group
Miyuki Hebinuma
Heir of the Hebinuma clan, he works as a doctor on the Hebinuma clan in Kowloon.
- Ambiguously Evil: What exactly is he up to is very hard to define. He definitely looks very creepy and shady, and his interest in Reiko leaves her wary of him, but whether his end goal is good or bad is anyone's guess.
- Animal Motif: Snakes. The "hebi" in his name means "Snake", he wears scale like accessories, has a snake tattooed in his back, and even a slit tongue similar to a reptile. It also crosses into a biblical motif that associates him with the Snake from the Garden of Eden, which is more present in Chapter 17.
- Blue Blood: Subverted. He is the bastard son of the head of the Hebinuma Group and his mistress, who took over when the previous heir died in an accident. Miyuki plays the role of a rich man in public, but he was raised poor, and still has a taste for things like street food.
- Friend to All Children: He shows to genuinely care for children and when seeing a young boy in trouble, he stops to help him. It may be because he can't have children of his own.
- Hermaphrodite: Albeit his body is mostly male and he identifies as male, he has both male and female genitalia. The resulting element of that making him unable to have children does upset him a little.
- Love Redeems: His love for Guen has been considered to make him a considerably nicer and more mellow person.
- Revenge: His ultimate goal is revenge against his father, though the means are still shrouded in mystery. What is known is that his father's plan of bringing back his legitimate son will never quite come to fruition, since the current clone technology can bring back personality, but not memories.
Friends of the main characters
Shaohei
A cute young girl who works a multitude of part-time jobs in Kowloon.
- Cute Little Fangs: Xiaohei is drawn with a fang to emphasize her youthfulness and her emotional nature.
Youmei
Youmei / Yang Ming
"That something artificial could shine so beautifully gives me hope. Hey, Reiko-pon, never forget there are also people like us who know that fakes can genuinely sparkle."
A loud tenant in Shaohei and Reiko's apartment. She turned out to be sewing for a living. After meeting her, she quickly becomes close friends with Reiko.
- Friend Versus Lover: Youmei has some negative feelings towards Kudou due to feeling that he may be dragging Reiko around and that he is just, overall, a bad influence on her since he clearly is still hung up on Kujirai-B. She wants Reiko to move on, which she feels she won't be able to do by Kudou's influence.
- Mysterious Past: She says that at some point, she moved away and went through full-body cosmetic surgery to get the body she always wanted. What was her life before is anyone's guess. She also says that she would deny anything regarding her former life if someone brought up the subject."I've thrown away my past. All of it."
- Her past is revealed in chapter 42: She is the daughter of a famous actress who controlled her life to make her follow into her footsteps.
Tao Guen
A friend of the main characters who works on a bar.
- Cessation of Existence: According to the real Tao Guen, once the he entered Kowloon, his double ceased to be, which he assumes will happen every time the real one enters Kowloon while their double exists.
- Put on a Bus: The copy of Tao Guen leaves town early in the manga, supposedly the same thing that the original Tao Guen did. The original Tao Guen, however, returns and becomes a fairly important recurring character.
Spoiler Characters
"B"
"Kujirai-B"
Kujirai as a shadow
The original Kujirai Reiko; Kudou's senpai and lover.- Bespectacled Cutie: Even more than her current counterpart, seeing as she had a more lively personality and needed her glasses to see.
- Driven to Suicide: Chapter 54 reveals she died by suicide, the method is implied to have been an overdose of sleeping pills. The reason for it is unclear.
- Flower Motif: Sunflowers.
- Identical Twin Id Tag:
- Unlike "Kujirai-A", she has her ears pierced. In the manga, there is a focus on her earrings to identify that she is "B".
- A more downplayed example, but, Kujirai-B also actually needs her glasses. Kujirai-A's eyesight improved so she only uses blue-light filter glasses in the office and around Kudou, but spends her time without it. Kujirai-B's glasses are something she actually needs to see, so she uses it all the time. This is doubly the case as Kujirai starts moving away from using glasses altogether.
- Posthumous Character: It's theorized she died, leaving the mystery of how she died and what is the current Kujirai.
Masked Man
"Tao Guen"
- Animal Motif: He is regularly compared to dogs, in regards to his friendliness, attachment to people, and his loyalty and devotion to his boyfriend.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: He is very wary of the idea of letting Miyuki meet his counterpart out of fear that, since they are essentially the same person, it's likely the other Guen would also fall for Miyuki and that Miyuki would reciprocrate.
