Kurosaki
The protagonist. He's a self-proclaimed
Kurosagi, i.e. a professional swindler who targets other swindlers (particularly Shirosagi) to return what they've stolen to their victims.
- Anti-Hero: He is a (relatively) heroic character who helps out swindling victims get their money back. He is also a professional swindler and is functionally a criminal.
- Big Eater: Whenever he's talking to his prospective clients, he'd almost always be eating copious amounts of food.
- Celibate Hero: Kurosaki frequently deals with beautiful women, whether they are the victims he intends to help out, or the Mark he should take down. Not to mention, he has Tsurara, his neighbor / tenant, profess her love for him. Despite this, Kurosaki has made it clear that he intends to live as a swindler until he dies, and he believes that the path he has chosen is one that he should tread alone.
- The Cynic: He is understandably distrustful of the police, and the effectiveness of the justice system, and believes that the only way to stop a swindler is by swindling them back.
- Dark and Troubled Past: He lost his family to Murder-Suicide, and was bullied a lot during his middle and high school years.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: He often claims that he doesn't really care about the victims he helps, and he only gets involved because it's his business to cheat swindlers. Of course, it's pretty clear from his interactions with his clients that he does care for them.
- Just Like Robin Hood: Downplayed. Kurosagi does con other conmen in order to help restore what they've stolen to their victims (at least, the one Kuro knows), but not without cutting some profit for himself, and to pay back the information Katsuragi gives him. Kuro rationalizes that he isn't a righteous thief because a true Robin Hood-like figure would give all the money he swindled to the victims.
- Hunter of His Own Kind: He's a swindler who hunts other swindlers.
- No Name Given: Only his last name is ever known.
- Sweet Tooth: He usually has a lollipop in his mouth and eating some portions of dessert whenever he is in cafe.
- You Are What You Hate: Kurosaki hates Shirosagis with a passion, because he lost his family to their scheme. He gets back at them by becoming the very swindler he hates.
- You Killed My Father: He has sworn revenge on Katsuragi because the latter was behind the scam that led to his family's Murder-Suicide.
Tsurara Yoshikawa
An aspiring law school student and prosecutor-to-be. She lives next door in Kurosaki's flat.
- Conflicting Loyalty: As an aspiring lawyer, Tsurara disapproves of Kurosaki's profession and methods. But, at the same time, she sympathizes with his Dark and Troubled Past and reluctantly admits that he's been able to achieve the results she herself wishes to someday accomplish as a prosecutor.
- The Idealist: She continues to belief that Justice Will Prevail despite encountering a number of conmen who would have escaped justice if not for Kurosagi's meddling.
- Perpetual Poverty: Minor, but she has to work part-time to pay rent of her room and her inability to pay on time it is always In-Universe Played for Laughs...
Masaru Kashina
A police lieutenant who has a passionate hatred for swindlers, and is hell-bent on arresting Kurosaki, whom he sees as just another criminal.
- Almighty Janitor: It is implied that he has the skills to become a higher-ranked officer, but due to his dedication on personally arresting swindlers, he remains as a mere lieutenant.
- Dark and Troubled Past: As a child Kashina had difficulty fitting in with everyone else, no matter how well he excels in his studies and sports. This is because he's actually living out a false identity, and he's actually two years older than indicated in his birth certificate.
- Good Is Not Nice: Kashina is an upright cop who tries to bring down swindlers through the law. He is also quick to use brutal methods to interrogate and apprehend suspects.
- Happily Adopted: He's raised by a distant relative of his mother's, but what he says of his current family indicates that his relationship with them is quite good.
- Hero Antagonist: He's another heroic character hell-bent on enforcing justice through the law, and he opposes Kurosaki, who operates outside of the law.
- Inspector Javert: He's determined to arrest Kurosaki, whom he sees as merely another criminal who is no different from the swindlers he (Kurosaki) devours.
- It's Personal: The reason why Kashina is particularly hard on cracking down swindlers is because his uncle had been exposed as a swindler, so his parents changed Masaru's identity when he was only 2-years-old so that he would be spared of the ramifications of being related to a criminal.
- Police Brutality: Rather quick to lose his temper, and is willing to beat up suspects.
Toshio Katsuragi
The
Big Bad who once took Mikimoto under his group and taught him knowledge about swindling. Now, he uses his Snack Bar as front for his business as
The Fixer and gives tasks to
Kurosaki.
- Big Bad: Katsuragi is the man behind the swindle that led to Kurosaki's father's Murder-Suicide. Kurosaki vows to one day kill Katsuragi, despite relying on his information and tricks to run his trade as a reverse swindler.
- Fat Bastard: He has an ample figure, and is anything but moral.
- The Fixer: He "manages" Kurosagi's swindling operations by providing him with information, and whatever else he needs, to successfully execute his plans.
- Knowledge Broker: One of Katsuragi's functions as a fixer. He is the one sells information on shirosagi operations to Kurosaki.
- The Stoic: He has only ever shown one expression, and doesn't get rattled, no matter how much Kurosaki, Kashina or Tsurara tries to corner him into giving information.
- Treacherous Advisor: Katsuragi is a mentor-like figure to Kurosagi, and provides the information and resources he needs to take down various swindler. A lot of these swindlers actually owe their operation to Katsuragi's resources as well.
Yoichi Shiraishi
A highly experienced swindler who specializes on defrauding large corporations and driving them to near bankruptcy. Despite being a Shirosagi, he's worked together with Kurosaki a couple of times.
- Freudian Excuse: His goal to defraud and dismantle large corporations he deems "rotten" stems from a family tragedy caused by one. His father worked in a housing company who intended to demolish and rebuild one of their apartment buildings, where the Shiraishis live. Shiraishi's father was tasked by his company to convince the rest of the residents to move out, and bear the brunt of the people's ire at being evicted. Eventually, the residents grudgingly moved out, but barely a year after the move, the new building they were given collapsed, killing about six people, including Shiraishi's mother. Of course, Shiraishi's father received the blame from the furious residents for convincing them to move, even though he was also a victim in this arrangement.
- Hero of Another Story: He's also a heroic swindler who goes after "rotten companies who tread on people", which is similar to what Kurosaki is doing but on a much larger scale (he targets large corporations he deems "corrupt" and drive them to bankruptcy, while Kurosaki is willing to deal with small-scale fraudsters as long as he has the time to do so). We don't get to see Shiraishi in action outside of his encounters with Kurosaki, though.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Shiraishi's typical outfit is of a typical business-like outfit.
- Man of Wealth and Taste: He's a wealthy swindler who often profits on billions of yen, which he spends on luxury entertainment.
