Here is a list of characters who appear in My Happy Marriage.
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Kiyoka Kudo's household
Miyo Saimori
Voiced by: Reina Ueda (Japanese), Miranda Parkin, Juliet Peldon (young) (English)
Portrayed by: Mio Imada (live-action film)
- Ambiguously Bi: Miyo briefly seems attracted to Kaoruko Jinnouchi after meeting her.
- Apologizes a Lot: This is a defense mechanism born out of the abuse she suffered from her stepmother Kanoko and half-sister Kaya, something which Kiyoka tries to break Miyo out of slowly.
- Bad Powers, Good People: Once she is fully trained, Miyo will have unfathomable command over the unconscious world; it would not be a stretch to say she will have the lives of all dreamers in her hands once she fully comes into her powers. The Saimoris should be glad that Miyo is a gentle soul.
- Broken Bird: Years of abuse and neglect made Miyo a traumatized shell of herself, and much of her character arc is about healing and learning to love herself.
- Caged Bird Metaphor: After Kiyoka loses the duel with Arata, he's forced to forfeit his proposal to Miyo and she's forced to stay in with the Tsuriki/Usabas. Miyo's nightmares subside, but she compares her situation to being a bird in a cage since Arata intends to marry her in order to maintain her Dream-Sight gift within the Usaba family and Arata also reveals that the Emperor ordered the Usabas to keep Miyo within their estate.
- The Chosen One: Miyo is the current wielder of the Usubas' prized Dream-Sight gift.
- Cooldown Hug: To herself, or more specifically to her long-suffered inner child and the embodiment of all of the trauma inflicted on her by the Saimoris.
- Dream Walker: Miyo's ability, which was sealed away by her mother in order to protect her. Unfortunately, that seal has begun to weaken resulting in the poor girl experiencing nightmares every time she falls asleep.
- Dream Weaver: Unfortunately, her first (unconscious) use of this ability is to self-flagellate herself with terrifying nightmares thanks to the years of trauma she suffered.
- Flower Motif: Cherry blossoms. This in fact a hereditary motif for her maternal family, the Usubas.
- From Zero to Hero: At the beginning, everyone widely considers her to be a worthless product of a loveless Arranged Marriage, lacking any gift or beauty. Shinichi's short-sighted betrothal of her to the Kudo family, however, throws Miyo into a web of intrigue as many politically savvy opponents fear what will happen if the Kudo family gains gifts from Miyo's Usuba lineage.
- Green Thumb: Her inner child self manifests their trauma in the form of razor-sharp bramble vines in an attempt to keep Miyo away as she begins to understand and make peace with herself.
- Grew a Spine: Despite having PTSD flashbacks over being locked up in the Saimori warehouse and just suffering a beating from her stepmother Kanoko, Miyo refused to verbally break her engagement to Kiyoka.
- I Am Not Pretty: She believes herself to be ugly, especially when compared to Kaya. This is due to her low self-esteem which comes from years of abuse.
- It's All My Fault: She has a tendency to think this way due to her abusive childhood, but is slowly growing out of it.
- Lotus-Eater Machine: Subverted. Miyo attempts to trap Naoshi in the dream of his youth with Sumi, but was too slow to catch him with her gift.
- Mind Control: As Arata explains, all living things need sleep and a slumbering mind is the most vulnerable. With Dream-Sight, Miyo will be able to enter an individual's slumbering mind and potentially tailor that mind in whatever way pleases her, up to and including enslaving them to her will. Miyo was shocked when she learned about this particular application of her gift.
- Miko:
- During her brief detainment at the Usuba manor, Miyo is made to wear a shrine priestess's robes. Her relatives explain that this is because all previous Dream-Sight users were called the Dream-Sight Medium.
- During her attempt to save the comatose Kiyoka, Miyo's undergoes a transformation as she embraces and begins to make peace with her trauma, with her clothes becoming an extravagant and divine miko's robes.
- Muggle Born of Mages: Despite both parents being ability users (her mother being a member of the powerful but mysterious Usuba family), Miyo isn't even born with Spirit-Sight, which allows someone to see the Grotesqueries. This causes her to be shunned by her father. Miyo does indeed have an ability, but it was secretly sealed by her birth mother in order to protect her from those who would exploit her.
- Nice Girl: In spite of her upbringing, Miyo is a very kind, gentle and pure soul. Though, sadness and low self-esteem often get the better of her.
- Power Incontinence: With the seal on her gift weakening, Miyo's Dream Walker power began to manifest itself and subjects the poor girl to hyper-realistic nightmares of her past traumas. Even after some training with her cousin, Arata, Miyo is still advised not to actively use her gift as she could accidentally kill someone and/or herself with how untamed her gift is. Miyo managed to overcome this issue by the start of Vol. 5, at least when comes to unconsciously giving herself nightmares. She soon finds out that there are issues she must overcome.
- Red Baron: The Dream-Sight Medium.
- Rich Sibling, Poor Sibling: The poor sibling to Kaya's rich sibling. This gets reversed at the end of the first volume when Miyo officially becomes Kiyoka's fiancée, while Kaya is sent to work as a servant for an ordinary family as punishment for her involvement in Miyo's kidnapping.
- Seer: Miyo's dormant gift, Dream-Sight. In the past, masters of Dream-Sight could use their gift to see the past, present, and future, granting them near-omniscience.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Once Miyo is given proper treatment and better clothing, she becomes a head-turner. Kiyoka is stunned when he sees her dressed in a brand-new kimono.
- Shrinking Violet: She's very timid and nervous around Kiyoka, even when he takes her out for a day in town, no thanks to her years of abuse and neglect from her own family.
- Thousand-Yard Stare: She begins the story often having a blank gaze emphasized by the shadow of her bangs hanging over her eyes, giving the impression she's been running on autopilot under the abuse of her family.
- Trauma Button: Small, dark places, which remind her of the old Saimori storehouse that her stepmother would lock her in. Tellingly, this is where all of her trauma and her tortured inner child resides in her mind.
- Traumatic Superpower Awakening: Her gift is unleashed as she attempts to awaken Kiyoka from his coma.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: Her appearance certainly matches this, even before she’s gifted beautiful kimonos. No matter how much shit she’s put through, she always maintains a graceful, humble, and calm exterior. She always addresses Kiyoka formally.note But she certainly has her limits when pushed hard enough. Not even her stepmother's torture sways her into giving up her engagement, while making it perfectly clear of her intentions to never follow her demands.
Kiyoka Kudo
Voiced by: Kaito Ishikawa (Japanese), Damien Haas (English)
Portrayed by: Ren Meguro (live-action film), Kazuaki Yasue (stage play)
The head of the Kudo family, one of the most renowned gifted families. He is also the commander of the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit. At first, he thinks Miyo is just like the other conceited women sent to him as his fiancée, but he soon discovers that she is far different.
- The Ace: He's handsome, intelligent, wealthy, and powerful in both gift and politics among other renowned families.
- Affluent Ascetic: While his family is among the richest of the gifted families, he lives in a relatively humble estate with only Yurie as his caretaker.
- Age-Gap Romance: Kiyoka is 27 while Miyo is 19 at the start of the story.
- Barrier Warrior: He can project a circular force field.
- Big Damn Heroes: He saves Miyo from her kidnapping by the Saimori and Tatsuishi families.
- Defrosting Ice King: Kiyoka had a reputation for being cold and unfeeling, but being with Miyo, a woman who's unlike any of the others he interacted with before, softens him up considerably.
- Elemental Powers: Kiyoka's ludicrous affinity with his gift grants him pyrokinesis, cryokinesis, aerokinesis, and electrokinesis. His common tactic is to either fry his enemies with lightning bolts or immolate them with fire blasts.
- Good Is Not Soft: As the Saimori family and Minoru Tatsuishi learn first-hand.
- Hates Their Parent: He has a rather low opinion of his Rich Bitch mother, which explains why he has such low patience for rich and snooty women.
- Heel Realization: Downplayed. He was never evil and at worst was a bit abrasive when interacting with Miyo. Upon realizing that she was neglected and abused by her family, he adopts a more gentle demeanor with her and tries to use his influence to force her father to apologize.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: Initially, Miyo is fearful of marrying Kiyoka because of the rumors surrounding him on account of having driven off every prospective bride he's had. Fortunately for her, Kiyoka is nothing like the rumors suggest, and the reason he refused to marry her predecessors is that every last one of them was a Spoiled Brat.
- Heroes Prefer Swords: He is very skilled with his military saber and practices sword form even at home. He can also use his sword to channel and direct his powers.
- Lust Object: Being remarkably attractive has led to him getting this treatment, and has led to his aversion to women. He briefly becomes one for Kaya despite the Death Glare he sent her way.
- Military Mage: Kiyoka's hailed as the most powerful gifted in recent history, and is currently serving as the commander of the local Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit.
- One Head Taller: It is rather noticeable how much taller he is compared to Miyo when they're together.
- Pretty Boy: Kiyoka is described as having a delicate, almost feminine beauty. This gets deconstructed as Kiyoka has become disillusioned with women since all they seem to care about is his good looks or his money/power instead of his character.
- Samaritan Relationship Starter: One of the first signs of his growing attraction towards Miyo happens when Yurie talks about how kindly she treats her. In the past, some of his previous fiancées would act polite and kind in front of him but bullied Yurie behind his back.
- Spell Blade: He can channel his powers through his saber to either imbue it with fire or electricity.
- Tranquil Fury: When Miyo is kidnapped, Koji initially perceives his lack of visual distress as apathy towards his fiancée's safety. Kiyoka proves him wrong by blowing open the front gate of the Saimori home.
- White Hair, Black Heart: Subverted. There are many rumors about him having a cold heart due to him kicking out all of the prospective brides sent to him. In reality, he is reasonable and compassionate, albeit stern, and the previous bride candidates were all too shallow and entitled to appreciate his true character.
Yurie
Voiced by: Houko Kuwashima (Japanese), Karen Huie (English)
Portrayed by: Mirai Yamamoto (live-action film)
- Affectionate Nickname: She refers to Kiyoka as "Bocchan", which is generally translated as "young master". This is a rather common form of address for a master-servant relationship, but since Kiyoka is in his late twenties it comes off as affectionate.
- Cool Old Lady: She is very kind and caring to her charges, always ready to provide some wisdom to the budding couple in her care, and as a long-time servant of a prestigious family, she is quite observant.
- Excellent Judge of Character: She almost instantly takes a shine to Miyo and realizes that she's a good person. On the flip side, she is noticeably more frosty, albeit still polite when she first encounters Kaya.
- Old Retainer: She was Kiyoka's nurse and followed him to his new house in the city after he moved out.
- Parental Substitute: As Kiyoka's nursemaid, Yurie was his primary maternal figure as Kiyoka has a less than stellar relationship with his own biological mother, Fuyu.
- Shipper on Deck: She very much approves of Miyo and Kiyoka's relationship.
Saimori family
In General
- Abusive Parents: Shinichi was both neglectful and an enabler of his wife's abuse of both their children. While Miyo took the brunt of the abuse, Kaya was also subjected to emotional abuse with the implication that if she couldn't meet her parents' standards then she would join Miyo in suffering.
- Did Not See That Coming: None of them were expecting Miyo to being accepted as the Kiyoka’s fiancée. They were expecting her to be thrown out at some point, so they were all surprised that Kiyoka wished to formalize his engagement rather than complain about her apparent shortcomings. They also certainly didn’t expect him to demand them to apologize to Miyo for their harsh treatment towards her.
- Fantastic Ableism: One of the reasons they scorn Miyo is her apparent lack of a gift. According to Kiyoka, this isn't unusual for gifted families.
- Freudian Excuse: Shinichi and Kanoko were delayed from marrying as initially intended because Shinichi was forced into an arranged marriage with Sumi Usuba, Miyo's mother: their mistreatment of Miyo can be attributed to the girl being the last remnant of that unwanted union. Meanwhile, Kaya has been raised to view Miyo as a failure and scorn her elder sister.
- Generational Magic Decline: Their gift has reached the point where they are no longer able to perform anti-Grotesquerie duties. This decline is one of their main motivators in marrying their children into powerful families and maintaining their status. Emperor Mikaido had intended to use this in his favor in hopes of snuffing the Usubas' gifts by manipulating Sumi into marrying Shinichi in hopes of diluting the Usuba clan's blood with the weaker Saimoris.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: After spending years abusing Miyo following the death of her mother, they begin facing consequences for their actions when Kiyoka threatens them to apologize to Miyo for their harsh treatment if they wish to receive a bridal gift. After refusing to do that and playing a part in Miyo's kidnapping to get her to relinquish her position as Kiyoka's fiancé, their home is destroyed and forced to live modestly while Miyo continues to live a good life with her fiancé.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: The Saimoris force Miyo to work as a servant because they see her as worthless since despite being part of the powerful Usaba bloodline, she didn't manifest a gift like Kaya. When Miyo is old enough to be married they betrothed her to Kiyoka, both to finally get Miyo out of their household and to sabotage the Kudo bloodline since Kiyoka is deemed to be the most powerful gifted in recent history. The Saimoris assumed that Kiyoka would either abuse her as well, or even kick her out of his house, but he does genuinely come to love Miyo and surprises the Saimoris when he demands a formal apology on Miyo's behalf. When Minoru's plan to kidnap Miyo so that she will give up her engagement to Kiyoka, quite literally goes up in flames, Kiyoka and Miyo's relationship grows even stronger, and all but guarantees that in the future there may be a child born to them that will combine the blood of the two most powerful gifted bloodlines.
- Put on a Bus: After the events of the first volume, they are effectively removed from the plot with only passing mentions. Kaya is forced to work as a servant while Shinichi and Kanoko are forced to let go of most of their servants due to losing their home and money, and they're forced to live in the countryside in rather modest accommodations.
- Riches to Rags: The well-deserved aftermath of their abuse and kidnapping plot of Miyo. The manor is burned down, leaving the family in ruins. Shinichi and Kanoko are forced to relocate to the countryside, while Kaya is made to work as a servant for another family.
- Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: While the light novel keeps stating the Saimoris treated Miyo like a servant, it also states they didn’t pay her for her services, which is why she could never afford to move out. At best that would be indentured servitude at worse that could be considered slavery. Kiyoka and others who learn of how they treated her are quite repulsed by this.
- Unwitting Pawn: The Saimoris received a large sum of money to pay the dowry for Sumi, which helped save the Usuba from bankruptcy. What they didn't know was that the money came from the Emperor in his bid to weaken the Usubas by making Sumi marry into the Saimoris.
Shinichi Saimori
Voiced by: Hiroshi Yanaka (Japanese), Richard Tatum (English)
Portrayed by: Tsutomu Takahashi (live-action film)
The head of the Saimori family and Miyo and Kaya's father. He had already fallen in love with Kanoko but agrees to an Arranged Marriage with Miyo's mother in the hopes of siring a child with the Usuba family's gift. After his first wife passes and it seems that Miyo did not inherit the power, he has her act as a servant so she can be useful and marries Kanoko.
- Accomplice by Inaction: Unlike his second wife and Kaya, he is never directly abusive towards Miyo. However, he also did nothing to protect her, allowing his family to abuse her and treat her like a servant rather than his daughter.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Downplayed. While his appearance is never described in the light novel, the manga nevertheless gives him dark hair and a relatively youthful appearance. The anime makes him appear older, giving him a pair of round spectacles and grayer hair.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Very downplayed. Neither the light novel nor the manga explicitly state whether he knew about Miyo's kidnapping. In contrast, the anime portrays him as wholly unaware of the plot, being an Unwitting Pawn in the mess.
- Ambiguous Start of Darkness: It is stated that he was a better father during Miyo's early childhood. It's unclear whether his second wife's influence, Miyo's lack of a gift, or both, led him to start treating her like a used napkin.
- Barrier Warrior: He can create force fields using paper talismans, although they prove useless against Kiyoka.
- Children as Pawns: What his attitude seems to be towards his children. It is implied that his dismissal of Miyo began when she failed to show any signs of a gift. When Kiyoka later confronts him about the Saimoris' abuse against Miyo, Shinichi coldly reveals he has never even considered her to be his daughter, she was always meant to be a pawn for the Saimoris' advancement; not having any special powers severed this even more for him. Unfortunately for him, this inspired Kiyoka not to feel as guilty over harming Miyo’s father once realizing he doesn’t deserve such recognition.
- Didn't Think This Through: His disdain for Miyo blinds him to how valuable someone from the Usuba family bloodline is as a marriage prospect. When the Kudo household requests an arranged marriage, he gives them Miyo. Either she's tossed out and she's out of his hair, or she's accepted and he gets another valuable alliance. For starters, this pisses off Minoru Tatsuishi, whom he had already promised to give Miyo as a bride for his eldest: the fact that the Tatsuishis could still have her if she was tossed out was an afterthought. He also fails to consider that if Kiyoka does accept her, he might not be happy about the way that she was brought up. Case in point: Shinichi and Kanoko are legitimately surprised when Kiyoka demands an apology for Miyo before they receive a dowry.
- Gone Horribly Right: He sends Miyo to the Kudou household on the off-chance he could develop ties with the family. The gambit is more successful than he dreamed, with Kiyoka falling for Miyo and requesting an official engagement. Unfortunately for Shinichi, Kiyoka's affection for Miyo extends to vocal disgust at her mistreatment, and he finds out rather quickly that he's landed in hot water with a prominent family.
- Irony: It's heavily implied he would have treated Miyo with a modicum of decency if she'd inherited the Usuba family's gift. He married her mother in the hopes of strengthening his household, but not only did Miyo actually have the Usuba family gift, his cruelty to her ultimately leads to his household's downfall.
- Love Is a Weakness: In chapter 15 of the manga, when Kiyoka comes to rescue Miyo, he asks Shinichi if he even loves Miyo. Not only does Shinichi make it clear that he never loved her, but he believes that love is a useless emotion and that he only cares about what he can get from Miyo. While not stated, it is heavily implied that his so-called love for his other daughter, Kaya, is very conditional, and he could’ve easily felt disdain for Kaya if he had also deemed her to be useless.
- Parental Neglect: He never outright abuses Miyo as much as he chooses not to protect her from his wife and other daughter.
- Poor Communication Kills: Kaya demands to have her position swapped with Miyo right after his meeting with Kiyoka. Shinichi knew that he was on very thin ice with Kiyoka once he discovered Miyo’s cruel upbringing, so the swap would never work. Had he communicated that to Kaya instead of brushing her off, he could have convinced her that the matter was a lost cause.
- Stupid Evil: He only went along with an Arranged Marriage to Miyo's mother because his family wanted a member of the household to get the Usuba family's powerful gift. When it appears to have skipped Miyo, he loses all interest in her, only seeing her as a pawn to be married off to form an alliance. He only arranges her marriage to Kiyoka because he bought into the rumors about him being cruel and assumes he'll just toss Miyo out. Other characters point out how stupid his decision was, and that he let his disdain cloud his judgement and blind him to his eldest daughter's usefulness to elevate his house. In Volume 3, Fuyu Kudou is shown to think little of his lack of intelligence for other reasons.
- Xanatos Gambit: His decision to send Miyo to the Kudou family instead of the Tatsuishi family as initially promised. Given Kiyoka's reputation, he had no reason to believe that Miyo would be accepted, but on the off-chance she was, the Saimoris could develop ties with a prominent gifted family. In the more likely scenario, she would be rejected and Shinichi would be rid of a daughter he didn't want, but still have the opportunity to give her to the Tatsuishis and placate the by-then disgruntled Minoru. However, he never counted on Kiyoka actually falling in love with Miyo and seeking restitution on her honor.
Kanoko Saimori
Voiced by: Kana Ueda (Japanese), Erica Schroeder (English)
Portrayed by: Sayaka Yamaguchi (live-action film)
Shinichi's second wife and Kaya's mother. She blames Miyo's mother for the fact that she couldn't marry the man she loved, and takes her frustrations out on Miyo.
- Abusive Parents: Most of the abuse Miyo suffered was at her hands. As much as she treats Miyo harshly like a servant, Kanoko is just as horrible to her own biological daughter Kaya. This is highlighted in a flashback of Kaya in chapter 13, where Kanoko berates Kaya for flubbing just a bit on the koto
, demanding her to never become like Miyo. - Adaptational Hair Style Change: In the manga, Kanoko has straight hair tied in a bun. The anime gives her short wavy hair more similar in texture to her daughter's.
- All for Nothing: How Kanoko views her husband's first marriage: Shinichi was forced to marry Miyo's mother Sumi in an effort to bear gifted children. However, Miyo appeared to be born without a gift, while Kaya had a gift despite being born by a giftless mother.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: She did eventually get to marry the man she loved, and gave him a magically gifted child. She even gets Revenge by Proxy by abusing the daughter of the woman who married the man she loved. Of course, her daughter's gift is quite common amongst the gifted, and Kiyoka's investigation reveals her daughter's gift is even weaker than her husband's, while her husband had been living beyond his means. In the end, her arrogance and cruelty play a major role in their manor burning down and her family losing everything.
- Bitch Alert: In her first scene, she refuses to scold her daughter for throwing a cup full of green tea at Miyo, instead ordering the poor girl to stop bowing and make a new cup. Once Miyo is out the door, she criticizes Miyo for being “clumsy” like her birth mother while telling Kaya she’s not like her half-sister, and Miyo is still outside the room listening to this.
- Didn't Think This Through: She eventually goes along with Kaya's plan to force Miyo to break off her engagement despite being fully aware of how Kiyoka actually cares about her and he's not happy about the abuse she endured.
- Evil Is Petty: Her entire treatment of Miyo is this. The most notable example is when she’s married into the family and burns all the belongings of her husband’s first wife, just because she can’t stand that she didn’t marry him first. Miyo confronts her over this and calls her out, but instead of admitting her wrongdoings, she has the gall to berate Miyo for accusing her and has her locked up in a shed so that she’d "reflect" on her wrongdoings.
- Green-Eyed Monster: All of this woman's cruelty can be traced back to her envy of Sumi's and by extension Miyo's, prestigious background compared to her own common origins and the fact that she was made to play second-fiddle to Sumi.
- Hate Sink: From start to end, this woman is nothing but a petty, cruel, and envy-filled ball of hate.
- Kick the Dog: She blames Miyo for everything.
- Revenge by Proxy: She takes out her rage and envy for Sumi towards Miyo since she wasn't allowed to marry Miyo's father first.
- Rich Bitch: She is as privileged as she is cruel and petty.
- Too Dumb to Live: For starters, she decides to take her frustrations over not being able to marry the man she loved out on Miyo, who played no role in the decision. If anything, she should probably blame the man who agreed to the arranged marriage despite being in love or the person who pressured Shinichi into the marriage. She goes along with Kaya's plan to try and get Kiyoka to break off his engagement with Miyo and instead marry Kaya, never once considering that Kiyoka might retaliate or refuse to accept Kaya despite him having it made it abundantly clear that he knows about the abuse Miyo endured and is disgusted by it. Even more than her husband, she lets her disdain for Miyo and her mother supersede her common sense. When the Saimori estate is set aflame, she screams Miyo is responsible. Keep in mind that aside from refusing to annul her engagement, Miyo had done nothing besides getting beaten and nearly strangled by Kanoko herself.
- Wicked Stepmother: After marrying Shinichi, she had the possessions of Miyo's mother Sumi destroyed, and harshly treated Miyo like a servant, even sending away Hana, the one servant who had shown Miyo any sort of kindness. Once the family kidnaps Miyo, she tortures her stepdaughter into giving up her engagement to Kaya, but Miyo stands her ground and refuses, infuriating the wicked bitch of a stepmother even more. Until Kiyoka storms in and catches her in the act.
Kaya Saimori
Voiced by: Ayane Sakura (Japanese), Lizzie Freeman, Lila Peldon (young) (English)
Portrayed by: Akari Takaishi (live-action film)
The second daughter of the Saimori family, daughter to Shinichi and Kanoko, and thus Miyo's younger half-sister.
- Adaptational Villainy: The anime makes Kaya a more active participant in Miyo's mistreatment. Namely, when Miyo is kidnapped and beaten in an effort to make her leave the engagement, Kaya and her mother take turns in beating Miyo together, whereas both the light novel and manga had her mother be the one to get her hands dirty while Kaya just watched from a distance.
- Always Someone Better: Deconstructed. Kaya begins as this to Miyo, having beauty, social aptitude, and a gift. However, this has less to do with innate virtues than with Kaya having opportunities (and basic human decency) that Miyo was denied, which becomes increasingly clear as Miyo begins to physically and mentally heal in the Kudo household. This is ultimately subverted after the fall of the Saimoris, followed by the awakening of Miyo's more powerful gift.
- Beauty Is Bad: She is initially more put together compared to her sister, but only because she has been afforded the luxuries that Miyo is routinely denied. Her appearance does nothing to hide her hideous personality and once Miyo is given the same opportunities, Kaya quickly loses out as Miyo's external beauty now matches her inner beauty.
- Berserk Button: Having been raised to see her sister as subhuman, the idea of Miyo being favored over her in any way sets her off. When she sees Miyo flourishing and happy with Kiyoka, she has a breakdown.
- Better Partner Assertion: She does this in a last-ditch effort to justify Miyo's kidnapping and woo Kiyoka. It works about as well as you'd expect.
- Bitch Alert: In the first chapter/episode, she throws a cup full of green tea at Miyo because she thinks it tastes too bitter, then demands a new one. Once Miyo leaves, she complains over her thoughts that Miyo couldn’t make proper tea. Except Miyo is just outside the door listening in.
- Cain and Abel: The Cain to Miyo's Abel, despite being the younger of the two.
- Entitled to Have You: She sets the kidnapping of Miyo in motion mainly because she believes that she is entitled to have better things in life than Miyo. This is first seen when she clearly draws joy from being told that she will be marrying Koji, Miyo's childhood friend, and the boy she'd been raised believing she would one day marry. As soon as she finds out that Kiyoka is actually kind and very handsome, she decides she wants him instead and is pretty shocked when her father doesn't immediately give in to her demands, as though Kiyoka were nothing more than a pretty doll in a toy shop.
- Evil Is Petty:
- When she sees Miyo out and about in her threadbare kimonos, she assumes it's because Kiyoka already tossed her out. She spends a solid minute admonishing Miyo and indirectly saying that she should just kill herself. Then Yurie shows up, and Kaya assumes that they must be co-workers only for Yurie to outright state that not only is she Miyo's servant, but Miyo will become Kiyoka's wife, much to Kaya's surprise.
- She agreed to marry Koji just so she could steal away any lingering happiness and hope Miyo had on being together with her childhood friend. Once she sees Kiyoka, she becomes determined to swap their arranged marriages just because she can’t stand how much happier Miyo became with him. It is also indicated that she can't stand the idea of Miyo having a better husband than her, and she hates how Koji can barely stand her.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Kaya's abuse towards Miyo is a product of her upbringing, having been raised by her parents to hate her half-sister. As Kiyoka notes, while her behavior is not out of petty spite like her parents, it’s still no justification for her treatment of Miyo and the sadistic pleasure she got from it.
- Inadequate Inheritor: For all of her arrogance, Kaya's actually a living embodiment of the Saimoris' decline as her gift is weaker than even her father's.
- Inferiority Superiority Complex: Because of how she was raised, thinking that she's better than Miyo is a core part of her identity. The minute that something goes well for Miyo, she feels the need to either steal it or ruin it. If she can't immediately do so, she becomes furious.
- Jerkass: Kaya treats her older half-sister cruelly, and has no regard for anything Koji says even after they get engaged. Most of this behavior stems from her horribly toxic upbringing.
- Laser-Guided Karma: She constantly abused Miyo once her half-sister was forced to be their family’s servant and because of her involvement in kidnapping Miyo, her punishment is to live and work like a servant at another home. Kiyoka's investigation also reveals that Kaya will only have the power of spirit sight, which means she will never have any ability to endanger Miyo ever again.
- Love at First Sight: The moment she sees Kiyoka, she’s entranced at witnessing such a beautiful man pass before her. Once she finds out Kiyoka’s true identity as Miyo’s fiancé, it pushes her off the rocker even further.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: She wouldn't have ended up in her current situation had she kept her envy in check. First, if she hadn't stolen Koji from Miyo, she probably would have just married into a different noble household and the only thing she would have lost would have been the ability to outright abuse Miyo and get away with it scot-free. Second, if she had settled for Koji even after finding out that Kiyoka was actually handsome and quite kind, she would have gone on to live as the lady of the Saimori household with Miyo being out of the picture anyway. Instead, she has to steal Kiyoka by kidnapping Miyo, and this leads to the collapse of her family, her fiancé becoming outright hostile towards her, and him deciding to use his status to punish her. In the end, she is consigned to the lifestyle Miyo endured prior to moving out to the Kudos: working as a servant to a family that will tolerate no mistake.
- Seers: She has the Spirit-Sight ability, which lets her see Grotesquerie and remotely view locations by connecting her vision with a shikigami charm. The aftermath of the kidnapping incident reveals these are all the powers she will ever have.
- Spoiled Brat: She's so used to getting everything she wants that she is genuinely surprised when her father doesn't just immediately acquiesce to her demand that she be allowed to marry Kiyoka instead of Miyo. She genuinely thinks that waltzing up to Kiyoka and saying that she's more fit to marry him while everything around her burns might actually work.
- Unwitting Pawn: What sets Miyo's kidnapping is motion is Minoru, in his plot to get Miyo into his family, advising that she check in on her sister.
Hana
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese), Mela Lee (English)
Portrayed by: Akari Takaishi (live-action film)
- Big Damn Reunion: She was able to finally see Miyo again after being cruelly separated by the spiteful Saimoris thanks to Kiyoka's informants.
- Happily Married: She tells Miyo that in between the years of their forced separation and reunion, she managed to find a loving husband and started a family. She believes that Miyo and Kiyoka will be able to do the same as she soothes Miyo's fears of inadequacy.
- Like a Daughter to Me: How she saw Miyo. Even after years of separation, her maternal love for Miyo never faded.
- Named by the Adaptation: The anime gives her the family name, Kanao.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: It is heavily implied in the manga (and confirmed in the anime) that Hana was fired for standing up for Miyo.
- Parental Substitute: She was the closest thing Miyo had to a mother after the death of Sumi. Naturally, she was fired early in Miyo's childhood for this very reason.
Sumi Saimori (née Usuba) (MAJOR SPOILERS)
Voiced by: Noriko Hidaka (Japanese), Miranda Parkin (English)
Portrayed by: Tao Tsuchiya (live-action film)
The first wife of Shinichi and Miyo’s biological mother. Their union was an unhappy one, but the only joy that pulled her through was her only child. Once she passes on, Miyo’s turmoil truly begins under her new stepmother’s cruel hands.
- Ambiguous Situation: She occasionally appears to Miyo in her dreams, although it is unknown if this is really her spirit reaching out to her daughter or not. With the revelation of Miyo's gift, it is highly likely that it really is Sumi's spirit that has been appearing in Miyo's dreams and apologizing for leaving alone with the Saimoris.
- Arranged Marriage: She was forced into this with Shinichi in order to save her family from ruin.
- Baby Factory: What she would have been until the Saimoris could get their hands on the Usubas' gift. Sumi's premature demise saved her from this fate.
- Childhood Friend Romance: In her youth, Sumi and her cousin, Naoshi Usui were extremely close to one another. It is believed that they may have been a couple and possibly gone on to marriage had the Usuba not faced turmoil.
- Crazy-Prepared: She knew that the Saimoris were after her family's gift so she covertly created a seal that would prevent Miyo's gift from manifesting. While it had the unintentional consequence of leaving Miyo to an early life of suffering, it was preferable to giving the Saimoris access to such a dangerous gift.
- Flower Motifs: Cherry blossoms. Fittingly, the cherry tree that was planted to commemorate her wedding almost immediately withered and was then cut down following her death.
- Good Parents: She cherished her daughter while her husband wanted nothing to do with either of them. Miyo was naturally heartbroken to lose her when she was really little. She even sealed Miyo’s true powers so that she wouldn’t be exploited.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Sumi essentially sold herself into a loveless marriage in order to save her family, even though her family's response to her sacrifice was to exile her. Once she discovered Miyo would inherit the gift of Dream-Sight, Sumi resolved to protect her daughter from becoming a pawn for the Saimoris by creating a seal on Miyo's gift using her bridal cherry blossom as a medium. This act also sealed Sumi's fate, but ultimately helped keep the Saimoris from abusing the power of Dream-Sight and indirectly led to Miyo's freedom later on.
- Ill Girl: She had poor health throughout her life, which is one of the reasons her father was against her surrendering herself for marriage to save their family. The strain from her pregnancy with Miyo and then sealing away her daughter's power dramatically hastened her death.
- Nice Girl: She was consistently shown to be a compassionate and dutiful woman throughout her life. She even continues to be friends and possibly more with her cousin, Naoshi, despite his clear sociopathic tendencies early in their childhood.
- Posthumous Character: Sumi has long passed on by the beginning of the story, but her actions and relationships have left a lasting impact on the course of the story.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Miyo looks nearly identical to her mother.
- Telepathy: Her gift allowed her to transmit and receive thoughts. Her status as a telepath made her a prime target for other gifted families as children of telepaths are often born with unique and powerful gifts, such as Miyo's Dream-Sight.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: Very much so, especially compared to the despicable Kanoko.
- Your Days Are Numbered: Sumi knew she was not long for this world, especially after having Miyo, but chose to use her remaining time to do everything she could to protect her daughter.
Tatsuishi family
Minoru Tatsuishi
Voiced by: Kenyū Horiuchi (Japanese), Mick Wingert (English)
Portrayed by: Yūsuke Hirayama (live-action film)
The head of the Tatsuishi house. He covets Miyo for being part of the Usuba family line, hoping that her blood will grant him strong descendants and bolster his declining family. When the Saimoris send her to the Kudou family instead, he furiously plots to take her for his family.
- Ambition Is Evil: In an effort to strengthen his family, he turns a blind eye to an innocent girl being tormented and traumatized so that it'll be easy for her to take her away so that she’ll marry his heir. When that doesn't work, he kidnaps her so that her family can brutally coerce her into leaving her fiancé, locks his son in his home when he tries to interfere and burns down a family's home in a last-ditch effort to keep Miyo in his family.
- Awful Wedded Life: Implied given his temper, ruthless ambitions, and the fact that his wife cloisters herself when he's in a bad mood.
- Blow You Away: He can stir up strong winds to create a miniature tornado to suck in debris and launch them at his opponent. However, this did nothing to faze Kiyoka.
- Gone Horribly Right: He was well aware of the abuse Miyo endured in the Saimori home, and chose to ignore it. Why? Because he coveted Miyo's Usuba blood and wanted the Saimoris to cast her aside as soon as possible so he could take her into his home. And it worked... but they sent her off to the Kudou family while arranging Kaya marry into his family instead.
- Last Villain Stand: In a final effort to seize Miyo for himself, he attacks Kiyoka and Kouji with fire, igniting the Saimori manor in the process, before being subdued.
- Manipulative Bastard: Aside from enabling Miyo's abuse in an effort to improve his chances of obtaining her, he sets Miyo's kidnapping in motion by subtly convincing Kaya to pursue Kiyoka.
- Playing with Fire: He has a powerful pyrokinetic gift, but is ultimately no match for Kiyoka. Instead, his reckless fire attacks resulted in the destruction of the Saimori's estate.
- Villain Has a Point: Is his reason for coveting Miyo as detestable as the lengths he goes to take her? Yes, but he's correct that the Saimoris are ignoring Miyo's potential, and he does have the right to be pissed at Shinichi for breaking their deal. Fittingly, after the incident that he instigated, his only punishment is to give up the headship to his eldest son.
- You Shall Not Pass!: He tries this to keep Kiyoka from reaching Miyo. It doesn't work.
Koji Tatsuishi
Voiced by: Kōtarō Nishiyama (Japanese), Michael Lorz (English)
Portrayed by: Yuki Ogoe (live-action film)
- Betty and Veronica: Koji was the Betty to Kiyoka's Veronica for Miyo, although Koji losing Miyo to Kiyoka was a forgone conclusion.
- Childhood Friend: One to Miyo, and the only person who stayed in her life and treated her with kindness during her life in the Saimori home.
- Extreme Doormat: His greatest flaw is his passivity, which kept him from providing much help to Miyo. He lampshades this himself when he gets tied up after confronting his father and Kaya for kidnapping Miyo in their plot on trying to force Miyo to break her engagement to Kiyoka.
- Foil: The first book sets him up as one to Kiyoka every way. Kiyoka is assertive, blunt, is recognised as the head of his family, and has no issues following up on his words with actions. Koji is weak-willed and docile to a fault, and- if his position as the younger son didn't already put him at the bottom of the family hierarchy- lags behind his father and older brother in both ability and confidence. This leads to him getting very little done.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Responsible Sibling to Kazushi's Foolish Sibling, much to Koji's annoyance. Koji sees his older brother as a flake who's constantly skiving off his social obligations to have a good time. He tries to make up for it. This is also part of the reason he is Put on a Bus following the events of Volume 1 due to Kiyoka expecting him to help redeem the Tatsuishi and Saimori households.
- Grew a Spine: He actually gets Kaya to shut up as he drags her away from the burning Saimori mansion, knowing that Miyo would be sad if Kaya got injured or died in the fire.
- I Just Want My Beloved to Be Happy: He takes it in stride when he realizes that Miyo is in love with Kiyoka, knowing that she is in good hands and acknowledging that Kiyoka has done more to help her.
- Mind over Matter: He is telekinetic and when experiencing strong emotions, can even lift several heavy pieces of furniture at once.
- Mirror Character: To Shinichi, oddly enough. Like his father-in-law-to-be, Koji is separated from the woman he loves by an arranged marriage. However, unlike Shinichi, Koji's apathy towards Kaya is justified, and he is ultimately content to let go of Miyo so that she can be happy.
- Murder-Suicide: He considers this in a moment of desperation; kill Miyo to free her from her misery and kill himself afterwards. Events pan out in such a way that he never has to go through with it.
- Nice Guy: Deconstructed. While he is genuinely a kind person, it also causes him to be a coward because he doesn’t wish to step on toes. Miyo even lampshades in the light novel and manga that his cowardice is born from his kindness, and Kazushi notes something similar in the anime.
- Put on a Bus: By the end of the first volume, Koji is sent to Kyoto to hone his Gift. He promises to come back and see Miyo once he has grown stronger as a person. His attempts at becoming stronger are also seen as a means for him to make up for the incident that his birth family caused as well as an attempt to redeem the Saimoris due to him still being engaged to Kaya. He appears briefly in Volume 7 to attend Miyo and Kiyoka's wedding, and reveals that that he has enlisted in the Kyoto division of the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit.
- Unskilled, but Strong: It's implied he has great potential as an Ability User, but his genteel nature means he has never fully explored what he's capable of.
- Youthful Freckles: One of the younger male characters in the cast and the only one to have freckles.
Kazushi Tatsuishi
Voiced by: Toshinari Fukamachi (Japanese), Ryan Colt Levy (English)
Portrayed by: Hisanori Satō (stage play)
The elder son of the Tatsuishi family. He becomes the new head of the family following his father’s disgrace.
- Aloof Ally: The "aloof" part is debatable considering his personality, but becomes his family becomes subordinate to Kiyoka's due to events he had no part in. Namely, Miyo's kidnapping. Kazushi accepts the outcome without any visible complaint after replacing his father as head of house.
- Aloof Big Brother: He acts like this towards Koji until he unties his brother. Even then, he refrains from being a direct participant in Koji's attempt to rescue Miyo.
- Big Damn Heroes: He helps untie Koji so he can help save Miyo before it’s too late.
- The Casanova: Described as such in the light novel.
- Childish Older Sibling: An irresponsible womanizer, much to Koji's frustration.
- The Dandy: He has a generally carefree personality that doesn't completely vanish even after being made the family head and always shown immaculately groomed and in flamboyant, floral pattern yukatas.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Foolish Sibling to his younger brother's Responsible Sibling. That being said, he's very capable of being responsible when he feels that the situation calls for it, and handles the aftermath of his father's fall from grace composedly and competently, to Kiyoka's surprise.
- Healing Hands: His specialty is identifying and lifting curses, but the curses from grotesqueries prove to be beyond him.
- Hidden Depths: Despite initially appearing irresponsible, he is apparently a capable head of family.
- Mind over Matter: He can manipulate objects psychokinetically like his father and brother. In the anime, he even uses it for something as petty as forcibly zipping his little brother's mouth shut just to tease him.
- Smarter Than You Look: He's far more shrewd than his playboy attitude would suggest. Even Kiyoka admits that he's a capable successor to his father.
Kudo family
Tadakiyo Kudo
Kiyoka and Hazuki's father and the former head of the Kudou family.
- Brutal Honesty: When Miyo asks him about how he was able to initially arrange the engagement between herself and Kiyoka, and if he was satisfied with her, he tells her upfront that when he made the arrangement, he didn’t specify which Samori daughter he wanted. He knew of Miyo’s existence, but he didn’t know which daughter Shinichi would pick. He figured it was a simply a fifty-fifty chance Miyo would be chosen, but he sees things worked out quite well since Miyo was chosen.
- Bumbling Dad: How he generally behaves to his amusement and the frustration of his entire family. However as Kiyoka notes, this is only one side of him.
- Henpecked Husband: His usual relationship with his wife, but he can and will put his foot down when necessary.
- Shock and Awe: He easily electrocutes the assailants he encounters to prove how outmatched they are compared to him.
- Squishy Wizard: Tadakiyo has great prowess with his gift even as a middle-aged man, but he admits he was never a healthy individual and is often seen having coughing fits or tumbling over.
- Stronger Than They Look: Ironically, despite the above-mentioned Squishy Wizard status, Tadakiyo could still carry three full adults, his assailants, back to the Kudo villa by himself.
Fuyu Kudo
Kiyoka and Hazuki's mother.
- Blue Blood: Fuyu comes from another long line of gifted and is thus very proud of her pedigree.
- Defrosting the Ice Queen: A fair portion of Volume 3 revolves around Miyo proving herself to Fuyu as a potential daughter-in-law.
- Dramatic Irony: Fuyu goes out of her way to throw snide comments at Miyo constantly; however, Miyo has been so abused in her past, verbally, physically, mentally, and emotionally that not only is she used to it, but Fuyu's snide comments are tame in comparison. Not only that, Miyo's previous abuse help her see through Fuyu's childish comments, and realize they aren't as mean spirited as they sound.
- Also, Miyo's resilience to her bullying completely throws her off her game which causes her to slowly, very slowly, accept Miyo.
- Foil: To Miyo's stepmother, Kanoko. While both are domineering and harsh women to Miyo, that's really where the similarities between them stop. Kanoko was a shallow, envy-driven piece of work whose life purpose was kicking Miyo around as her Revenge by Proxy and lording her supposed superior status and privilege over others. Fuyu, by contrast, is motivated by much more sympathetic reasons as she is primarily concerned about her family and its stability, but her words and actions are unfortunately filtered through a haughty personality borne from being a well-bred aristocrat. Thankfully, Miyo was able to pick up on the subtle difference between the two women in her interactions with Fuyu.
- High-Class Fan: She always has one in hand to both mark her high status and to cover her mouth when speaking as expected of a Japanese noblewoman. She likes to snap it open to signal the end of the conversation (and her patience) with others.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: The second she meets Miyo, she mistakes her for a servant, livid over her closeness to Kiyoka. She’s even more enraged once he addresses Miyo as his fiancée. She makes it clear how “ugly” and unworthy she finds Miyo as her son’s fiancée, but Kiyoka cuts her off and threatens to kill her if she continues to speak ill of Miyo. Once Miyo begs for her approval, she forces her to be a servant to win her approval but continues to criticize Miyo over every little thing.
- Rich Bitch: As Kiyoka puts it, she is the quintessential rich girl type. Fuyu is extremely haughty and abrasive to everyone around her thanks to her privilege and upbringing.
- Tsundere: She softens into this towards Miyo by the end of Volume 3 and even gives Miyo one of her old, but very well-kept, hair ribbons as a parting gift.
Hazuki Kudo
Voiced by: Yōko Hikasa (Japanese), Felecia Angelle (English)
Kiyoka's older sister and Miyo's private tutor.
- Adaptational Dye-Job: The manga describes her as having brown hair, while the anime makes her a blonde like Kiyoka.
- Amicable Exes: With Masashi, her ex-husband and Kiyoka's superior. It is implied they keep in regular contact in order to support their young son, Asahi.
- Big Sister Instinct: Shortly after meeting Miyo, she takes an immediate liking to her and is protective of her as well as understanding of her mental state.
- Cool Big Sis: Hazuki is a confident and poised modern woman who loves her brother and tutors Miyo in becoming a proper lady. She even outright tells Miyo that she’s the little sister she always wished she had.
- Early-Bird Cameo: She makes her first appearance in the anime adaptation's opening sequence well ahead of her physically showing up in the series.
- Healing Hands: Her gift specializes in healing those around her which she inherits from the maternal side of her family.
- I'm Taking Her Home with Me!: Hazuki half jokingly asks Kiyoka if she can take Miyo home with her because she finds her so adorable.
- Lethal Chef: Hazuki's cooking ability is abysmal.
- Married Too Young: Hazuki tells Miyo that her marriage ended because she was only seventeen when she got married, and wasn't mature enough to understand to what it meant to be married.
- Private Tutor: Hazuki gets hired as Miyo's personal tutor in order for Miyo to catch up on all of the lessons and etiquette the Saimoris denied her in order to become a more presentable noble lady for Kiyoka.
- Put on a Bus: While she appears at the beginning of Volume 3, she is left behind when Kiyoka and Miyo are invited to meet her parents because there was a party she needed to attend. She expresses disappointment and concern that she can’t protect Miyo from her mother.
- Redeeming Replacement: Hazuki becomes the sister Miyo never had, supplanting Kaya's malicious influence with her own compassionate one. However, Miyo’s terrible interactions with Kaya makes it difficult for her to refer to Hazuki as "sister" even though she wishes to.
- Spoiled Sweet: Deconstructed. She’s from a wealthy family, a Cool Big Sis to her future sister-in-law, but she’s not naïve. However, she was naive prior to her previous marriage. But time helped her realize who she is as a person.
- Tomboy: Hazuki is much more extroverted than her more composed brother, Kiyoka. Unfortunately, her innate personality was incompatible with being a housewife in Japan at the time of the story.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: Subverted and played for drama. Hazuki tried her best to fit into the traditional Japanese standards of a housewife but found she couldn't measure up, ultimately resulting in a great deal of heartbreak.
Tsuruki/Usuba family
In General
A reclusive and dreaded gifted family, whose members include Miyo's late mother.
- The Dreaded: They have this role among the gifted families, owing to the nature of their abilities which they have used since time immemorial to subjugate rogue gifted that threatens Japan.
- Hidden Elf Village: The family is notoriously secretive, with little being known about them even amongst the other gifted families. The marriage of Miyo's mother to the Saimori family is noted by Kiyoka to be unbelievably rare.
- Mage Killer: During their duel, Arata reveals to Kiyoka that most of the Usuba clan lack the power of Spirit Sight, which would allow them to see and combat grotesques. He reasons that this is because the family's Master of Illusion and Dream Walker abilities make them better suited at fighting other gifted, which he proves by putting up a good fight against Kiyoka and narrowly winning, albeit by throwing him off with an illusion of Miyo.
- Mind Control: The Usubas' gifts all specialize in mind-related powers or the ability to influence the human heart. Their documented abilities ranged from telepathy, memory manipulation, dream walking, illusion projection, and of course, straight-up mind control. Miyo's mother, Sumi, was one of the most powerful telepath in the history of the family, while Miyo has immense potential as a Dream Walker.
- Royal Inbreeding: Although, unlike most examples, it is not (primarily) to keep their bloodline pure. Rather, the Usubas are justifiably concerned about the untold damage someone with their family's gift could cause if maliciously motivated, with Naoshi Usui being the prime example.
- Superpowerful Genetics: The Usuba family is particularly wary of passing on their gift, which is why they are very selective of their children's marriage partners and would often intermarry keep others from gaining access to their gifts.
- With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: This is the clan's most important tenant. Their gift's ability to bend others to their will was ripe for abuse, which is why all gifted Usubas are taught early on to use their powers for the greater good and never for their own gain.
Arata Tsuruki
Voiced by: Ryōhei Kimura (Japanese), Ryan Colt Levy (English)
Portrayed by: Keisuke Watanabe (live-action film), Shūji Kikuchi (stage play)
A young man who works for the Tsuruki Trading Company as a mediator. He seems to have some sort of interest in Miyo. In Volume 2, it's revealed that he is Miyo's cousin on her mother's side.
- Adaptational Heroism: The anime chooses to not make him responsible for Kiyoka's coma, having the cause instead be from a Grotesquerie. This further hastens his transition to becoming Miyo's ally.
- Ambadassador: How he frames his work as an intermediary and business negotiator.
- Big Brother Mentor: He assumes this role for Miyo after they make peace and teaches her about her gift.
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: Arata grew up with the knowledge that Usuba's were specialized Mage Killers who would hunt down dangerous ability users, with it being treated as a sacred duty. However, the need for these skills diminished when he was born, and he was left wanting a duty to fulfill. This makes him dangerously dedicated to the mission he's given to return Miyo to the Usuba Clan and become her spouse.
- Face–Heel Turn: Arata seemingly turns traitor in Vol. 5 after disappearing while guarding Miyo, only to turn up with a squad of Gifted Communion grunts to arrest Kiyoka on falsified charges. It is implied that Naoshi managed to convince Arata to join his side during their confrontation at the end of Vol. 4.
- Forced Sleep: A nasty application of his gift as the victim can be put into a coma without any hope of waking up. Only Miyo could restore Kiyoka's consciousness thanks to awakening her full power.
- Hypocrite: He criticizes Kiyoka for being a controlling husband who doesn't care for Miyo's well-being or wishes, hence Miyo's sickly disposition that's more due to her Power Incontinence and her overworking herself. However, his entire goal is all but to force Miyo back into the Usuba clan and away from Kiyoka, despite the fact being separated from him is clearly making her miserable, and he denies any and all requests she makes to see him again or even have items that were gifts from him. This is subverted in that this is less due to his own wishes, but also because his deal with Emperor Mikaido dictates that Miyo can't interact with other ability users, which would naturally include Kiyoka.
- Kissing Cousins: He wanted to marry Miyo (to protect her from those who would exploit her) and even fought Kiyoka for her (and won), but he eventually gives up on her because he can tell that she's both much happier with Kiyoka and that he could keep her safe.
- The Makeover: Inverting the Evil Makeover, during Miyo's argument with him, where she stands up against his wishes, she knocks off his glasses. Not long after he messes with his hair, causing the bangs to fall back over his forehead. The effect removes his Four Eyes, Zero Soul design, symbolizing the end of his manipulations and his Heel–Face Turn towards truly becoming Miyo's protector.
- Manipulative Bastard: Arata preys on Miyo and Kiyoka's insecurities and sense of duty in the hope of driving a wedge between them. When trying to convince Kiyoka to leave Miyo with the Usubas, due to possessing the means of helping her with her Power Incontinence, he points out that with his military duties, especially with a gate having been broken and grotesques at large, he can't exactly afford the time care for and protect her. Later on, after Kiyoka decides to do exactly that under the realization that Miyo wouldn't want others to get hurt on her account, Arata is quick to lambast Kiyoka as a terrible husband in front of her for putting prioritizing his job, which he told him to do. Ultimately, his manipulation of the couple was successful, but short-lived as circumstances drive Miyo and Kiyoka back together.
- Master Actor: A useful skill for a negotiator and merchant, especially when he needs to curry favor with people of different backgrounds and cultures as he told Miyo. Arata's serene expression rarely slips, which means most people can never get a read on him. This also means no one expects him to have been a Turncoat for the Gifted Communion until it was too late.
- Master of Illusion: His gift. Arata demonstrates just why the Usuba family's gifts are so coveted and feared as he can create powerful illusions to entrap his opponent, even someone as powerful as Kiyoka, and even rob them of their consciousness forever. The anime shows him conjuring his illusions by emitting fog from his hands that then lift to reveal the image(s) he creates. His fight with Kiyoka has him create a mob of clones who mimic his actions and have enough mass to shield him from Kiyoka's attacks. When that proves ineffective, he creates a copy of Miyo which briefly distracts Kiyoka and secures Arata's victory.
- Personality Powers: Arata's dubious and cunning facade matches his Gift to conjure illusions quite well. Kiyoka senses something is off about him after meeting with him.
- Revolvers Are Just Better: A Colt revolver, which when used in concert with his gift, is particularly deadly as any lesser opponent would have no idea where and what he was aiming for. Arata also keeps clips on hand for faster reloads.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He ultimately only wants to provide Miyo with a safe and stable environment, even if it means getting rid of the man she loves.
Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit
General
A small platoon led by Kiyoka that deals exclusively with grotesquerie-related incidents located in the new capital, Tokyo.
- Military Mage: The Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit is led by Kyoka, who is praised as the most powerful gifted in recent times, and all members of the unit are trained to hone their gifts in anti-grotesquerie combat.
Yoshito Godo
Voiced by: Hiro Shimono (Japanese), Cedric L. Williams (English)
Portrayed by: Ōshirō Maeda (live-action film), Tōya Morita (stage play)
Kiyoka's right-hand man and equally skilled at his job as he is at getting on his superior's nerves.
- Bandage Mummy: He ends up this way following his near-fatal investigation of a Gifted Communion compound rigged with explosives. He maintains his chipper mood during his hospital stay, mostly for the sake of his friends, especially Miyo.
- Disappeared Dad: While talking to Miyo in Volume 4, he reveals his father died.
- The Gadfly: He's rather fond of poking fun at Kiyoka and likes to play off his superior's cold facade. It is implied that this is part of his attempt to soothe Kiyoka's lingering guilt over what happened to Godo's father.
- Hidden Depths: In Volume 4, he showcases strong emotional intelligence as he correctly deduces Kaoruko Jinnouchi is trying to drive a wedge between Miyo and Kiyoka because she is jealous that Miyo was able to win over Kiyoka and she couldn’t.
- Motor Mouth: Much to Kiyoka's annoyance.
- Number Two: He is Kiyoka's most trusted subordinate and handles a lot of tasks on and off the books for him with ease.
- Playing with Fire: He can use pyrokinesis.
- Smarter Than You Look: When meeting for dinner to accept Miyo's thanks, Godo goofs around and jokingly asks for Miyo to marry him instead, which she politely declines. A chapter at the end of Volume 2 of the manga reveals this performance to be a Secret Test of Character for Miyo, with Godo making sure that she isn't trying to manipulate Kiyoka like previous fiancées in the past.
Masashi Okaito
Voiced by: Kenta Miyake (Japanese), Joe Hernandez (English)
Portrayed by: Takashi Sasaki (stage play)
A major general and Kiyoka's superior in the Special Anti-Grostequerie Unit as well as his ex-brother-in-law.
- Amicable Exes: He remains close with Hazuki, his ex-wife, despite the feelings of his family.
- Badass Normal: Despite coming from a noble clan, Okaito is giftless, but this has no effect on his ability as a leader and soldier.
- Hunk: Okaito is tall, broad-shouldered, and quite muscular, which fits the Western standards of masculine beauty compared to his subordinate Kiyoka, who fits the Japanese standard of beauty for the time. He also has a small scar over his left eyebrow which enhances his rugged appeal.
Kaoruko Jinnouchi
A female officer of the Anti-Grotesquerie unit originally stationed at Kyoto. She was also one of Kiyoka's previous fiancées.
- Action Girl: She can easily trounce opponents bigger than her in sparring matches.
- Bifauxnen: Miyo finds Kaoruko rather dashingly handsome, potentially rivaling even Kiyoka. Miyo notes that Kaoruko cuts quite a figure in her military unit, despite them being designed for men.
- Even the Girls Want Her: Miyo became rathered flustered during their initial introduction due to a combination of Kaoruko's look and her affable personality.
- Forced into Evil: Naoshi has her sabotage the station's defenses in his plot to kidnap Miyo on the threat of her father's life.
Royal Family
Prince Takaihito
Voiced by: Akira Ishida (Japanese), Kayleigh McKee (English)
Portrayed by: Ryūsei Ōnishi (live-action film), Satsuki Nakayama (stage play)
The second son of the Emperor and the crown prince of Japan, having inherited the royal family's gift of Future Sight.
- Big Good: He serves as this for the story as he is currently the figure with the most political power on the heroes's side and often guides them on where to go and what needs to be done to protect themselves and Japan.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady: You would be forgiven if you mistake him for a woman, given his delicate, porcelain-like feature enhanced by his makeup.
- Everyone Has Standards: He is openly disgusted by his father’s actions against the Kudos and Usubas.
- Must Make Amends: When its revealed that his father, the Emperor was responsible for the Grotesquery infestation, Prince Takaihito tells Kiyoka that since his father's advanced age meant that his gift was weakening, and combined with his deteriorating mental state, Prince Takaihito forced his father not to abdicate the throne, but turned him into a powerless figurehead and reassured Kiyo that " "every death will be answered for."
- Reasonable Authority Figure: After the events of Volume 2, he effectively takes over his father’s position in all but name. He privately reveals his father was responsible for numerous misfortunes and unfair treatment the Usubas and Kudos received. He doesn’t intend on having either family punished because they are clearly the victims of his father’s vanity, and he intends on having his father face consequences instead.
- Seers: His gift of Future Sight allows him to receive brief glimpses of future events which aid him in governance and avoiding/mitigating foreseen disasters.
The Emperor
Voiced by: Takayuki Sugo (Japanese), Richard Tatum (English)
Portrayed by: Renji Ishibashi (live-action film)
The current emperor of Japan. Although bedridden due to his advanced age and deteriorating health, he remains a shadowy figure with connections and influence within the empire.
- Ambiguously Evil: He's a decrepit schemer who ordered the release of vicious ghosts for reasons unknown. The reason turned out to be a gambit to kill Kiyoka.
- Asshole Victim: He is kidnapped in Volume 4, and considering everything he’s done, it is hard to feel sorry for him.
- Bad Boss: What is the Emperor's response to generations of faithful service by the Usuba and Kudo families to the empire? Ruin them in fear of their great power, that by all account they have never abused. Then there's his own onmyojis who he essentially sent on a suicide mission in order to release vicious grotesquerie from containment in order to eliminate one man, civilian casualties be damn.
- Brought Down to Normal: Downplayed. Old age combined with poor health has destroyed his ability to use his gift, unfortunately, he can still use mystic arts to command fiends to do his bidding.
- The Caligula: The aforementioned release of wraiths on the civilian populations, along with a number of other deeds firmly plants him in this territory. Thankfully, his son figured out his game and placed him under house arrest pending a trial.
- Family Extermination: Attempted a multi-faceted one decades ago on the Usuba clan. He first disrupted their business nearly to the point of bankruptcy. Then anonymously gave the Saimoris enough money to bail out the Usubas with the knowledge that the Saimoris would attempt to get their hands on Sumi in order to obtain a child with the Usuba's gift. The Emperor had seemingly hoped the Saimoris would weaken the Usuba bloodline and snuff out their gifts with Shinichi and Sumi's marriage.
- Hand Seals: He uses these along with ritual chants to control the grotesquerie curse that infected Kiyoka in order to kill him.
- Laser-Guided Karma: After everything he's done to destroy both the Usuba and Kudos, he gets what's coming to him when Miyo fully awakens to her powers and with Kiyoka's support, is able to dispel his curse on Kiyoka and the resulting mystic rebound caused the emperor to be immolated by the ritual bonfire he was using to control the curse.
- Manipulative Bastard: A given as he is the ruler of an entire nation saddled with political intrigue, but there are stand-out examples including two attempts at trying to destroy the Usuba family, first by making Miyo's mother, Sumi, marry into a weakening family and then years later, making a deal with the same family he tried to destroy to get their granddaughter, Miyo, back but with the caveat that she can never interact with anyone outside of her family ever again. He then had his onmyojis provoke and release the grotesqueries sealed in the Grave in order to end the male line of the Kudo family. None of which could be traced back to him until it was too late.
- Ungrateful Bastard: After all the work and loyalty the Kudos and Usubas have provided for years, he rewards them by trying to wipe them out. His son is shown to be quite disgusted by this actions.
Gifted Communion
General
A quasi-religious cult/terrorist group dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of gifts. The group becomes a growing threat to the country as they fight against the decline of gifted individuals while hiding sinister ulterior motives.
- Cult: They're a cult that worships the ability to use psychic powers/gifts and has experimented with numerous, immoral methods to preserve and spread gifts to others.
- Malevolent Masked Men: Most of their rank and fodder as expected of an evil organization.
- Psycho Serum: Their most successful methods to granting mundane people the ability to use gifts have been to infuse them with the blood of incarnated grotesquerie. early test subjects either went insane and/or became mindless drones for the cult. It is also noted that artificial gifted are less powerful than natural ones.
- Take Over the World: Well, at least Japan initially. But this is suspected to be the GC's plan.
Naoshi Usui (MAJOR UNMARKED SPOILERS)
The figure behind Gifted Communion with deep connections to the Usuba family and by extension, Miyo. His gift is the ability to manipulate the human senses.
- Arc Villain: Starting in Volume 3.
- Animal Motif: Snakes, which allures to his ability to blend in and strike when you would least expect him.
- Clark Kenting: Naoshi's entire ensemble, from his clothing to even his body language is meant to invoke a sense of harmlessness from him in order to lower people's guard before he strikes.
- Cool Sword: He keeps a short sword hidden in his kimono and just like its master, it is far deadlier than it looks.
- Evil Is Petty: When Miyo experiences a vision of Sumi and Naoshi's childhood, it is implied Naoshi would love to pick fights with other kids and then use his powers to make them brutalize themselves for his amusement.
- Evil Laugh: He wouldn't be an insane cult leader without one, although curiously he likes to mix in some jolly guffaws here and there, which only makes the thing more unsettling.
- Expy: Quite a lot with Aizen, from his unassuming appearance, personality, and even the same powers.
- Fatal Flaw: His sadism. Had he not taken the time to relish in everyone's suffering and Miyo's Sadistic Choice then he likely would have absconded with Miyo long before Kiyoka managed to return just in time to save everyone.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Naoshi wears a pair of round spectacles that help accentuate his "innocent old-man" look. At least, until you notice the madness and fury lurking behind his eyes.
- I Control My Minions Through...: Power. He recruits those desperate for power and through either granting them artificial gifts and/or promises of positions of power in his new world he cultivates a base with relentless fealty to him.
- I Gave My Word: One of the few redeeming qualities Naoshi, besides his unrelenting determination, is his honesty. Despite Kaoruko turning on him during his attack on the anti-grotesquerie station, she did fulfill her end of their deal, so he reveals that her father is safe and sound.
- I Have Your Wife: In Vol 4, he holds Kaoruko's loved ones hostage in order to force her to sabotage the Anti-Grotesqueries building's defenses so he could waltz right in and attempts to kidnap Miyo.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: He claims to be Miyo's biological father, although the information Kiyoka digs up pokes a lot of holes into this claim.
- Mad Scientist: His unethical experiments have allowed him to create a means to grant ordinary people the power to use gifts, facilitate possessions and fusion of humans and grotesqueries, and even creation of artificial grotesqueries visible to the naked eye.
- Manipulative Bastard: Naoshi is very adept at analyzing a person's greatest weakness and desires, which he can then exploit to his benefit.
- Master of Illusion: His gift, which is even more absurd than Arata's version, as it allows him to bend the human senses to his will. His most common trick is either Invisibility and/or displacing his image and voice from his true body. He can also make it impossible to perceive him with any of the senses even as he cuts you down at his leisure.
- Perception Filter: Naoshi's extraordinary prowess with his gift means he can have a private conversation with Miyo and company in the middle of a crowded train station without anyone noticing any of them, even as they engage him in combat.
- Replacement Goldfish: How he views Miyo and why he constantly refers to her as his daughter as a way to cope with losing Sumi even if he knows he is not truly her father.
- Revenge: His target being the emperor, the one responsible for orchestrating the events that led to Sumi selling herself to the Saimoris to save her family.
- Sadist: With his gift, it would be a simple matter for him to walk up and slit his opponent's throat with little resistance, but Naoshi is a sadist at heart, even at a young age, and relish breaking people down.
- He also reveals he has been keeping the captive emperor alive, albeit barely, just so he can personally execute the man responsible for his greatest tragedy once he is ready.
- Slasher Smile: When formalities are off the table, Naoshi will flash some feral grins at his enemies.
- Start of Darkness: It is implied that losing Sumi is what turned him from just an asshole kid to a full-blown sociopathic supervillain cult leader.
- Stronger Than They Look: In spite of his age, Naoshi is strong enough to overpower a man much bigger than him and even shatters his opponent's sword without effort. During the confrontation with him at the Anti-Grotesquerie station, it became clear he could have easily slaughtered all of the officers guarding Miyo had he not indulged his sadism.
- A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: Who would ever suspect the charming, middle-aged man waiting at the train station to be a murderous cult leader?
- Yandere: One of his fondest memories was promising to destroy everything bad, aka that would get in the way of his and Sumi's happiness, to Sumi in their youth. He would go on to fulfill this promise with vicious zeal in honor of that very memory.
Hojo
A member of the gifted Hojo family. He allied with Naoshi and seemed to act as his main enforcer.
- The Brute: While not necessarily dim going by their interaction with Kiyoka, Hojo acts as the primary physical threat for the Gifted Communion given that Naoshi's gift has no direct offensive capabilities.
- The Dragon: He appears to be Naoshi's primary confidant in the Gifted Communion.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Once Kiyoka proves that he is the superior gifted, Hojo sics his fiend-possessed brute at Kiyoka and retreats in the chaos.
- Making a Splash: His specialty is hydrokinesis, allowing them to turn the ground to mud by drawing in moisture and launching water balls at their targets.
