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Main Characters
Nana Osaki
Portrayed by: Mika Nakashima
A Punk Rock vocalist from a small seaside town, where she was raised alone by her grandmother. She first meets Nana Komatsu on the train to Tokyo, where she is determined to restart her band Black Stones, and they move into apartment 707 together after a second chance encounter.- Ambiguously Bi: She really loves Ren, but even she is a bit confused as to what she feels for Hachi. Despite some initial apprehension, she has no problem kissing Hachi or bathing with her, and she has made some comments indicating her love for Hachi, such as telling her that she will build her a house with a garden once she becomes famous. She also felt strangely threatened when Hachi started to see Takumi and was afraid of Hachi being stolen by Trapnest. When she learned Nobu was in love with Hachi, she encouraged him to pursue her for the express reason that with Hachi dating someone from Blast, she would remain close and in Nana's orbit. Nobu himself pointed out how weirdly possessive that kind of thinking is. It's very difficult to tell if this was because she had romantic feelings for Hachi or if was all platonic, born out of simple loneliness and fear from losing her first real close female friend.
- Animal Motifs: It is not as notorious as Hachi's case, but she is occasionally associated with cats due to her rather mysterious personality in general and the fact that she is very proud.
- Blue Oni: To Nana K.'s Red given her calm and cool stage presence and emotional repression.
- Even the Girls Want Her: Has a legion of female fans due to her cool confident persona and Nana K. has expressed outright attraction to her on several occassions.
- Friendless Background: Due to her growing up orphaned and moving around, she didn't have many friends growing up. This also leads her to long for close knit friends.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Her jealousy towards Trapnest's success is her Fatal Flaw and causes her to resent Ren sometimes. This is not only because she feels she would only be successful for being Ren's girlfriend instead of on her own merit, but also because she hasn't really gotten over Ren leaving Black Stones for Trapnest. She continuously pushes him away because of this, which causes a painful back-and-forth of emotional highs and lows for her and Ren. This also extends to Nana K. somewhat, because Nana O. had hoped that Nana K. would choose Nobu over Takumi and thus stay with her, when in fact she did the opposite.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: Explains why she becomes so attached to Nana K. and protective (often to the point of jealousy) of her.
- Missing Mom: Her mother abandoned her when she was four to run off with a guy.
- Nice Girl: Nana can be a Deadpan Snarker but she is kind-hearted and caring.
- Raised by Grandparents: She was raised by her grandmother until she died when Nana was 15.
- Shipper with an Agenda: Nana O. had hoped that Nana K. and Nobu would get together, because that would mean Nana K. would stay with her.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The tomboy to Nana K.'s girly girl, due to her blunt personality, edgy styling, and her less refined behavior.
Nana "Hachi" Komatsu
Voiced by: KAORI (JP), Kelly Sheridan (EN)
Portrayed by: Aoi Miyazawa (Film 1), Yui Ichikawa (Film 2)
A country girl with a normal upbringing who is In Love with Love to a fault. She first meets Nana Osaki on the train to Tokyo to be with her boyfriend, and they move into apartment 707 together after a second chance encounter. To avoid confusion, she takes the nickname "Hachi" which is short for Hachikō, the loyal dog, and is also Japanese for the number 8 (Nana being Japanese for the number 7).- Adoptive Peer Parent: She's this to Shin, playing his parental figure in light of him having an abusive father and a dead mother.
- Ambiguously Bi: She has spent her whole life falling in love with man after man (and two of the guys she was involved with weren't even worth it), but she also finds Nana very attractive, to the point that she has blushed in front of her repeatedly, she also mentions that her admiration for her reminded her a lot of the delusion of first love, and even said that if Nana were a man it would be the love of her life. Perhaps the only reason it doesn't count as fully bisexual is because of the constant Bait-and-Switch Lesbians status that the manga owns, it is also possible that this only happens to her exclusively with Nana.
- Animal Motifs: The manga continually associates her with dogs because of her loyalty to Blast, and for her excitable and clingy nature towards those she loves, to the point that Nana nicknames her Hachi.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She’s an awesome friend. As a girlfriend though, she flat out says that intimate relationships have clearly less value to her than platonic ones. She’s also prone to pretty underhanded manipulation tactics. The story even dedicates scenes to explicitly call her out on this.
- Break His Heart to Save Him: She ultimately does this with Nobu in order to keep him from giving up his dreams for her.
- Character Development: Probably more so than anyone else in the series. She begins as a hopeless romantic, who has the unflattering traits of also being needy, self-centered, and overly concerned more in appearances than with one's character. Fast-forward a bit and she ultimately chooses to be with a man who she knows is unfaithful and whose love is questionable over a guy she knows genuinely cares about her and that she genuinely loves, all because she knows the former has the means to take provide for her and her baby without sacrificing his dream (since he already has it), while the latter would have to give up his dream just to support her.
- Celeb Crush: Her crush on Takumi which she manages to turn into reality, for better and for worse.
- Fatal Flaw: Self-centeredness. She is constantly smacking herself on the head for not taking into account others' feelings before doing or saying something. It makes her actions in her character development all the more poignant.
- Genki Girl: Her nickname is Hachi because she is likened to an excited dog.
- Gold Digger: In a more justified sense. She ends up deciding to live with Takumi because he has the money to provide for her baby.
- I Just Want to Be Loved: This is part of the reason why she is both a difficult partner to be with (she is needy and needs constant attention from her partner) and why she ends up choosing bad partners, as she basically chooses based on who is providing her with the most love at a given point in time.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: For Nana O. and Nobu; the reason why she choose to raise her baby with Takumi.
- Living Emotional Crutch: She becomes this to Nana after Ren's death. To the extent that if Hachi ever abandons her or is taken away from her, Nana may fall back into her broken state.
- Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places: Because she is In Love with Love, she ends up falling for the worst guys: a married man when she was still a teen, a guy who cheated on her with a coworker, and an abusive Jerkass more interested in making his love rival jealous than the person he's supposedly in a relationship with.
- Love at First Sight: If only Junko had a dime for every time Hachi "fell in love".Junko: Nana, I get the idea you came here to get yourself a boyfriend, right?
- Love Martyr: With Takumi due to her desire to ensure Nobu has a happy and successful future.
- Love Revelation Epiphany: Nobu; when he vows that he'll show Takumi that he'll be better than him for Hachi, and it was confirmed when he officially proclaimed his love for her by the river.
- Nice Girl: Has been described as such by the members of Blast, which is what makes them ultimately protective over her. Though she has both positive and negative traits of the trope: she's kind, devoted and very loyal as a friend, but also dependent, self-entitled, immature and the type of romantic who is In Love with Love.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: She's popularly known as "Hachi" in and out of universe.
- Parental Substitute: Hachi becomes this to Misato and Shin. Shin tells her that he wished that he was born her child. Later she officially becomes to Shin by calling herself his mother
- Red Oni: To Nana and Junko's blue given her excited, romantic nature.
- Smitten Teenage Girl: In her teens seeing as she had an affair with an older married man.
- Team Chef: One of the things that Hachi is most noted for by the rest of the characters is her cooking. She prepares lunch/dinner for everyone during the Mahjong match at apartment 707 where Ren & Takumi complimented her cooking. She's often cooks great meals during the get-togethers with Nana O. and Blast. Even Naoki compliments her on her cooking when he first meets her at her new apartment with Takumi.
- Team Mom: The role she carves for herself in Blast seeing as she is clearly not a part of the band, but is friends with and takes care of all of the members when she can.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The girly girl to Nana's tomboy as she is boy crazed, romantic, loves cute home decor and dresses in girlier clothing.
- Through His Stomach: She expresses the non-romantic form of this for Nana O. and the members of Blast. Also Takumi romantically during their fling, engagement and marriage.
- Who's Your Daddy?: She has a surprise pregnancy and doesn't know who the father is. It's between Takumi and Nobu.
- Wrong Guy First: She experiences twice over with Takashi Asano and then later Takumi, who was great for a fling but necessarily an exclusive relationship three times over if you include she got back together with Takumi and married him but he wasn't a faithful attentive husband. When he goes to London in the future, Hachi looks to be in reconciliation with Nobu.
Black Stones
Nobuo Terashima
Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki (JP), Matthew Erickson (EN)
- Betty and Veronica: The Betty to Takumi's Veronica and Nana K.'s Archie.
- Berserk Button: He hates it when people bring up the fact that he's short.
- Cannot Spit It Out: He tries to confess to Nana K. after finding out Takumi slept with her but, lost his nerve and ran out but not before claiming that he'll show Takumi, leaving Nana K. bewildered about that statement. He finally does after talking with Shin about the one thing he has over Takumi; that he genuinely loves Nana K.. Also somewhat of an Anguished Declaration of Love.
- Can't Hold His Liquor: He even stopped drinking for a while because of this.
- Green-Eyed Epiphany: He reacts very strongly to Takumi bragging that he had sex with Nana K., which forces him to confront the fact that he has a crush on her.
- In Vino Veritas: While drunk, Nobu told Shin everything he knew about Nana O. and Ren's relationship, as well as everything about Yasu. Everything.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Nana O. and Shin urge Nobu to steal Nana K. away from Takumi. He does for a bit, but then he decides to give up on her when she gets pregnant and chooses Takumi. While he had plenty of chances to sway her decision, he doesn't because he respects her choice.
- Madonna-Whore Complex: Nobu idealizes women and, at one point, tells Shin not to compare Nana K. to his clients. As a result, he gets very confused when Takumi reveals he and Nana K. had casual sex, since he never believed she would be the type to do so. This made him unable to really understand her needs, which in part pushes her to choose Takumi as he would never hold her faults against her (after all, he's all too aware of his own flaws). This gets further explored as a source of irony when he starts dating Yuri, an AV actress.
- Nice Guy: How he is characterized and talked about by the other members of Trapnest. This makes him a proper Foil to Takumi.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Nana K. shows this with him. Later Yuri, after Nana K. chooses Takumi for her baby. Possibly with Nana K. in the flash forwards moments.
- Vomit Discretion Shot: Nobu insists on going with Takumi to identify Ren's body after the latter gets into a car accident. Upon seeing him, Nobu nearly throws up and runs out.
Shinichi Okazaki
Voiced by: Akira Ishida (JP), David A Kaye (EN)
- Abusive Parents: His adoptive father, who was his late mother's husband and didn't love Shin or claim him as his own son.
- Birds of a Feather: He becomes attracted to Reira when he notices they have much in common, such as being raised abroad, experiencing cultural differences, and being born within a couple of days of one another.
- But Not Too Foreign: He was born and raised in Sweden, but he asserts that he is fully Japanese.
- The Charmer: Thanks to Ryoko, Shin is able to smooth-talk and flatter just about anyone.
- Closet Key: Playing with a Trope: Nana O. and Ren, on separate occasions, think Nobu will have a gay awakening with Shin living in his apartment due to how attractive Shin is.
- Corrupt the Cutie: When Shin first appears, he looks like a normal junior high school student with several piercings in his ear. A few chapters later, he's gotten a lip piercing and dyed his hair blue. In the same chapter, he tells Nana O. and Nana K. that he's started sleeping with older women for money. All this happened as a result of him not wanting to be around his stepfather, causing him to be picked up by Ryoko Kashiwagi.
- Driven to Suicide: Yasu speculates that if Black Stones had not recruited Shin, he would have eventually committed suicide.
- Dysfunctional Family: Shin was a product of his mother having affair abroad. His mother committed suicide not long after Shin was born. Although his mother's husband adopted him and raised him, he refused to acknowledge Shin as his son. He found true parental love with Nana K., who became his Parental Substitute.
- Dye Hard: In-Universe: Shin's natural hair color is a chestnut brown color. After being recruited into Black Stones, he dyes it blue. As an adult, his hair is back to his natural color.
- Even the Guys Want Him: He's pretty enough that Ren pretends to make out with him, much to Nana O.'s displeasure. Ren describes Shin as "sexy" and teases Nobu about hooking up with him.
- Foil: While Nobu has an average height, idealizes women, and can get unconfident at times, Shin is mature, knows what women want, and grows to be tall. However, on the flip side, despite Nana O. and Shin urging him, Nobu refuses to aggressively pursue Nana K. after she makes the decision to be with Takumi and puts her needs above his own. On the other hand, when Shin is pressured to break up with Reira, he ultimately can't bring himself to do so and even questions if he really loves her for putting his needs above her own.
- Freaky Fashion, Mild Mind: He has a punk aesthetic like everyone in Black Stones, but he has a pretty mild temperament.
- Happily Adopted: He sees Nana K. as his Parental Substitute and he calls her "Mama." The two sometimes jokingly roleplay as a family.
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold: How he was able to survive being on his own which is a bit of
Squick since he's a minor and his clients were obviously older women. - Jailbait Taboo: Shin is 15 years old (and later turns 16 years old in November) but he constantly sleeps around with older women for money. Nana O., Nobu, and Nana K. are aware of this and often discourage him, but he never listens. He only stops accepting money and seeing other women as soon as he falls in love with Reira, a fact kept secret from everyone until Nana K. and Takumi find out. It takes Takumi, of all people, to confront him about this, specifically stating that he should wait until he's 18 years old to continue seeing her.
- Ladykiller in Love: Shin has a lot of female fans. In chapter 57, he also says his face is popular with older women, and he regularly sleeps with them for his job. However, after he falls in love with Reira, he stops accepting money and sleeping around with other women. Even in the distant future, he doesn't seem to have been over her years after their break-up.
- Love Hurts: Shin does not take his break-up with Reira very well, among other problems in his personal life, such as his stepfather turning his bedroom into a study room. As a result, Shin copes with this by spending his nights at Ryoko's apartment, until the two are arrested after the police find marijuana there. Shin then spends his time in juvenile detention reflecting on what he wants from life. While he initially tells Reira they'll continue their relationship when he's older, during Ren's funeral, he ultimately decides that he is not right for her after noticing how attached she is to Takumi.
- Loving a Shadow: Most notably in chapter 57, Shin questions if he really loved Reira, as he wasn't able to sacrifice his needs to protect her, nor is he sure he will even stay interested in her by the time he turns 18. However, after he has time to reflect on his feelings, especially after he gets arrested, he concludes that he is willing to wait until he gets older to be with her again. However, this changes after Ren's death, and in the Flash Forward segments, he is shown to have achieved his goals but has not been in contact with Reira still.
- No Social Skills: Because Shin recently came from abroad, there are some Japanese words and customs that he doesn't understand, so Nana O. and the others have to explain to him.
- Parental Abandonment: Shin does not know the identity of his biological father, and his mother committed suicide. His stepfather refuses to acknowledge him as his son, causing Shin to take refuge at Ryoko or Nobu's apartment instead of going home. After some time of Shin being away from home, his stepfather turned his bedroom into his study room.
- Pink Girl, Blue Boy: The blue to Reira's Pink.
- Precocious Crush: Shin falls in love with Reira despite that they have a 7-year age difference.
- Really 17 Years Old: Nana O. refuses to believe Shin is 18 years old as he originally stated, and she later learns offscreen that he is actually 15 years old. However, she lets him stay in Black Stones anyway. This carries onto when Black Stones gets signed to Gaia Records, where his age is stated as 18 years old on his agency profile.
- Staying with Friends: Since Shin refuses to go home, he usually sleeps at Nobu's apartment. When Nobu isn't available, he spends the night in the homes of the older women he sleeps with.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: He's still only a teenager, yet even Nana K. admits that he is more mature than her.
- Younger Than They Look: He's only a teenager but due to his punk aesthetic, he can pass as a young adult.
Yasushi Takagi
Voiced by: Yoshihisa Kawahara (JP), Brian Drummond (EN)
- Bald of Authority: Yasu shaves his head completely bald after going Prematurely Bald and is The Leader of the Black Stones, handling almost all of the business decisions the band makes. He is shown to be the most responsible and level headed of the group. This not only doubles as Delinquent Hair given the band's punk rock aesthetic, but helps to further emphasize Yasu as a Foil for Takumi, the Jerk with a Heart of Jerk leader of rival band Trapnest, who has long black hair.
- Big Brother Mentor: He is the most mature out of the entire main cast and is often looked to as the voice of reason, especially with Nobu and Nana.
- Cool Shades: Is almost always wearing dark sunglasses, adding to his mysterious aesthetic.
- Fatal Flaw: He puts the needs of others over his own. He more than once buries his own feelings for Nana O. because he knows Ren needs her and arguably she needs him too. Takumi and Ren both call him out on this.
- Happily Adopted: Yasu was adopted by the Takagi couple and grew up in a happy and loving family.
- Nice Guy: Yasu is kind, caring, loyal, protective, and selfless.
- Team Dad: Due to his capability and reliability, he is the one handling most of Blast's promotion and taking care of the business end before they are eventually signed to a label, a contract that he himself negotiates as a lawyer.
Trapnest
Ren Honjo
Voiced by: Hidenobu Kiuchi (JP), Samuel Vincent (EN)
- Addled Addict: Takumi has to help him sober up after he goes on a bender post-breakup with Nana.
- Ambiguously Bi: Ren is deeply in love with Nana O., but he's also completely fine with flirting with men. He and Shin have made out on several instances, with Ren later telling Nobu that Shin is "sexy." In chapter 70, Ren teasingly flirts with Takumi by whispering in his ear and coyishly offering him chocolate for Valentine's Day.
- Fatal Flaw: His dependency issues. Be it drugs or his love for Nana O., Ren has a bad tendency to cling onto people and overindulge in things that he views as his salvation. He relapses into a bad drug habit when Nana O. focuses more on her career than him. This was a habit he picked up because they had broken up initially.
- Functional Addict: Essentially what Takumi tells Ren to be if he wants to stay in the band and keep playing guitar.
- Ladykiller in Love: He was known for getting around before falling in love with Nana O.
- Living Emotional Crutch: It isn't obvious and it's unclear if his and Nana's relationship always had this dynamic, but it becomes pretty clear when they break up for a bit and Ren starts using drugs to cope that Nana is this to him.
Reira Serizawa
Portrayed by: Yuna Ito
- Always Someone Better: Nana O. is incredibly intimidated by Reira's singing voice. Nana K., on the other hand, only stops crushing on Yasu after discovering he dated Reira in the past, feeling that he would never settle for her after dating someone impressive as her.
- But Not Too Foreign: She's half-American, but keeps it a secret and goes by the name of Reira.
- Childhood Friend Romance / Unlucky Childhood Friend: With Takumi, even after becoming The Mistress to him.
- Childhood Friends: With Takumi.
- Dude Magnet: Ren had a crush on Reira at one point in high school, and she also dated Yasu for two years during that time. Nobu also was attracted to her, as he was excited about meeting her. Shin falls in love with her after seeing her true self.
- Fauxreigner: Reira is half-Japanese and half-American, but she is forced to pretend she is fully Japanese by her label because people would have higher expectations of her performance skills if she revealed the truth.
- Genki Girl: Reira is very cheerful and constantly smiling. Sometimes, Takumi or Ren have to bring her fanciful imagination down to earth.
- Hair Color Dissonance: Pink? Light brown? Vaguely blonde? It's not that consistent in official art.
- The Jailbait Wait: After Reira breaks up with Shin, she almost texts him saying that she will wait until he is old enough for them to continue their relationship. She immediately changes the message afterwards.
- Meaningful Name: Reira's real name is Layla and she was named after the song "Layla" by Eric Clapton. She notes that he was inspired to write the song out of his feelings for another man's wife, which is applicable to her circumstances.
- My God, What Have I Done?: When Reira realizes Ren crashed his car and died on his way to bring her back after she ran away, she enters an Angst Coma and is admitted to the hospital after fainting from malnutrition. Her energy quickly returns, but she believes Ren left Japan for England.
- Operation: Jealousy: She did this with Yasu to get Takumi jealous. While it didn't work, she found some happiness with Yasu's steadiness.
- Patient Childhood Love Interest: Known and loved Takumi since childhood, but unrequited. Takumi exploits this in order to keep her singing for Trapnest by sleeping with her.
- Pink Girl, Blue Boy: The pink to Shin's Blue... if you can call her hair pink.
- Rose-Haired Sweetie: Her hair is in a shade of pink and she's very kind and cheerful.
- Sex Changes Everything: Takumi's view of her changes but not necessarily for the better or as she hoped.
- Spell My Name With An S: Her name is romanized as "Reira"; however, she later reveals to Shin that her real name is Layla, having been named after the song by Eric Clapton.
- The Mistress: To Takumi while he is dating Nana K.
Takumi Ichinose
Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa (JP), Andrew Francis (EN)
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Nana K., Reira, and most of Trapnest's female fans.
- Ambition Is Evil: No character in this story is perfect but no one is as intentionally malicious as Takumi is. He is more than willing to keep Ren addicted to drugs and sleep with Reira, his childhood friend he has no feelings for but has been in love with him since forever, to make sure both are somewhat stable enough to keep performing.
- Betty and Veronica: The Veronica to Nobu's Betty and Nana K.'s Archie.
- Brutally Honest: Takumi is very non-judgmental and is the most honest of all characters whenever it comes down to his opinion, given that he's the Only Sane Man in Trapnest.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Initially under the belief that Nana K. hadn't broken up with him, Takumi becomes surprised when he finds out she had been dating Nobu and quickly goes to her.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Takumi had an unpleasant childhood, with his mother dead and his father drinking all the time.
- Establishing Character Moment: The audience comes to see Takumi's true colors when, at Trapnest's after party, he nonchalantly brags about sleeping with Nana K. the day after meeting her in person, causing Ren, Nobu, and Shin to be disgusted with his behavior. This scene alone lets the audience know that Takumi is not as nice as he initially seemed, and it only gets worse from there.
- Fatal Flaw: Selfishness and pride. Takumi cares about himself first and the success of Trapnest second, as he views it as an extension of himself seeing as he's the de facto leader of the group. Regarding selfishness, he's not above sacrificing the wellbeings and happiness of his bandmates if he believes it threatens the band as when he keeps Ren a Functioning Addict becausw rehab would look bad for the band or when he forces Reira to end her relationship with Shin because he's still underaged. In terms of pride, he refuses to allow Nana K. to choose Nobu over him, forcing himself on her when it seems like she would. And what does his manipulative behavior get him? An unplanned child to take care of with a woman who doesn't love him, his lead singer going near catatonic without Shin supporting her, and the death of his childhood friend and bassist.
- Freudian Excuse: Takumi tells Nana K. that if the parent is messed up, their children may turn out messed up too. He is definitely referring to himself in this sense, as he comes from a very loveless childhood.
- Hypocrite: Just about loses it when he suspects Nana K. to be sleeping with Nobu, but has no qualms cheating on her with Reira.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's unrepentantly selfish and manipulative, but plenty of decisions he made were also in the best interest for the group. Even though some of his actions were to benefit himself and Trapnest, Takumi cares about Reira and tries to find ways to break Ren's drug addiction. In addition, he is also somewhat fond of Nana K., as he readily supports her financially even though he understands the baby may not belong to him.
- Innocently Insensitive: When Takumi first assumes Nana K. is pregnant and she denies this, he answers in relief, stating that it "would have been a pain." This angers Nana K., but after she hangs up on him, Takumi clarifies to Ren that having a child would also burden her, and that he was thinking of both of them when he said that.
- Knight of Cerebus: The story starts turning tragic once Takumi enters the picture and engages in a relationship with Nana K., which starts a lot of problems within their friend group.
- Lead Bassist: He's a mild Type C version in that his looks make him attractive enough to be the face, but he knowingly tries to stay out of the limelight and makes sure Reira remains the face even if doing so is painful for her. He is the mastermind behind Trapnest's image and meteoric rise.
- Like Brother and Sister: The characters point out that Takumi views Reira as his sister, much to the latter's displeasure.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Takumi has Barbarian Long Hair. Because this is key to his image and identity within Trapnest, his management refuses to let him cut it.
- Manipulative Bastard:
- Takumi has pretty much mastered the "push-pull" relationship method, in which he shows no interest in someone but will occasionally show just enough affection to make them stay. Initially, when he and Nana K. sleep together, Nana K. knows he isn't romantically interested, and Takumi even states that his relationships never last because he puts his job as his first priority. Even though Takumi does appreciate Nana K. to some degree, he's not above sleeping with her just to show Nobu and Black Stones that he's "won."
- Takumi refuses to return Reira's feelings, but he shows enough affection to her to convince her to sing for Trapnest. This convinces Reira that her only value to Takumi is singing, and that as long as she sings for Trapnest, she has a chance with him. This ultimately leads her to have several emotional breakdowns over the series when she occasionally is reminded that Takumi will never be in love with her.
- Marriage of Convenience: Takumi likes Nana K. because their lifestyles and personalities are compatible, as Nana K. will remain loyal to him and understand that his work is his priority. In addition, she is a non-celebrity which will cause a smaller likelihood of getting harassed by the media.
- Married to the Job: As the leader of Trapnest, Takumi wants his band to stay on top as long as possible. He is dedicated to his work and crafting Trapnest's music and image, particularly Reira's. The second time he and Nana K. sleep together, he admits that his relationships never worked out because he was so dedicated to his work that he was never able to spend time with his girlfriends. The reason why he appreciates Nana K., despite constantly leaving her alone most of the time, was that she was the only person who understood his dedication to his work and accepted that she would never be his first priority; however, the distance put between them allows Nana K. to get closer to Nobu and complicate their relationship. Furthermore, Takumi's workaholic tendences also strain his relationship with Reira, who is in love with him despite that he sees her as nothing more than the face of Trapnest.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Takumi realizes the tremendous pain he had caused Reira by kissing and having sex with her despite not reciprocating her feelings, just so he could keep her singing for Trapnest. He also realizes that cutting her off from Shin, the only person who had actually supported her emotional needs, may have done more damage than good. This causes him to confront Reira about how she truly feels and then arrange a meet-up with Shin once he had been released from prison. Ren dies on the way to bring back Reira, so Takumi's plan doesn't exactly work out.
- Only Sane Man: Reira and Naoki tend to be spacey while Ren hardly shows the same seriousness that Takumi has, leading him to be the one to keep the band in check. During Trapnest's first appearance, Takumi's first appearance has him scolding Naoki for his silliness and Ren for making a small mistake in his playing (that no one else had noticed).
- Pet the Dog: In spite of his Jerkass tendencies, Takumi does show sympathy every now and then. The characters point out Takumi never sleeps with the same girl twice, yet he's grown fond of Nana K. to sleep with her again. He also offers to marry her when she becomes pregnant despite previously saying that pregnancies were too troublesome.
- Rape as Drama: He has forced Nana K. to have sex with him against her will after presuming Nobu had recently slept with her.
- Skewed Priorities:
- Takumi really wants what's best for Trapnest, but unfortunately, some of his decisions actually turn out to be for the worse as he cares more about protecting the group's success and image rather than their emotional needs.
- Takumi only agrees with Ren marrying Nana O. because it would help cause rumors about their relationship to die down and because he (mistakenly) believes that Nana O. would help stop Ren's drug addiction.
- Takumi and Reira are the only people to know about Ren's drug addiction and try to keep him from it. However, Takumi discourages Ren from going to rehab because it would tank the latter's reputation if news got out, preventing him from getting the help he actually needed.
- Takumi rightfully encourages both Reira and Shin to end their relationship with each other, as Shin is a minor. However, he is only concerned about how it would hurt Reira's reputation and hardly recognizes how Shin was the only person who had been filling the emotional void that he had left.
- Social Climber: Much like Nana and Ren, Takumi had a shitty upbringing and is deadset on making sure Trapnest succeeds, no matter the cost. If he has to manipulate his bandmates and ruin their personal lives (and make a mess out of his own), he'll do it without much of a second thought.
- Spotting the Thread: Takumi was able to figure out Reira and Shin were in a relationship when he realizes Reira was wearing Shin's Vivienne Westwood lighter necklace. Both Reira and Shin deny this on separate occasions, stating that the lighter was from a fan. In Shin's case, Takumi points out that the serial codes were exactly the same. He lied, but Shin's expression was enough for him to confirm the truth.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: A lot of decisions made on Takumi's part has actually made situations a lot worse.
- Takumi is the one who specifically wanted Ren to join Trapnest, even reaching out to Yasu to convince Ren when he initially refused. This is the road bump in Nana O. and Ren's relationship that leads to their first break-up, after which their relationship never remained the same afterwards.
- Takumi getting involved with Nana K., despite Nana O.'s warnings, is often seen as the start of problems between Nana K. and Nana O., as well as Nobu, especially after Nana K. gets pregnant. As a result, Nana K. cannot comfortably bring herself to talk to Nana O. and Nobu for a while, fearing that they resent her for choosing to marry and live with Takumi. As for Nana O., her fears of losing everyone she loves to Trapnest become exacerbated to the point where she has panic attacks, the first strong one after she breaks the strawberry glass cups.
- When Takumi discovers Ren is addicted to cocaine, instead of letting him go to rehab, he has Reira watch over him. This causes a lot of misunderstanding with Nana O., who becomes paranoid about their friendship, especially when the paparazzi try to formulate a scandal using a photo of Reira holding onto Ren closely. This ends up putting more distance between the two and causes Ren to continue using drugs to cope.
- Takumi going along with Reira's demands to get physical with her, especially after affirming that he will never return her feelings, causes her undue stress. Him encouraging her to break up with Shin also made things worse, as Reira begins latching onto him now that she has no one else to emotionally support her. Takumi eventually tries to make amends by helping them meet in private while getting Nana O. and Ren to make up, but Ren dies on the way to pick up Reira.
Naoki Fujieda
Voiced by: Anri Katsu (JP), Adrian Petriw (EN)
- A Day in the Limelight: Naoki receives his own extra story about his school days, when he first met Yasu and the other Trapnest members.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Naoki claims to be very close to Takumi and Yasu, but they both find him annoying. In episode 36.5 of the anime, Junko and Kyosuke even point out that Naoki is mostly uninvolved in the story and has no significant relationship with any of the other members.
- Glam Rock: Naoki first joined a glam rock band in his junior high school's light music club before becoming a member of what would become Trapnest. His favorite musicians were T. Rex, Roxy Music, Lou Reed and David Bowie. However, Takumi was against playing music that didn't suit Reira's voice.
- Lesser Star: He's popular in-universe as Trapnest's Genki Guy drummer, but in terms of the series' plot, Naoki has zero problems compared to his band mates and is never at the center of any drama.
Gaia Records
Ginpei Moroboshi
Voiced by: Fumihiko Tachiki (JP), Richard Ian Cox (EN)
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Well, manager. Nana and the others make it apparent they don’t like him and even agree Misato should’ve been their manager.
- Tough Love: He's harsh towards Nana, but he does care for her and the band.
Misato Uehara / Mai Tsuzuki
Voiced by: Mika Kanai (JP), Nicole Bouma (EN)
- Ascended Fangirl: She is a fan of Black Stones from the same hometown as the band, and even travels all the way to see their first gig in Tokyo. She ends up joining Gaia Records and becoming Nana's manager.
- Elegant Gothic Lolita: How she dresses which fits in nicely with Blast's punk rock aesthetic.
- Given Name Reveal: Misato Uehara is discovered to be the name of Nana's real maternal half-sister. However, Misato used it as an alias to get closer to Nana; her real name being Mai Tsuzuki.
Miu Shinoda
Voiced by: Saeko Chiba (JP)
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Her and Yasu once they hook up.
- Self-Harm: Miu wears long-sleeved shirts to cover the scars on her wrists.
Yuri Kosaka / Asami Matsumoto
Voiced by: Reiko Suho (JP)
- Clingy Jealous Girl / Green-Eyed Monster: She doesn't like Hachi because of her past relationship with Nobu and because it's obvious the two of them still have feelings for each other, even after Nobu started dating Yuri and Hachi married Takumi. Asami thinks Hachi wants to take Nobu away from her and calls her "Takumi's wife" rather than by her name. When Nana begins socializing like her normal self after Ren's death, Asami insensitively tells her she won't need Hachi (who had been staying in the dorm as Nana's Living Emotional Crutch) anymore, which causes Nana to breakdown into a Thousand-Yard Stare.
- Idol Singer: Asami used to be one, but her popularity didn't last and she became an AV actress instead.
- Porn Name: Yuri Kosaka is the name she uses for AV. Asami Matsumoto is her real name.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Asami has not yet been seen or mentioned in the flash forward scenes.
SEARCH Magazine
Minoru Kurata
Voiced by: Susumu Chiba (JP)
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: His occupation automatically makes him a jerkass, however...
- Kurata convinces Nana O.'s Missing Mom Misuzu to bring back her second daughter Misato, who ran away to Tokyo and could be in danger. As a begrudging thank you, Misuzu tells Kurata why she abandoned Nana, which is why he was looking for Mizusu in the first place, but he later lies to his boss that he didn't discover why.
- Then, later that night, he is the "first" person to discover Ren's crash—he was really the third, after the two reporters who were tailing Ren right up to the moment, but they chose to turn away and avoid being blamed instead of calling for help—and he gets yelled at by his boss for not taking any photos of the crash despite it not being appropriate. When the media have swarmed the outside of the funeral home, he can't bring himself to take any photos.
- In the flash forwards, Kurata is the one who finds Nana O. singing in an English pub after she had disappeared, and he once again lies to his boss that she is rumored to have already "died at sea" and instead mails the photos he took to Hachi.
