Characters from Princess Jellyfish.
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The Amars/The Nuns
General
The inhabitants of Amamizukan, who are all Otaku in some way or another. Their apartment is owned by Chieko's mother, who has gone abroad to follow her fangirl crush. Although Chieko is the manager, Mejiro-sensei the resident Mangaka enforces a strict "No Men" rule and employs the other inhabitants as assistants.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: In the presence of their respective obsessions they can't focus on anything else.
- Beautiful All Along: Their usual getups don't look flattering at all, but they look stunning when Kuranosuke gets them makeovers.
- Deer in the Headlights: Parodied; they turn to stone when confronted by men and/or stylish people.
- Does Not Like Men: More like scared stiff by men. While most of the Amars just become very anxious and fearful around men, Mejiro-sensei is the one who outright dislikes them, since she's the one who enforces the "no men allowed" rule at Amamizukan. However, they gradually become more used to interacting with the male characters as the story goes on.
- Food as Bribe: Kuranosuke has made use of this in the past, such as when he takes Banba and some of the others for meat.
- Gonk: None of them are conventionally attractive. This is a rare example where the gonks are the main characters (though Tsukimi, the protagonist, is more plain than gonkish).
- Limited Wardrobe: They are always seen wearing the same outfits in contrast to Kuranosuke's Unlimited Wardrobe, as well as to show how little they care about fashion.
- Lovable Nerd: They are portrayed sympathetically, though the narration doesn't completely gloss over the fact that they are childish freeloaders.
- NEET: None of them are employed or in school, though they do help Mejiro-sensei ink the pages of her manga before deadlines and Chieko is more or less in charge of the building while her mother is away. Referring to them as as such is a major Berserk Button.
- Nerds Are Virgins: Strongly implied. It's the number one thing that shouldn't be mentioned in the Nunnery.
- Nerd Glasses: Tsukimi, Chieko, and Jiji wear glasses, and they're all very fixated on their hobbies.
- No Full Name Given: Aside from Tsukimi and Mejiro-sensei, most of the Amars are only known by one name. In Mayaya, Banba and Jiji's case, it's likely that these are nicknames.
- No Social Skills: They can't move in the proximity of men or anyone "stylish", to the point that they're depicted as turning to stone. They all gradually get over this over the course of the story.
- Otaku: Each of them have something they're obsessed with in a rather nerdy way.
- Sequential Artist: They are all Mejiro-sensei's unofficial assistants who help her ink the pages of her manga when she's running behind schedule.
- Serious Business: They all take their hobbies very seriously.
- Sweet Tooth: They all love sweet things, and they're often shown snacking on various Japanese sweets.
Tsukimi Kurashita
Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (JP), Maxey Whitehead (EN)
Portrayed by: Rena Nonen (2014 film), Kyoko Yoshine (2018 show)
An 18-year-old illustrator who has been obsessed with jellyfish since she was a child. She is the youngest resident.
- Accent Slip-Up: She's originally from Kagoshima, and though she usually speaks standard Tokyo dialect she tends to slip back into Kagoshima dialect when she gets upset.
- Better with Non-Human Company: She's a Shrinking Violet who has a hard time interacting with others and tends to prefer the company of jellyfish.
- Betty and Veronica: The Archie for Kuranosuke's Veronica and Shu's Betty and the Betty to Inari's Veronica for Shu's Archie.
- Blind Without 'Em: Without her glasses she can barely see a few feet in front of her, and everything past that gets blurry. She even uses this to her advantage when she's forced to help Kuranosuke out of the shower after he twists his ankle - no glasses means she can't see him naked.
- Can't Hold Her Liquor: Passes out after a single glass of "sweet sake," which has little to no alcohol.
- Clark Kenting: Towards Shu, who doesn't realize she's the same person, in combination with Beautiful All Along.
- Cute Clumsy Girl: When exposed to the outside world, she often just can't function.
- Determined Expression: Her expression and demeanor drastically change when she becomes passionate about something. Kuranosuke refers to this as her "Awakened" mode.
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: In a sense. Tsukimi knows what she likes but she has crippling self doubt over herself and her abilities, and often wonders where she 'went wrong'. After realizing that she's interested in making dresses that resemble jellyfish, she still often finds herself question why she wants to do this and for whom. Eventually, she decides that its for the sake of her friends, and becomes a lot more determined in her efforts.
- Ditzy Genius: She's a walking jellyfish encyclopedia, not so much with other stuff.
- Girlish Pigtails: Her default hairstyle, compatible with her youth and naiveté.
- Heroic BSoD: Happens to her on a regular basis, with its triggers including, but not limited to; finding out that Kuranosuke is a boy, hearing him tell her that he wanted to see her again, being hugged by Shu in the aquarium, and having Kuranosuke walk in on her when she pretends to dress up in a lacy jellyfish dress.
- A more memorable example is after seeing Shu walking with Inari. She walks back home in the rain and locks herself in her room and cries. Another happens after seeing the photo of Inori and Shu after their "night" together. She struggles to get to sleep without thinking about the picture and results to drinking sake to forget it.
- I Just Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Platonic variation. When Amamizukan's buyout and closure seems imminent and they've run out of options, Tsukimi privately make a deal with a giant fashion company to basically abduct her for her services, in exchange for not tearing the apartment down so her friends can still live there together safely.
- Kimono Fanservice: Her attempts to get out of one go embarrassingly wrong.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: She manages to push her social phobias aside long enough to demand that a single jellyfish be moved to a safer tank. Don't get in her way when she's making a jellyfish dress, either.
- Meaningful Name: The kanji for Tsukimi (月海) reversed can be read as "kurage" (海月), or "jellyfish". Tsukimi lampshades this in a flashback, though her mother says the reason she picked the name was because Tsukimi was born in a hospital near the sea on the night of a beautiful moon (the kanji making up both Tsukimi's name and the Japanese word for "jellyfish" mean "moon" and "sea").
- Messy Hair: Her hair looks messy most of the time.
- Missing Mom: One of the few tropes she has in common with Kuranosuke.
- Naked Freak-Out:
- Not on herself, but the exposed skin of a male makes her completely flip out in embarrassment and shock, and they don't even have to be fully naked. Even after knowing Kuranosuke for awhile, she still hasn't gotten used to him changing out of his female clothes and seeing his bare chest.
- And then her worst nightmare happens when Kuranosuke trips after taking a shower while heavily drunk and she's forced to rescue him while he's completely nude.
- Nosebleed: Her reaction to being hugged by a man.
- Oblivious to Love: Tsukimi is beyond oblivious; she's so convinced that no one could ever be attracted to her that she goes out of her way to misinterpret even the most straightforward indications of love such as Shuu saying "I like you" or President Kai's kiss. Overlaps with Nerds Are Naïve.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Especially in "After" mode.
- Secret-Keeper: She's the only Nun who knows Kuranosuke is really male. Naturally, things get awkward.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: When Kuranosuke puts in the effort, Tsukimi becomes a stunner.
- Starving Artist: She wants to be an illustrator and has quite a lot of talent. Kuranosuke helps her out by selling her creations.
- Stereotypical Nerd: She's a Shrinking Violet and a bit of a recluse who wears Nerd Glasses, has Youthful Freckles, dresses in the same unstylish sweats, has a near encyclopedic knowledge of a seemingly random topic (jellyfish—and no, she's not a zooologist), is clumsy and uncoordinated, and can barely talk to men.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Flashbacks show that Tsukimi looks like her mom.
- Talking to the Dead: Narrates through voiceovers with her late mother.
- Youthful Freckles: Though she is 18 at the start of the manga, she's probably the youngest of the entire main cast. She has since aged to 19.
Chieko
Voiced by: Kimiko Saito (JP), Cynthia Cranz (EN)
Portrayed by: Azusa Babazono (2014 film), Eriko Tomiyama (2018 show)
The daughter of the owner of the Nunnery, who serves as the acting supervisor of Amamizukan while her mother is away. She is obsessed with traditional Japanese dolls and kimono.
- Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Chieko looks just like a life-sized version of the dolls she collects. It's to the point that standing next to a shelf full of her dolls makes Inari unable to spot her since she practically blends in with them.
- Berserk Button: Do not threaten to sell her dolls, or mess with the settings on her sewing machine. Even if, in both cases, it's part of a plot by Kuranosuke to keep the Nuns from getting evicted.
- Big Eater: Whenever the Amars go out to cafes or restaurants, she's shown eating quite a lot of food.
- Consistent Clothing Style: She only ever wears kimono and Kuranosuke never tries to put her in different outfits, unlike the rest of the Amars. It's explained that she doesn't need to ever dress differently, as the other members of the group looking fancier in turn makes her look fancier since she gives off the impression of a rich person who can afford to wear kimono all the time (when in reality, she's just a kimono otaku who makes most of her own kimono and yukata herself).
- Kimono Is Traditional: She only ever wears kimono, due to her obsession with both kimono and traditional Japanese dolls (which, of course, are always dressed in kimono). She comments at length on how much easier kimono is to sew compared to Western clothing, since it only uses straight lines in sewing and is not form-fitting. It's implied that she doesn't like wearing western clothing since it emphasizes her weight.
- Lonely Doll Girl: Downplayed, especially compared to her friend Nomu; she's obsessed with Japanese dolls and doesn't like to interact with men or stylish people, but she still has the best social skills out of all the Amars when they have to talk to people outside their group.
- Only Sane Woman: Despite having her own otaku-level obsessions like the rest of the Amars, she's easily the most grounded and sensible of the group, and she generally does a better job of interacting with men and stylish people than the rest of them.
- Strong Family Resemblance: She has an uncanny resemblance to her mother, Chiyoko. Kuranosuke and Tsukimi even mistake them for twins. Made into a joke in the live drama version, where Inari notes the resemblance, and they just have the same actress play both characters.
- Team Mom: She is the acting landlady, has the most social skills of the Amars and generally is the person most often being the adult of the house.
- Weight Woe: She's well aware of how chubby she is compared to the other characters, and it's implied to be a complex of hers and one possible cause of her seclusion. It's also implied that one of the reasons she loves kimono so much is that they aren't as form-fitting as western clothing and thus don't emphasize her weight.
Mayaya
Voiced by: Akemi Okamura (JP), Monica Rial (EN)
Portrayed by: Rina Ota (2014 film), Rio Uchida (2018 show)
A very energetic woman whose obsession is Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
- Basement-Dweller: An omake reveals that she was this before she moved into Amamizukan, at least by Japanese standards. Back when she lived with her parents, she refused to get a job, hardly ever did anything to help out around the house (she claimed she helped to clean the bath, but she only ever did a half-assed job at it) and mooched money off of her senile grandfather.
- Big Guy, Little Guy: A female example with Banba, as Mayaya is very tall, and Banba is comically small.
- Character Tics: Spasmodic karate-ing, as well as exclaiming "Nuwoo!" when excited.
- Evil Eyebrows: Shows one such looking pair after her face is shown. Totally non-indicative, though.
- Face of a Thug: Her narrow, sinister-looking eyes were — among other things — why she was called "Assassin" in school. Until she started combing her hair in front of them, which was when she was nicknamed "Broom".
- Felony Misdemeanor: Her response to a
Moe version of Romance of the Three Kingdoms; "DIE A THOUSAND DEATHS!!" - Genki Girl: Mayaya is very enthusiastic whenever she speaks.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: She spends most of the time with Banba.
- Hide Your Otherness: She deliberately combs down her bangs to hide her sinister-looking eyes, which she's self-conscious about.
- Hiding Behind Your Bangs: Her long bangs hide her eyes and she's part of a group of socially awkward Otaku NEETs.
- Hot-Blooded: Complete with No Indoor Voice and very over-the-top dialogue, as she frequently quotes from Romance of the Three Kingdoms while trying to channel a warlord's spirit.
- Huge Schoolgirl: She was tall for her age back in school, which partly feeds into her insecurites about her appearance.
- Large Ham: She frequently quotes from Romance of the Three Kingdoms in an over-the-top manner, and reacts to the smallest crises in the Nuns' house with loud cries of "EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!"
- She Cleans Up Nicely: She can pass as a model when she is dressed up (though she still has to be silent and refrain from her usual manner of moving to do so).
- Statuesque Stunner: In "After" mode. So much that she gets to be a model in the manga, and even Hanamori, who's usually more obsessed with cars than girls, offers her his services at a first glance. Kuranosuke even notes that tall, boyish-looking women with intense eyes like Mayaya are actually quite successful as models.
- Tomboyish Ponytail: Her default hairstyle, and the only thing visually indicating that she is a woman.
- Ungrateful Bastard:
- The reason she left her original house? Her mother asked her to clean the dishes once, even though her family always supported her, and she even went as far as to steal money from her senile grandfather because "he won't even notice".
- When Tsukimi was about to leave to Singapore, possibly forever, in order to save the building she and Bamba didn't hesistate once to push her out as fast as possible.
- Womanchild: She is one of the most childish residents of Amamizukan, complaining she has to work and often acting as The Load.
Banba
Voiced by: Motoko Kumai (JP), Mariela Ortiz (EN)
Portrayed by: Chizuru Ikewaki (2014 film), Rena Matsui (2018 show)
A train Otaku with a large afro.
- Berserk Button: It's better not to add noodles to the meat in Banba's presence.
- Big Guy, Little Guy: A female example with Mayaya, who is very tall, while Banba is exceptionally small.
- Compressed Hair: In "After" mode, Kuranosuke will typically hide her Funny Afro under a wig. The wigs in question somehow always manage to contain it all.Kuranosuke: [hiding Banba's hair under a small wig] Afro...sealed!
- Emotionless Girl: She has a very stoic demeanor, especially since her bangs make it hard to read her expressions.
- Eyes Out of Sight: Her hair covers her eyes. The final chapter of the manga has her reveal her whole face for the first time, revealing her large eyes, and people are surprised by how cute she looks.
- Felony Misdemeanor: "Don't put shiratake noodles next to the meat! Unless you want it to be hard as a rock!"
- Funny Afro: Her hair is in a large afro, which she claims she was born with. Kuranosuke eventually gives up on trying to style it and hides its massive weight under a short blonde wig. However, it's surprisingly popular with the Stylish (they ask to touch it) and it's what ultimately inspires a model in Yokohama to accept the girls' jellyfish dresses at a fashion show.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: She's the closest to Mayaya and they're often seen together.
- Hiding Behind Your Bangs: She's a sarcastic and socially withdrawn Otaku whose hair covers her eyes completely.
- Inconsistent Spelling: Her name is translated as either Banba or Bamba. Subs and manga translate her name with an N, but her name in-universe is written with an M.
- Lady Looks Like a Dude: Much of her face is covered, so it's difficult to tell what her gender is.
- Little Miss Snarker: She has a dry wit and is the shortest of the Amars. Subverted due to her age, but she certainly looks the part.
- Older Than She Looks: She claims to be 8 since she was born on a leap year. She is also the smallest in the group.
- Rail Enthusiast: She has an extensive set of model trains, has subway posters on her wall and draws trains in doodles even when irrelevant to the subject at hand.[when going with Mayaya to Yokohama] The Minatomirai Line will be MINE!
- Stat-O-Vision: Parodied with her "Banba Scope", an ability to scope out high-quality food just by looking at either the food itself or the bags they come in.
- Trademark Favorite Food: She really likes meat, to the point that she calls Kuranosuke "Meat" and pesters him for meat whenever she sees him.
- Ungrateful Bastard: When Tsukimi was about to leave to Singapore, possibly forever, in order to save the building she and Mayaya didn't hesistate once to push her out as fast as possible.
- Womanchild: Along with Mayaya, she is one of the most childish residents of Amamizukan, complaining she has to work and often acting as The Load.
Jiji
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (JP), Leah Clark (EN)
Portrayed by: Tomoe Shinohara (2014 film), Haruka Kinami (2018 show)
Jiji is one of the Amars who is obsessed with mature, old men.
- Brainy Brunette: She has dark hair and is one of the few Amars who exhibits useful work skills, being the only one who's able to start up a blog for the Jellyfish label and deciding to take on the job of Product Manager. It's later revealed that she went to a technical high school and got certificates in bookkeeping.
- Characterization Marches On: In the first chapter of the manga, she's shown reading BL manga, implying that she's a Yaoi Fangirl. It's later established that her otaku obsession is actually older men, which remains consistent for the rest of the series.
- Comically Missing the Point: When the neighbors of the Nuns' house are evicted, instead of worrying how soon the same fate may come to them, she bemoans the fact that she no longer has an attractive old man, who had been "maturing so beautifully" in her neighborhood.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: She has pale skin and dark hair, and comes across as a bit creepier than the others due to her quiet voice and fixation on much older men.
- Eyes Out of Sight: Her eyes are obscured by her Opaque Lenses and her hair falling over her face.
- Foreshadowing: Jiji's business savvy and eventual role as Jellyfish's product manager is foreshadowed when Kuranosuke starts to panic over having told everyone to look up the Jellyfish brand online when they don't have a website yet, only for Jiji to look up from her computer and state that she already put together a blog for it.
- Girly Girl: She starts out as this, mostly hiding in the shadows, but becomes more of The Smart Girl later on by taking on the role of Product Manager.
- Hidden Depths: At first she's mainly defined by her shyness and her obsession with older men, but it's later revealed that she's very good at bookkeeping and using computers, to the point that she decides to become Jellyfish's product manager.
- Likes Older Men: She has an obsession with mature, attractive older men, to the point of otaku status.
- The Quiet One: She barely talks, and when she does talk she does so very quietly.
- Shrinking Violet: She is the most shy member of the Amars, even without the presence of the "stylish" people.
Juon Mejiro
The rarely seen mangaka of Yaoi who advises and regulates the other residents.
- Disproportionate Retribution: When Tsukimi writes her a letter asking what the punishment would be for bringing a man into the house, she covers up Tsukimi's message with a single, giant message; "DEATH".
- Gender Reveal: The final chapter reveals that Mejiro is actually a man.
- Hikikomori: She hardly ever leaves her room, to the point that she's never seen onscreen and communicates with the others by passing written messages under her door. It turns out that Mejiro ended up having to become this so that the Amars wouldn't find out he was male.
- Hypocrite: She Does Not Like Men and is the one who set down the "no men allowed" rule (to the point that she believes bringing a man to Amamizukan should be punished with death), and yet she draws Boys' Love manga for a living, indicating that she must like men to some degree. In the final chapter, it's revealed that Mejiro is actually a man, and he made that rule only because he fell in love with Chieko at first sight and didn't want any other men to move in to Amamizukan. He admits making that rule was very stupid since it forced him to shut himself up in his room so the other residents wouldn't find out he was male.
- Reclusive Artist: An In-Universe example, to the point that we never actually see her. Perhaps it is this reclusiveness that allows her to, having not argued about it at length, design the final logo for the jellyfish dresses. It's later revealed that Mejiro secretly attended the first fashion show the Amars put on at Amamizukan, and in the final chapter it's revealed that Mejiro was actually forced to become this because otherwise the Amars would find out that he's actually a man.
- She Who Must Not Be Seen: Never once comes out of her room during the entire anime series, communicating only in writing through the crack below her door. In the final chapter of the manga Mejiro is finally seen in full...revealing that he's actually male.
- Yaoi Fangirl: She draws Boys' Love manga for a living, so naturally she'd be this. The final chapter reveals that he's actually more of a Yaoi Fanboy.
Koibuchi Family
Kuranosuke Koibuchi
Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga (JP), Josh Grelle (EN)
Portrayed by: Masaki Suda (2014 film), Koji Seto (2018 show)
Click here to see him without wig and makeup
A college student who enjoys cross-dressing. He fears being pushed into politics by his family, as he considers his true calling to be the fashion world.
- Agent Peacock: Kuranosuke is a slightly more realistic than usual version. He saves the jellyfish for Tsukimi and other awesome stuff.
- Alliterative Name: Kuranosuke Koibuchi
- Apathetic Student: He's a university student, but he doesn't care much about school and hardly ever attends classes, which is lampshaded by his family and classmates.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: To his older brother Shu, always stirring some problems and refusing to be The Dutiful Son.
- Attractive Bent-Gender: Other women comments on how attractive Kuranosuke is, not realizing that he's a man.
- Bastard Angst: Misses his biological mother and resents that he had to be separated from her.
- Betty and Veronica: The Veronica to Shu's Betty for Tsukimi's Archie. He is the flashy, eccentric and outgoing one.
- Black Sheep: He's the only person in his family who has no desire to go into politics. Instead, he wants a career in fashion.
- Blithe Spirit: He certainly brings life both in his serious household and to reclused lives of the Amars.
- But Not Too Foreign: His father is Japanese, and his mother Lina is Italian.
- Camp Straight: Cross-dresses, dreams of entering the fashion world, all his friends are girls...and yet, he really is straight!
- Chick Magnet: Discusses the fact that he has no difficulty attracting the hottest and most popular girls so he's surprised to find himself falling for Tsukimi.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: He briefly turns into one when he sees Shu hugging Tsukimi. Although he heavily argues against it in his head.
- Determinator: He's not one to give up, even when everyone else is.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady: Enough that, when the Nuns discover his breasts are fake, they instead jump to the conclusion that he's a very flat-chested girl wearing inserts out of insecurity.
- Expy: A flamboyant blonde kid who is the illegitimate son of an extremely rich and powerful individual in Japan and was ripped away from his European mother at a young age. He marvels the poor and nerdy main character with his sense of money, benevolently manipulates her for his own purposes, and eventually falls in love with her. Why does this sound familiar?
- Fairy Godmother: Kuranosuke himself observes that his relationship with Tsukimi is very akin to that of a fairy godmother and a princess. And he angsts that in fairy tales, whoever is in this role never gets together with the princess.
- Fake Boobs: As expected of a crossdresser. He even has different sizes in his arsenal. When Kuranosuke passes out in the lobby of their apartment building, Mayaya attempts to help by applying Vicks Vapo-Rub to "her" chest, and in the process discovers that Kuranosuke's breasts are fake. Mayaya and the other members of the Sisterhood present completely miss the obvious and instead accuse Kuranosuke of padding "her" bra to hide her A-Cup Angst.
- The Fashionista: He is always seen wearing stylish clothing, in contrast to the Amars who couldn't care less about fashion. However, as fashionable as he is, one of the main conflicts of the story is how he tries to help Tsukimi start a new fashion brand while knowing very little about how the fashion industry actually works.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Kuranosuke is loud and flamboyant, very tactless, and irresponsible. His older brother Shu is reserved, tactical, and responsible.
- Gender Vocabulary Slip: Slips into the ore pronoun, but since he's so good at cross-dressing, he still passes as a bokukko (with a bit of help from Tsukimi).
- Heroic Bastard: He is the son of Mr. Koibuchi and his lover.
- Hidden Depths: One of the reasons Kuranosuke cross-dresses, revealed late in the series, is a desire to connect with his absent mother, who often gave him pretty things and showed off her dresses to him; not to mention a half-subconscious belief that, if he had been born a girl instead of a potential heir, his mother might not have left/been separated from him.
- Honorary True Companion: He's an honorary member of the Amars, but doesn't live at their house and is considered too much of a normie to be considered a true member of the group.
- Innocently Insensitive: Has an unfortunate habit of touching off the Nuns' Berserk Buttons, such as asking if they're virgins or employed.
- Ladykiller in Love: After dating many conventionally hot girls, he falls for Tsukimi, though he's agrressively in denial and she's rather clueless.
- Larynx Dissonance: Voiced by a woman in the Japanese version, albeit one famed for being able to sound entirely male. Averted in the dub for the most part, though played straight when he's younger.
- Like Parent, Like Child: He dresses like his mother in order to feel closer to her.
- Love Epiphany: He has a few stages of these regarding his feelings for Tsukimi, but the big one is when he witnesses her quietly draping a sheet over herself to pretend it's a dress when she thought no one was looking. He still has some ongoing denial over this.
- Manic Pixie Dream Guy: Kuronosuke is a genderbent version of this trope, drawing all of the Sisterhood out of their shells.
- Matchmaker Crush: Kuranosuke does his best to get Shu and Tsukimi together, only to realize a bit too late that he's falling for Tsukimi.
- Mixed Ancestry Is Attractive: He's half-Japanese and half-Italian, and got both his delicate good looks and love of fashion from his Italian mother.
- Mr. Fanservice: Kuranosuke is a beautiful male who crossdresses as a beautiful female to great effect because he likes to, leading to boatloads of Fanservice, shirtless scenes such as hanging around Tsukimi's apartment in his boxers and running around in just a Modesty Towel, nude scenes, fetish fuel, and inspiring crushes in both males and females. He's drawn as prettier than most of the girls in the setting too and people who look at him think he's a model.
- Nerd Nanny: He frequently visits the "Sisterhood," a group of androphobic otaku women. He finds them way more interesting than the shallow rich folks and enjoys to dress them up.
- One of the Girls: He often hangs out with the Nuns because he enjoys spending time with them and making them more fashionable with the dresses he designs. The problem is that the Nuns are all androphobic, so Kuranosuke must let them think he's a woman. Tsukimi is the only one who knows he's actually a crossdresser.
- Please, Don't Leave Me: Kuranosuke begs Tsukimi not to leave for Singapore while in a drunken haze.
- Pretty Boy: Logically, to pass as a pretty girl, one must be a pretty boy first. Even when he isn't crossdressing, he has delicate features and is considered attractive.
- Raised as the Opposite Gender: Kuranosuke uses this excuse to try help convince the rest of the Amars that he's not actually a guy, after they start becoming suspicious due to his masculine behavior and speech pattern and the fact his family calls him 'Kuranosuke' (an unquestionably masculine name). It works.
- Rebel Prince: Kuranosuke is one of two sons of a political family who expect both boys to enter politics. Kuranosuke wants nothing to do with that line of work, and one of the reasons he crossdresses is to rebel against his father since it's not seen as professional behavior.
- Royal Bastard: Kuranosuke is an illegitimate son (born to a foreign mistress) in the most powerful political family in Japan. Kuranosuke's uncle is the Prime Minister, and Kuranosuke's half-brother Shuu, the legitimate son, is expected to follow in his father's footsteps in government. But since Kuranosuke is a bastard, he feels free to live his life as he pleases and indulges in scandalous hobbies like cross-dressing.
- Sibling Triangle: Both he and Shu like Tsukimi.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: With the serious and responsible Shu.
- So Beautiful, It's a Curse: His beautiful looks have caused him problems, such as having girls constantly fighting over him.
- Sobriquet Sex Switch: Kuranosuke uses the alias "Kurako" in front of the other Amars to hide his gender.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Gender aside, he looks almost exactly like his mother. Shu even comments on it when he meets her in Milan.
- Stupid Sexy Flanders: A lot of male fans state-side have really taken a shine to Kuranosuke's "Kurako" persona as of late. Not to mention the fact that both the Koibuchi family's house staff and Prime Minister/Uncle Negeishi's aides have noted that he is quite the looker, and very attractive. Even Inari's assistant/co-worker agrees, much to her vehement chagrin.
- Third Wheel: Kuranosuke accompanies Tsukimi on her dates with his brother almost every time because Kuranosuke's presence helps Tsukimi feel calmer. It should be noted though, that sometimes he's dragged into it, and sometimes he forces himself in.
- This Cannot Be!: This is basically his reaction when he realizes he's developing feelings for Tsukimi. Kuranosuke is well aware of his status and looks, and his shock and denial that he's falling for a socially inept otaku girl is so great he briefly goes into a BSOD moment.
- Tsundere: Mostly only in his internal monologue or in private, but anytime he notices himself finding Tsukimi to be attractive or showing her affection, he starts freaking out in his head and mentally insults both Tsukimi and himself for being 'so stupid'. Often accompanied by a Luminescent Blush and him questioning his actions.
- Unlimited Wardrobe: He has a large variety of different outfits.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: He enjoys cross-dressing and is pretty good at it. When he dresses up, he looks even more feminine that the Amars. While it's partly to rebel against his strict father and his love of pretty dresses that he inherited from his mother Lina, the main reason he crossdresses is because Lina had to give him up to the Koibuchi family because he was a boy (as a political family, the Koibuchis need all the boys they can get even if they're illegitimate), and she blurted out that she wished he'd been a girl instead so they wouldn't take him from her.
Shū Koibuchi
Voiced by: Jun'ichi Suwabe (JP), Ian Sinclair (EN)
Portrayed by: Hiroki Hasegawa (2014 film), Asuka Kudoh (2018 show)
Kuranosuke's quiet, serious brother.
- Affectionate Nickname: His uncle Saburota calls him "Shu-Shu".
- Big Brother Instinct: In a surprising show of confidence, Shu shows he has this when he immediately shuts down Inari's attempt at slandering Kuranosuke by implying that the brothers weren't related. They are half-brothers to be sure, but Shu makes it clear that he thinks of Kuranosuke as his brother and won't tolerate anyone speaking ill of him.
- Betty and Veronica: The Archie for Tsukimi's Betty and Inari's Veronica and the Betty to Kuranosuke's Veronica for Tsukimi's Archie.
- Blank White Eyes: When he returns home after being made to believe that he had sex with Inari while drunk, he looks completely dazed with his eyes dead. Kuranosuke remarks that he looks like "one of those assaulted women from old TV dramas".
- Celibate Hero: Much is made of the fact that he's still a virgin; Kuranosuke notes that he has never seen Shu with a girlfriend. Justified, as he shunned women after the trauma of seeing his father with Lina.
- The Dutiful Son: Unlike Kuranosuke, Shu wants to follow in his father's footsteps and be a politician.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: He's way more responsible and serious than his flamboyant brother Kuranosuke.
- Graceful Loser: Tsukimi turns down Shu's marriage proposal. While Shu sulks in private about it afterward, he gracefully backs away after her answer, and when he questions if Kuranosuke is part of the reason, he doesn't show any malice for it.
- Loves My Alter Ego: He immediately falls for Tsukimi's "After" mode, but doesn't recognize her and ignores her in "Before" mode since his impression of her is so idealized that he can't even consider them as the same person. In the manga he eventually figures out they're the same person, and decides he still likes her anyway.
- Nice Guy: Almost to a fault. To the point that his own father and uncle question his suitability to political life.
- Not So Stoic: He's not as expressive as Kuranosuke, but he's not devoid of any emotion either.
- Odd Friendship: With, of all people, Kuranosuke's mother. Age differences aside, and despite the fact that witnessing tryst she had with his father left him scarred and socially inept, Shu surprisingly bears no visible ill will towards her and even seems to get along with her. And, while Shu had other reasons for taking the trip, he even chooses to deliver her her son's Jellyfish dress in person.
- Only Sane Man: He's the only one trying to reason with his younger brother. Too bad Kuranosuke doesn't listen to him.
- Primal Scene: G-rated version. His phobia of women comes from catching his father cheating with Kuranosuke's mother at a young age.
- Secret-Keeper: Kuranosuke's mother calls Shū to ask him to get Tsukimi's original jellyfish dress after seeing her son on TV. Naturally, Shū can't tell Kuranosuke.
- Secretly Wealthy: Ok, aside from the fact Shu is from an obviously wealthy political family, he's got a surprising amount of money personally saved up because he never spent the money he customarily received from family on New Years.
- Shrinking Violet: He's fine with talking with business-people and his own family, but he gets very shy around Tsukimi. He has no idea of how to function in dating and relationship world.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Shu is reserved, tactical, and responsible. His brother is loud and flamboyant, very tactless, and irresponsible.
- Thinks Like a Romance Novel: Downplayed, but he's prone to going on pretty out-there romantic tangents when imagining his interactions with Tsukimi.
- Would Hit a Girl: Shu proved that if you push him too far, he will retaliate. Though, admittedly, the victim completely deserved it. He later apologizes, which throws Inari and ruins her blackmail scheme speech.
Keiichiro Koibuchi
Voiced by: Mugihito (JP), Charles Campbell (EN)
Shū and Kuranosuke's father, whose delivery is nearly always deadpan.
- Alliterative Name: Keiichiro Koibuchi.
- Covert Pervert: Though he's usually very professional and business-minded, he really has a thing for women.
- Has a Type: Inverted; his strike zone is incredibly broad, as he's shown attraction to many types of women from college students to business women to older women, regardless of whether they're thin or chubby, and has declared all of them to be "his type". The only type he isn't open to are crossdressers.
- Heir Club for Men: The reason why he took Kuranosuke from his mom is because he was born a boy. In the chapter 63 it's revealed that Lina did plan to raise Kuranosuke on her own but realized that she's too young and that task's too big for her, and thus she gave up her son to his father. Kuranosuke still thinks that the reason was that he's a boy.
- Manchild: To a degree. Doesn't have it so bad as his brother-in-law, the prime minister, though.
- Silver Fox: Well, according to Jiji, anyway.
- Why Couldn't You Be Different?: Toward Kuranosuke. He isn't happy that the second "heir" he brought into the house is a happy-go-lucky cross-dresser instead of the serious, PR-savvy son he wanted.
Saburouta Negishi
Voiced by: Shigeru Chiba (JP), Jerry Russell (EN)
The Prime Minister of Japan and Kuranosuke's uncle.
- 0% Approval Rating: A non-evil version which is Played for Laughs; at one point, his approval rating as Prime Minister drops to only five percent.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: He'd rather act like a hyperactive teenage girl than do his job as the leader of the country.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: While he's shown that he can capable at his job and he shows some moments of insight (though by episode 11 his approval rating is an insanely low 5%), he tends to be rather...strange.
- Cloudcuckoolander: His reactions to certain things are... strange.
- Creepy Uncle: To his nephews. Although in Kuranosuke's case it has more to do with Attractive Bent-Gender.
- Our Presidents Are Different: The President Buffoon type.
Others
Hanamori
Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (JP), Christopher Bevins (EN)
The Koibuchi family's chauffeur. He really likes Benzes.
- The Casanova: He is a real lady killer, but either his quirks make his girlfriends walk away in frustration or he just doesn't want to commit. Or both.
- Childhood Friends: With Shū. Even with that in mind, Hanamori is willing to sell out Shu if it means protecting his precious car.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Aside from being a Benz enthusiast and his uncomfortable lack of consideration to social situations, Hanamori thinks that he should follow Banba's orders over Shū's because he naturally can't defy orders from people with afros. He also loves taking part in protests regardless of who or what is being protested and even if the protests are against his own employers!
- The Confidant: In spite of his horrible tendency to blurt out anything if you threaten to smudge his beloved Mercedes Benz, he often ends up being the person who people in the Koibuchi family disclose secrets to. To be fair though, they realize this about him but tell him things anyway.
- Comedic Sociopathy: He has absolutely no morals when you use the Benz argument for manipulation and his tendency to put cars above people is entirely Played for Laughs.
- The Comically Serious: He wears a serious expression while saying/doing something hilarious.
- The Driver: He is Koibuchi family's chauffeur and is really into his work, as it means he gets to spend more time in a Benz.
- Distressed Dude: Played for laughs. After Hanamori blows his entire spending budget on gambling in Singapore and calls Kuranosuke to help him, Kuranosuke later dryly refers to Hanamori as being a princess in need of saving.
- Even the Guys Want Him: He's had multiple girlfriends in the past, and he also attracts the attention of at least one man (Usami, who works at one of Kai's clothing stores in Ginza).
- The Gambling Addict: When Kuranosuke makes plans to go to Singapore to rescue Tsukimi, Hanamori offers to go with him, but the only thing Hanamori actually seems to care about is the fact they have casinos and he shamelessly asks people lend him money promising he'll double it when he gets back. And then he proceeds to blow all the money in one fell swoop, forcing Kuranosuke to bail him out.
- Oblivious to Love: Defied. Hanamori is a major Cloudcuckoolander, but oblivious to love he is not. He's horrible at keeping steady relationships due to his quirks, but he has a lot of experience with dating and knows how to set the right mood during a date. It also doesn't escape his notice that Kuranosuke seems to have feelings for Tsukimi.
- Self-Induced Allergic Reaction: Breaks out in hives from eating manila clams, which he knew would happen anyway when he attempted to save Shu from Inari's advances.
- Shipper on Deck: In a manner of speaking. He doesn't seem to care who gets together but when the topic of dating comes up he immediately launches into extremely detailed advice about where to go and what to do to ensure success, and will even follow the couple around to give intermittent tips. He gives the impression that next to taking care of his cars, researching dating and romance tactics is what he enjoys to do the most.
- Ship Tease: He has some with Nisha, starting from when they go on a date at the same restaurant where Tsukimi and Shu go for their first date.
- Terrible Artist: Unless you ask him to draw a Benz.
- Too Much Information: When Hanamori is surrounded by the "24 Ophelias" he blurts out that he's so obsessed with cars that his girlfriend left him because he loves cars more than her. Later, he lets it slip that if he's bribed with cars he'll reveal anything to anyone and at the fashion show goes into great detail that Kuranosuke is just a cross-dresser, not Transgender.
- Watch the Paint Job: He really pampers those Benzes. Lucky for him, none of them have been wrecked... yet.
- He's mentioned that he broke up with his own girlfriend because he preferred to spend more time with his Benzes than her.
Shōko Inari
Voiced by: Junko Kitanishi (JP), Jamie Marchi (EN)
The person in charge of renovating the Nunnery's district. Not a very nice person.
- Betty and Veronica: The Veronica to Tsukimi's Betty for Shu's Archie, as the sexy, worldly woman opposed to a clumsy virgin. Unfortunately for her, Shu is also a clumsy virgin and therefore is put off by Inari.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She can be sweet and polite as can be when it benefits her, but is nasty and ruthless underneath.
- Femme Fatale: Uses her good looks to make men bend to her will. It doesn't work on Shu, though.
- Graceful Ladies Like Purple: Wears purple outfits with matching lipstick and nail polish, and is an elegant (well, in terms of presence) "career woman".
- Lady in Red: Invokes this trope when she tries to seduce Shū.
- Lascivious Beauty Mark: She has a mole near the left corner of her mouth. She also unscrupulously sleeps around to get her way, and seduces Shū to further a development project.
- Manipulative Bitch: She makes it look like she and Shu spent the night together and threatens to expose the pictures if he refuses her.
- Meaningful Name: The kanji for Inari's name is shared with a Shinto deity who is closely associated with Kitsune. What do the Nuns call her? "The Vixen."
- Mistaken for Suicidal: Invoked. She pretended to be upset by Shu's rejection and decided to "end it". It turns out to be a very cruel joke and she just shrugs it off. Shu doesn't respond well to this.
- Sleeping Their Way to the Top: She admits to having slept her way to the top which makes her "relationship" with Shu such an issue when it doesn't work out in her favor.
- Smoking Is Glamorous: Invoked, as she's fond of lighting cigarettes while overlooking city lights when seducing someone. Otherwise, she's prone to stress smoking.
- Smug Snake: She is over-the-top villainous and is much less effective than she would like to think.
- Totally Radical: At one point her assistant points out that her slang makes her sound like she's from The '80s. She politely tells him to shut up.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: At one point she mentions that the Amars are wrong to think they're in a plucky slice-of-life drama where the underdogs band together to achieve a goal. Unfortunately for her, that's exactly the kind of story this is.
Sugimoto
Voiced by: Kentarō Itō (JP), Cris George (EN)
A private investigator and childhood friend of Hanamori. He's hired to spy on Shu and Inari.
- Big Guy, Little Guy: He's the Little Guy to the together with the tall, slim Hanamori, as he's rotund and short.
- Private Detective: He works as a private investigator; the Koibuchis hire him to tail Shū's "girlfriend."
- Right Under Their Noses: Will often follow his targets around and take photographic evidence of them while he's very near without them realizing.
- Unusual Eyebrows: His eyebrows look like series of dots.
Chiyoko
Voiced by: Kaoru Katakai (JP), Cynthia Cranz (EN)
The owner of Amamizukan and Chieko's mom. A groupie of South Korean actor Bae Yong Joon.
- Fangirl: Of Bae Yong Joon, to the point of moving to Korea and leaving Amamizukan in Chieko's care. Inari is easily able to bribe her with a front-row ticket to a fan event he's holding.
- Hypocrite: She criticizes the Amars for being NEETs and doing nothing but slacking off and indulging in their obsessions, even though she herself is indulging in her own obsession for Bae Yong Joon by moving to Korea and leaving her responsibilities as landlady to her daughter.
- Womanchild: Rather like her daughter, Chiyoko would sooner indulge her obsession, stalking her Celeb Crush around the continent in this case, than do any adult responsibilities.
Nomu
A Blythe doll maniac and Chieko's friend. She views as her dolls as her daughters and real people as "maggots". Becomes a pattern maker for the Amars.
- Girlish Pigtails: The hairstyle she usually sports is two pigtails with ringlets and her interests and fashion taste are quite feminine.
- Lonely Doll Girl: She considers her dolls better company than humans, and prior to joining the Amars in their fashion business she doesn't appear to be a part of any social group.
- Verbal Tic: "Doffu!", the noise she occasionally makes when she talks.
Nisha
An Indian woman who works with her brother in a sewing workshop. She agrees to help Kuranosuke and Tsukimi, though she is constantly telling them they're idiots for going into a industry they know nothing about.
- Brutal Honesty: She has no problem with sharing her opinions with others, and they're not of the kindest sort.
- Catchphrase: "Are you stupid?!"
- Culture Equals Costume: Since she's Indian, she usually wears a sari.
- Funny Foreigner: She's Indian, and has lived long enough in Japan that she's able to speak Japanese fluently, but she does so in a thick Kansai accent (since her ex-husband was a picture framer in Kishiwada) and is shown in an omake to like Japanese curry more than Indian curry.
- The Idiot from Osaka: Inverted; while she's not Japanese, she speaks in a heavy Kansai dialect due to previously living in Kishiwada (which is a city in Osaka Prefecture), though instead of being a loud-mouthed Lower-Class Lout she's actually quite business-savvy and level-headed (even if she tends to be rather blunt about how the main characters don't know what they're doing when it comes to entering the fashion industry).
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's prone to snarking at everybody around her, but she does help the main characters.
- Ship Tease: She has some with Hanamori, starting from when they go on a date to the same restaurant where Tsukimi and Shu go for their first date.
Kai Fish
CEO of RZVP, and a highly influential fashion mogul. When visiting Tokyo, his eye is caught by Tsukimi's dress designs.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: His assistant mentions that he tends to do things mostly on a whim (the main reason he wanted to go to Japan in the first place is because he wanted to eat curry), and yet he's highly successful as the head of a company that basically rules over all the fashion boutiques in Asia.
- Eyes Always Shut: His eyes are closed most of the time.
Mrs. Kurashita
Voiced by: Yuko Minaguchi (JP), Wendy Powell (EN)
Tsukimi's deceased mother.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: He daughter's flashbacks depict her as an angelic figure. Also, Tsukimi appears to talk to her mom in her mind a lot more than to her dad in reality.
- Posthumous Character: She's been dead for years, but she is still present in Tsukimi's thoughts.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: She was quite beautiful, a quality that her daughter has not inherited (at least in the latter's own opinion).
- Unnamed Parent: Her actual name isn't mentioned.
Lina
Voiced by: Seiko Yoshida (JP), Colleen Clinkenbeard (EN)
Kuranosuke's mother, who was a singer and stage actress.
- The Chanteuse: She met Keiichiro while working as a singer.
- The Fashionista: She was very much into fashion, and told Kuranosuke that she dreamed of having a collection of dresses from all over the world. Her love of fashion was a huge influence on Kuranosuke.
- Happily Married: To another man, in Italy. The man in question appears to be a very kind and accepting person, as he knows his wife's rocky relationship and family history but welcomes Shu into his home warmly.
- Odd Friendship: Surprisingly seems to have developed this relationship with Kuranosuke's older brother Shu, as he was the one she contacted to obtain a copy of the Jellyfish dress Kuranosuke wore, and she trusted Shu to both carry this out and keep it secret. She also ends up choosing to confide in him that she's decided to try singing again.
- Missing Mom: Unlike Tsukimi's mother, who died before the story starts, Lina is still alive but her whereabouts are unknown after she left Kuranosuke with the Koibuchi family. One of Kuranosuke's goals is to find her again. It turns out she's currently residing in Italy, and disappeared from the public eye because her health wasn't very good. Shu is initially one of the only people who knows this when he get in contact with her, and she later reunites with Kuranosuke at the very end of the manga.
- The Mistress: She had an affair with Keiichiro, resulting in Kuranosuke's birth.
- Parents as People: Flashbacks show Lina as being a loving mother towards Kuranosuke, but in the end she still left him with the Koibuchi family and never came back for him. It was due to both her fragile health and the pressures of being a single mother, and while she's doing much better after moving to Italy and marrying a nice man, she still deeply regrets leaving Kuranosuke like she did.
- Pimped-Out Dress: Owns many of these, inspiring Kuranosuke's love for them.
- Struggling Single Mother: Kuranosuke's father didn't divorce his wife and Lina never married him. Though Kuranosuke mostly remembers her as a loving and happy mother, he also remembers moments where she would just stay in her room and cry. She later reveals that being a single mother was very difficult for her, and the pressures of having to raise Kuranosuke on her own along with her failing health eventually led her to leave him with the Koibuchi family.
- Wanted a Son Instead: Gender-Inverted. Though it's clear that she loved Kuranosuke, at one point she let slip that she wished he were a girl so he wouldn't have to be taken away from her by the Koibuchi family as a potential heir. It's implied this is one of the reasons why he cross-dresses.
Clara
Voiced by: Sumire Morohoshi (JP), Lara Woodhull (EN)
The jellyfish that Tsukimi rescued in the first episode.
- A Lizard Named "Liz": Her name is written in Japanese as "Kurara", which is derived from "kurage", the Japanese word for "jellyfish".
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Sometimes she'll pop up and address the audience in order to explain some detail about the Amars.
- Elmuh Fudd Syndwome: Her cutesy way of talking in the Japanese version.
- Eye Catch: She's featured in them.
- Imaginary Friend: Kind of. Clara is technically real, but as a spotted jellyfish, she doesn't have any actual sentience, self-awareness, or personality (or eyes, or mouth, or gender, or the ability to talk for that matter). The cutesy Clara who speaks to Tsukimi is more a figment of the latter's imagination.
- Punny Name: Clara's transliterated spelling (Kurara) is one character off from Kurage (Jellyfish, but you should know that by now).
- Spell My Name With An S: Clara/Klara/Kurara.
