Note: Due to the episodic nature of the series, spoilers are unnecessary for the following tropes.
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The Itoshiki Family
The Itoshiki family is a powerful clan dominating over their native Kuraizawa, Shinshuu Prefecture (a No Communities Were Harmed version of Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture), whose name (糸色) can be compressed to read as 絶 — "zetsu" ("beyond") — which often serves to undo the specific meaning of each member's names... thus one can re-interpret "Itoshiki Household" (糸色家) as 絶家 — "zekke" ("extinct family").
Main male character of the series, fourth (and youngest male) of the five Itoshiki siblings, and the manic-depressive, suicidal homeroom teacher of Class 2-He.
Better to Die than Be Killed: Nonfatal comedic version. Although he often attempts to commit suicide very often, the times he actually gets closer to death is when someone else gets involved, mainly Kafuka, to stop his attempt and thus the second catchphrase makes sense with this in mind.
Death Seeker: Averted hard — for all his suicidal ravings, he's not that serious about his suicide threats, especially if someone else (mostly Kafuka) almost gets him Killed Off for Real.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: A snarky, apathetic teacher he may be, who is also prone to breakdowns and occasionally dying (and coming back to life), but nevertheless he shows genuine concern for his students — well, some of them, anyways.
Limited Wardrobe: Always wears a kimono and hakama, otherwise anything retro and Japanese. Sometimes subverted, however — as his students found out, he wears casual western clothing in his native Kuraizawa.
Nigh Invulnerability: Survived every threat on his life, self-inflicted or otherwise — he was hanged, stabbed, bludgeoned, exposed to carbon-monoxide poisoning, got ran over by a runaway streetcar, attempted to drown himself (or drink himself to death) in a bowl of Dom Perignon, overdosed on OTC medications, and even had his name written on the Death Note. Even when he does die, it doesn't ever stick, much to his consternation. Incidentally, popping out of his coffin at his own funeral to tell everybody to stop blaming themselves for his death inadvertently spared him (and Matoi) the inconvenience of having to survive cremation.
Only Sane Man: At the end of the day, and in stark contrast to most of his students, Nozomu is actually a sane, rational man whose pessimistic streak stems mostly from his high school days as an accidental member of the "Negative Club".
Youngest of the five Itoshiki siblings (and the only female), an ikebana master with a major complex towards the Alternate Character Reading of her own name. She eventually becomes a student in 2-He, under the tutelage of her immediate older brother Nozomu.
Hime Cut: With a slightly wavy hair from below the shoulders onward.
The Maiden Name Debate: She badly wants to get married in order to lose her maiden surname and consequentially her sexually-suggestive nickname. Unfortunately there's a Japanese custom that if the bride is of a wealthy clan (the Itoshiki family is one such clan) the groom can opt to adopt his wife's surname instead, and one of her suitors, Nozomu's "old friend" Ikkyu, is all too happy to be part of the centuries-old clan.
Nozomu: You'd better give up, Rin. Father will find this far too entertaining. He won't wanna put a stop to it.
Meaningful Name/Punny Name: Her name, written horizontally and compressed, can be read as 絶倫 — "zetsurin" ("peerless"), which at first glance refers to her expertise at many skills, but is also (much to her ire) a slang for sexual prowess.
The Ojou: She fits both the traditional (style of dress, an ikebana master) and snobby (enters Nozomu's school just to feel what it's like being a commoner, buys off all surrounding property and evicting their residents) variants.
Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: One segment has her buying the entire neighborhood she lives in, so she can move around without fear of Chiri checking on her every hour.
Spoiled Sweet/Rich Bitch: Kind of an odd combination. Rin will often do generous things for the purpose of laughing at people, such as giving golden tickets to virgin nerds with no girlfriends to give them them chocolate.
Free-Range Children: Is pretty much this thanks to Parental Abandonment. There's references in the manga to the girls in the class taking turns raising him, but other than that, he's pretty much on his own, as Nozomu isn't really parent material.
Innocent Prodigy: Comes across as more mature and down-to-earth than his uncle, but can also act in a way fitting his age. There's also some situations that might be either this or Ping Pong Naïveté, like having a crush on a net idol and commenting on her breasts, while also thinking that storks deliver babies.
Limited Wardrobe: Just like his uncle, he frequently wears a kimono and hakama.
Meaningful Name/Punny Name: His name, written horizontally and compressed, can be read as 絶交 — "zekkou" ("breach in a relationship"), hinting to his broken family and having to stay with his youngest uncle.
Meaningful Name/Punny Name: His name, written horizontally and compressed, can be read as 絶景 — "zekkei" ("superb scenery"), although his works are not as superb as they are utterly weird.
The Itoshiki siblings' father and a member of the Diet, the Japanese Congress.
Genre Savvy: Implied when Nozomu tried to talk Rin out of her desperate attempts to get married away from the family and from her maiden name with an embarrassing Alternate Character Reading, saying their father won't stop having fun with making Punny Names.
Nozomu's high school homeroom class. The "He" (へ in Hiragana) signifies that it is the sixth second-year section based on the iroha order (in modern nomenclatures this would be called Class 2-6 or 2-F). The class is said to have 32 students, though so far only 23 have been named.All students in this folder are in Nozomu's class unless otherwise noted. Nozomu's younger sister Rin is also a student in this class.
Foil: To Nozomu, who is outwardly suicidal and depressed about everything, but is actually pretty normal underneath it all. Meanwhile, Kafuka is all smiles all the time, when actually...
Hilariously Abusive Childhood: Her schizophrenic father once tried to commit suicide several times before and/or kill her, and her mother was once possessed by an evil spirit.
Named After Somebody Famous: Her (pen) name sounds similar to Franz Kafka. Also, speculation has it that her real name, based on several hints throughout the series, is "An Akagi", referring to Anne of Green Gables, whose Japanese name is "Akage no An".
The Nicknamer: Once called Nozomu "Momoiro Kakaricho" ("Pink Superintendent"), after she caught him trying to hang himself on a sakura tree.
In one incident, Kafuka challenged her and other girls to a "Schrodinger's Wife" dilemma, to see who Nozomu would pick. Chiri tries to force herself onto Nozomu, much to the guy's distress. Later that day, she starts having paranoid thoughts that people may be badmouthing her behind her back, and decides to turn Clas 2-He into a "class in potentia".
Meaningful Name/Punny Name: Four alternate readings, to be exact. Her full name (in Japanese order) can be read as きっちり — "kicchiri" ("precise"), referring to her Super OCD. Her given name can be compressed to form the first kanji of 埋める — "umeru" ("to bury"), which explains her spade, or used as the first two kanji for 千里眼 — "senrigan" ("clairvoyance"), explaining her Third Eye. Finally, her given name can be an onomatopeia, "chirichiri" ("frizzy"), as her hair is actually frizzy, and she has to frequently iron it out to give it a perfectly straight look.
Shotgun Wedding: Insists on this to Nozomu after accidentally sleeping together in a clinic bed (though it is Chiri herself who rolls through the curtains into Nozomu's side).
A student who's frequently wrapped in bandages. Contrary to in-series popular belief, she is not a victim of domestic violence; rather, her injuries are caused by irate animals victimized by her tail fetish.
Cut Himself Shaving: Subverted — she's frequently thought to be a victim of domestic violence; in reality, her injuries are caused by animals whose tails she pulls.
Emotionless Girl: Except whenever talking about animal tails or alone with Nozomu.
Fetish: Animal tails. She even has a part-time job at the zoo just to indulge her obsession, and frequently gets injured by irate animals whose tails she loves to pull. She even has walls full of mounted animal tails.
Meaningful Name/Punny Name: Her name is derived from 拳[を]浴びる — "kobushi (wo) abiru" ("to bathe in fists"), referring to her injuries.
Mismatched Eyes: Her green left eye (a result of a corneal transplant), which is frequently covered by an eye patch; the other is brown. In one chapter in Volume 8, she indicates that it was transplanted from a victim of a car accident, and even claims she can see the last thing the donor saw — the license plate of the killer car.
A hikikomori accidentally scared out of her home by Nozomu and Kafuka; she has since become a resident at school and eventually a caretaker figure for Nozomu and Majiru.
Meaningful Name/Punny Name: Her name in Japanese order can be read as 籠もりきり — "komorikiri" ("recluse") and, in Western order, even sounds like "hikikomori".
Ms. Fanservice: Sometimes seen semi-clad. The manga volumes even have pictures of her in varying states of undress.
Running Gag: She frequently appears in the least expected of places.
The only normal girl. Her original "gimmick" was her truancy, but then she showed up to school and lost her only trait that could be considered unique. Ever since she has been playing the Straight Man, whether she likes it or not.
The Generic Guy: Much to her distress. So generic that in Bangaichi even real-life movie subtitle writer Todana Tsuko, (in)famous for her absurdly liberal translations of foreign films, had nothing special at all to say about Nami.
Straight Man: According to Kafuka, she is "more normal than most people". Of course, this is subverted and Played for Laughs during her proper introduction at the first episode of Zoku, where she claimed to have various problems no normal person would have just to garner attention and sympathy, only to be outdone by her classmates, so she threatens suicide. Of course that is the moment Itoshiki makes his appearance by attempting to hang himself from the school roof. Only Nami reacts to it though.
The resident doujin artist and yaoi fangirl with a taste for slash pairings (usually involving famous anime characters, her own teacher and some of her male classmates, but especially "Pine x Napple"), as well as a hidden athletic talent.
Badass Bookworm: Sort of — she's a manga-loving nerd with incredible athletic prowess.
Meaningful Name/Punny Name: Her given name is an Alternate Character Reading of Harumi district (晴海) in Chuo, Tokyo, previous site of the Comiket before it went big and moved to the larger Tokyo Big Sight; her surname is a corruption of 腐女子 — "fujoshi", a derogatory term for Yaoi Fangirls like herself.
Nerds Are Sexy: One episode even depicts her wearing nothing but spats and a bra while brainstorming for her next yaoi doujin.
Power Limiter: Her glasses are said to be one. She has incredible athletic talent, but doesn't want to use it for fear of being scouted to a sports club and thus chip away at her time drawing her yaoi doujins.
A brown-skinned illegal immigrant who bought her name and identity from a male bum.
Ambiguously Brown: Generally implied to be a Filipina (a Hispanicized real name, her home nation's close proximity to Japan and its poverty-ridden, war-torn history), although she claims her previous school was "Mesopotamia Academy".
Barefoot Poverty: Is portrayed like this with socks and shoes. Even after the others in the class try and get her into a Instant Cosplay Surprise or other normal outfits actually wearing socks and/or shoes, it gives her vertigo because she has never worn them before.
Boomerang Bigot: One episode (where she got obsessed with the Boke and Tsukkomi Routine) has her making a privileged speech before the Diet to stem the influx of illegal immigrants.
Mama Bear: Evokes this instinct from anyone who sees her, including lawsuit-happy Kaere.
Meaningful Name/Punny Name: "Taro Sekiutsu" ("Maria" is her given name), a name she bought from a guy willing to sell everything connected to him, can be read as 籍売ったろう — "seki-uttaro" ("I'll sell my name").
GIFT: An interesting case. She's a seemingly plain old Shrinking Violet unable to communicate verbally. However, with the power of texting she can (and does) unleash torrents of verbal abuse on the undeserving people around her. The odd part is that she does this while only standing a few feet away from them and personally giving them her e-mail address, taking away the anonymity aspect that usually is the reason GIFT exists.
Meaningful Name/Punny Name: Her given name is a loan word for "mail" ("メール"), and her surname means "soundless". In addition, her email address "hazukashigariyasan" means 恥ずかしがり屋さん — "full of shyness".
A foreign transfer student recently returning to Japan as a student of Class 2-He with a personality split between Kaere, a lawsuit-happy Jerkass and the in-series Ur Example of the "obnoxious foreigner" stereotype, and Kaede, a shy Yamato Nadeshiko.
Attention Whore: It's pretty clear that she seeks attention by flaunting herself and then loudly threatening to sue onlookers.
But Not Too Foreign/Fauxreigner: She's half-Caucasian (of indeterminate nationality). A map of Britain appears when Nozomu is discussing her return, but she comes off like a JerkassAmerican... until she starts bringing up animal sacrifices and other pleasantries. She probably just represents the outside world that is blonde and not Japan.
Also, this little exchange between her and Nozomu.
Kaere: The (custom in question) in this country [i.e., Japan] is/are weird! In the country where I came from we (perform an extremely bizarre custom). Nozomu: I gotta ask... which country did you come from, anyway?
Catholic School Girls Rule: Wears a more westernized school uniform with a plaid skirt, jacket, and long socks.
Frivolous Lawsuit: As Kaere. The manga volumes even include transcripts of lawsuit documents filed against anyone who offends her throughout the span of said volume.
Hair Colors: Justified; she's a blonde half-Caucasian in a class full of typically black-haired Japanese students.
(Nozomu, inside his burning house with an unconscious Majiru, looks out the window to see Mayo with a can of gasoline and a metal bat bent out-of-shape.)
The actual Class Representative of Class 2-He. He's one of the few known males in the class, who suffers from invisibility, and so has to frequently be replaced by the obsessive-compulsive Chiri.
Out of Focus: Played with. While he is Nozomu's most recurring male student, he is often ignored whenever he attempts to tell his personal experiences and/or examples related to Nozomu's rant of the moment, meant to be even worse than previous examples presented.
(Random character): Did you hear someone?
Power Perversion Potential: Despite frequently complaining about his situation, however, Usui has, every now and then, used his invisibility for... less than worthy causes.
Prematurely Bald: To add insult to injury, he only becomes visible whenever his balding head gets exposed.
*Kagero looks at an overembellished avatar Kiri made of him that is still balding* Kagero: Um, isn't there a part that could use some more embellishment? Kiri: It's already over-embellished as it is.
One of Nozomu's few known male students and Jin's self-proclaimed rival in storytelling. This is largely an Informed Ability — as the series went on his main gimmick became his awful, awful fashion sense.
Out of Focus: Has reduced appearances as both the manga and anime progressed.
There Are No Therapists: Ironically enough, since she is a therapist and is surrounded by people who need it, Chie does almost no counseling. The only person she counsels is, from time to time, of all people, Nozomu himself.
Limited Wardrobe: Just like his "old friend", he frequently wears a kimono and hakama.
Meaningful Name/Punny Name/Named After Somebody Famous: Not exactly his name, but his relationship to Nozomu. Turns out that they're more like one-day friends ("1日友") than old-time friends ("旧友"), with the author making a word play on the visual similarities between the two words. He's also named after a Buddhist sage, or specifically, his incarnation in the manga Ikkyu-san. All three Ikkyus are characterized by a quirky personality and scholarly interests.
Visual Pun: "One-day friends" ("1日友") and "old-time friends" ("旧友").
Morality Chain: Volunterily enforced this trope in order to ensure the safety of her and C Hiri's pet goldfish (and possibly all of civilization).
Morality Pet: Had anyone but Chiri's sister attempted to stall her by creating mess after mess, they would've most likely been dealt with in the most inhumane way possible. But despite Chiri's frustrations concerning her sister's uncleanliness, Tane is still alive and is, to all appearances, unharmed.
The Pig Pen: She manages to either create a huge mess of clutter all around her wherever she goes, or attract garbage, literal (e.g. trash) or metaphorical (e.g. drug addicts, hippies, and others at the dregs of society).
She Cleans Up Nicely: On the other hand, if she wanted to and had the time, she can groom herself up as perfectly as her sister, such as that time when she dated Nozomu. So far she's the only girl whose affection to Nozomu was reciprocated, upon the latter learning of her predicament.
When It All Began: When they were children, Chiri wanted to clean their pet goldfish by pouring shampoo onto the aquarium. Tane jumped into a pool of mud to distract Chiri and spare the goldfish (and perhaps the rest of humanity) her murderous obsession with cleanliness.
Self-Deprecation: Kumeta often uses his Author Avatar to spew out many Take Thats upon himself. He is even used as a textbook example of whatever Nozomu is complaining about at the moment.
Maeda-kun (前田君)
Voiced by: Maeda-kun
An in-series caricature of Kumeta's assistant.
Censor Box: With his face in it, expressing almost any kind of self-imposed restraint marks.
I Have Many Names: From the first season onwards, he went under the stage name "MAEDAX", "MAEDAX G" and "MAEDAX R".
Good Parents: Beneath all those allegations of abuse against his daughter, he turns out to be a mild-mannered, loving father who once even bought her a cake for her birthday her classmates and even teacher forgot.
Sarcastic Confession: Easily confesses to Abiru that he and his wife had just divorced a month ago.
Shrouded in Myth: Thanks to a colossal series of misunderstandings (in part caused by Abiru's frequent injuries), he gained notoriety for (allegedly) abusing his daughter.
Chinese Girl: Her homeland is conveniently censored-out in-series as "a certain nation", although clues abound, from a map of China on her HQ to references to both the Cultural Revolution and Tibet.
It turns out he's actually a badly-behaved foreigner who happens to look like Perry, opened an unsuccessful shop, and befriended Kafuka. The irony of "Perry" having to close something at the end is not lost on the cast.
order (in modern nomenclatures this would be called Class 2-6 or 2-F). The class is said to have 32 students, though so far only 23 have been named.All students in this folder are in Nozomu's class unless otherwise noted. Nozomu's younger sister Rin is also a student in this class.
