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Nanako Yukishiro
Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (Japanese), Natalie Rial (English)
A high school girl who communicates through a less formal form of haiku called senryu. She is also a member of the Literature club. She has a crush on Eiji and most of her time is spent trying to have him figure it out.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In the manga, she outright flips out when an old woman near the senryu centre told her Eiji stopped visiting the centre, to the point of panicking and tripping on a rock and limping. This part is Played for Laughs. The anime treats it more seriously, including the tripping and limping.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: This exact reason is why she is in love with Eiji.
- Be Yourself:
- Why Nanako fell in love with Eiji in the first place. After their first senryu meeting, he tells her if she has trouble speaking, she should write in senryu. And thus, writing in senryu defines her character.
- In chapter 6 of the manga, two girls in her class has her wear makeup, in which she admits she's never worn any, in order to get Eiji's attention. Eiji admits she looked better without it, and decides not to wear any anymore.
- Big Eater: Loves to eat. This in itself becomes a problem when Eiji notes that she's getting rounder in her midsection. Even shen she's sick, her appetite doesn't change. It's also her Berserk Button if you point this out.
- Birds of a Feather: Nanako and Eiji loves senryu, have really odd thought processes, and terrible at making smiles (they can, but not when asked to), and get jealous if other have a boy/girlfriend.
- Blind Without Them: Since she wears contact lenses, she wears glasses in case if her lenses dry out. The entirety of chapter 134 has her accidentally dropping her glasses since her lenses dried out, and she's prone to making mistakes.
- Book Dumb: Zigzagged. Nanako is good at every subject except math and science. She eventually ranks 45th to 30th.
- Break the Cutie: She was this when her depression kicked in after years of bullying. When Eiji meets her, it ignited a spark that lasted until she met Akari, who was the source of her depression. When Eiji tells her her own words in chapter 2, she finally gets over what caused her depression and lowkey tells Akari she doesn't gives a rat's ass about how the world sees her and Eiji anymore.
- Can't Hold His Liquor: She takes a sip from amazake, a sweet low alcoholic drink made from fermented rice. It also affects her verses. She remembers small glimpses with Eiji, and promptly runs off after seeing him the next chapter.
- Cannot Spit It Out: She drops her hints like crazy, but not outright telling Eiji how she feels. Amane even asks her if she wanted to remain Just Friends, which she had to decide if she can finally do it.
- Comically Missing the Point: She tends to do this when Amane is doing subjects for the Literature Club.
- Cool Big Sis: Hanabi and Kino views her this way.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: The idea of Eiji having a girlfriend upsets her.
- Cloudcuckoo Lander: She has a very odd thought process on other subjects, making her Birds of a Feather with Eiji.
- Crush Blush: Often does this around Eiji.
- Cute Mute: She has trouble gathering her thoughts, so she compensates for this by writing senryuu. Subverted in that she isn't actually mute.
- The Cutie: People will frequently mention how cute she is while older girls find her adorable.
- Cuteness Proximity: And she's the epicenter to many people. In the other way around, she loves rabbits and cats.
- The Dog Bites Back: When Eiji reminded her what she said in chapter 2, she promptly tells Akari that she doesn't give a damn about what the world thinks of her and Eiji. Then as a bonus, Eiji (unknowingly) scares off her boyfriend.
- Elective Mute: She is able to speak, but chooses to write senryuu instead.
- Epic Fail: Tries to do a sit up, but she couldn't manage it in episode 2/chapter 11.
- Everyone Can See It: Considering her feelings for Eiji can be seen from a mile away, everyone in their circle of friends are aware and persist that she pursue Eiji, despite his own cluelessness.
- Genki Girl: Despite her Shrinking Violet moments, she has moments where she gets excited, such as with food.
- Good Angel, Bad Angel: Her conscious has one in chapter 111, both speaking in senryu. Unlike most cases where the good and bad angels antagonize each other, Nanako is such a Nice Girl that they don't.
- Has a Type: Delinquents are apparently her type, since she's not easily intimidated by them.
- Heroic BSoD: When Eiji caught a cold, Amane checks if he has a fever. When she arrives and due to angle, she thought Amane was giving him a kiss and collapses.
- Hidden Depths: She's really good a badminton. As in "so fast, people thought she's a Super Saiyan good". The only person who can play at her level is Eiji.
- In Vino Veritas: Once Nanako gets gets drunk, she openly asks Eiji if he likes her while telling him she likes him. Eiji being Eiji, sees this as Nanako being drunk from amazake she just drank.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: The girl is practically innocent. When Koto tricks Nanako into putting on a ball gag on her, she immediately apologizes for deceiving her, who by that point already put it on.
- Insecure Love Interest: She fidgets about confessing to Eiji during the class trip. It took Amane's encouragement to help her get over herself and confess to him.
- It Was a Gift: She values the lighting ring Eiji won at the fireworks festival. While he doesn't see any value from the ring, Nanako does because it's a gift from him. (And the fact that he slips it on her ring finger).
- Last Girl Wins: By technicality, she's the fourth girl who fell in love with Eiji. Koto and Iori were his literal childhood friends, and Komachi met Eiji in middle school, but Nanako met Eiji on Christmas at a senryu meeting.
- Love at First Sight: She met Eiji after their first senryu meeting on a Christmas Day.
- Love Confession: She finally confesses to Eiji in 152 ku, without Senryuu, though she still has problems saying it properly.
- Meaningful Name: Her last name "Yukishiro" means "White snow".
- Ms. Fanservice: Reluctantly, since she's not used to going to beaches and pools in a swimsuit.
- My Beloved Smother: She acts like one with her brother. In chapter 97, when their parents had to go away for business, Nanako suggests they take a bath together. Hiro actually got her embarrassed at the idea of them taking a bath together in order for her to back off.
- Nice Girl: Very. Tellingly, she's one of the few people not intimidated by Eiji when they first met while everyone else are easily scared by him even when he just want to talk to people. In the manga, she tried to be cold and distant towards Eiji, which causes worry with everyone. The effort actually made her own heart ache and immediately apologizes for doing so the next time she met Eiji.
- No Social Skills: Vocally. She's very sociable via senryu. In chapter 117, while looking for Eiji during cram school, she ends up making 20 new friends.
- Not a Morning Person: She sleeps heavily, to the point of falling asleep standing or changing. The one time she wakes up early was to wear makeup to impress Eiji.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In Chapter 52, Nanako ignores Eiji's request for a pencil, with their classmates muttering he got dumped. The other girls were worried about this until Koto mentioned she happens to have a fashion magazine that says to be cold to someone they like, and Amane immediately realizes that Nanako took the advice way too seriously. When Eiji was about to apologize, she is driven to tears because she could never be mad at Eiji. To summarize by her senryu:
"I can never be
"Cold to you Ei-chan, ever
"It's impossibleeeeee"
"Cold to you Ei-chan, ever
"It's impossibleeeeee"
- Protagonist Title: She's the girl who writes senryu after all.
- Relationship Upgrade: She confesses to Eiji after he confesses to her first.
- Reluctant Fanservice Girl: She hates the idea of wearing swimsuits in general because she considers it as comparable as being in their underwear. Especially when she saw Eiji and panics on sight. However in 137 ku, she appears to have gotten over it.
- Serious Business: She considers senryu or anything relating to Eiji as this.
- Ship Tease: Plenty with Eiji. Especially when Everyone Can See It. They eventually confess to each other.
- Shrinking Violet: Amazingly, she actually is. She's the "put on the spot" variety, such as being asked to answer a question she doesn't know and answer to, and when Iori went into a lengthy detail on how she won the beauty pageant. While she's capable of talking to people through senryu, she's incapable of speaking out her thoughts. She's also easily embarrassed at the idea of wearing a swimsuit (in an ironic twist, Kino handles it better than she does). However her mother goes into detail about this in the anime and manga: A year ago, she was bullied because she often writes in senryu, and so she was very withdrawn around everyone else who aren't family. This immediately changed when she met Eiji at a senryu meeting and enjoyed his writings, and would often write to him and got replies, hence why she's in love with him. Apparently Eiji forgot they actually met. Chapters 101 and 102 finally reveals the culprit named Akari, who bullied her just because she writes in senryu.
- Single-Target Sexuality: She has eyes for Eiji, and only Eiji.
- Sore Loser: She hates losing at video games. One of the rare times she gets angry at Eiji, and only Eiji.
- Speech Impediment: This is why she has trouble speaking. She knows how to talk, but she can't do it properly. Which is why she speaks primarily in senryu. Chapter 152 has her pronounce her love confession, but she still has trouble talking afterwards.
- Strange Minds Think Alike: Both Nanako and Eiji have really odd thought processes that doesn't go unnoticed by Amane. They also think alike in a few occasions.
- Trademark Favorite Food: She naturally likes Japanese food.
- Victoria's Secret Compartment: Nanako somehow can place tanzaku boardsnote inside her uniform. While it's easy to assume she stashes them inside her uniforms and kimonos, swimsuits are a whole different story.
- Weight Woe: Because she loves to eat, both her brother and Eiji notices she enjoys eating food, with some Innocently Insensitive comments from them. She attempts to lose weight to impress Eiji, until she realizes she made him touch her stomach. Cue pure embarrassment.
- What Did I Do Last Night?: Literally. She does not remember what happened the previous night and asks Amane for answers. Amane refuses to answer her questions to tease her.
Eiji Busujima
Voiced by: Tasuku Hatanaka (Japanese), Adam Gibbs (English)
An ex-delinquent and the center of Nanako's affections. He is clueless of Nanako's advances.
- Above the Influence: When Nanako comes onto him while drunk off of amazake, he avoids answering her question because of said drunkenness.
- All Men Are Perverts: He had bled from his nose a few times. Some examples when he discovered how large Amane's chest was, or when he saw Nanako's chest.
- Awesome by Analysis: He's figured out that Komachi left him a box of chocolate in his shoe locker. Because Nanako isn't the type to give items anonymously.
- Battle Aura: Occasionally pulls this. Half of the time he doesn't realize he's doing it.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: He's the reason why two girls are in love with him:
- With Nanako, she was previously bullied because she writes in senryu, but her first encounter with Eiji changed her life when he encourages her to write if she had trouble speaking. The became pen-pals until Eiji stopped writing at the senryu centre until they meet again.
- With Komachi, she is a librarian who often read books at the middle school library until some bullies intimidates her, until Eiji comes and scares them off (by breaking his phone on accident). Since then, Komachi would watch him sleep and letting him know school is starting. When they meet again, she tries to come off as a badass delinquent, when Eiji is more interested in senryu and reading.
- Be Yourself: A firm believer in this. He's the kind of guy who isn't used to people trying to change themselves for his benefit, but he wants them to stay as they are. Cases and point:
- He encourages Nanako to communicate in senryu if she has a hard time speaking. This is why Nanako continues to do sp during high school where her friends don't try to force her to talk and teachers are aware of this habit.
- This is an indirect cause to why Komachi wasn't. She thought she could get closer to him by being a delinquent, but he believes being someone you're not just puts a further distance to someone you like. This finally rings in her head that trying to change won't benefit her. After Nanako and Eiji become a couple, she drops the delinquent act altogether.
- Another reason why Koto lost herself. When they first met, she was basically his older sister by association and often tried to make herself look mature, but even then, she realizes that her feelings will never reach him and supports Nanako and Eiji being together.
- Big Brother Instinct: On the rare times he agrees with his father, Eiji worries about Hanabi when she's not only going to school, but that she's cute enough to kidnap.
- Big Eater: He likes to eat two servings of ramen with extra pork.
- Book Dumb: He also oddly zigzags this. He's good at math and science, but terrible with literature and social studies. His score ranking went from 200th to 95th.
- Bullying a Dragon: At the receiving end due to other delinquents trying (and failing) to intimidate him.
- Chaste Hero: Oblivious to the idea of girls crushing on him. Chest sizes however makes him nosebleed.
- Chick Magnet: Unintentionally. For Nanako, ignorance is a bliss when he's oblivious to other girls trying to hit on him.
- Cloudcuckoo Lander: Eiji has some interesting ideas about what constitutes an "everyday life", and often brushes off crazy stuff that happens to him. This includes having a duel with a dog while armed with a chain, and having lost a fight to a chimpanzee.
- Comically Missing the Point: He frequently does this.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: While he's not opposed to Nanako having a boyfriend, he doesn't like it when they're trying to be too direct. Yet he has no self-awareness.
- Death Glare: Unintentionally. He doesn't seem to realize that he's doing it, but this tend to scare people off than he intended to. Pulling this off intimidates Akari's boyfriend, who abandons her.
- Delinquent Hair: The manga reveals that he used to have a Mohawk in his early years.
- The Dreaded: "The Demon of Nishichuu". The other students fear him for his past reputation as a delinquent who picked fights. This is only half-true. It turns out people would pick fights with him, who's far more chill than anything.
- Face of a Thug: Naturally as an ex-delinquent, he gives off this vibe. The manga goes into more detail in that because of how he looks, people would pick fights with him, and he explains his face was like that since he was born. So it's not entirely his fault. This is actually his saving grace as of chapter 104 where Eiji encounters Akari and her boyfriend, and scares off the guy on sight when the two spot the pair.
- Forgotten First Meeting: He met Nanako the previous Christmas during a Senryu meeting. Apparently he's forgotten that he's met Nanako, but she didn't. He does eventually remembers.
- Has a Type: A girl with long black hair and fair skin? He doesn't need to look any further considering Nanako is his type. Ironically, Komachi would be his type if she didn't wear a white wig. The two are even more similar in that they both wear contacts and have similar body build.
- Hidden Depths:
- Is actually a sweet guy who loves writing.
- He believes if someone loves another person, then they shouldn't pretend to be someone else. But instead, they should be themselves without changing a thing. This is why Nanako is in love with him. Impressive, considering this guy is a moron when it comes to love at a personal level or when he can't read the room until he gave Nanako a Love Confession.
- Hypocritical Humor: When Hanabi loses at a game, she calls the game a piece of crap. Eiji gets onto her for saying it, and tells her to substitute it with something else. Cue his phone dying and calling his phone a piece of crap.
- Idiot Hero: Oblivious to Love? Check. Has a habit of breaking his phones? Check. Unintentionally killing moods? Check.
- Innocently Insensitive: He has a habit of making comments and misinterpreting girls' comments which usually involves their weight. Of course they're not happy about that.
- Limited Wardrobe: Played with. Somehow, he doesn't have that many kinds of clothes other than another uniform he wears to sleep and a black tanktop. However, he does seem to have other clothes that he wears on occasion like swimming trunks when he went to the pool and a yukata that he wore for the festival.
- Love Epiphany: He slowly begins to develop his feelings towards Nanako after her drunk confession in which he wanted to avoid answering her due to said drunkenness. After giving it some thought, he decides to confess to her on their school trip.
- Love Interest: Nanako's though he's very oblivious about it.
- Love Triangle: In a non-drama version. He is in the center of Nanako and Komachi's affections, but too dense to realize it.
- Nice Guy: The reason why he has so many girl friends, and why his delinquent friends are so fond of him. Dude's great. He also refuses to answer a drunken Nanako's question if he likes her due to her drunken confession, and wants to do it properly.
- Oblivious to Love: "Dense motherfucker" should be written on his forehead. To the frustrations of many (in universe and out), this guy is very dense. He fails to realize that Nanako and Komachi are in love with him.
- Red Baron: "The Demon of Nishichuu". A title he doesn't really like.
- Real Men Hate Affection: It's not that he does. It's more of him handling romantic situations.
- Relationship Upgrade: He confesses to Nanako first, and they finally become official.
- Ring-Ring-CRUNCH!: He has a habit of breaking his own cellphone out of intimidating tactic. Other thugs chooses to back off. Apparently, he's not aware that he's actually doing it.
- She's Not My Girlfriend: One of the recurring Running Gags is that people make assumptions that they're dating, and he often denies it.
- Strange Minds Think Alike: Both him and Nanako have very odd thought processes.
- Serious Business: He takes school duties such as cleaning very seriously. People thought he looked like a feral demon when he was tasked to help with the rabbit hutch.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: So much that even Amane can tell he's lying through his ass when she asks if he's been confessed to by a drunk Nanako.
- Trademark Favorite Food: He likes Indian food. Especially Indian curry. He also enjoys a bowl of ramen called "Pork of Death" with extra pork and two servings.
- The Un-Smile: Oh boy, he tries to smile. He's not very good at it.
Amane Katagiri
Voiced by: Sayuri Yahagi (Japanese), Whitney Rodgers (English)
Amane is the president of the Literature club and also an accomplished author who works part-time jobs on the side. She often spends her time spying on Eiji and Nanako.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: She's taken a shine to Eiji's best friend.
- All Women Are Lustful: Has a habit of drawing nude men.
- Art Imitates Life: It's known that some of the plots for her novels come from her interactions with Eiji and Nanako.
- Butt-Monkey: Particularly in the manga, Amane has horrible, horrible luck. Whenever something bad happens, the universe conspires so that it happens to her.
- Death Glare: She has a very intimidating one in the manga when she thought Eiji did something to upset Nanako and Tao wrapping him with her scarf. The three of them were actually acting, but it was scary enough to unsettle Tao.
- Elephant in the Room: She frequently comments on odd ongoings during club activities or Nanako somehow messing up her hair to give an idea what happens to her hair.
- Happily Married: Implied in the epilogue. The epilogue also implies she's also pregnant.
- Has a Type: Tao deduced that her ideal man would be an old fashioned tall man with the strength of a gorilla...which fits Hongo to a T.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: She's aware of her own Butt-Monkey status.
- Informed Attractiveness: Inverted. For some reason she's touted as unattractive/unfit, even though her design doesn't differ that much from attractive girls like Nanako and Koto. Sone characters mentioned that it's her antics that make her less desirable and not necessarily her looks.
- Nice Girl: She always has a sunny disposition in spite of her bad luck.
- Only Sane Man: She's usually the party (boke) that comments on the weirdness of the Boke and Tsukkomi Routine with Nanako and Eiji.
- Significant Anagram: Uses the pen name "Maria Kitagane" for her novels.
- Shipper on Deck: She and Koto are there to root for Nanako and Eiji to become a couple. Although she keeps invoking this when it isn't necessary.
- Ship Tease: She gets frequently teased with the Judo Club president, Yoshimi Hongo, and her nearly going Tsundere on him.
- The Smart Guy: Gal, but she's one of the smartest people in class, despite her decline in rank in the achievements test (from 4th to 11th). She does take the elite class for cram school.
- Stalker without a Crush: She frequently stalks people throughout the story. Some people even comments how creepy it is, though it's Played for Laughs.
- Thinks Like a Romance Novel: She often tries to throw Eiji and Nanako into situations that she deems romantic, but they usually take a turn that she never expects. True to the trope, she happens to be a romance novelist herself.
- Tsundere: Towards the Judo Club President Yoshimi Hongo. When she's alone with him, there's a fair amount of Ship Tease between the two, and she goes into this mode when she's around him.
- Write Who You Know: Her In-Universe approach to writing her novels.
Koto Ōtsuki
Voiced by: Rikako Aida (Japanese), Olivia Swasey (English)
She is Eiji's childhood friend by two years and is also the president of the "Modern US army combative" club. She is noted for her strong and very developed physique.
- Adaptational Personality Change: While the anime retains her trollish teasing nature, it drops her tendency to freak out in the midst of a wacky hijinks. Like with Nanako's mother, this is probably due to make them look wiser and calmer.
- Affectionate Nickname: Eiji refers to her as Koto-nee.
- All Love Is Unrequited: She initially had feelings towards Eiji, but chose not to act on her own feelings since Nanako is in love with him.
- Can't Hold His Liquor: All it takes for Koto to be drunk is to smell liquor, as Tao finds out the hard way.
- Childhood Friends: She's one of Eiji's oldest and dearest friends.
- Cool Big Sis: For most of the cast, but especially towards Eiji, Nanako and Hanabi.
- Does Not Like Spam: She hates drinking coffee. The reason for doing so it's to impress Eiji by making herself look more mature.
- Drives Like Crazy: Upon gaining a license, she tends to speed up instinctively. It got to the point Amane got sick.
- Even the Girls Want Her: A side character Machioka was filming an interview with her while she was talking about her club. Too bad she was filming her breasts on the whole thing.
- Everyone Has Standards: She frequently trolls her friends and make sexual remarks around Eiji, but when Hanabi "wants to dominate men", that's too far.
- The Gadfly: She absolutely loves teasing Eiji and Nanako.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Her reason for not pursuing Eiji. In the manga, it takes her a lot longer to come to terms to it by giving him a final hug with tears in her eyes whereas in the anime, she accepts it immediately after Amane asks her about it and seeing how happy Nanako and Eiji are together.
- Like Brother and Sister: She realizes even if she were to confess to Eiji romantically, Eiji wouldn't reciprocate because he already sees her as his big sister. She eventually decided it was for the best to stay that way.
- Marshmallow Hell: She will frequently smother Nanako with her chest.
- Ms. Fanservice: Has a stout build and large breasts. Her debut episode had the camera focus on her breasts.
- New Job as the Plot Demands: She changes jobs depending on the chapter/episode. Those jobs are used for paying her English teacher and after she graduates.
- No Sense of Personal Space: None. Whether it's smothering Nanako with her chest or getting too handsy with other people, she will troll her friends at their expense. Except Hanabi.
- Not So Above It All: In the manga, she's very prone to freaking out, whereas she remains composed in the anime.
- Renaissance Man:
- Woman in her case. Because she has various jobs, she's good at them.
- She is also part of the "Modern US army combative" club at school, which is very uncharacteristic of a person like her.
- Shipper on Deck: She is also shooting for Eiji and Nanako to be a couple.
- School Nurse: She works as a temporary nurse at school.
- Tender Tears: She sheds these in 119.7 when she knows her feelings won't reach Eiji.
- Troll: She has a tendency to troll others for her amusement.
- Unlucky Childhood Friend: Eiji firmly believes their relationship is Like Brother and Sister. Her dedication chapters has her come to terms with this after she graduates.
- Unrequited Love: She had a crush on Eiji when they first met, but she is willing to let it go for Nanako's sake.
Kino Yakobe
Voiced by: Misaki Kuno (Japanese), Allison Sumrall (English)
A quiet girl who communicates through art.
- Bag of Holding: Kino somehow has the ability to hold a large canvas and draw something or herself on it. Such as trying to exercise and fools Tao into thinking she's strolling effortlessly, but is exhausted behind it.
- Birds of a Feather: She and Nanako have much in common, such as being intentionally quiet, really odd thought processes (though hers are really weird compared to Nanako), and prefers communication with something they enjoy.
- Cloudcuckoo Lander: Lifetime Achievement award. She has a very unusual thought process than Nanako and Eiji combined (literally and figuratively). Because she's an artist, she'll draw the background, and no one will notice. It extends to the way she wants to build the rabbit hutch to which she wants to make a hotel for them.
- Cute Mute: Much like Nanako. Ironically as her drawings of herself suggest, she can actually be rather talkative.
- Deadpan Snarker: Somehow, she capable of snarking on her art pad.
- Elective Mute: Like Nanako, she doesn't openly speak, but rather draw out her thoughts and situations.
- Homoerotic Subtext: Her interactions with Tao gives off this light. Tao doesn't deny that there's a romatic context between them.
- Leitmotif: She has a tune when she shows up in the anime since her first appearance.
- Motor Mouth: A written version. Because she doesn't speak by choice, she tends to write a really long dialogue of her thoughts. For a quiet Shrinking Violet, this is amazing.
- Nightmare Fetishist: She, of all people, is this. Showcased in episode 10 where her eyes turn red, and played victim to scare Nanako and Eiji.
- Odd Friendship: She is friends with Tao, and they have often gone out on trips together.
- The Quiet One: She rarely speaks vocally. But she's a Motor Mouth in written form. The anime does allow her voice actress speak, but only in that written form instead of out loud.
- Shrinking Violet: Like Nanako, she is easily intimidated without her sketchbook. But unlike Nanako, she isn't intimidated at the idea of wearing a swimsuit. Unlike most Shrinking Violet characters, she's the most assertive of the archetype.
- Siblings Wanted: She wishes she had an older sister and views Nanako this way due to being an only child.
- Talking with Signs: She communicates and emotes almost exclusively through her drawing pad.
- After the timeskip, she has started using an electronic sketchpad tablet to communicate through.
- The Speechless: Subverted. While Nanako's voice actress "does" speak the words that she writes down, Kino seems to be incapable of speech altogether, but episode 7 has her voice actress talk.
Tao Charlotte Hanakai
Voiced by: Sumire Uesaka (Japanese), Carli Mosier (English)
A high schooler who works as a fortune teller.
- A-Cup Angst: Has this in Episode 8. One of the first things she does when she goes to the mall with the other girls is ask a clerk if they sold swimsuits with extra padding around the "melons" area. She is even jealous of Kino whose chest increased to B-Cup.
- Affectionate Nickname: She calls Kino "Kinotty".
- But Not Too Foreign: Implied to be a mixed ancestry (likely French) because her middle name is Charlotte. Her sister's given name is Loki. Tao is also not a common Japanese name.
- Butt-Monkey: Not as bad as Amane, but she will be at the receiving end of embarrassing situations. Whereas Amane's Butt-Monkey status is due to the universe picking on her, Tao's status is more situational, such as a drunk Koto coming on to her.
- Covered in Kisses: At the receiving end of this by an intoxicated Koto.
- Deadpan Snarker: Her default mode. She tends to make snide remarks, even at Amane and Eiji's expense.
- Goth: Comes with her part-time job as a fortune teller.
- Not So Stoic: In the anime, she gets scared easily by ghosts and other horror-level situations. In the manga, this is a frequent occurrence to her.
- Odd Friendship: With Kino, whom are in class together and taken trips outside of the country.
- Only Sane Man: Played for laughs. She ends up being this in Nanako's group of friends in spite of her own outlandish beliefs.
- Pride: She wants to become a famous fortune teller with accurate predictions without a single mistake, even if they're self-imposed Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.
- Rage Breaking Point: Subdued, but when Nanko and Eiji were being themselves on live TV, she tells her interviewer that the first couple with the highest compatibility rating is Nanako and Eiji. Nanako is happy about it, but Eiji goes full "She's Not My Girlfriend" mode.
- Trademark Favorite Food: She loves Gyudon, a beef bowl with rice. She tends to deny it, though.
Komachi Akashi
A "delinquent" girl who harbors a crush on Eiji.
- Birds of a Feather: Odd thought process, is very shy, loves literature, and the same guy? The main difference between the two is that Nanako tries to approach Eiji romantically as herself, and succeeds. Komachi tries by acting like a delinquent and largely failed.
- Be Yourself: Her friend Misaki encourages her to do this if she wants Eiji's attention. Unfortunately, she thinks the opposite would get Eiji's attention. Considering Nanako continues to write in senryu because Eiji encouraged her to, Komachi should have taken that advice, especially since she and Nanako are actually very similar.
- It finally comes to a head when Eiji unintentionally gives her an Armor-Piercing Question to drive the point home that pretending to be someone you're not just further distances you and someone you love. In other words, she should have taken Misaki's advice instead of being someone she's not. She finally decides to do it, though she still wears the wig on occasion.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: She harbors a crush on Eiji after he defends her from schoolyard bullies.
- Cosplay Otaku Girl: She loves manga and dressing up as a delinquent. Hence wearing a wig for this image.
- Covert Pervert: She reads essentially an ero manga involving a romance with a high school girl and a masked wrestler. Too bad she forgets it, and ends up in Nanako's hands after herself, Nanako, and Eiji were accidentally got trapped in the storage closet.
- Crush Blush: Occassionally when she's around Eiji.
- Cloudcuckoo Lander: She's not immune to this. She tends to read a room's situation to that of a manga.
- His Own Worst Enemy: Had she taken Misaki's advice and at least try to be herself, her Love Triangle wouldn't be one-sided.
- Hidden Depths: She's a really good actress. It was implied that she became good at it from trying to act like a delinquent daily.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: Tries to come off as a badass delinquent. Emphasis on "tries".
- Fatal Flaw: Because she refuses to be herself, she tries to get Eiji's attention by pretending to be a delinquent. This ends up being her undoing when Eiji tells her trying to pretend to be you're not won't bring them closer. It'll put a distance between them and the person they love.
- Foil: To Nanako. A Shrinking Violet who loves literature, loves the same guy, tries their damnedest to get his attention, and meeting Eiji effectively changed their lives because he saved them at some point in their life. This sounds familiar...
- Irony: She is a literature girl at heart, but thinks joining the Literature Club would be lame as a delinquent. Eiji however joined the Literature Club willingly because he enjoys senryu, and is actually reading books at the library. And the fact that a girl with long black hair who loves literature is also his type, which makes it more ironic, since her natural hair color is black. Had she just approached Eiji as her true self, she would be a serious contender to Nanako for his affection. It comes to a head when Eiji admitted he did like the original Komachi, but he didn't want to change his appearance as he's a firm believer of Be Yourself.
- I Just Want to Be Loved: What she really wants. Unfortunately, her competition is Nanako, whom Eiji sees frequently.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: When Eiji shows great concern for Nanako in chapter 103, she immediately tells him to go to her. Letting him go was considered a loss for herself, but refuse to retreat for now.
- Love at First Sight: She falls for Eiji upon meeting him when some school thugs were harassing her, and he intimidates them by destroying his own cellphone.
- Miles Gloriosus: She attempts to get closer to Eiji by making herself as a badass delinquent. This fails on many levels as Eiji just want to spend time at the Literature Club while she tries to find things that would be considered a badass as a delinquent. When she meets actual delinquents, she quakes in fear. Especially when she met Tora.
- Nice Girl: She's a sweetheart in spite of all her efforts to appear otherwise.
- Shrinking Violet: She is pitifully shy around Eiji and tends to panic even when he's not around.
- Significant Anagram: Her pen name "Amachi Kashiko" is her real name rearranged.
- Spoiled Sweet: She grew up spoiled by her parents and she never questions it or dislike it either despite not knowing how to take something for herself. This is her real self she discarded after meeting Eiji.
- Thinks Like a Romance Novel: Her brain works this way, thinking up scenarios and how to confess to Eiji.
- Trademark Favorite Food: She has a preference for western food.
- Unknown Rival: Unlike Koto who called it quits by her own admission, Komachi actively tries to win Eiji over with her competition being Nanako. Only a small amount of people are aware of her feelings towards Eiji while the entire school notices Nanako's love for Eiji. Worst part is, Nanako doesn't seem to notice at all or the fact that she even has a love rival.
- Write What You Know: In-Universe. As Komachi is a writer under the pen name "Amachi Kashiko" opposite of Amane who chooses an In-Universe Write Who You Know.
- Yaoi Fangirl: She reveals this side of herself in 166 ku.
Iori Fujimaru
Tora Fujimaru's little sister who joins the school on her first year.
- Bifauxnen: Eiji apparently thought so, since he mistaken her for a boy.
- Buxom Beauty Standard: Noted as one of her womanly points by Amane.
- Combat Pragmatist: Claims to have beaten her brother in a fight, but turns out was fighting him while he's taking a piss.
- Cute Clumsy Girl: Was in the same karate dojo as Eiji, but keeps losing to him by tripping.
- Cute Little Fangs: Has one on the left side of her mouth.
- Forgotten First Meeting: Subverted in that Eiji does remember her, but he didn't realize she was a girl.
- Gender-Blender Name: "Iori" can be used as a boy or a girl's name. In Eiji's defense, he actually thought Iori was a boy when they were younger.
- Genki Girl: Her energy rivals Hanabi in terms of hyperactivity.
- Hidden Buxom: Not that they're hidden, but she has a rather large bust. Tao made note of it with her jacket off.
- I'm Crying, but I Don't Know Why: Eiji points this out to her when she starts crying. It becomes clear that she is in love him, but she wants Eiji to be with Nanako.
- Matchmaker Crush: She insists on telling Eiji to tell Nanako how he feels, but it also deeply affects her when she also likes him.
- Love Epiphany: Sakura spells it out to her that she's in love with Eiji. Despite being a Shipper on Deck for Eiji and Nanako, her feels towards Eiji becomes a romantic sense than platonic than she realizes.
- She's All Grown Up: She definitely grew as a girl when she meets Eiji as first year. Amane does not fail to notice this.
- Shipper on Deck: She wants Eiji to be with Nanako, unaware that she herself is in love with him.
- Shrinking Violet: Notice a pattern? Downplayed in that she becomes easily embarrassed when girls goes into lengthy details about her. Nanako deliberately did this in retaliation.
- Tomboy with a Girly Streak: As Amane notes, she didn't exactly abandon being a girl, despite having no apparent likeness to girly things.
- What Is This Feeling?: She has an unexpected chest pains when she thinks of supporting Eiji with whoever he goes out with, but Sakura notices and may have some deep feelings towards Eiji.
Supporting characters
Nanako's parents
Voiced by: Mitsuo Iwata (Yoshihiko Yukishiro) and Mariko Kouda (Chifuyu Yukishiro) (Japanese), Josh Morrison (Yoshiko Yukishiro) and Joanne Bonasso (Chifuyu Yukishiro) (English)
Nanako's parents. Yoshishiko is a spectacularly melodramatic father while her mother Chifuyu is a normal housewife who approves Nanako's crush on Eiji.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Yoshihiko is an utter mess. He also has boxer shorts of his own children. He also saw Tao's interview on live TV when she decides to end the show by stating that Eiji and Nanako has the highest compatibility rating. Obviously, he's not amused. Then it's revealed that he's been like this since she was born.
- Brutal Honesty: Chifuyu can be a bit too honest about what she thinks of her husband.
- Butt-Monkey: This middle-aged husband and father is very melodramatic, that his own wife makes fun of him.
- Happily Married: Despite bullying Chifuyu bullying Yoshihiko, she dearly loves him.
- Henpecked Husband: His wife picks on him for being melodramatic. Nanako seems to be oblivious to how he acts, but Hiro notices right away.
- Manchild: Yoshihiko, definitely. It's bad enough that Hiro recognize this about his father.
- Not So Above It All: Manga only. Chifuyu freaks out frequently, unlike in the anime where she tends to be calm.
- Parental Marriage Veto: Yoshihiko had an Imagine Spot where Nanako is with Eiji holding a child looking like him. He does not approve.
- Shipper on Deck: Chifuyu doesn't seem to mind with Nanako being in love with Eiji so as long as Nanako improves in school. She makes subtle hints towards this when she first met him. Yoshihiko however is the opposite.
Hiro Yukishiro
Voiced by: Mutsumi Tamura (Japanese), Kira Vincent-Davis (English)
Nanako's little brother.
- Innocently Insensitive: Tells his sister that she warfs down more food than an up-and-coming sumo; Nanako draws her anger when he said that.
- Oh, No... Not Again!: He's the one who calls his mom whenever his dad is going into his Nanako-related melodramatic diatribes.
- Only Sane Man: His older sister is a Cloudcuckoo Lander, his father is an incredibly embarrassing father. Both he and his mother are the sane ones in the family.
- Puppy Love: Has a crush on a girl at his school. They end up together.
Eiji's parents
Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino (Akira Busujima) and Kaori Nazuka (Kazue Busujima)
Eiji's father, Akira who is a stay-home-dad and a writer while his mother, Kazue, is a fashion designer.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Eiji sees his parents this way. As we see Nanako meeting them, we can see why, with Akira assuming Eiji bought her with money while Kazue thought Eiji drugged her.
- Dirty Old Man: Tries to hit on Nanako despite being Happily Married, and to the frustrations of his children.
- The Ditz: While she was traveling, Kazue bought gifts for her children while in Gifu and Brazil. She forgot them and heads out to Brazil. Eiji tells her to just go to Gifu instead. She also mixed up salt and sugar while cooking. Regardless, Akira thought her cooking tasted good.
- Face of a Thug: Like Eiji, he is also this, to the point of being mistaken for Yakuza.
- It Was a Gift: Kazue owns a plastic ring Akira gave her when they were dating. She values it so much that she kept it on her for years. Eiji does lampshade that his mother is wearing it despite being a fashion designer.
- Lazy Bum: Akira's a lazy father despite being a writer.
- Papa Wolf: Akira agrees with his son that because Hanabi is growing up and going to school, it may lead to someone who might kidnap her, and tries to return her ransel, to which she objects.
- What Does She See in Him?: Hanabi asks why her mother ended up with their Lazy Bum of a father. She happily explains that he was direct and wanted to pursue a baseball career while she became a fashion designer. Despite being unable to, she married him regardless.
Hanabi Busujima
Voiced by: Suzuko Hara (Japanese), Hilary Haag (English)
Eiji's young sister.
- Adorably Precocious Child: Eiji says as such when Nanako wonders where he got his bruise from. She was playing with him and pinches his cheek.
- Affectionate Nickname: She calls Eiji "Nii-nii".
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Invoked. She wants to be this once she gets older and Eiji has an Imagine Spot where she would be this once she hits 15.
- Big Brother Worship: She absolutely adores Eiji. Koto explains the reason why Eiji dotes on her is because he originally wanted to distance himself from her friends, but Hanabi wouldn't have it, and dotes on him no matter what.
- Children Are Innocent: Very much so. She tends to copy her brother and father's manner of speaking, but is polite.
- Everyone's Baby Sister: For most of the cast, but especially for Nanako and Koto, both whom she adores.
- From the Mouths of Babes: Because her mother is often traveling due to her fashion job, Hanabi's primary influence is her father Akira and her brother Eiji, and they often swear around her, and she often watches dramas on TV. In chapter 71, her school assignment required her on what kind of woman she wants to be, and when Koto asks if she wants to be "boing boing" like her, Hanabi replies that she "wants to dominate men". Koto reacts negatively to this.
- Meaningful Name: Her first name means "fireworks". Since she's a Cheerful Child Genki Girl, it fits her.
- Shipper on Deck: For Eiji x Nanako. She is fully aware of Nanako's crush on her brother.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: She is a lot smarter and mature than her actual age (at 5 years old). Her watching dramas and observing her surroundings may have something to do with it.
Madoka Katagiri
Amane's older sister.
- Aloof Big Sister: She gives off this vibe when it's just her and Amane. Nanako sees her as a Cool Big Sis.
- Cuteness Proximity: Even she's not immune to Nanako's cuteness. She openly states she wants to protect and kidnap her at the same time. And we don't mean The Kindnapper.
- Troll: She isn't above trolling her sister at her expense.
Loki Hanakai
- Granola Girl: She got them vibes coming off her.
- New-Age Retro Hippie: Has overtones of this.
Yoshimi Hongo
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Amane, but not without reason.
- Gentle Giant: In spite of his efforts to be intimidating.
- Gonk: He has a face fit for the radio.
- Missed Him by That Much: He's Amane's partner in her online game, but neither are aware of this.
- Muscles Are Meaningless: When your opponent is Koto, winning isn't an option.
- Relationship Upgrade: He is officially married to Amane after the 4 year timeskip.
- Revenge by Proxy: He tends to batter his clubmates whenever he's unhappy or embarrassed.
- Romantic False Lead: Played with. He's initially attracted to Nanako, but the manga further elaborates that he and Amane are Birds of a Feather and are becoming increasingly close.
- Ship Tease: He has plenty with Amane after his introduction.
Misaki Sugita
Komachi's best friend
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: She's smarter than her best friend. So when Komachi wanted to get Eiji's attention, she simply asks, "Why don't you join the literature club?". Of course Komachi shoots this down.
- Only Sane Man: She is very level-headed compared to her best friend. In fact, she may be the sanest compared to the main characters.
Asako Kura
- Accidental Misnaming: She keeps calling one of her co-workers, Takemichi, as Takemoto.
- Can't Hold His Liquor: It takes one sip of alcohol for her to become completely plastered.
- The Ditz: She is a very ditzy person. She once brought butter instead of ice cream to the Literature Club while everyone is playing video games. She has a very poor sense of direction, and dropped her teacher notebook out in the street. Eiji finds said notebook and returns it to her.
- Hidden Depths: She's a surprisingly good cook.
- The Ingenue: She has a very childish nature, to the point of being a female manchild. As such, she fits perfectly in the Literature Club, where she's considered more like a member than a club adviser.
- No Sense of Direction: Not at all. In one panel, she in the hallway, then the next, she is outside school grounds.
Sakura Kura
Asako's little sister who became friends with Iori]]
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The responsible to her older sister's foolish.
- Tsundere She cares about her sister, but Asako's ditzy tendencies gets on her nerves.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: She's the serious younger sister to her ditzy older sister.
Tora Fujimaru
Eiji's best friend, another stone-faced delinquent with a fearsome reputation similar to Eiji's.
- Affectionate Nickname: He calls Eiji "Busu-yan". Eiji in return calls him "Fuujichi".
- Death Glare: His default expression, since he rarely shows his eyes.
- Delinquent Hair: Has a mohawk.
- Japanese Delinquents: He's legitimately is one, compared to Eiji, who is a Nice Guy with a Face of a Thug issue. He's also the boss in his high school.
- Not So Above It All: Despite being intimidating, Tora hasn't been close to girls before.
Other characters
Akari
- Alpha Bitch: Her presence reeks of it.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: When her friends sees her talking to Nanako, she condescendingly makes fun of Nanako's Character Tic and how she enjoys it.
- Didn't Think This Through: She gets her boyfriend to intimidate Eiji, only for him to recognize Eiji as "The Demon of Nishichuu" and runs off.
- Hate Sink: Up until Chapter 101, the series didn't have much of an antagonist, and Eiji having frequent fights with other delinquents just for picking on him. However, their interactions with Eiji was Played for Laughs. Akari holds the distinct honor of being the reason why Nanako is withdrawn. Her first interactions with Nanako did not earn her any fans.
- Kick the Dog: And she's the reason why Nanako was depressed during elementary and middle school.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Despite being the reason why Nanako is a Shrinking Violet, Nanako remains happy, since Eiji is with her on Christmas. Eiji then pulls off an unintentional Death Glare at her boyfriend, who abandons her on the spot.
- Meaningful Name: Her given name means "light". It becomes a Visual Pun when chapters 101-104 are titled "A Lightless Christmas".
- Small Role, Big Impact: Her bullying is the reason why Nanako was so somber and withdrawn before she met Eiji.
