A list of characters from the Skip Beat! manga and anime series. Warning! Spoilers up to the The Lotus in the Mire arc may be uncovered.

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Main Characters

Kyoko Mogami

Voiced by: Miki Nagasawa (Drama CD), Marina Inoue (Anime, Japanese), Caitlin Glass (Anime, English)
Played by: Ivy Chen (live-action drama)

Kyoko Mogami ran off to Tokyo with her childhood friend, Sho Fuwa, after graduating middle school. She worked two part-time jobs to support their stay, eager and happy to take over the household while Sho worked on becoming a famous star. She's been in love with Sho for years, being utterly devoted to him, and believing their feelings to be mutual. Upon learning that Sho never saw her as more than a free maid to take care of him, she vows revenge. Kyoko insists that she'll enter showbiz and become more famous than him, intent on having him kneel before her and begging for forgiveness.

Unable to enter LME through the regular auditions, the president created the Love Me section, making Kyoko its first member. The goal of the Love Me section is for Kyoko to regain her feelings of love to become a full-fledged actress. Over time, she starts to improve her acting skills and starts to grow closer to Sho's rival and her senior/co-worker, Ren Tsuruga.

Abhorrent Admirer: She initially acted like a common fangirl towards Sho, which annoyed him. She later reacts similarly whenever she sees Kanae, who is embarrassed to be seen in public this way.
Adaptation Dye-Job: The live-action drama keeps Kyoko's hair as her natural black, rather than having it cut and dyed into the chestnut-brown color in the manga and anime.
All of the Other Reindeer: Her childhood was filled with this because the other girls were jealous over her close relationship with Sho.
Ambiguously Bi: Kyoko may or may not like Kanae in a romantic sense, but it's difficult to tell. Her intense emotions regarding their friendship may be because of Kanae being her first, female friend in her entire life, but she's certainly okay with being a large ham about it and giving baseless, anguished declarations of love.
Bad Liar: Subverted. Sho, Kanae, and Ren are able to tell when she's lying because she can't look at them, but as it turns out, if she puts an effort into using her acting skills, she can fool people.
Berserk Button: Anything having to do with Sho. It later extends to Reino as well.
Beware the Nice Ones: Kyoko is absolutely terrifying when angered. The phrase 'She is a very scary kind of actress' has been coined when referring to her.
The Big Damn Kiss: The short Guam arc has her receive one from Ren (as Corn).
Brainy Brunette: Most noticeable after bleaching her hair to chestnut-brown. She has always been smart and creative, due to believing that scoring perfect exams would gain her mother's approval. She initially skipped high school to work and support Sho financially, but happily took the chance to attend high school, when President Lory offered it.
Broken Bird: Abandoned by her mother at the inn Sho's parents run, Kyoko was quickly taught to never let her real emotions show when facing customers, which is a mindset that she has continued to employ. When she thought her feelings for Sho would result in a happy ending, he crashes her entire world by admitting that she was never more than a worthless, plain maid to him. Fortunately, Kyoko refused to fall into a deep hole, and chose to re-invent herself into a stronger person.
Butt-Monkey: Suffers this in the beginning of the series. Her devotion to Sho was abused and she had to leave the apartment they shared, her talent auditions went awry, and her first job as a Love Me member gained her minus points. Then there's also the (imagined) verbal abuse Ren gives her, and all of her attempts to humiliate Sho backfire spectacularly. Over time, though, she has gained some success and fame thanks to her tenacity, hard work, and talent for acting.
Celibate Hero: Chooses to be one after the bad experiences she went through with Sho.
Childhood Friend Romance: What she thought her relationship with Sho would result in. This ended when she learned that Sho only took her along to Tokyo to take care of him, and so he wouldn't end up having to marry her and inherit his parents' inn.
Cloudcuckoolander: Kyoko is prone to flights of fancy whenever she feels particularly emotional. Whenever she is happy or trying to lift her spirits, she daydreams of fairies. And if she is upset or angry, she pretends that her curse dolls are scolding her.
The Confidant: Hilariously, as the chicken mascot, Bo, Kyoko is giving Ren love advice regarding the girl he is in love with, not realizing that the girl he talks about is her. This becomes serious, because when she hears about the rumors of Kimiko Morizumi and Kana Kusunoki going out with Ren, she begins to view him as a natural Chick Magnet, who is toying with other women's feelings, which she hated about Sho.
Cry into Chest: Whenever she was upset over her mother, Kyoko ran off into a forest to cry her heart out. One day, she met Corn there and cried into his chest. Years later, she does the same, though she mistook Ren for Corn.
Dark and Troubled Past: Her mother was emotionally distant and never came back when Kyoko was six years old, leaving Kyoko's views on the relationship between parent-and-child very skewed. She didn't even care when Kyoko ran off to Tokyo with Sho. Kyoko was also bullied out of jealousy of her close relationship with Sho, leaving her without any friends beside Sho.
Determinator: Displays amazing feats with her determination. Catching up to a moving taxi in a bicycle, sitting in seiza while having a sprained ankle, and undergoing weeks of stage combat training for a role audition are just some of the most noteworthy ones. Her entire reason for entering showbiz is her determination to get her revenge on Sho!
Dub Name Change: Kyoko turned into Gong Xi for the live-action drama.
Dude Magnet: Not as prominent of a magnet as Ren or Sho, but Kyoko does manage to gain the attention of men. Sho, Ren and Reino all have romantic feelings for her, and coworkers like Kijima or Hikaru find her attractive, when she displays a more mature aura.
Emotion Suppression
- All negative emotions, like sadness, hatred or resentment, were locked away while she was living with Sho. She did display some fake hatred for Ren Tsuruga, simply because he was Sho's rival. She unleashes all of those emotions when Sho reveals his honest views on her.
- After getting dropped by Sho and vowing revenge, Kyoko locked away any feelings of love or trust in other people. Part of her stint as a Love Me member is to regain those emotions, and her feelings of love begin to resurface as she begins to fall for Ren.
Entertainingly Wrong: Due to Kyoko being aware that Ren is in love with a woman around her age (when she disguised herself as the tv mascot, Bo), and after learning of him previously working with Kimiko Morizumi, she concludes that the two are an item. From her point of view, it makes perfect sense, and Ren being nice to Kyoko doesn't really mean much, because he's nice to everyone and a natural playboy. She doesn't realize that everything that supposedly leads to Kimiko being Ren's beloved also applies to herself. This progresses to the point of near-parody when Ren describes the girl in detail to Bo and Kyoko wonders to herself “Morizumi-san does that too???”
Expository Hairstyle Change
- Kyoko had her hair in an unstylish cut that went past her shoulder blades. When Sho drops her and Kyoko vows to get her revenge on him, she gets her black hair cut to chin-length and dyed into a chestnut-brown color.
- Mio in Dark Moon started off with a basic Hime cut that hid the facial scar rather well. When Kyoko figures out 'her' version of Mio, she ditches the wig and gets her short hair dyed back to black. Eventually, Kyoko went back to her chestnut-brown color and wore a black wig for Mio.
Expressive Mask: Kyoko is naturally expressive. When dressed up in the giant chicken suit of Bo for Kimagure Rock, she manages to be even more expressive with his beak.
Extreme Doormat: Used to be one for Sho and everyone else. She has decided to stop being one.
Fiery Redhead: She is strong, passionate, outgoing, and has become very outspoken. And is particularly determined when it comes to her growing career as an actress.
The First Cut Is the Deepest: Kyoko has sworn off love, when her first love, Sho, turned out to use her love for him to make her work her butt off for him without ever having the intention to reciprocate her feelings and letting her believe they were going out. Working for the Love Me section is supposed to slowly heal Kyoko's broken heart.
Friendless Background: She used to be shunned by classmates, particularly by the girls, because of her relationship with Sho. As the series progresses, she manages to make some real friends.
Go-Getter Girl: Kyoko knows no limits when it comes to achieving her goals!
Haunted Heroine: She is haunted by a number of little grudge demons that embody her desire for vengeance and previously suppressed, negative feelings. Getting rid of them is part of her new life as a Love Me member and actress.
He Is Not My Boyfriend: Kyoko keeps being referred to as Sho's girlfriend (or ex-girlfriend) whenever the two are seen interacting, based on their Like an Old Married Couple behavior, which is interpreted as Belligerent Sexual Tension. Kyoko is pissed because while they are childhood friends and she did love Sho, the love was one-sided and he just used her as a housemaid. She also is mistaken for being Reino's girlfriend once, when Sho finds Valentine's chocolate which supposedly said "♡ to Beagle" (it actually said "Go to hell, Beagle").
Heroic BSoD
- Almost falls into one when she realizes that she has fallen in love with Ren. Kyoko doesn't show it externally, as she's in the middle of acting a role, but her internal feelings are depicted as her being backed to the edge of a cliff, and prepared to jump off because she doesn't feel like she can deal with these feelings.
- Falls into another one when her mother announces on TV that 'she has no child'. Kyoko falls into a deadened, emotional state and barely reacts to anyone or anything around her.
Hot-Blooded: Kyoko does nothing by halves!
I Have This Friend: Kyoko plans to tell Kanae why she was so distracted during an audition, and says that it's a love story... then quickly alters it into being a love story about Amamiya, and not about herself.
I Just Want to Be Loved: Kyoko was denied the love of her mother when she was a child, which is why she desperately tried to appeal to other people and worked hard for Sho, thinking that he reciprocated her feelings for him. Even after having her heart broken by him and openly forswearing love, she deep inside wants to be loved, which is why Lory created the Love Me! section. For this reason, she also treasures the few friends that she actually has, specifically her first female friend, Kanae.
Imagine Spot: Often falls into one when thinking about fairytales or what kind of friendship she wants with Kanae.
Innocence Lost: Her innocent view on love was crushed when Sho revealed that he only exploited her. However, Kyoko still thinks like a romance novel at times, and part of being a Love Me member means to regain those feelings.
Insecure Love Interest: Kyoko does start to love again when she falls for Ren, but she is afraid of being hurt again after her first love abused her feelings. She also Cannot Spit It Out, because she is afraid his treatment of her is just him being nice to everyone and she isn't anything special, which is not helped by Ren having his own issues, which prevent him from confessing, and Kyoko's superficial knowledge of Ren's beloved.
Intergenerational Friendship: With Maria, initially based on a shared love for voodoo dolls.
Laughing Mad: Her initial reaction when learning that she was being exploited by Sho.
Large Ham: Turns everything into an extravagant affair.
Like an Old Married Couple: People get this impression when she and Sho fight. They vehemently deny it.
Lovable Alpha Bitch: Despite being a lovable heroine, she's also very bitter from the humiliation she has endured. Her mean streaks are many, and she is terrifying when angry.
Love Epiphany: Falls in love with Ren after the Katsuki rehearsal in Dark Moon. She initially denies the feelings because of her bad experiences, and only admits to them much, much later. Accepting them takes even longer.
Love Hurts: Her experience with Sho convinced Kyoko that love only invites emotional pain.
Love Is a Weakness: Believes this to be the case, as she recalls how foolish she previously was.
Love Martyr: Sacrificed everything for Sho and got nothing in return.
Magnetic Hero: Has a habit of turning her female rivals into good friends.
Man of a Thousand Faces: Nobody recognizes Kyoko when she steps into her roles, as they tend to make her look vastly different from her usual self. This mostly has to do with Kyoko's usual personality and appearance being the opposite of her roles, and she tends to stay in-character while being in costume.
Mean Character, Nice Actor: In-universe example. As long as it doesn't involve Sho or Reino or you try to screw with her, she's the nicest person around and extremely polite.
Mood-Swinger: Kyoko has the tendency to swing back and forth between pure happiness and depression.
Morality Pet: For Ren. She alone can snap him out of his catatonic state. This is also the reason for the creation of Setsuka Heel, for her to serve as one to Ren's personality as Cain Heel.
Mundane Made Awesome: Peeling radishes or tossing a packet of salt — the more mundane, the more awesome!
Naïve Everygirl: Was one in the beginning, though she remains painfully naive about other things.
Oblivious to Love:
- Played straight, as Kyoko is unable to notice romantic love and frequently misinterprets the intentions of her male suitors. She doesn't realize that Reino is actually attracted to her, and merely thinks he enjoys torturing her because he's a sadist, and misunderstood Kijima's intentions when he got her dressed up.
- Subverted, as she does seem to realize that Ren might be attracted to her. She tends to cut him off and change the subject in an attempt to prevent him from telling her that.
Ocular Gushers: Happens when her imagination runs wild.
Only One Name: The live-action drama didn't translate her last name.
Parental Abandonment: Kyoko's mother left her at Sho's parents when she was six, and Kyoko mentions that she doesn't have a father. Her father was a company spy who tricked her mother by getting close to her, then stealing vital evidence in an important case she was working on, and then disappeared into the night.
Plucky Girl: While she has her down moments, they never last for very long.
Poor Communication Kills: A lot of drama is caused because both Kyoko and Ren have secrets and aren't open about their feelings for the other person. Instead, both frequently see the other one in ambiguous situations and draw their own conclusions (like Ren thinking Kyoko still has feelings for Sho, and Ren being in love with Kimiko Morizumi).
Psychic Powers: Those grudge demons of hers are not metaphorical. She can even use them as projectiles.
Sacred First Kiss: She is left devastated when Sho steals her first kiss by force, when there was no love between them at all. Ren eventually snaps her out of it by claiming that first kisses are seldom very romantic (when in truth he was fuming). Kyoko later considers her real first kiss to be in Guam with Corn (Ren with his natural hair color), which she reminisces about in a far happier way.
Seiza Squirm: Averted. Kyoko is perfectly capable of sitting in seiza for hours, and never letting on how her feet have fallen asleep or that she's otherwise uncomfortable. She even sat in seiza as Ruriko's substitute, despite having a sprained ankle at the time.
She Cleans Up Nicely: Whenever she gets into costume for her roles or dresses up for occasions.
Sherlock Scan: Kyoko knows Ren's measurements, down to a skeletal level! This allows her to create realistic voodoo dolls of him, and was what allowed her to instantly recognize that Cain Heel was Ren Tsuruga. This is also how she notices that Corn's structure was identical to Ren's in Guam. Corn gave her a fairy magic excuse, which she all too happily believed.
Spell My Name With An S: Different romanizations have spelled her given name Kyouko, Kyoko and Kyōko.
Stage Name: Her stage name is Kyoko, but written differently. Her real name is written in katakana (キョーコ), while her stage name is written with in kanji (京子) with 'Kyo' from 'Kyoto' (京都市) and 'Ko' from 'Kodomo' (子供, child), which fits since she is actually from Kyoto.
Stalker without a Crush: At the beginning, Kyoko was stalking and terrorizing Sawara to get her into LME. He gives in, when he learns that an audition is held, and invites Kyoko to participate in it.
Stepford Smiler: Has been one since childhood. She made an effort to not cry in front of Sho, knowing that her crying made him upset and uncomfortable. And Sho's mother taught her to hide her true feelings when working in the inn, so as to not upset the guests. She still shows traits of this, and has varying degrees of success with it - Kanae can tell when Kyoko is hiding something because of her overtly-happy, mask-like face.
Stock Shoujo Bullying Tactics: Has experienced all of them because her classmates hated her for being close to Sho. Her shoes have been hidden, her desk and gym clothes have been thrown out, she has been ignored and called an 'annoying bug' flying around, and she's had the memorial flowers placed onto her desk. She found these so bad and cliché that she cannot even get herself to use them as reference for any bullying scenes in Box "R".
Strong Family Resemblance: Kanae says that Kyoko resembles her mother very much, who quickly denies this. She corrects herself and says that Kyoko-playing-Natsu is similar to her.
Supreme Chef: Kyoko is an amazing cook, and this is one of the reasons Sho asked her to come along to Tokyo. Lory officially hired her to cook authentic Kyoto cuisine for Kuu Hizuri.
Thinks Like a Romance Novel: Still believes in magic and fairies, and thought of Sho as her Prince Charming to whisk her away to a happy ending. She doesn't believe the latter anymore, though. When she meets Corn again, who is actually Ren with his natural hair and eye color, he keeps up the illusion of being a fairy, who is merely using Ren's physical form and voice to be in the human world.
Tsundere: Kyoko was an abrasive Tsun towards Ren, though this mostly stemmed from her fake hatred because he was Sho's rival. She tones this down over the course of the series.
Trauma Button: Bringing up her mother usually results in Kyoko's mood plummeting.
"Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: Craved her mother's approval and tried to earn it by getting perfect scores on tests. She later acted in similar ways to gain the approval of Sho's parents. Even to this day, despite how cruelly her mother treated her, and how she still views Kyoko, Kyoko wishes for her mother's love and respect.
Willing Channeler: Her control over her grudge demons seems to work this way.
Woman Scorned: Sho scorning her kicks off the plot.
Yamato Nadeshiko:
- Played for drama. Kyoko had the inner strength and will to put up with a very lonely life while supporting Sho without complaining, but chose to put her inner strength to a different use when he drops her.
- Kyoko still acts like a Yamato Nadeshiko in her daily actions. Having worked in an inn since she was a child, Kyoko's manners are so full of Japanese Politeness, that she is initially not able to play a modern high school bully.
- Kyoko's speech frequently features keigo. This also extends to when she speaks English, as Ren (as her "brother" Cain) points out that she speaks too formally in her role as Setsuka.
Yandere: Displays a minor version of this as Setsuka Heel, who isn't above shoving a woman to the ground because she got too close to her 'most important man', her older brother Cain.

Sho Fuwa

Shotaro "Sho" Fuwa

Voiced by: Nobutoshi Canna (Drama CD), Mamoru Miyano (Anime, Japanese), Grant George (Anime, English)
Played by: Lee Donghae◊ (live-action drama)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sho_fuwa_colored_manga.png

"Each day my fame is increasing. I'm going to become someone completely out of the reach of an ordinary, insignificant person like you... If you want your so-called "revenge," join the business."

Sho has dreamt of getting away from Kyoto and becoming a famous star for years. When he decided to head to Tokyo after middle school and try his luck in showbiz, he asked Kyoko to come along. He knew she'd come along and would be willing to run the household and do the cooking.

Sho throws his real feelings in Kyoko's face, claiming he never saw her as anyone to love, but simply as a maid to take care of him. With Kyoko swearing revenge on him, he tells her that she'd have to become more famous than him if she ever had a chance of getting close to him again.

Adaptation Dye-Job: His hair is blonde in the manga and anime, while the live-action drama went more for a golden-orange.
Adaptational Attractiveness: Sho was already very handsome, but Lee Donghae◊ in the live-action drama kicks it up a notch.
Attention Whore: Despite being annoyed by fangirls, he actually likes the attention he gets. Part of the reason he dislikes Ren Tsuruga is because Ren is more popular.

Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He appears cool and loving towards his fans, and Kyoko, but he's an egotistical, selfish, lazy and emotionally immature brat.
Buxom Beauty Standard: In his opinion, big breasts are much better.
Chick Magnet: Sho has always been popular with the girls, even dating back to kindergarten.
Childhood Friends: Sho and Kyoko grew up together and thus knew each other best. They know their favorite foods, preferences and interests, something that no other person can claim, not even Sho's parents. While Kyoko was madly in love with Sho, he didn't feel the same for her, but led her to believe he did.
Child Marriage Veto: He knew his parents wanted him to marry Kyoko and take over the inn, but he never wanted to do either, hence why he ran off to Tokyo.
Crazy Jealous Guy: Acts like this towards Kyoko, when he realizes that he does have some feelings for her, after all.
Dub Name Change: The live-action drama changed Japanese Fuwa Sho into its Taiwanese translation of Bu Po Shang. Shotaro was turned into Shang Jie Yong.
Embarrassing First Name: Despises his full name of Shotaro because he considers it old-fashioned and unsuitable for a pop-star career. Probably also influenced by the widespread awareness of the name's origin. ^*
Forceful Kiss: Smacks a good one on Kyoko in Chapter 145.
Going Commando: Discussed. His stripperiffic outfit during his debut concert was made of sheer fabric and became less transparent around the pelvic area, leading to a hot debate on if he was actually wearing anything underneath.
Green-Eyed Epiphany: Only after he sees Kyoko putting an effort in her appearance, and thus realizing how beautiful her adult self is, and getting the attention of other men, does he start to realize that he took her affection and understanding of him for granted and reacts in a very angry and jealous manner when he sees her around other men.
Has a Type: Sho prefers older women, since most younger ones act like crazy fangirls around him. He also has a liking for big breasts and slender legs. This is also implied to be the reason why Sho becomes attracted to Kyoko after she swears revenge on him. Before, Kyoko acted just like a squeeing, doting fangirl which bored him and made him take her affection for granted. However, after beginning to hate him, she talks to him with a confident, more authoritative and arrogant tone, and treats him like the brat he really is. In short, she acts like an adult woman, which attracts him to the core.
Hidden Depths: He can be very sensible and empathetic when he wants to be. Whenever Kyoko cried over her mother as a child, he felt sorry for her, but felt too awkward to do anything but watch, because unlike her mother, his parents didn't mistreat him.
If I Can't Have You…: He begins to bully and insult Kyoko, since he thinks that her hating him at least means she's too busy doing that than to date anyone.
I Love You Because I Can't Control You: Only becomes attracted to Kyoko once she swears to get revenge on him, changing her unconditional devotion to him into intense hatred. In fact, he hates Extreme Doormats and Fangirls, who have no personality and rely solely on him. What he apparently didn't see was that Kyoko was actually a Yamato Nadeshiko.
Interrupted Declaration of Love: Ren interrupts him, under the excuse that he and Kyoko are needed back on set.
Idol Singer: His chosen career path, with an overlap of Visual Kei.
It's All About Me: He's extremely self-centered. One reason he didn't want to take over his parents' inn is that the missus is the one that's more important in running it, which he wouldn't be okay with.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While he's usually being a jerk, his kindness shows more over time. Especially during the Dark Moon arc, he's keen to protect Kyoko, but because of the bitter history between them, he snaps back when she verbally attacks him.
Like an Old Married Couple: Constantly gets seen as this with Kyoko, which both vehemently deny.
Likes Older Women: Sho prefers older women, with the most prominent example being his manager Shoko.
Manchild: Sho really needs someone to take care of him, whether it's by choice or because he doesn't know it.
Mr. Fanservice: What fanservice isn't provided by Ren, Sho will step in for.
The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Inverted. Sho tells Kyoko that she is the only one allowed to defeat him.
Picky Eater: Contrary to his public image, he has a specific palate. For instance, he hates sweet tamagoyaki and almost would have thrown away the one he was given once if Kyoko hadn't passed the salt to him.
Pretty Freeloaders: Added nothing to the household funds while living with Kyoko, with her working two part-time jobs to keep them in the apartment, in which Sho barely spent any time because he kept staying at his manager's. When Shoko had enough, she made him get an apartment one floor below where she lives, but he still sleeps in her apartment and spends his time there.
Really Gets Around: It's implied that he had quite a share of girlfriends back in Kyoto.
The Runaway: He left Kyoto partially because he had no intention to inherit his family's inn.
She Is Not My Girlfriend: He reacts angrily, whenever someone brings up that he's dating Kyoko.
Shrinking Violet: Implied to have been one during his childhood. Despite several girls fawning over him, he only ever played with Kyoko and followed her around because she was the only one he knew on a personal level.
Spell My Name With An S: Viz romanizes his name as Sho, while fans leave it as Shou.
Spoiled Brat: He's the 'prince' of his parents' inn and has people take care of him since he was a child. First it was his parents, then it was Kyoko, and now it's Shoko.
Sweet Tooth: Absolutely loves pudding, which Kyoko says is one of the few things to make him feel better when agitated. Pretends to not care for it, though, as it wouldn't fit his 'cool image'. On the other hand, he doesn't like sweet omelettes at all. He's just a really Picky Eater.
Tsundere: Definitely the harsh variety. He butts heads with Kyoko whenever they’re in close proximity and always denies his feelings towards her. But he’ll get extremely jealous and protective whenever other men take interest in her.
Unknown Rival: Initially to Ren. He is jealous and angry that Ren is currently the most popular star in the show business. Ren doesn't really care about this, though. Sho becomes Ren's love rival, when both start to fall for Kyoko.
The Vamp: Sexy, villainous, and very good at manipulating women.
White Hair, Black Heart: His silver-haired appearance as the Demon in his PV. His regular personality already fits it.

Ren Tsuruga

Ren Tsuruga (real name: Kuon "Corn" Hizuri)

Voiced by: Ken Narita (Drama CD), Katsuyuki Konishi (Anime, Japanese - adult), Mutsumi Tamura (Japanese - child), Robbie Daymond (Anime, English - adult), Zach Aguilar (Anime, English - child)
Played by: Choi Siwon◊ in the live-action drama

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ren_tsuruga_in_manga_colored.png

Japan's #1 Leading Man, Ren Tsuruga

^{Click here to see his "true" appearance (Spoiler Warning)}

Ren Tsuruga is the most popular man in the show business, being an amazing actor and senior member of LME. He's friendly towards any person he meets, yet portrays annoyance with Kyoko's initial reason for wanting to join the company.

He does warm up to her slowly, though his words are considered unkind and almost harsh at first. There seems to be more to Ren than first meets the eye, though...

The Ace: Incredibly good-looking, an amazing actor, he speaks multiple languages, and he's on good terms with everyone. And only two of those landed him the spot of Japan's Top Leading Man.
Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Cain Heel loves to do this to his little sister, Setsuka, as a sign of affection or non-verbal compliment. Ren (as Corn) immediately pulls back his hand when he unconsciously tried to comfort Kyoko this way, because it would immediately give his identity away.
Almost Kiss: When having Kyoko over to help him improve his role as Katsuki, the events in his kitchen had him almost kiss Kyoko.
Berserk Button
- Don't hurt Kyoko. And especially don't flirt with her.
- Don't call him a cold-blooded murderer. It reminds him of Rick's girlfriend, who called him that and yelled at him that he should have died instead of Rick. Murasame learned a very painful lesson when he did.
- In his past, he hated being mocked and bullied over his mixed ancestry. He doesn't care about that anymore.
Beware the Nice Ones: Ren is overall a very nice guy, polite and friendly to anyone he meets, but push his buttons and he'll show a death glare. He was also incredibly violent as Kuon Hizuri. His past was so scary that Reino doesn't want to be near him.
The Big Damn Kiss: Gives one to Kyoko while in Guam.
Bishie Sparkle: Inverted, since his sparkling means that he's angry. The more he sparkles, the angrier he is. And it's always coupled with an equally-sparkling smile.
Broken Ace: Under his perfect persona, Ren Tsuruga is a psychological wreck.
But Not Too Foreign: He's one-quarter Japanese.
Chick Magnet: The number one man to have ladies fall at his feet, much to Sho's displeasure.
Childhood Friend Romance: Ren is Kyoko's childhood-friend Corn, who stayed in Japan for a short time. The romance aspect doesn't start until later, when Kyoko and Ren fall for each other. However, they are unaware of the other's feelings.
Cloudcuckoolander: Flashbacks to his youth before he became violent, show him to have been a bit of an airhead and weirdo at times. The traits are still there, but he's toned them down a lot.
Crazy Jealous Guy: His growing jealousy of Sho and the effects he has on Kyoko makes Ren do things that he ends up hating himself for doing. This includes kissing Kyoko's cheek, which already was a change from his original intent to kiss her on the lips. This gets worse during the run with Kyoko as the Heel siblings. His issues with 'Kuon' resurfacing, coupled with his jealousy when Sho calls Kyoko while on this job, had him behave in a way that looked like he was going to force himself on her. He is working on changing this.
Dark and Troubled Past: Sometime after meeting Kyoko and returning to America, Kuon became rebellious and violent. He started beating up anyone that mocked him and his mixed background, enjoying causing them pain. When his friend Rick wanted to stop him from running out of control, he was hit by a car and died.

Defrosting Ice King: Ren appears pretty aloof at first, but warms up to Kyoko over time. Once he realizes that she's his friend from childhood days, he becomes much more responsive to her.
Dogged Nice Guy: Towards Kyoko, who is too hurt from her experience with Sho to make things simpler.
Doting Parent: Both of his parents were so bad that he escaped from his home and birth-country, just to free himself from their excessive attention.
Dub Name Change: Japanese Tsuruga Ren was translated to the Taiwanese Dun He Lian.
Dye or Die: He dyed his naturally gold-blond hair black, not only to fit in better into Japanese society, but also to hide his mixed ancestry, and distinguish himself as far from 'Kuon' as possible.
Foreign Farewell: He gives Kyoko a kiss on the cheek, who proceeds to freak out about this and can't concentrate on her acting anymore. Ren calms her down by claiming that it's just a 'thank you' gesture he's picked up from dealing with foreign actors in the past, and to not worry about it.
Forgets to Eat: He has a terrible habit of eating very sparingly when he's busy with work, to the point that Yashiro and Kyoko have to force him to have dinner. After his bad nutritional habits caused him to get sick, he's become much better at eating regularly. Kyoko still demands to know his meals at times.
Forgotten Childhood Friend: Played with. He and Kyoko both remember, but Kyoko doesn't know that Ren is Corn. When she sees him with his natural hair and eye color, Kyoko does recognize Corn, but doesn't know that it's Ren.
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Only applies to when he was a young child.
Heroic BSoD: During filming for Dark Moon, Ren manages to avoid hitting a child that ran across the street on-set. Everyone remained uninjured, but the sound of screeching tires and screaming caused Ren to remember the car accident that killed Rick. All he does is sit in the car, not blinking and mentally present.
Insecure Love Interest: Ren doesn't believe he deserves to be loved, as his Dark and Troubled Past as Kuon is bloody and tragic. However, not telling Kyoko the truth about his feelings leads to misunderstandings that he doesn't see, because of his jealousy for Sho, because he is clueless about Kyoko's superficial knowledge regarding the person he loves (because he told her vaguely while she was disguised) and because he doesn't have the experience/empathy to see what is bothering her. In fact, up until Dark Moon, he was bad at playing romantic roles because while being a Chick Magnet, his relationships never lasted long since he never felt love for his partners.
Interrupted Declaration of Love
- Ren has tried to tell Kyoko about his feelings for her a few times, but generally ends up interrupted by someone else. Or by Kyoko, who has a vague idea what he was about to say.
- When he confesses as Corn to Kyoko, she brushes it off, stating that a romance between a human and a fairy is impossible.
Lady Killer In Love: Ren has had his share of girlfriends, but was always the one to get dumped because he didn't understand love. Now he's genuinely in love for the first time, with Kyoko.
Leg Focus: The length of his legs does not go uncommented.
Lethal Chef: He can't cook, which he must have inherited from his mother. When cooking omelet-rice, he massacres onions, and the dish ends up crunchy and blackened. And he says that it's one of his better attempts!
Like Father, Like Son: It doesn't look like it, but Ren does share some cooky traits with Kuu Hizuri.
Love Bubbles: His genuine smiles are accompanied by them.
Master of the Mixed Message: This inevitably leaves Kyoko confused, and under the impression that he despises her for a long time.
Memento MacGuffin: The watch he always wears on his right wrist. It's actually Rick's watch, stopped at the time the accident occurred, and serves as a 'shackle' to Ren, a constant reminder that his past as Kuon resulted in Rick's death.
Mr. Fanservice: Majority of the fanservice can be attributed to him. Aside from being an actor, he also models, and chapters can cut away from Kyoko's story to show Ren in the middle of posing.
Nice Guy: Contrary to Kyoko's initial assumption of him, Ren is not a jerk. He's friendly and polite to everyone he meets, though some of his words can come across as cruel sometimes. His friendly demeanor attracts a lot of women, although his previous girlfriends always realized that he treats everyone that way, never giving them any more attention than others.
Oblivious to Love: He doesn't even realize his own feelings for Kyoko, until he gets asked if there's a girl that he especially likes. Later on, he doesn't realize that Kyoko has also fallen for him.
Omniglot: Ren speaks Japanese, English and Russian.
Secret-Identity Identity: After years of acting a gentleman, it's hard to say how much of Ren's real personality as Kuon Hizuri remains, and how much is just a persona he created.
Shirtless Scene: Coupled with his status as the main-supply of fanservice. Several of his roles or modelling jobs involve him showing some of his chest.
Shower of Awkward: The first night he and Kyoko spent as the Heel siblings, Kyoko though that he had fallen asleep in the shower because he was taking so long, and ripped the shower curtain open.
Stage Name
- Ren Tsuruga is actually a stage name. His real name is Kuon Hizuri.
- When he decides to play the role of Black Jack for the movie Tragic Marker, he plays as a completely new 'actor' under the stage name of Cain Heel. And will be credited as Actor X, with plans to eventually reveal that Actor X/Cain Heel is Ren Tsuruga.
Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Granted, his black hair is dyed, but he otherwise fits the bill.
Technically a Smile: His 'Gentleman Smile' as Kyoko calls it, which generally appears in conjunction with his bishie sparkling. It's only there when he's angry or trying to hide something unpleasant, and can reduce Kyoko to ocular gushing.
What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: It's a major plot point in the Dark Moon arc for him, as it's the first time he has difficulty portraying a role because he doesn't understand the concept of love.
When He Smiles: His real smiles are beautiful to behold, to the point that Kyoko's demonic spirits perish to its exposure.

Supporting Characters

LME

Kanae Kotonami

Kanae "Mouko" Kotonami

Voiced by: Risa Hayamizu (Japanese), Erica Lindbeck (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kanae_in_manga_colored.png

Kanae Kotonami, Love-Me Section Member #2

Kanae was part of the audition alongside Kyoko and impressed the jury, including president Takarada, with her acting ability. She failed the second round and became the second Love Me member, much to her displeasure.

Kanae is an amazing actress, able to take on vastly different roles. She works on various productions and preferring to act like she isn't a member of the Love Me section.

Affectionate Nickname: 'Mouko'-san from Kyoko, which she made up by Kanae's sound of annoyance and the Ko syllable that is often used for female names.
Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Kanae tries her hardest to project the image of a classy and professional actress, but loses her cool when she thinks people are looking down on her. And whenever Kyoko's around.
Best Friend: She is Kyoko's first female and best friend, who understands her very well. Due to Kanae's Friendless Background, she is likely feeling the same for Kyoko.
Birds of a Feather: She shares a lot of aspects and issues with Kyoko actually, which is one of the reasons she grows fond of Kyoko.

Defrosting Ice Queen: She starts out as a loner and shuns Kyoko for her motives of wanting to become a star, and her attempts at friendship. She eventually warms up when she realizes that Kyoko is sincere about wanting to be friends.
Determinator: It didn't matter how often she was sabotaged by Erika Koenji, she never gave up her dream to become an actress.
Fire-Forged Friends: Their audition for the Curara commercial as Love Me members got Kanae and Kyoko much closer.
Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Kanae's the sole responsible member of her family.
Friendless Background: One of her similarities with Kyoko.
Hero of Another Story: She's a talented actress and frequently has roles in various productions, though she only appears when her story intersects with Kyoko's.
Massive Numbered Siblings: Everyone living in the Kotonami home.
- The Kotonami parents
- Eldest Kotonami daughter (24) and her 3 children
- Eldest Kotonami son (22), his wife, and their 2 children
- Second-Eldest Kotonami son (19), his wife, and their baby
- Kanae (16), though she rarely visits
- And 7 younger brothers and sisters
Parental Neglect: Her parents are on frequent honeymoons and trips.
Promotion to Parent: Her de-facto role in the Kotonami household. With her parents being rarely around, and her older siblings being foolish and being rather hands-off parents with their own children, Kanae has to take care of a lot of things. It doesn't help that she's the only one responsible with money, and she's stuck paying the bills for the entire family.
The Rival: The first one for Kyoko, though they become friends. She's also Erika Koenji's rival.
Secret-Keeper: She is one of the few people who know Kyoko's real relationship and full story behind her grudge with Sho Fuwa. Kyoko also lets her in on how badly she was treated by her mother.
Sparkling Stream of Tears: Her ability to cry on-command was one of her selling points as an actress.
Technician vs. Performer: Underscored in the first audition round, where Kanae did something the judges were expecting with great precision, while Kyoko did something unique.
Tsundere: Her behavior towards Kyoko can come across like this. At times, she feels superior for being Kyoko's 'first' friend and even giving Ren a smug look.
Verbal Tic: 'Mou', which she makes when annoyed or complaining, hence her nickname.

Chiori Amamiya

Chiori Amamiya, Love-Me Section Member #3

Chiori Amamiya is an actress of the Soft Hat agency. She's introduced as playing the role of Yumika in Box "R", a member of Natsu's bully clique. Chiori was reluctant to really act out Yumika because of her own dark past, but 'Natsu' pushed her to incorporate her past into her acting.

While she isn't part of LME itself, her agency and LME made a deal to have her join the Love Me section, so Chiori could work on regaining her love for acting.

Beneath the Mask: She's friendly, but uses her 'toxic notebook' to write down her real feelings about people.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Chiori starts out as one, appearing as polite and patient with her co-stars and manager, but writes her honest, dark feelings of disgust and hatred into her notebook. Meeting Kyoko, and seeing that she was able to strip the image of 'the girl that played Mio' much more easily than Chiori did with her own stigma, caused some of her poisonous feelings leaking out. She pushes Kyoko down stairs, which leads to only minor injuries. But this gives Kyoko something as blackmail to force Chiori out of her shell.
Former Child Star: She was an actress in her childhood. Failing to get rid of the stigma as 'the girl who played Akari', she chose to change her name to start anew.
Girlish Pigtails: As Yumika. The director always intended Yumika to be the 'cute' type of girl in the group, and eventually suggests putting her hair into a loose one-sided ponytail, but Chiori refused because her scar would be visible. They compromised on giving Yumika to small pigtails.
Hard Work Hardly Works: Feels bitter towards Kyoko's fast rising in show business, whereas Chiori has been an actress for 4 years—15 years, counting her time as a child actress—and feels that her efforts have barely paid off.
I Am Not Spock: In-Universe. As a child actress, her first big role was that of a little miss badass called Akari in The Scarlet Dice, but Chiori acted the role so well that she ended up being only known as 'the girl that played Akari'. The only jobs she got after The Scarlet Dice was for roles that were similarly dark as Akari, and she chose to restart her career as an actress under the name of Chiori Amamiya, just to escape the role.
Little Miss Badass: Her first big role as a child actress was her playing one called Akari.
The Resenter: Resents Kyoko for her quick success in showbiz and getting rid of her 'Mio' stigma, despite Chiori having failed to do the same thing herself and having to restart her career under a different name. Her resentment causes her to push Kyoko down a flight of stairs.
Scars Are Forever: She's self-conscious about hers. While working on the set for The Scarlet Dice, an on-stage fire got out of control and some burning debris fell on the back of Chiori's neck. She pushed through the injury to finish the scene, but she was left with a burn scar.
Stepford Smiler: Acts friendly, upbeat and even cute around most people, but is filled with loathing on the inside. Part of the reason she joins the Love Me section is to mellow out.
Took a Level in Kindness: Joining the Love Me Section shows her as already mellowing out a little bit, being much friendlier towards Kyoko and even striking up a friendship with her. She even admits that her entries into her toxic notebook have relaxed.

Lory Takarada

Voiced by: Kouji Ishii (Japanese), Richard Epcar (English)

Lory is the president and director of LME, the agency that Kyoko joins. He's well-known for being more than just eccentric and he loves to plan things big, avoiding no costs or extravagance in making things special.

Lory created the Love Me Section after encountering Kyoko, thinking that perhaps he could work on 'fixing' her skewed view on love. He considers love to be incredibly important, especially when it comes to working in the entertainment business.

Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Lory may be a very eccentric, rich idiot to those that don't know him well, but LME is the most successful talent agency there is, and why he's so well-respected by anyone that knows him beyond his initial image. He's also incredibly good at reading people, knowing exactly what the strength and weakness of his various talents — which is the main reason for creating the Love Me Section — and can read people well, in general. Just one look at Ren's expression towards Kyoko made him realize that Ren was in love.
Cloudcuckoolander: Boy, is this guy a doozy! There's a reason most people call him eccentric, with his penchant for dressing up in extravagant costumes every other day, appropriate props included, playing and cuddling with a pet snake called Nanako-chan.
Establishing Character Moment: Lory is introduced by twirling onto stage in a mariachi costume, with a very embarrassed-looking employee stating his name. Yes, this guy is the Big Man of LME and a total weirdo.
Large Ham: Lory does things big, and he really means big!
- As shown with his introduction, a group of carnival dancers burst into the room with amazing hip-swinging moves, loud music and they form an alley for Lory to come twirling down in his mariachi costume, throwing his sombrero off and stating his name.
- At the filming of Dark Moon, he pops up with an entire masquerade ball in tow, and sailing down the street on a parade float shaped like a pirate ship◊.
- During the Heel Siblings phase, he's taken a liking to Ancient Egypt and dresses up like a pharaoh, complete with appropriately-dressed lackeys. And putting himself into a hollow Amon statue, so he can attend the Dark Moon celebratory party without stealing the spotlight.
Impractically Fancy Outfit: His costumes are very extravagant and big. Sawara has asked him to please not come into the producer offices with them on because they always knock over a lot of stuff.
Love Freak: Love is all that matters!
The Matchmaker: Lory loves playing matchmaker! One of the reasons he assigned Kyoko as 'Setsuka Heel' to Ren's working as 'Cain Heel' was to get the two of them together, and begin working on 'rehabilitating' Kyoko when it comes to being around men in a non-working environment.
Parents as People: When it comes to getting Maria to realize that her father really doesn't despise her for 'causing' her mother's death, Lory is just out of his element. He doesn't know how to get her to believe him, to the point that he turns to Kyoko to help him.
Serious Business: Lory takes Otome Games very seriously. When he gets interrupted during a choice, he ends the conversation early by stating that he's dealing with a matter of 'life and death' at the moment.
Shipper on Deck: Despite his Love Freak nature, he makes a point of defying this trope actually, citing that he prefers to stay hands-off on who someone falls in-love with. He feels that a relationship is less interesting to watch develop if he actively tries to enforce that relationship.
Silver Fox: While he's likely in his late 40s, maybe even in the 50s, and has a granddaughter, he's still quite pleasant to look at. And he can still hold a candle to younger men in terms of having a good body to show off.
Spell My Name With An S: Lory or Rory. According to Nakamura, he's named after the Lory bird and LME stands for Lory's Majestic Entertainment.
Uncle Pennybags: Lory is a bag of fun, though his fun can be a bit too much for some people. During the Christmas arc, he also served as a not-so-anonymous sponsor for the party Kyoko and Maria wanted to create.
Unlimited Wardrobe: Every day is some costume day for him.

Maria Takarada

Voiced by: Hiromi Konno (Japanese), Mela Lee (English)

Maria is Lory's granddaughter and the apple of his eye. She's a smart little girl, and having grown up in the world of show business gives her a keen eye for talent. But her sweet appearance belies a troubled past. That past causes her to act out when LME talents are set to practice "The Angel's Words," as the conflict of the play (a little girl whose family is struggling with the mother's death) hits too close to home for Maria. It's under these circumstances that Maria meets Kyoko for the first time, eventually seeing the older girl as a sister-figure when Kyoko helps her work through a great deal of emotional trauma.

Maria and Kyoko go on to spend time together as friends, bonding over their passion for the supernatural (voodoo paraphernalia is a favored topic for the two). Maria also has a crush on Ren Tsuruga.

Broken Bird: Despite being a child, she has quite some issues.
Clingy Jealous Girl: Prepare to endure her wrath if you want to get near Ren!
Creepy Child: Played for Laughs. Maria discusses voodoo with Kyoko, and she's mentioned to have a large collection of candles, incense, and dolls to curse people with. And she's a huge fan of gothic/horror aesthetics.
The Cutie: When she isn't creeping people out with her strange, ride-able, mechanical spiders or talking about voodoo, she's just downright sweet to the bone.
Dark and Troubled Past: Maria's parents always worked overseas and she was left with her grandfather in Japan. While she tried to accept and live with her parents barely being around, she asked her mother to come to Japan and be there for her 5th birthday. The plane her mother was on ended up crashing, killing her, leaving Maria without a mother and a butt-load of guilt. Also, a very strained relationship with her father.
Disappeared Dad: He's working overseas and rarely ever comes to Japan.
Early-Bird Cameo: She's first seen as the child popping up before the auditions Kanae and Kyoko take to join LME. Maria becomes more important several volumes later.
Intergenerational Friendship: With Kyoko, bonding over mutual occult interest.
Lonely Rich Kid: She doesn't seem to have any friends her age. She does attend school, but most of her free time is spent hanging out with her grandfather or Kyoko.
Missing Mom: Her mother died in a plane crash... on her 5th birthday.
My Greatest Failure: She considers her selfish want of spending her birthday with her parents, that resulted in her mother's death, to be the worst thing she has done. This is also why she's so reluctant to invite her father to the party she and Kyoko are throwing, afraid that 'being selfish' would cause something to happen again.
Oneesama: Considers Kyoko as hers.
Parents as People: Her relationship with her father is strained. He spent her earlier years working overseas, and acted rather hurtful towards her when his wife died because he was too busy dealing with his own grief. While he's trying to keep in contact with his daughter, he's awkward around her because neither of them knows the other so well. Once Maria realizes through Kyoko's help that her father does love her, the two of them are working on improving things.
Precocious Crush: She has a huge crush on Ren, even dreaming of marrying him when she's older.
Raised by Grandparents: Left with her grandfather when her parents went to work overseas.
Significant Birth Date: December 24th, which also turned into her mother's death-date.
Wise Beyond Her Years: Maria is still very much a child and struggles with problems natural for a girl her age, but having grown up in the adult world of showbusiness, she's able to read the mood and understands more complex matters quickly.

Yukihito Yashiro

Voiced by: Masahito Kawanago (Japanese), Vic Mignogna (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yashiro.jpg

Yashiro is Ren's manager and one of the people closest to him, having been assigned his manager upon Ren heading to Japan to become an actor. Though even Yashiro doesn't know everything about Ren's past.

He takes a liking to Kyoko, to the point that he acts as her manager during Ren's absence during The Lotus in the Mire auditions. He actually hopes that Ren and Kyoko get together, even taking to teasing Ren about her a lot.

Beware the Nice Ones: Yashiro isn't above threatening Ren, when he feels that Ren is withholding something big from him. He takes Ren's cellphone hostage, threatening and holding it in his bare hand.
Big Brother Mentor: Often gives Ren advice or jokes with him, as the two are close. And Ren is quite open to him. Yashiro also begins to mentor Kyoko a little bit, giving her advice about things.
Conspicuous Gloves: Whenever he talks on his cellphone or accepting a call, he always slips on a latex glove. Justified, as he would otherwise break the cellphone.
Deadpan Snarker: Displays this trait around Ren a lot.
Hidden Depths: His ringtone sounds like fairies dancing.
Keet: Yashiro gets hyperactive and loud when in his fangirl mode.
Last-Name Basis: Generally referred to as Yashiro-san.
Nice Guy: He's a pleasant person overall and friendly to his charges, although he does have a bad side one doesn't want to get on.
Shipper on Deck: Ships Ren and Kyoko very enthusiastically. He regularly keeps tabs on Kyoko's schedule to arrange for Ren to meet her, and acts as her manager during Ren's absence.
Shirtless Scene: Played for laughs. Yashiro rushes out of the shower in nothing but a towel to answer his cellphone... and breaks the cellphone because he forgot to put his glove on.
Walking Techbane: If he holds a cellphone in his bare hand for more than ten seconds, it will break. He has used this to his advantage as a threat towards Ren, and has accidentally caused cellphone breakages when rushed.

Other

Takenori Sawara

Voiced by: Kenji Hamada (Japanese), Keith Silverstein (English)

He's a part of LME. and was "tormented" by Kyoko into getting her into an audition. He's actually very supportive, despite Kyoko's penchant for tripping her own idol career up.

Jelly Woods

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/skip_beat_154_8.jpg

"They call me the 'witch' of the makeup world. So, true to my name, I'll change your life in five minutes."

A beautician and hairdresser in Lory's employ. In the world of cosmetics she is known as "The Witch" for her incredible power to transform the image of anyone who sits in her chair. Skilled at makeup, costuming, hair care, and wig maintenance. She even has a "portable" makeup and costuming studio in her van. She is the one responsible for transforming Ren Tsuruga into Cain Heel for his role in Tragic Marker, and for transforming Kyoko in Setsuka Heel.

Only close friends are allowed to call her by her real name, "Ten". Jelly Woods is her business name. She is aware that Ren is not a native Japanese, but she doesn't seem to know that he is the son of Hizuri Kuu.

Affectionate Nick Name: Kyoko calls her "Muse." Jelly would prefer that Kyoko call her something a little more restrained, but she's flattered nonetheless.
Do Not Call Me "Paul": She doesn't like it when Ren calls her "Miss Woods."
In Series Nick Name: She is called "The Witch" in the cosmetics world.
Older Than She Looks: She is in her thirties yet she looks like a teenager.
Self-Proclaimed Love Interest: She says that Lory is her boyfriend, and calls him "darling." He doesn't deny it but he hasn't confirmed it either.

Dark Moon

Hiroaki Ogata/Date

Voiced by: Yoshinori Fujita (Japanese), Chris Patton (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ogata_0.jpg

Ogata is the director for Dark Moon, a remake of the Tsukigomori drama that aired 20 years ago. When he saw Kyoko in the PV of Sho Fuwa's video in her angel role, he decided that she would be perfect for the role of Mio.

He turns out to be the son of Hirotaka Date, the man who directed Tsukigomori, and decided to shed the Date family name to distinguish himself. His reason for remaking the drama that was seen as his father's most well-known masterpieces was to prove that he was not only different, but also better than his father.

Always Someone Better: His father was the better one, mostly because he was the one that did things 'first'. And since Ogata was very similar to his father, his having the similar ideas or views ended up making his works seem inferior.
Armor-Piercing Question: During an interview about Dark Moon, one reporter asked if it was true that he was the son of Tsukigomori's director. It triggered him into a catatonic state, before fainting.
Character Development: The beginning of Dark Moon's production has him appear as very meek and timid, still too worried to take bold steps and fail at surpassing his father. When he sees Kyoko's version of Mio, the impact it has on him is so strong that he immediately steps things up, becomes determined to have Dark Moon succeed as a more-viewed drama than Tsukigomori was, and has his creativity and confidence awaken.
Dude Looks Like a Lady: Kyoko initially mistook him for a woman, partly because of his appearance and partly because of his very soft voice. Compared to most other men in the series, Ogata is also drawn with eyes that tend to appear on female faces.
Generation Xerox: He's somewhat disturbed about their similarities.
I respected my father, and always thought I wanted to become like him, so I was happy in the beginning, but... "Your likes are the same"... "Your hobbies are the same"... "Your artistic style are the same"... When it seemed like I was always being told that I was imitating my father, I became disturbed.
I Am Not My Father: He intentionally changed his last name from Date into Ogata, so the association with his father would stop. He also chose to remake Tsukigomori to prove that he could do something better than his father.
Nice Guy: He's a sweet guy, albeit a little meek and timid.
Ocular Gushers: His crying in the manga isn't too bad, but the anime increased this, to the point of having created two raging seas of tears.
Platonic Life-Partners: Refers to Haruki as his best friend.
Prone to Tears: He is prone to panicking over minor things and gets very emotional about things, but he does work on improving this aspect of his.
Shed the Family Name: Used his family name Date on his other projects, but changed it to Ogata before starting work on Dark Moon to distance himself from his father's legacy. Though their relation is a well-known secret.
Sparkling Stream of Tears: His tears during his speech for the finale of Dark Moon depicted them as crystals coming from his eyes.
Strong Family Resemblance: He gets regularly mistaken for his father, Hirotaka Date. Not just in terms of appearance, but even his voice has become similar to his. He isn't happy about this.
Trauma Button: Bringing up his relation to his father or that he cannot surpass him. When Iizuka snaps the latter at him for not being forceful about Kyoko changing Mio's haircut, Ogata slumps to the ground and falls into a catatonic state. Ren manages to snap him out of it.
Turn Out Like His Father: Ogata is desperately trying to find an identity that isn't a shallow clone of his father.

Other

Hiroko Iizuka

Voiced by: Mari Yokoo (Japanese), Erin Fitzgerald (English)

Twenty years ago, Hiroko played the role of 'Mio' in Tsukigomori. She returned in Dark Moon to play the mother of Mio and Misao. She was very harsh on Kyoko, believing that she couldn't possibly do justice to the role of Mio. Once Kyoko displayed her own version of Mio, Hiroko conceded that hers improved on the original.

Abusive Parents: She plays an emotionally neglectful mother to Mio in Dark Moon, while favoring her older daughter, Misao.
Hiding Behind Your Bangs: Her hairstyle as Mio had her cover majority of the scarred part of her face. Hiroko admits that this kept her from acting out the full, negative force that Mio had.
Star-Making Role: In-Universe. She became famous for playing Mio in Tsukigomori and has it listed at the very top of her acting roles, to the point that she says that 'Mio' is practically her second name.

Itsumi Momose

Voiced by: Hitomi Nabatame

Itsumi is a popular, young actress and was cast to play the heroine 'Mizuki' in Dark Moon. She acted out an important scene with Ren when he was portraying his version of Katsuki that he had created. While the two act opposing roles, she becomes friends with Kyoko.

All Love Is Unrequited: It's implied that she might have developed feelings for Ren during the major scene she and 'Katsuki' played, proving again that Ren is a 'co-star killer'.
Cool Big Sis: She acts this way towards Kyoko after befriending her.
Mistaken for Romance: Played with. Two co-actresses are annoyed at Kyoko's closeness with Ren, despite Itsumi being his fiancée in Dark Moon. Itsumi calmly tells them that their relationship in the series does not mean they would, or have to, end up romantically interested in each other.
Nice Girl: Once she actually speaks in her appearances, she proves to be absolutely sweet, and proves to care much for her friend.
The Speechless: Played with. Itsumi can speak, it's just that her first few appearances had her speech bubbles be nothing but '...' or reactionary things.
The Rival: Considers Ren to be one when it comes to acting.
Worthy Opponent
- Considers Kyoko to be one, to the surprise of some. Despite Kyoko being an amateur actor, Itsumi says her creation of Mio and acting is very professional. Her Mio is so convincing that it allows Itsumi to act out a better Mizuki.
- Sees Ren as one, especially after the Katsuki scene. She was frustrated to see how he made her act, and act in a way that she wouldn't have been able to achieve on her own. It motivates her to improve her acting even more.

Others

Shoko Aki

Voiced by: Natsuki Rio (Japanese), Karen Strassman (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shouko.png

Shoko is Sho's manager. He spent majority of his time living in her apartment, despite still sharing one with Kyoko. Once Sho dumped her, he began to fully live with Shoko. She did force him to finally get his own apartment, one floor below hers. Not that this has stopped him from staying at her place a lot.

Beleaguered Assistant: Shoko's not only his manager, but she's also taken over the role of Sho's caretaker from Kyoko, with the addition of having to put up with his constant flirting. She's responsible for keeping him in line and make sure his public image is protected.
Buxom Beauty Standard: A big part of why Sho's attracted to her is due to her big breasts.
Cool Big Sis: Acts as one to Sho and Kyoko.
Hidden Depths: She actually wanted to be an actress herself in college. Once she realized that she didn't have the talent to get far, she gave up on that dream and chose to produce people that do have the talent.
Nice Girl: Contrary to Sho, Shoko is usually polite and professional to everyone they work with. And despite seeing Kyoko's demonic outburst when Sho dropped her, she is always kind and courteous towards Kyoko.
Only Sane Employee: She often tries to keep Sho and Kyoko from meeting, or him from seeing anything about her on TV. She's rarely successful.
Shipper on Deck: She actually ships Sho and Kyoko.

Darumaya Taisho & Okami-san

An old married pair who own a small traditional Japanese restaurant, where Kyoko was working at part-time. After Kyoko was kicked out of her home that she shared with Sho, they allowed her to live in their apartment.

Everyone Calls Them Barkeep: Taisho and Okami-san is what customers call the proprietor and proprietress of a Japanese restaurant respectively. Even Kyoko has saved their titles as their names in her contact list.
Disappointed in You: Kyoko's Yamato Nadeshiko attitude earned her Taisho's respect, but he is visibly disappointed when Kyoko decides to dye her hair and audition to work as a celebrity, though he gradually mellows out again when he learns that Kyoko is taking it seriously.
Papa Wolf: Taisho seems to be very protective of Kyoko, which is why he tests the men who visit her.
Parental Substitute: After Sho's parents, they are the second pair that treat Kyoko like their own daughter.
Secret Test of Character: Taisho invites people who visit Kyoko to a meal, to see how they act and learn what kind of men they are (which is why he instantly took a liking to Kyoko, because she appreciated his food). Ironically, Sho, who visibly enjoys his meal, is viewed favorably by Taisho, while Ren, who barely eats and is keeping up appearances, is met with disdain.
The Stoic: Taisho is a man of few words. He usually lets his actions speak, but when he does say something, it's usually very important.
Supreme Chef: The food served at the Darumaya must be exceptionally good, as Sho loves it (and he's a very picky eater).

Erika Koenji

Erika is a childhood classmate of Kanae. During elementary and middle school, she's made it her mission to keep Kanae from acting any important roles in school productions and was successful. Except for one time when a popularity vote resulted in Kanae being chosen for the lead instead.

She initially appears as one of the candidates auditioning for the Culala drink commercial, ready to use her family's name to easily gain the upper hand. Erika considers herself to be Kanae's rival. She appears again for the The Lotus in the Mire arc, having been the original choice for Momiji. However, she got into an accident and they had to hold re-auditions.

Big Damn Heroes: When Kyoko is about to be thrown off a third-story balcony by Kimiko and her manager, Erika and her bodyguards have already stationed a camera crew all around, filming her attempt. Erika stops Kimiko from pulling it through, saving Kyoko, and humiliating Kimiko with the incriminating footage.
Break the Haughty: Erika was pushed into traffic by an infuriated Kimiko Morizumi, and was dragged along by a car for a while. She awoke quickly from a resulting coma, and her physical injuries aren't too bad, either. However, she's badly traumatized and cannot walk.
Foil: To Kimiko Morizumi. Both are spoiled, rich young women that have had a very easy life, and have relied on family connections or money to gain themselves roles and fame. They also went so far to try to injure their fellow competitors to win a role. Difference is that Erika received a verbal smackdown from Kanae and chose to stop relying on others and managing to achieve things on her own.
Friendly Rivalry: After losing to Kyoko and Kanae, she stopped trying to get in Kanae's way and tried her earnest to win by becoming a better actress. She views both Love Me members as Worthy Opponents and actually cares about them a lot.
Girlish Pigtails: Wears them in her initial appearance, fitting with her spoiled, bratty attitude.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Kanae gave her one, demanding to know if Erika ever once bothered to gain a role in anything without the usage of her family name, her father's money and influence, or by throwing a tantrum. Erika took those words to heart and chose to prove to Kanae that she can gain roles based on her acting skills alone.
Rich Bitch: Throws her father's money and name around when she doesn't get what she wants, and expect everyone to follow her orders when she gives them.
Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: If money doesn't sway the staff, she drops the name of the Koenji Group. Lately, though, she has avoided doing this, and even auditioned under a different family name.
Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: Her main strategy when gaining roles in showbiz. She uses her father's money to bribe directors or other producing staff to giving her a role, citing that it would be a great opportunity for getting an easy sponsor.
Seriously Scruffy: Her hair is disheveled when she appears again. It's shorter and wavier, showing her with a dark expression, clearly still too busy festering about her hatred for Kimiko's underhanded tactic.
Spoiled Brat: Erika is used to getting what she wants, and if she doesn't get it easily, she gets it by throwing money or her father's name around. She was willing to injury Kanae to force her to lose the spot in the commercial. This trait of hers has lessened.
Tsundere: She would rather die than admit that she cares about Kyoko and Kanae, and is impressed by their acting. Kyoko can still see that Erika's actions say more than her words. Erika needed compromising footage to stop Kimiko Morizumi for good, but could have just let her throw Kyoko over the balcony to get even better fool-proof footage. She intentionally showed camera flashes to make Kimiko aware she was being filmed, which made her hesitate, which bought time until Yashiro could save Kyoko.

The Jewel Squad

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jewel_squad.png

Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald, respectively.

Three bodyguards and butlers to Erika, who follow her around everywhere. They worship the ground she walks on and often go along with her plans.

Call-Back: When they first encounter Kyoko, the three of them react horrified at her simple appearance that lacks makeup, is wearing clothes that have clearly been worn before, and uses the same type of handbag every day. They redo this charade when they see Kyoko again during Erika's reappearance. Done on purpose by them, as Erika heading over to Kyoko was the first time she showed any sign of life again after the accident.
Expressive Hair: Sapphire's long ponytail does react to his emotions, like turning into a lightning-shape when shocked.
Hidden Depths: After Erika gets into an accident, they show that they actually do care for her, showing concern when she isn't reacting to things and trying to help her in their own, slightly weird way.
In-Series Nickname: They are referred to as the Jewel Squad.
My Greatest Failure: They consider Erika getting into an accident, and them not being around to keep her safe because she's been insisting on keeping her status as a Koenji a secret, forbidding them from following her to auditions, to be their worst undoing.
Rock Theme Naming: They are nicknamed after the jeweled earring they wear, being Emerald, Sapphire and Ruby. Erika wants to add Ren Tsuruga to her squad and give him Diamond, her favorite gemstone, but Maria had something to say about that.
Wholesome Crossdresser: Ruby has a special ability in speaking in falsetto, and has dressed up as Erika.

Haruki Asami

Voiced by: Ayumi Tsunematsu (Japanese), Kate Higgins (credited as Kate Davis) (English)

Haruki is Sho's producer at Akatoki Agency (Queen Records). She gives Kyoko a role in one of Sho's P Vs. She is good friends with Hiroaki Ogata.

Affectionate Nickname: Sho calls her "Miruki"/Milky, most likely he got the nickname mixing "Mi" from Asami and the "Ruki" from Haruki.
Buxom Beauty Standard: Kyoko knows that Sho's taste in women leans towards those with "mature" figures, and she's not surprised when she sees him flirting with Haruki (a woman whom Kyoko describes as "oozing pheromones").
Gender-Blender Name: Haruki is considered a masculine name.
Platonic Life-Partners: With Ogata. When Ogata has a breakdown after a promotional event for Dark Moon draws attention to his connection with his father, Haruki shows up to the hospital to make sure he's okay and thanks Kyoko for staying by his side.

Mimori Nanokura

Voiced by Youko Honda (Japanese), Christine Marie Cabanos (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mimori_0.png

Mimori is a young actress and model that goes to the same high school as Kyoko. She's part of Akatoki Agency, the same one as Sho, and has a huge crush on him. As such, she is delighted when she gets cast as the angel that falls in love with the demon in his Prisoner PV.

Affectionate Nickname: Sho calls her Pochiri, mixing Pochi — a common name for dogs — and the last syllable of her name. Though he calls her that because she comes when he calls and does his bidding, which reminds him of a very eager-to-please dog than anything born out of affection.
Buxom Beauty Standard: Sho does like her large breast size, which Nakamura mentioned in a side-note to be in the E-Cup range.
Clingy Jealous Girl: Towards Sho. She's absolutely jealous of his relationship with Kyoko and resents their closeness.
Death Glare: Gives a really nasty one to Kyoko, when she returns to school after having been absent for a long time because of various work projects.
Fanservice Model: Her main occupation is being a Gravure Idol, despite being in the same year as Kyoko, making her 16 or 17 years old.
Hidden Buxom: The clothes she wore initially did a really good job at making her breasts look much smaller than they are. When she dons her angel costume, the full range of her bosom is shown, much to Sho's delight.
Hime Cut: Bluntly cut bangs, with the rest being long and straight.
One Sided Rivalry: Mimori sees Kyoko as her romantic rival, being convinced that she took the role in the Prisoner PV to get close to Sho, although Kyoko tells her that was never her idea. She gets worse when it turns out that Kyoko and Sho are childhood friends, and she refuses to work with Kyoko on the PV, despite Kyoko making it abundantly clear that she and Sho have no romantic feelings for each other.
Third-Person Person: Mimori refers to herself as Mimori, part of her 'cute' image.
You Remind Me of X: Mimori cooking for Sho and craving his attention reminds Kyoko of how she acted around him, when she still loved him. Kyoko never tells Mimori this, but does reprimand Sho for not treating Mimori better than he had her.

Kimiko Morizumi

Kimiko Morizumi is an actress. She's introduced as being one of the candidates auditioning for Momiji in Lotus in the Mire, though her original goal was to act as Chidori. Her previous role was in Purple Down II, where she worked alongside Ren Tsuruga, and it's rumored that there was a romantic backstory between them.

Kimiko has several relatives working in the entertainment industry, and will gladly use those connections to easily obtain roles. Learning that she did have to go through auditions and try to work for a role in Lotus in the Mire annoyed her a lot. She lost to Erika Koenji and out of spite and jealousy injured Erika in a way that the production was forced to run another audition, at which Kyoko would participate.

Always Second Best: She never is quite good enough to win the roles she wants. After not being viable for the Chidori role, she auditions for Momiji, which she loses to Erika Koenji. After a second audition had to happen, she again loses to Kyoko. Both times, she was the runner-up.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She'll act like a sweet and friendly girl towards her superiors, but is quite nasty under her exterior. She's a spoiled brat and will snap at her relatives for not helping her gain roles more easily.

Consummate Liar: Anything she says is basically a lie or half-truth. There was no romance between her and Ren whatsoever, yet despite Kyoko experiencing first-hand that Kimiko is full of lies, she doesn't realize this, which leads to a number of misunderstandings between her and Ren.
Foil: To Erika Koenji. She's just as much of a spoiled brat like her, and both use their family's connections or money to gain roles and fame. However, Erika has learned to not rely on this anymore and works on obtaining roles through actual work and proving of her skills, while Kimiko keeps going down the route of using any bratty way she can think of to get a role. Due to pride and arrogance, Erika also once tried to harm her competitors, but while she failed, regretted it and became a better person, Kimiko succeeded and only learned that it works.
Green-Eyed Monster: Kimiko is a vile and petty woman, who cannot stand losing a role she wants to another person, which is why she goes so far to injure her competition to get what she wants. It worked with Erika. It didn't work with Kyoko, because Erika knew Kimiko would try it again if she lost to Kyoko.
Hime Cut: For the sake of auditioning in Lotus in the Mire, she dyed her light hair to black and had it cut in a way resembling this style. Justified, as she knows that the producer prefers authenticity and having black hair for a Japanese historical drama is more fitting.
Hoist by Her Own Petard: Kimiko wanted the role of the graceful Chidori to get the attention and impress an American actor, Cedric D. Bennett, who is fascinated by Yamato Nadeshikos. While she couldn't get Chidori, she at least wanted the role of Momiji then, but ultimately her attempt to sabotage her way in leads to her getting blackmailed into retiring. If she had tried to win the proper way, there was a high probability of still being cast by Kuresaki for another series he was working on, where Bennett is apparently going to play the lead male character. Instead, he offered the chance to audition to Kanae Kotonami.
In-Series Nickname: People have taken to calling her "Niko-chan" as a nasty indicator of her true personality.
Ironic Name: Her name contains the kanji for "kindness" and can mean "compassion". She's anything but.
I Surrender, Suckers: Kimiko withdraws from auditions, stating that she thinks the other person's acting is beyond her abilities and would be a better pick. After a short time of laying low, she strikes back. Kimiko pushed Erika into the street when the latter got the role of Momiji originally, and tried to throw Kyoko off a balcony after the second audition.
Lack of Empathy: She is described as a heartless woman, who doesn't care about how much she has to hurt people to get what she wants, which is the source of her nickname, "Niko".
Manipulative Bitch: Kimiko will act cute and friendly, but stab anyone in the back for getting in her way. She isn't above watching other candidates auditioning or pretending to be sorry when she's caught doing something wrong. And that's just her acting in a professional environment. She'll also get closer to famous co-actors at her current job, then boast on her blog about how they've become friends.
Narcissist: Her own blog that she writes portrays her as the center of the universe with all kinds of men wanting to befriend or falling for her and making romantic gestures to her. It's all a lie. She tried to sabotage the production of Lotus in the Mire, by injuring Kyoko, which, since they couldn't afford to organize a third audition, would have forced them to beg the runner-up, herself, to take over the role.
Nepotism: Subverted. Kimiko tries to get the roles she desires by relying on her relatives, like getting the role of Momiji because her uncle is the director of the series. While it initially appears like he tries his best to get Kyoko (who is auditioning for the same role Kimiko is aiming for) kicked out, he is actually helping Kyoko by making his friend, Producer Kuresaki, see beyond his bias that "talents" are not good actors. He never had any intention to help Kimiko win just because she is his niece.
Playing the Victim Card: When cornered, she'll try to spin the story in a way that she appears to be the victim. Her innocent appearance helps.
Reluctant Retiree: Erika recorded enough compromising footage to ruin Kimiko's life, and forced her to retire by threatening to release the footage if she didn't willingly step down.
Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: If any relative of hers is on the staff of a production, she'll use her connections to get a role. She's done this previously for Purple Down II, and planned to do it for Lotus in the Mire, too, since her uncle was the director.
Spoiled Brat: Kimiko's a decent actress, but the only reason she's gotten a majority of her roles had to do with her familial connections. If she wants a role, she'll bug whatever relative is working on the production to give it to her, and anything getting in her way will result in her whining and yelling at her relative for not doing more.

Producer Kuresaki

The Producer in-charge of Lotus in the Mire with intensely high-standards for his actors and actresses.

Aggressive Categorism: He makes a point of only ever considering people who are stated to be Actors/Actresses on their resume, seeing anyone else as substandard in comparison. Lory sends Kyoko specifically to break this mindset as Kyoko is a Talento, and yet Kuresaki cannot deny her talent in her audition for the role of Momiji, forcing him to revise his world-view. Lory does this expressly because he knows Kuresaki is overlooking a lot of highly-skilled talents by limiting himself to just Actors/Actresses.
Mean Boss: Strict and stern, but not unreasonable. He has extremely high-standards for his chosen actors and actresses.
Perpetual Frowner: He doesn't smile most of the time, his expression staying formal and stern. It can get more pronounced when he recognizes that one of his workers had tried to lie to him, or when he finds himself unable to decide on something.

Hio Uesugi

A child actor and a co-star of Kanae's. The son of famous actors, he initially wants to ruin Kanae's career after she accidentally threw him. He eventually gets to know her and her family better and warms up to her.

His grandfather, Kotetsu, is famous for teaching actors stage combat and historical Japanese etiquette.

Berserk Button: Don't treat him like a child. Or more exactly, like a young child. Since Kanae does not treat him this way and more like an equal actor, she gains his respect and he quickly develops feelings for her.
Master Actor: In Kanae's opinion. She is deeply moved by his acting and will trash anyone who dares suggesting that Hio only gets his roles because of connections.
Older Than They Look: Most people would guess he is something like six to eight years old. He is actually eleven.
Precocious Crush: He has a very obvious one on Kanae. Kyoko definitely knows and Kanae may know, but if she does, she openly denies it.
Spell My Name With An S: His first name is also sometimes spelled Hiou.
Spoiled Brat: Treat him like a child? He'll threaten to get you fired. He mellows out quickly.
Tsundere: Towards Kanae at first. He openly shows disdain to her, but he interprets ambiguous phrases from her in a romantic way and is happy (and even smiles) when he realizes that she cares about him.

Reino

Reino is the lead-singer of the visual kei group Vie Ghoul, who began to copy Sho Fuwa in various ways, including stealing his songs and kicking him off the top of the charts.

He becomes obsessed with Kyoko, when he notices the sheer amount of dark energy she can portray. He begins stalking to her, terrifying her, and going so far as to try to rape her.

Attempted Rape: Heavily implied to have been his intent when holding Kyoko in the forest, beginning to strip her clothes. However, she managed to throw him off and then Sho came along, too.
Corrupt the Cutie: What he plans to do with Kyoko.
Even Evil Has Standards: He's terrified of the bad vibes stores inside the Corn stone, to the point that he can barely hold it for very long.
Femme Fatalons: Part of his design and visual kei attire.
Hostage Situation: He demands Kyoko make him Valentine's Day chocolate and kidnaps one of her grudge demons, to ensure that she will do so.
I Have You Now, My Pretty: Follows Kyoko around, until he confronts her in a forest near a shooting location.
In Love with Your Carnage: Reino only became interested in Kyoko when he saw her grudge demons, using them to beat up Sho. He also expresses that he's absolutely in love with her version of Mio, whom he considered delightfully terrifying.
In-Series Nickname: Kyoko calls him Beagle because she has difficulty saying Vie Ghoul. She even starts to use more and more dog-related insults at him.
I See Dead People: His bandmates mention that Reino is often in contact with the spirits of the deceased. Reino also has the ability to interact with Kyoko's grudge demons, as they are the 'spirit of a living person'.
An Odd Place to Sleep: He sleeps in a sleeping bag, inside of a coffin filled with flowers.
Psychic Powers: Displays a number of them. He apparently can see dead people and can read objects.
Psychic Radar: Able to track down Kyoko while she was on-set in Karuizawa, despite her attempts at throwing him off or hiding from him.
Psychometry: He can read objects through mere touch, including noticing that the Corn stone Kyoko has was a gift, and that the original owner's emotions imprinted upon it are much worse than anything Kyoko's grudge can bring forth.
Stalker with a Crush: He originally planned to take Kyoko from Sho, as part of Vie Ghoul's plan to take everything that belonged to Sho. But when he saw her dark side, he became infatuated with her.
Touch Telepathy: Able to learn a lot about Ren's dark past from a few seconds of contact. Including the fact that he is the previous owner of the Corn stone, and the one responsible for having it absorb so much violent and negative energy. His past is so bad that Reino would prefer to avoid any future encounters with Ren.
The Vamp: Even worse than Sho.
Visual Kei: Vie Ghoul's style is very flashy, even when not on stage. They are purposefully copying Sho Fuwa's style, after all.
White Hair, Black Heart: His hair is an unnaturally light, silver color, but his personality is so bad that it terrifies Kyoko's grudge demons!

Kuu Hizuri / Shuuhei Houzu

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kuu_hizuri.png

Kuu Hizuri is an incredibly famous, Japanese actor that eventually moved to America and became a Hollywood star. He played Katsuki in the original Tsukigomori drama, and is the father of Kuon Hizuri.

Kuu officially hires Kyoko as a cook for his stay in Japan, but actually plans to gain access to Ren Tsuruga through her. His plan is to be a complete brute to her, making her cry, and thus force Ren to confront Kuu. He can't keep the plan up for very long and begins to bond with Kyoko very fast, giving her advice on her acting and generally being kind. Kuu also has her act out the role of his son to help her learn how to create a character role.

Absurdly Youthful Father: Kuu is in his 40s, but he still looks very attractive, and can hold a candle to his equally handsome son.
Always Someone Better: Ren considers him to be the better one. This is why Ren wanted the role of Katsuki in Dark Moon, to prove that he could create a better Katsuki than Kuu.
Big Eater: He can eat a meal for 50 people within an hour.
Cool Shades: Wears tinted glasses at the airport and on-set at times.
But Not Too Foreign: Kuu is half-American.
Doting Parent: He absolutely adores his son and idolizes him. While he was supposed to give Kyoko only one word to describe his son to her, he ended up talking and gushing about his amazing son, to the point that his speech bubble devolves into nothing but sparkles.
Drama Queen: Not Kuu... for the most part. His wife can be quite melodramatic about things.
Finger Poke of Doom: Kuu tends to flick foreheads when annoyed, especially with his son(s). And they prove to be quite painful. Gives one to Kyoko for thinking that, after finishing acting his son, their familial bond will be gone. When he's about to do one to Ren, he instinctively slaps his hand over his forehead to protect himself.
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Initially presents himself as a complete jerk to Kyoko, as part of his plan to get to Ren through her, but he can't keep the facade up for very long. He quickly becomes an acting mentor to her, and even a father figure.
Happily Married: Kuu and his wife are still in a loving relationship, despite having had their share of heartbreak and stress, mostly in the form of Kuon leaving them without saying any goodbye , living under the created persona of Ren Tsuruga in Japan, and having not contacted them once. Julie even refused to speak to Kuu for six months after their son left. However, they have moved past this difficulty and are an emotional support to each other.
Jerkass Ball: Acted like a Jerkass when he first met Kyoko, although he felt bad about it. He basically acted, because Lory said by treating Kyoko badly, Ren would definitely come confront him.
Like a Son to Me: He quickly forms this type of relationship with Kyoko, even having her act the role of his son for a day as part of acting training. Kuu does tell her that, just because she stopped playing his son, their bond is still there.
Parental Substitute: Becomes one to Kyoko, even letting her keep calling him 'father'.
Real Men Cook: He cooks quite a lot, actually, and didn't need to hire Kyoko as a cook.
Stage Name: Began his career under the name Shuuhei Houzu.
Supreme Chef: His cooking is amazing... unlike his wife and son, who fall into the lethal department.
That Man Is Dead: When Kuu started to become more and more famous, he chose to drop the stage name of Shuuhei Houzu and continued to work under his real name. However, he considered the alias to be an important part of him, so he decided to hold a funeral for his stage name, which was attended by 50.000 people.
Your Days Are Numbered: Kuu tells his son that Julie only has 3 months left to live... and his son quickly retaliates that that's actually a pretty decent number of days to claim to have left, fully aware that his mother loves pulling this stunt for drama. She's perfectly fine, just incredibly frustrated over not having had any contact with her son in years.

Saena Mogami

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/saena.png

Saena works as a lawyer at the Viride General Law Offices under Kenichi Katagiri. Her relationship to her daughter is strained, and the two have become estranged over the years. Throughout Kyoko's childhood, she would leave her with the Fuwa family, when she had to travel for business. When Kyoko was 6 years old, Saena left her in their care and never returned.

Abusive Mom: Her behavior towards her daughter Kyoko was emotionally abusive and distant, which she eventually admits.
Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Saena kept to herself and focused more on her work than her personal relations, even when she was fresh out of law school and working in Asukamu. Now that she's older and more jaded, she displays an even less friendly face.
Angry Eyebrows: The owner of an impressive set of eyebrows. They are often referred to as the mighty Mogami River because of how deep the creases can get.
Brainy Brunette: Saena was top of her class in her first year of law school, and proceeded to keep that position, even graduating at the top of her class.
Broken Bird: Saena being betrayed by her first love left her devastated and on the verge of suicide. While she stopped trying to take her own life to make up for the person whom she almost ruined, she never recovered emotionally.
Brutal Honesty: She is open about her feelings towards other people, which contributes to her image as an Ice Queen. Lying that she doesn't hate Kyoko would be even worse for her.
Easily Forgiven: Her boss, Katagiri, quickly forgave her after she nearly destroyed his reputation and cost him his job, and Kyoko also forgives her for mistreating her her whole life. Even now, Kyoko still wishes to be loved by Saena.
Education Mama: Kyoko believed that the only way Saena would praise her is if she were to obtain perfect scores on her exams. Part of the reason Kyoko's an overachiever is because Saena scolded her for lower grades.
The First Cut Is the Deepest: Saena's first love turned out to be a Honey Trap. She forswore love afterwards, which is why she can't even bring herself to love her own daughter. Lory thinks she would be a perfect addition to the Love Me! section.
Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Discussed. Saena didn't know she was pregnant for quite some time, and the legal time limit for an abortion was getting close. While she wasn't sure whether she wanted or didn't want to abort, along with the stressful situation she was in, the time limit passed and Saena had no other choice but to give birth.
Heroic BSoD: Her being responsible for losing a case that got her boss fired and ruined his reputation, as well as being left pregnant with the Honey Trap who took advantage of her left her in a catatonic state, at which point she was contemplating suicide. Her boss managed to save her by letting her alleviate her guilt by working for him, and he took care of what Saena viewed as the embodiment of her shame, by letting Kyoko grow up with his sister's family. However, Saena Took a Level in Cynic and never was able to look at her daughter benevolently.
Idiot Ball: Saena took copies — and eventually the original disks — of important, confidential information about her current case home, despite knowing that it was forbidden.
Ice Queen: Saena is cold, only focused on work and is never approached by men, despite being considered attractive. She never smiles and has no love for the only family she has left.
Love Makes You Dumb: Saena immediately caught on the fact that she took sleeping pills, but refused to believe that it was her boyfriend who slipped them in her drink. She also saw the obvious signs that he was targeting disks that she took home to work on her very important case, but decided to keep bringing them home (she later thinks that he wanted to warn her, but she did not heed the warnings).
Married to the Job: After her blunder of putting her boss' career in jeopardy, Saena swore off having any more romantic relationships. She focuses on her job, and nothing else.
My Greatest Failure: She fell for a Honey Trap and took disks with crucial case-information home. This gave her boyfriend perfect access to them, allowing him to steal some data and render her case unwinnable for her firm, and disgraced her boss' reputation and almost cost him his career. Worse, she ended up being pregnant by the man who tricked her, which is why she could not love Kyoko for being the embodiment of her shame.
No Social Skills: Saena has a tendency to frown a lot when interacting with other people. Even thinking on how to respond to someone would lead to a heavy frown. People often wondered why she was so angry all the time. Years later, she still has this problem.
Parents as People: Her main reason for being emotionally distant and abusive in the past. Saena saw Kyoko as an embodiment of how her foolish actions caused her to destroy an important case, as well as her boss' reputation and promising career. A constant reminder, which made Saena feel that she was incapable of feeling like she could really love her daughter. Leaving Kyoko with the Fuwas was what she considered the closest to doing something good for her.
Perpetual Frowner: Ever since she Took a Level in Cynic, she has been unable to smile.
Slipping a Mickey: Her boyfriend slipped her some sleeping pills once. Saena initially believes it wasn't that, but that her continued fatigue just peaked that evening. He did slip her pills, so he could start working on stealing the data.
Stress Vomit: After her blunder, Saena collapsed and began to vomit from the stress it caused. She later learned it was this and morning sickness.
Was It All a Lie?: When she begins to wonder if her boyfriend was a company spy, only set out to steal data from her, Saena wonders if the entire relationship was made up. Even wondering if their initial meeting was a set up.

Ken'ichi Katagiri

A lawyer, who works at the Viride General Law Offices and is the boss of Saena Mogami and Susumu Todo. He also works as a consultant in show business and occasionally shows up on TV. His younger sister, Yayoi Fuwa, is Sho's mother.

Benevolent Boss: As Saena's boss, he took responsibility for her screw-up, as the case he was working on, which would have gotten him promoted, was compromised, when important information was stolen by her boyfriend. Despite that, he forgave Saena, took care of her daughter, and allowed her to keep working for him, which probably prevented her from committing suicide.
Face of a Thug: His face is described to be crocodile-like, and Kyoko used to cry whenever she saw him.
Living Emotional Crutch: After being fired by Asukamu for Saena's blunder, he was actually about to get hired by a friend's law firm, but declined and opened his own office because Saena wouldn't have been able to find work, and she likely would have committed suicide if she hadn't been given a chance to make amends and restore her own pride somewhat.
Nice to the Waiter: He was the man who ultimately suggested for Kyoko to be raised by his sister, despite his employee, Saena, being responsible for him losing his job and almost ruining his career forever. Kyoko was able to somewhat enjoy a childhood raised by people who love her.

Characters / Skip Beat!

Main Characters

Kyoko Mogami

Voiced by: Miki Nagasawa (Drama CD), Marina Inoue (Anime, Japanese), Caitlin Glass (Anime, English)
Played by: Ivy Chen (live-action drama)

Shotaro "Sho" Fuwa

Voiced by: Nobutoshi Canna (Drama CD), Mamoru Miyano (Anime, Japanese), Grant George (Anime, English)
Played by: Lee Donghae◊ (live-action drama)

Ren Tsuruga (real name: Kuon "Corn" Hizuri)

Voiced by: Ken Narita (Drama CD), Katsuyuki Konishi (Anime, Japanese - adult), Mutsumi Tamura (Japanese - child), Robbie Daymond (Anime, English - adult), Zach Aguilar (Anime, English - child)
Played by: Choi Siwon◊ in the live-action drama

Supporting Characters

LME

Kanae "Mouko" Kotonami

Voiced by: Risa Hayamizu (Japanese), Erica Lindbeck (English)

Voiced by: Kouji Ishii (Japanese), Richard Epcar (English)

Voiced by: Hiromi Konno (Japanese), Mela Lee (English)

Voiced by: Masahito Kawanago (Japanese), Vic Mignogna (English)

Takenori Sawara

Voiced by: Kenji Hamada (Japanese), Keith Silverstein (English)

Jelly Woods

Dark Moon

Voiced by: Yoshinori Fujita (Japanese), Chris Patton (English)

Hiroko Iizuka

Voiced by: Mari Yokoo (Japanese), Erin Fitzgerald (English)

Itsumi Momose

Voiced by: Hitomi Nabatame

Others

Voiced by: Natsuki Rio (Japanese), Karen Strassman (English)

Erika Koenji

The Jewel Squad

Voiced by: Ayumi Tsunematsu (Japanese), Kate Higgins (credited as Kate Davis) (English)

Voiced by Youko Honda (Japanese), Christine Marie Cabanos (English)

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Main Characters

Kyoko Mogami

Voiced by: Miki Nagasawa (Drama CD), Marina Inoue (Anime, Japanese), Caitlin Glass (Anime, English) Played by: Ivy Chen (live-action drama)

Shotaro "Sho" Fuwa

Voiced by: Nobutoshi Canna (Drama CD), Mamoru Miyano (Anime, Japanese), Grant George (Anime, English) Played by: Lee Donghae◊ (live-action drama)

Ren Tsuruga (real name: Kuon "Corn" Hizuri)

Voiced by: Ken Narita (Drama CD), Katsuyuki Konishi (Anime, Japanese - adult), Mutsumi Tamura (Japanese - child), Robbie Daymond (Anime, English - adult), Zach Aguilar (Anime, English - child) Played by: Choi Siwon◊ in the live-action drama

Supporting Characters

LME

Kanae "Mouko" Kotonami

Voiced by: Risa Hayamizu (Japanese), Erica Lindbeck (English)

Voiced by: Kouji Ishii (Japanese), Richard Epcar (English)

Voiced by: Hiromi Konno (Japanese), Mela Lee (English)

Voiced by: Masahito Kawanago (Japanese), Vic Mignogna (English)

Takenori Sawara

Voiced by: Kenji Hamada (Japanese), Keith Silverstein (English)

Jelly Woods

Dark Moon

Voiced by: Yoshinori Fujita (Japanese), Chris Patton (English)

Hiroko Iizuka

Voiced by: Mari Yokoo (Japanese), Erin Fitzgerald (English)

Itsumi Momose

Voiced by: Hitomi Nabatame

Others

Voiced by: Natsuki Rio (Japanese), Karen Strassman (English)

Erika Koenji

The Jewel Squad

Voiced by: Ayumi Tsunematsu (Japanese), Kate Higgins (credited as Kate Davis) (English)

Voiced by Youko Honda (Japanese), Christine Marie Cabanos (English)

Previous

Index

Next

Voiced by: Miki Nagasawa (Drama CD), Marina Inoue (Anime, Japanese), Caitlin Glass (Anime, English)
Played by: Ivy Chen (live-action drama)

Voiced by: Nobutoshi Canna (Drama CD), Mamoru Miyano (Anime, Japanese), Grant George (Anime, English)
Played by: Lee Donghae◊ (live-action drama)

Voiced by: Ken Narita (Drama CD), Katsuyuki Konishi (Anime, Japanese - adult), Mutsumi Tamura (Japanese - child), Robbie Daymond (Anime, English - adult), Zach Aguilar (Anime, English - child)
Played by: Choi Siwon◊ in the live-action drama