open/close all folders
Main characters
Tamako Kitashirakawa
Tamako Kitashirakawa
Voiced by: Aya Suzaki (Japanese), Margaret McDonald (English)
- Ambiguously Bi: In the movie, she realizes that she likes Mochizou (a boy), and does not return the feelings of Midori, a girl, but that doesn't stop Tamako from touching the butts of her female friends and marveling at a woman's big breasts.
- Birthmark of Destiny: Tamako has a mole on her neck. To Choi, it's apparently another sign that she's meant to be the prince's bride.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The brunette with her friends Midori and Kanna.
- Chekhov's Gun: One of the first scenes of the anime has Tamako buying things from the market, and her points card being stamped. While this is a common Japanese practice that people overlooked, the points card became an important plot point in episode 11.
- Cloudcuckoolander: She's a bit of an airhead and has a fairly eccentric, clumsy and naive nature. However, she's also shown to be clever and creative, and is not incapable of being levelheaded.
- Covert Pervert: She showed no signs of being a pervert until Tamako Love Story, where she gropes her friends' butts, stares at a woman's breasts, and suggests making mochi that look like breasts and butts. That said, it might just be curiosity, given that she's naive and something of a cloudcuckoolander.
- Expressive Hair: Tamako's pigtails rise when she's excited, surprised, or happy.
- Girlish Pigtails: Tamako's pigtails fit her simple nature.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: She has blue eyes, fitting her naive but kindhearted personality.
- Loved by All: Everyone in the market adores her. When it seems as though she might leave, they all fall into despair.
- Love Revelation Epiphany: A key aspect of the movie Tamako Love Story. Tamako is Oblivious to Love and Mochizou Cannot Spit It Out, and it takes him finally working up the courage to confess before she's able to think for even a moment about how she really feels.
- Nice Girl: A very sweet and kindhearted girl without a mean bone in her body.
- Oblivious to Love: Tamako has no idea that two of her close friends are crushing on her.
- Perennially Overshadowed Birthday: Tamako's birthday is always overshadowed by New Years' Eve, and leads to people forgetting about her birthday.
- Significant Birth Date: Tamako was born on 31 December (New Years Eve), and is always forgotten because it's the busiest day of the year for mochi makers like her family.
- Super Drowning Skills: She has problems swimming.
- Tin-Can Telephone: Since their bedroom windows face each other, Mochizo and Tamako often talk via a "cup and string" system that he made when they were kids.
Mochizō Ōji
Mochizō Ōji
Voiced by: Atsushi Tamaru (Japanese), Clint Bickham (English)
- As Long as It Sounds Foreign: This is Ricecake Oh! Zee (formerly Oojiya)'s theme. Even their item tags were all written in romaji.
- Ascended Extra: Mochizou in the film is promoted to Deuteragonist, as it focuses on his and Tamako's relationship. In the series proper, he was more of a light case of Advertised Extra, being one of the many supporting characters.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Something Midori and Mochizou bond over is the fact that neither can work up the courage to confess their feelings towards Tamako. Mochizou finally does go through with it in the movie, something Midori laments when she finds out because she was never able to work up the nerves to do so.
- Childhood Friend: Not only is Mochizou a childhood friend of Tamako, he is also the son of the owner of Rice Cake Oh! Zee and thus works for the competition. Him being in love with her makes it even more tropalicious. The movie shows Mochizou really helped Tamako cope after her mother's death.
- Endearingly Dorky: He's a Nice Guy who is somewhat shy and awkward, and it adds just adorableness to him.
- His Name Really Is "Barkeep": Mochizou can be read to mean "mochi maker", though the way it's spelled it could also be read as 'he who has mochi' or 'mochi warehouse' — the "mochi" part is left without kanji and the part that would have meant "maker" is written with the kanji for "posession/ownership."
- Meaningful Name: His given name comes from the fact that he was born on Mochi Day (October 10). His family name, Ouji most typically means "prince," though the name is actually spelled 'large road,' hence 'ouji' for 'prince' and 'ooji' for the name. Although Tamako was supposed to be the bride of Mecha, an actual prince, her 'prince' is actually Mochizou.
- Nice Guy: He's a kind and affable guy, although a little shy.
- Pretty Boy: Mochizou is very cute and somewhat feminine looking.
- Significant Birth Date: He was born on 10 October, a day known as the "mochi day" — fitting for the child of mochi makers whose name also means "mochi maker".
- Tin-Can Telephone: Since their bedroom windows face each other, Mochizo and Tamako often talk via a "cup and string" system that he made when they were kids.
Dera Mochimazzi
Dera Mochimazzi
Voiced by: Takumi Yamazaki (Japanese), Jay Hickman (English)
- Accidental Proposal:
- Dera colliding with Tamako's face causes her to sneeze violently; and apparently Dera's culture interprets sneezing at someone as a declaration of courtship towards them. Dera assesses the situation accordingly.
- Happens again in episode 2 when Kanna's allergy to birds makes her sneeze on Dera.
- Butt-Monkey: He gets the short end of the stick when it comes to humor, and none of the other characters take him seriously at all. Choi in particular has taken out her frustrations on him on multiple occasions.
- Camp Straight: Dera is a complete dandy but loves the women.
- Crash-Into Hello: Dera passes out in a field of flowers, gets bundled into a bouquet and shipped to the florist's, where the bouquet he's in is put on display. When he regains consciousness and finds Tamako in his face, he freaks out and flies right into her.
- Head Pet: Dera seems most comfortable on Tamako's head. He's spent so much time up there she can tell when he's one glass of water heavier than normal.
- Interspecies Romance: He has a one-sided crush on Shiori, a human.
- Meaningful Name: "Mochi mazui" means 'mochi tastes horrible'. Tamako's dad keeps insisting he change it to Mochiunmai, 'mochi tastes awesome'.
- Polly Wants a Microphone: Dera talks and and is sentient enough to know what he is talking about.
Midori Tokiwa
Midori Tokiwa
Voiced by: Yūki Kaneko (Japanese), Juliet Simmons (English)
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The blonde with her friends Tamako and Kanna.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Something Midori and Mochizou bond over is the fact that neither can work up the courage to confess their feelings towards Tamako. Mochizou finally does go through with it in the movie, something Midori laments when she finds out because she was never able to work up the nerves to do so.
- Childhood Friend: Midori is another childhood friend of Tamako, having been friends with her since fourth grade... And she also has a crush on Tamako.
- Color Motifs: She is associated with the color green. Her name means green, her hairpin and knee socks are green, and she's green with envy towards Mochizou.
- Even the Girls Want Her: She received valentines from boys and girls alike.
- Green-Eyed Monster: In episode 5, she competes with Mochizou for Tamako's attention.
- Meaningful Name: Midori's name means "green." She wears a green hairpin and green kneesocks, and is envious of Mochizou's closeness to Tamako (the expression green with envy).
Kanna Makino
Kanna Makino
Voiced by: Juri Nagatsuma (Japanese), Caitlynn French (English)
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The redhead with her friends Tamako and Midori.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Despite coming off as very quiet and eccentric, she's shown to be quite skilled at carpentry. She demonstrates her proficiency with it by assisting in building a haunted house in the shopping district and being able to precisely measure anything just by looking at it.
- Cloudcuckoolander: She has a rather odd thought process, and she'll typically do and say strange things with a completely straight face.
- Punny Name: Kanna, who is skilled in carpentry, is named after a tool that is used to shape wood, in particular leveling it when it's warped.
- The Starscream: Played for Laughs. Kanna makes no secret of her plans to steal the baton club captain seat from Midori.
- The Stoic: She hardly shows any emotion, and her voice never goes beyond a quiet monotone even when saying something peculiar.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes??: She is shown to have a fear of heights. In the movie though, she manages to overcome it and proves it by climbing up a tree with Midori's help.
Shiori Asagiri
Shiori Asagiri
Voiced by: Yurie Yamashita (Japanese), Krystal LaPorte (TV) & Francis Caorrots (movie) (English)
- Bespectacled Cutie: A cute and shy girl with glasses.
- Emotionless Girl: Shiori initially appears emotionless, due to her inability to express her feelings. However, she manages to overcome this by becoming friends with Tamako the end of Episode 3.
- Nice Girl: She is very kind and sweet, as seen when she opens up to Tamako and her friends.
- Shrinking Violet: She was terribly shy and unable to communicate with anyone. While she remains still very soft-spoken and reserved, she overcomes this thanks to Tamako.
- The Stoic: Subverted. She appeared to be aloof and unemotional, yet this was all due to her inability to socialize.
Kitashirakawa family
Anko Kitashirakawa
Anko Kitashirakawa
Voiced by: Rina Hidaka (Japanese), Brittney Karbowski (English)
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": She insists on being called "An" instead of her full name "Anko".
- Edible Theme Naming: She's named after red bean paste, which is often an ingredient in mochi.
- Eyelid Pull Taunt: In episode 4, Anko is forced to help out with the mochi store on Sunday, much to her displeasure. She pulls her eyelid at her dad for it.
- The Fashionista: Anko is very fashion-conscious.
- First-Name Basis: With Tamako, which is quite unusual for siblings in Japan; she simply calls Tamako "Tama-chan" instead of using any typical Japanese Sibling Terminology.
- Puppy Love: Anko is in the fourth-grade and has a crush on Yuzuki, one of her classmates.
Mamedai Kitashirakawa
Mamedai Kitashirakawa
Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara (Japanese), David Wald (English)
- Appeal to Tradition: He usually rejects Tamako's ideas because they go against tradition. His traditional ways also clash with Gohei's modern ways.
- Brutal Honesty: He publicly expresses his feelings and thoughts out loud, even if it is harsh.
- Crush Blush: In a flashback, he blushes brightly around Hinako.
- Edible Theme Naming: Along with his father, his name is one half of "mame-daifuku
", which is also the family mochi shop's speciality. - Foil: He is traditional, whereas his rival, Gohei, is modern.
- The Fundamentalist: He has a conservative approach to making mochi.
- Garage Band: He was in a garage band with Kunio when he was a teenager. He wrote a song for his future wife.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's traditional and is annoyed by Tamako's carefree attitude, but he does love her and ends up going through with her ideas.
- Like Father, Unlike Son: He's more temperamental than his father, who has an easy-going personality.
- Love Confession: When Hinako came to purchase mochi, Mamedai accidentally confessed his love to her. When he offiicially did, flustered, she ran, though they became a couple later on.
- Love Makes You Dumb: He acted very flustered in Hinako's presence, and would act on impulse and without thinking.
- Parents as People: He tends to scold Tamako, since he's embarrassed by her open affection and prefers to act traditional. However, he's still a good person and does care for his daughters.
Fuku Kitashirakawa
Fuku Kitashirakawa
Voiced by: Tomomichi Nishimura (Japanese), Carl Masterson (English)
- Cool Old Guy: He is relaxed and patient with his granddaughters.
- Edible Theme Naming: Along with his son, his name is one half of "mame-daifuku", which is also the family mochi shop's speciality.
Hinako Kitashirakawa
Hinako Kitashirakawa
- Hollywood Tone-Deaf: When she was alive, she was actually tone deaf, and as a result, the song that Tamako keeps humming throughout the series is completely different from how it originally sounded.
- Posthumous Character: She passed away a few years before the series begins.
Ōji family
Gohei Ōji
Gohei Ōji
Voiced by: Fumihiko Tachiki (Japanese), John Swasey (English)
- Eyes Always Shut: His eyes are always closed.
- Foil: His modern tastes contrast with Mamedai's traditional mindset.
- Foolish Husband, Responsible Wife: He behaves more childishly than his more responsible wife, Michiko.
- Gratuitous English: He incorporates English into his workplace and is often seen in T-shirts with English phrases.
- Manchild: When he found out that Mochizou wanted to go to Tokyo for university, he behaved in an immature way by giving him the silent treatment and dramatically turning his head.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: He has a comical rivalry with Mamedai.
Michiko Ōji
Michiko Ōji
Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino (Japanese), Molly Searcy (English)
- Foolish Husband, Responsible Wife: She's much more mature than Gohei. She is introduced reminding her son to do his homework with a cross expression, and scolds her husband for behaving immaturely in crises.
- Open-Minded Parent: She supports her son's decision to study in Tokyo, and encourages him to confess his love to Tamako.
Usagiyama shopkeepers
Kaoru Hanase
Kaoru Hanase
Voiced by: Daisuke Ono (Japanese), Leraldo Anzaldua (English)
- Ambiguous Gender Identity: The florist Kaoru is voiced by Daisuke Ono but is referred to with female pronouns by others. Signs point towards her being a trans woman, though some material refers to her as male which makes things confusing (though, that might be misgendering due to
Values Dissonance). - Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Kaoru is blonde and has a friendly, gentle aura.
Kunio Yaobi
Kunio Yaobi
Voiced by: Kouji Tsujitani (Japanese), David Matranga (English)
- Left the Background Music On: Kunio has a habit of playing fitting music. When Midori suggests that Dera should go on a starvation diet, on cue, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor plays immediately thereafter.
Chōji Yumoto
Chōji Yumoto
Voiced by: Kyosei Tsukui (Japanese), Chris Ayres (English)
- Drowning My Sorrows: Choji heads straight for the sake when he hears his daughter Sayuri is getting married in episode 7.
- Meaningful Name: The "yu" (湯) in his family name means "hot water, bath, hot spring," fitting for the owner of a bathhouse.
- Perpetual Smiler: He's always happy and smiling, except for when he learned of his daughter's engagement.
- Speaks Fluent Animal: He wanted to be able to speak to animals, and is delighted when Dela, a talking bird, arrives.
Sayuri Yumoto
Sayuri Yumoto
Voiced by: Junko Iwao (Japanese), Kasi Hollowell (English)
Tomio Shimizu
Tomio Shimizu
Voiced by: Yoshihisa Kawahara (Japanese), Greg Ayres (English)
Nobuhiko Tokiwa
Nobuhiko Tokiwa
Voiced by: Hiroshi Yanaka (Japanese), John Kaiser (English)
- Cool Old Guy: He's an upbeat, energetic man despite his age
- Friend to All Children: He is well-liked among the children of the marketplace, since he owns a toy store.
- Miniature Senior Citizens: He's much shorter than his granddaughter.
Fumiko Mitsumura
Fumiko Mitsumura
Voiced by: Kumiko Watanabe (Japanese), Tiffany Grant (English)
Tadanao Shiraki
Tadanao Shiraki
Voiced by: Naoya Nosaka (Japanese), Andrew Love (English)
Takashi Uotani
Takashi Uotani
Voiced by: Ken Narita (Japanese), Scott Fults (English)
Mari Uotani
Mari Uotani
Voiced by: Yōko Hikasa (Japanese), Carli Mosier (English)
Mochimazzi royal family
Choi Mochimazzi
Choi Mochimazzi
Voiced by: Yuri Yamaoka (Japanese), Allison Sumrall (English)
- Ambiguously Brown: The people that Dela works for. They have dark tan skin, their names are Choi and Mecha Mochimazzi, they wear outfits whose colorful patterns are not especially emblematic of a particular culture, appear to live on a tropical island, and belong to a monarchy. "Choi" itself is a Chinese/Korean surname, and the food she prepares in episode nine looks Vietnamese. Given all this, "Southeast Asian" may be a good guess, but it's never made clear.
Mecha Mochimazzi
Mecha Mochimazzi
Voiced by: Hiro Shimono (Japanese), Greg Ayres (English)
- Alliterative Name: Mecha Mochimazzi
- Ambiguously Brown: As noted in Choi's entry.
