Characters / The Summer You Were There

A list of characters from The Summer You Were There

The Main Couple

Tropes applying to both

• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: They're both girls, but their dynamic fits the trope perfectly. Shizuku's regret over her past as a bully made her deeply depressed, socially withdrawn and filled with self-loathing, but Kaori's bright, kindhearted and compassionate nature helps Shizuku open up to her and accept her emotional support.
• Hair-Contrast Duo: Inverted. Whereas the white-haired Shizuku is brooding and shy, the dark-haired Kaori is upbeat and sociable.
• Opposites Attract: Shizuku is introverted, timid and depressed, while Kaori is extroverted, cheerful and always tries to stay positive through hard times. They couldn't be more different, but they fall in love during their summer together.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Shizuku is the depressed and quiet blue oni to Kaori's outwardly cheerful and energetic red oni. This is reflected by Shizuku's blue eyes and Kaori's red eyes.
• Romantic Fake–Real Turn: Their relationship starts with Kaori asking Shizuku to pretend to be dating her during the summar break, using Shizuku's need for inspiration to write a new novel as a pretext. The closer they get throughout the summer, the more they act like a real couple.

Shizuku Hoshikawa

Voiced by: Reina Ueda (ichijinshaPV)

The main character and POV character of the manga. A shy and withdrawn girl who hates herself and believes that she can only hurt other people.

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• All of the Other Reindeer: She not only ends up being ostracized due to having bullied Ruri, but eventually cuts herself off from others due to fearing that she'll hurt them.
• Break the Haughty: As a child, she was so convinced that what she was doing was right that she refused to listen to anything to the contrary. The fallout of her being outed as a bully completely destroyed her self-esteem.
• Brutal Honesty: As a child, she "spoke without a filter," and casually said things that hurt Ruri's feelings.
• The Bully: In elementary school, she bullied Ruri, starting off with cutting remarks and culminating in deliberately shoving Ruri while the latter was carrying a large pot of curry.
• Bullying the Disabled: She's horrified to learn that Ruri was absent so often because she was chronically ill, and she was bullying someone in poor health.
• Bully Turned Buddy: Played with. Her reconciliation with Ruri is a significant subplot, but while the two are once again on speaking terms, they aren't quite friends at the end of the story. Additionally, Shizuku had always thought of Ruri as a friend, even if she hurt her in a misguided attempt to help her.
• Can't Take Criticism: Zig-zagged. As a child, she refused to accept when others called her out on how she was treating Ruri, believing she was doing a good thing and was simply saying what everyone else was thinking. When Seri confronted her, though, she ended up having a Heel Realization.
• Character Development: As the protagonist and POV character, she changes the most.
  • Shizuku starts out blunt and somewhat tactless, unintentionally hurting Ruri's feelings through backhanded compliments and coming dangerously close to saying something she'll regret during her first interactions with Kaori, but becomes better at expressing herself over time. Her first attempt at apologizing to Ruri goes poorly, partly because of her nerves and partly because she doesn't know what to say, but her second attempt- "I'm sorry for all the pain I caused- is accepted because she acknowledges what she has done.
  • Initially, she finds Kaori annoying and reluctantly goes along with Kaori's plans, but she gradually becomes more proactive in the relationship. For example, in Chapter 5, she agrees to let Kaori call her "Shizuku," because she doesn't care what she's called(and continues calling Kaori "Asaka-san"), but in Chapter 11, she asks Kaori to use her first name, and starts calling Kaori by hers. In the first half of the series, Kaori visits Shizuku at home, but in the second half, Shizuku visits Kaori in the hospital.
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: To Hinami Ayukawa from Yuama's previous work, The Girl I Want is So Handsome!. Hinami is cheerful, outgoing and a bit ditzy, while Shizuku is gloomy, reserved and prone to overthinking things. Hinami has two friends- one Childhood Friend and one newer friend- who serve as Those Two Guys, while Shizuku has no friends. Hinami has Love at First Sight with Shiki, who initially doesn't notice her feelings, while Shizuku initially finds Kaori annoying, whereas Kaori has long been interested in her. Hinami is the elder of two sisters while Shizuku is the younger of two sisters. About the only things Hinami and Shizuku have in common are that they're first-years in high schools, lesbians and unathletic.
• Driven to Suicide: She was planning on killing herself after throwing out her novel.
• Exhausted Eye Bags: Shizuku has trouble sleeping when she's stressed, and she has them in the final chapter, a few days after learning of Kaori's death.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: She was more outgoing and confident when she was younger, and her bangs didn't cover her eyes back then. In the final scene, her bangs are slightly shorter and no longer cover her eyes, showing that she's no longer isolating herself.
• Fatal Flaw:
  • Guilt Complex. Shizuku's guilt over bullying Ruri causes her to isolate and punish herself, and her inadvertently making "Girls' Lovers Suicide" resemble a real tragedy results in her nearly committing suicide.
  • Low self-esteem. Shizuku's belief that she can only hurt others causes her to isolate herself from everyone.
  • Paranoia. Shizuku frequently suspects other people of plotting something, which causes her to run away from Kaori at the aquarium, and suspect that Seri was lying about Kaori's illness. To a less noticeable degree, her difficulty trusting her family prevents her from confiding in them.
• Five Stages of Grief: After learning of Kaori's terminal illness, Shizuku goes into Denial, trying to convince herself and Kaori that it isn't as bad as Kaori thinks. During the second aquarium date, she has a bout of Bargaining, wishing there was something she could do to save Kaori. After Kaori dies, Shizuku goes into a mixture of Depression and Denial, unable to face Kaori's death, but reaches Acceptance after reading Kaori's letter and diary.
• Foil:
  • To Kaori. Both hide their pain from others, but while Shizuku is afraid of hurting others, Kaori worries about being a burden on others. Shizuku is withdrawn and depressed, while Kaori is an outgoing Stepford Smiler.
  • To Shiori. Both are close to Kaori and no one else, but Shizuku used to be more outgoing and popular, while there is no indication Shiori was ever close to anyone beides Kaori. Shiori is close to her sister, while Shizuku is distant from her sister and the rest of her family.
• Forgotten First Meeting: It turns out that she had met Kaori long before high school. In elementary school, Shizuku helped Kaori get a book and suggested that she looked cuter without glasses, which left a permanent impression on Kaori.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Melancholic. She's chronically depressed and tends to avoid others. Her past self was probably closer to choleric, though.
• Heartfelt Apology: She tries to give one to Ruri in Chapter 14, having spent multiple chapters writing a letter to her and preparing to meet Ruri in person, only for Ruri to reject it. After Ruri expresses a desire to get to know Shizuku, Shizuku bows and apologizes for all the pain she caused Ruri, and Ruri is more receptive to this apology.
• Heel Realization: She realizes that she was bullying Ruri after she shoves her to the ground while she is carrying curry, prompting Seri to slap her and confront her about her deeds in front of the rest of the class. Unfortunately, by this point, it was too late to take back what she'd done and she was known as a bully from this point forward.
• Heroes Love Dogs: For all her flaws, Shizuku is a good person at heart who cares about others, and is quite fond of the family dog, Shion. A picture of him serves as her phone's profile photo.
• Heroic BSoD: In Chapter 31, as Kaori goes into surgery, Shizuku is so overwhelmed that she doesn't remember what happened, and later hears from her mother that Seri had to take her home. It goes From Bad to Worse after Kaori's death in Chapter 32, with Shizuku isolating herself in her room and not even eating.
• Hiding Behind Your Bangs: A withdrawn character with bangs over her eyes. In the final chapter, she cuts her bangs after resolving to come out of her shell to honor Kaori's memory.
• Improperly Paranoid: She sometimes jumps to conclusions about other characters, such as thinking that Kaori is plotting revenge on Ruri's behalf or that Seri lied to her about Kaori's illness out of spite, but never acts on them.
• Innocently Insensitive: During the fireworks festival, she proposes going back next year, and in the second aquarium date, she mentions that Kanae's new book is coming out soon. In the first case, she's unaware, and in the latter case, she temporarily forgets that Kaori doesn't expect to live that long.
• Insecure Love Interest: At the start of the series, she hates herself for her past as a bully and believes Kaori will only get hurt by being with her. Later on, this is lessened, but she still fears she isn't doing enough to help Kaori.
• Jerkass Realization:
  • While mountain climbing with her sister, she hears about how worried the rest of the family was about her, and is ashamed that she contemplated suicide not knowing about how her parents and sister cared about her.
  • Due to struggling with her novel about herself and Kaori, as well as a few other factors—Kaori slipping unconscious and not being able to have visitors for a day or two, as well as worrying that she might be visiting too often, Shizuku temporarily stops visiting Kaori. When Kaori calls her and begs her to visit, not wanting to die without seeing Shizuku again, Shizuku realizes that she was wrong and rushes to Kaori's side.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: In elementary school, she was tactless and short-tempered, but still took it upon herself to help Ruri and also Kaori, on one occasion. Unfortunately, her abrasiveness ended up negating her good intentions as far as Ruri was concerned.
• Karmic Shunning: She suffers this as a result of bullying Ruri, but some of her isolation is self-imposed. Additionally, Kaori never hated Shizuku, nor did Shizuku's family, while Ruri is open to starting over with Shizuku and Seri is kind to Shizuku despite disliking her.
• Love Confession: She plans on using the ending of her novel to confess to Kaori. She sends it to Kaori and gets a "Me too," response just before Kaori passes away.
• Love Epiphany: In Chapter 21, after a long Internal Monologue about what Kaori has done for her and what Kaori means to her, Shizuku realizes that she has genuine romantic feelings for Kaori.
• Love Hurts: She realizes that she has feelings for Kaori after learning that Kaori will likely die in the near future and because she's scared of losing her. She lampshades this, noting that she thought love was "more bright and cheerful."
• Magic Feather: She wears the dress Kaori gave her for their aquarium date when going to apologize to Ruri, believing that it will give her strength and wanting to look nicer than usual for the occasion.
• Most Writers Are Writers: She, as the main character of the series, is an amateur writer who uses writing as a way to deal with her problems, from her guilt over bullying Ruri to writing an apology to Ruri.
• My God, What Have I Done?:
  • After snapping at her sister, Shizuku immediately regrets that, along with running away from Kaori at the aquarium. She apologizes for both actions the next time she sees the people in question.
  • Shizuku's face twists in remorse the moment she shoves Ruri from behind in elementary school.
• Nice Girl: Becomes this after Character Development, as she's determined to make Kaori happy, strives to make amends to Ruri, and is remarkably patient with Seri and Shiori despite their hostility toward her. Kaori concludes that Shizuku has always been nice, even if she didn't realize it.
• Non-Uniform Uniform: She wears a cardigan over her summer uniform. A bonus page has Kaori trying it on.
• Not Quite the Right Thing: Subverted with her apology to Ruri. After hearing that Ruri wants nothing to do with her, Shizuku concludes that she only reopened Ruri's old wounds. However, by delivering the apology, she's able to help show Ruri how much she changed, and realizes that her apology was not in vain.
• "Not So Different" Remark: She observes that she has more in common with Shiori than they think, since both of them love Kaori and are scared of losing her.
• Obliviously Evil: She was under the impression that her harsh comments toward Ruri were helping her. The fact that no one called her out on it at first only caused her behavior to get worse and worse until she deliberately shoved Ruri from behind and made her drop the curry.
• Obviously Not Fine: She insists that she's fine when going to apologize to Ruri, but is so overwhelmed with anxiety that Kaori realizes, "You're not okay!" and ends up having to rest for a while.
• One Head Taller: She's noticeably taller than Kaori, who only comes up to her shoulder. The final chapter reveals that they were about the same difference in height in elementary school, hence why Shizuku had to help Kaori get abook.
• Only Friend: Kaori is the only one she can call a friend for much of the story, although Ruri and even Seri gradually warm up to her. She tells Kaori that visiting her in the hospital every day doesn't inconvenience her, partly because she has no other friends.
• Pen Name: Published her web novel under the name "Shizuno Amakawa."
• Positive Friend Influence: Her relationship with Kaori helps her confront her past, open up to others and regain the will to live.
• Reformed Bully: In elementary school, Shizuku spoke without a filter and her definition of "helping" her classmate Ruri basically amounted to verbally putting her down, but since she wasn't told off for it, Shizuku thought she was doing a good thing. It wasn't until Seri called her out for what she did that Shizuku realized how bad her actions really were. In the present day, she's no longer the outspoken girl she once was, and with Kaori's help, manages to reconcile with Ruri, though the process is long and hard.
• Reformed, but Rejected: Shizuku immensely regrets having hurt Ruri with her bullying in elementary school. Kaori tries to help her make peace with Ruri by arranging them to meet so Shizuku can properly apologize, but neither Ruri nor Seri want to forgive her for what she did and only agreed to meet her again because Kaori asked them. Later on, it gets downplayed when Ruri realizes Shizuku has really changed and wants them to get into more civil terms, even though she still doesn't feel ready to forgive Shizuku.
• Secretly Selfish:
  • Downplayed with regards to her apology. She genuinely regrets what she did to Ruri and hates herself for it, but a part of her had hoped that Ruri would forgive her.
  • Played straighter with regards to "helping" Ruri, which was only done to stroke her own ego.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: She's withdrawn, gloomy and nonathletic, while Shizuka is outgoing, cheerful and athletic.
• Sleep Deprivation: She has trouble sleeping when she's stressed. After Kaori dies, Shizuku looks like she hasn't slept in days.
• Sweet and Sour Grapes: Her first attempt at apologizing to Ruri ends in rejection(albeit an outcome she was prepared to accept), but after she respects Ruri's request for space, Ruri becomes more amenable to reconnecting.
• Tears of Joy:
  • She cries these in the first chapter after hearing Kaori say that she enjoyed Shizuku's work.
  • She also tears up after Ruri expresses a desire to get to know her, glad that Ruri is moving forward and they once again have a connection between them.
  • She also tears up when Kaori thanks her for confiding in her about why she stopped writing her web novel, and tells her that her words can save others.
• Took a Level in Kindness: She starts out as a self-pitying former bully, and grows to care for Kaori and do what she can to atone for her misdeeds.
• Used to Be More Social: Before she was outed as a bully and distanced herself from others- partly because people hated her and partly by choice- she was significantly more outgoing.
• Writer's Block: In Chapter 25, after Kaori temporarily slips into unconsciousness, Shizuku is briefly unable to write anything, unable to think of how to write the Kaori in her story. She ends up not visiting for a few days until Kaori begs her to, and only gets out of her slump after telling Kaori about why she stopped work on her web novel.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: In Chapter 22, after Kaori mentions that Shiori think that Kaori's a kind person, Shizuku asks if Kaori's kidding, given how hostile Shiori was to Kaori in the previous two chapters.

Kaori Asaka

Voiced by: Azumi Waki (ichijinshaPV)

Shizuku's classmate, who gets into a fake relationship with her to encourage her to write their love story. She's terminally ill with a respiratory disease, but tries to hide her pain from others.

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• Affectionate Nickname: Her friends call her "Kao-chan," and her late mother used to call her "Kao."
• Appetite Equals Health: In Chapter 30, her doctor and Shizuku notice that she isn't eating much. Her condition takes a turn for the worse by the end of the chapter, and she dies within two days.
• Armor-Piercing Question: As Shizuku tries to distance herself from her, Kaori asks if Shizuku hates being with her, which helps her realize that she does like Kaori.
• Armor-Piercing Response: Gives a series of these after Shizuku learns about her terminal illness.
  Shizuku: There are other hospitals you could try....
  Kaori: I've been to a lot of places. It's all the same.
  Shizuku: Maybe they've got the wrong diagnosis...
  Kaori: I don't think so, not this time around. They're the leading doctors on it. Famous even.
  Shizuku: F-Famous? But, that's great! Maybe you have to stay a bit and somehow...
  Kaori: Somehow, I made it up until now. It's a miracle I survived to high school.
  Shizuku: Gh... But...
  Kaori: Shizuku. There are no miracles left for me. This is it for me.
• Batman Gambit: Some of her "selfish" requests are meant to make Shizuku happier and allow her to connect with others. She suggests that Shizuku go mountain climbing on her behalf and take Shizuka along, resulting in the sisters reconnecting. She asks Shizuku to get a book from the Asaka home, allowing her to meet and connect with Kaori's sister Shiori. She asks Shizuku and Ruri to get drinks for her and Seri, allowing the two to agree to start over.
• Character Development: She becomes more open with Shizuku as the story goes on, partly because of her increased trust in her, partly because her condition worsening puts greater strain on her and partly because some secrets came out anyway.
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Contrasts with Shiki Hiiragi from The Girl I Want is So Handsome!. While both of them are genuinely nice, Shiki's cheerfulness is generally not an act, unlike Kaori's. Shiki is a tall Bifauxnen(half a head taller than Hinami) while Kaori is more feminine and petite(only coming up to Shizuku's shoulders). Shiki has an older brother and lives alone, while Kaori has a younger sister and lives with her family.
• Cool Big Sis: She's a kind and caring older sister to Shiori, who adores her.
• Cooldown Hug: Performs one on Shizuku in Chapter 13, when Shizuku is overwhelmed by anxiety as she prepares to apologize to Ruri.
• Dead Man Writing: In the final chapter, she leaves behind a letter for Shizuku, as well as her diary, and Shiori mentions that Kaori gave letter(s) to everyone else who knew her.
• Excellent Judge of Character: While Shizuku claims that Kaori was seeing positive qualities in Shizuku that didn't actually exist, she was able to easily tell that Shizuku was contemplating suicide, and realizes that Shizuku is a kinder person than she gives herself credit for. She also realizes that Shizuku's mother and sister are kind people at heart, even though Shizuku is unsure of whether she can confide in them.
• Fatal Flaw:
  • Selflessness. Kaori is determined to use her final days to help those closest to her, but ends up neglecting her own needs. When she goes to accompany Shizuku for her apology to Ruri, she ends up collapsing and being hospitalized.
  • Secretiveness. Kaori hides her pain from others, even her own family, and puts on a cheerful façade.
• Foil:
  • To Shizuku. Both hide their pain from others, but while Shizuku is afraid of hurting others, Kaori worries about being a burden on others. Shizuku is withdrawn and depressed, while Kaori is an outgoing Stepford Smiler.
  • To Ruri. Both suffered from chronic illnesses when they were young, but Ruri largely recovered from hers, while Kaori's only got worse. Kaori is outwardly cheerful but more vulnerable than she seems, while Ruri is timid but can occasionally show a surprising degree of resolve.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Sanguine. While her cheerful nature may be largely a façade, she's the only one of the four main characters who's able to be outgoing and friendly, even as an act.
• Hypocrite: Kaori notices that Shizuku is distressed about meeting with Ruri to apologize to her and proposes postponing it for when she feels better, although she does respect Shizuku's decision to see it through. That's all well and good, but Kaori routinely pushes herself too far while meeting Shizuku, and collapses at the end of that same outing.
• I Did What I Had to Do: After Seri calls her out on manipulating her and Ruri into coming to see Shizuku.
  Kaori: Yep. I wanted you to meet Shizuku as she is now. I did what I could, for better or worse.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Fashionable: She buys Shizuku clothes to wear for the aquarium date, and Shizuku later wears them when apologizing to Ruri.
• Innocently Insensitive: She proposes that Shizuku post her novel on the web, and is surprised when she is bluntly turned down. Shizuku had done that before, and while her novel had initially been well-received, she received a torrent of vitriol after it turned out that her story coincidentally resembled a real tragedy.
• Insecure Love Interest: As her condition worsens and limits how much she can do, she feels she is becoming a burden to Shizuku, and feels guilty that her impending death will cause Shizuku pain.
• It's Not You, It's Me: Her rationale for trying to break up with Shizuku is her belief that she'd be nothing more than a burden to her now that she's confined to the hospital. She wanted to become Shizuku's real girlfriend, but was afraid Shizuku wouldn't be able to move on from her death.
• Killed Offscreen: Passes away while Shizuku is asleep in the penultimate chapter, and Shizuku learns of her death upon waking up.
• Manipulative Bitch: She can be manipulative at times, something Shizuku and Seri make note of, albeit for largely good purposes.
• Nice Girl: Probably the kindest and most selfless character in the series. Even when suffering from a terminal disease, she always puts others first, and her "selfish" requests are ways to do something nice for Shizuku and her other friends.
• Nice, Mean, and In-Between: The nice of herself, Ruri and Seri. She hopes that Shizuku can forgive herself for her past transgressions, but also concedes that Ruri is under no obligation to forgive her.
• One Degree of Separation: She's connected to most of the cast in some way or another, having gone to the same elementary school as Shizuku, Ruri and Seri and befriended the latter two due to going to the same hospital as Ruri.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Whenever her cheerful façade falters, it's usually a sign that all is not well. For example, in Chapter 25, after Shizuku doesn't visit for a few days, Kaori begs her to come see her, not wanting to die without seeing Shizuku again.
• Scheherezade Gambit: She convinces Shizuku to write another story, hoping that she would never give up and kill herself midway through a project.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: To Shiori. Kaori is at least outwardly cheerful and outgoing, whereas Shiori doesn't have any friends besides Kaori and can be grouchy and moody.
• Soap Opera Disease: Kaori's illness is never identified by name, and its symptoms are just as vague besides it being described as a deadly respiratory illness.
• Social Circle Filler: Kaori is shown with a few other friends from school in the first chapter. They're forgotten about after summer vacation begins, perhaps because Kaori only sees them at school and they aren't close enough to visit her in the hospital.
• Stepford Smiler: While outwardly cheerful, she hides her pain from others.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • After Shizuku doen't visit for a few days, due partly to suffering from writer's block, Kaori calls her up and begs her to come, saying she doesn't want to die without seeing Shizuku again. Shizuku comes immediately and apologizes.
  • In a somewhat more low-key example, while she agrees that Ruri isn't obligated to forgive Shizuku, she calls out Seri on needlessly antagonizing Shizuku and doing nothing but worsening Shizuku's anxiety when Shizuku only came to apologize.
• Your Days Are Numbered: At the start of the series, Kaori doesn't have long to live. She estimates that she will die by the end of the summer if not sooner, hence her self-imposed time limit on her "relationship" with Shizuku and attempt to cut ties with Shizuku in Chapter 15. Her disease kills her in the penultimate chapter, before summer's end.

Friends

Ruri Ichinose

An elementary school classmate of Shizuku. Shizuku tried to help Ruri, only to end up bullying her. Ruri is best friends with Seri and also knows Kaori.

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• Apologizes a Lot: She tends to reflexively apologize, which annoyed Shizuku when they were younger. She still does so from time to time, resulting in Seri gently teasing her.
• Armor-Piercing Question: As Shizuku tries to apologize, Ruri asks her, "What do you want from me?" forcing Shizuku to think about why she wanted to apologize and admit to herself that a part of her had hoped to be forgiven.
• Blunt "No": When Shizuku asks if there is any way for her to atone for her bullying, Ruri simply says "No," before adding that the only thing Shizuku can do is to leave her alone.
• Childhood Friend: She has been close to Seri since elementary school.
• Contrasting Replacement Character: To Hanna Adachi of The Girl I Want is So Handsome!. Hanna has the fewest interactions with Hinami out of all the cast, while Ruri's character arc involves her struggling with the question of whether to forgive Shizuku for bullying her. Hanna is calm and unflappable, while Ruri is timid and emotionally vulnerable. Hanna is tall and athletic, while Ruri is short and not good at sports, at least in elementary school. As mentioned with Seri, Hanna and Rei are the Beta Couple, while Ruri and Seri are only friends.
• Delicate and Sickly: When she was younger, she had a disease that caused her to often miss school, but is under control as of the start of the story.
• Everyone Has Standards: While she hasn't forgiven Shizuku for her bullying, she still protests Seri's unprovoked hostility toward Shizuku.
• Extreme Doormat: She has a hard time standing up for herself, which is why she let Shizuku's bullying slide for so long.
• Fatal Flaw: Passiveness. Ruri's inability to stand up for herself resulted in Shizuku not realizing she was doing anything wrong and continuing to bully her. While somewhat more assertive as a teenager, she still agrees to meet with Shizuku despite not wanting to, just for Kaori's sake.
• Foil: To Kaori. Both suffered from chronic illnesses when they were young, but Ruri largely recovered from hers, while Kaori's only got worse. Kaori is outwardly cheerful but more vulnerable than she seems, while Ruri is timid but can occasionally show a surprising degree of resolve.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Phlegmatic. While she bears the scars of Shizuku's bullying, she's perhaps the calmest of the main characters and the least likely to let emotions cloud her judgment. In elementary school, she was probably closer to melancholic, though.
• Grew a Spine: She's significantly more assertive as a teenager than as a young child. She rejects Shizuku's initial apology, and her later decision to get to know Shizuku is not for Shizuku or Kaori's sake, but to help herself get over her trauma.
• The Load: Shizuku accused Ruri of being this to her class in elementary school, blaming her for holding everyone back due to her poor performance in academics and sports.
• Nice Girl: Despite understandably being unwilling to forgive Shizuku, she still keeps things civil with her, and is kind and supportive of Kaori.
• Nice, Mean, and In-Between: The in-between of herself, Kaori and Seri. While she still is traumatized from Shizuku's bullying and is unable to forgive her, she also acknowledges Shizuku has changed.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The relatively calm blue oni to Seri's red.
• Rejected Apology: She politely but in no uncertain terms tells Shizuku that the trauma from Shizuku's bullying has not gone away and she wants nothing to do with Shizuku. However, she later says that she wants to get to know Shizuku after seeing how much she's changed, in the hopes that this can help her overcome her trauma.
• Trauma Button: Curry brings back the memories of the time Shizuku pushed her. When Seri offers to go out to lunch with Ruri at a curry fair, Ruri wordlessly flinches upon seeing the curry banners and Seri apologizes. When Shizuku tries to apologize, Ruri says that Shizuku "made (Ruri) hate something (she) liked."

Seri Ichihara

Ruri's best friend, and also a friend of Kaori's. She despises Shizuku for bullying Ruri.

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• Accuser of the Brethren: She's completely unwilling to forgive Shizuku for her past bullying, although she eventually gets to the point at which she's willing to tolerate Shizuku.
• Anger Born of Worry: She's cross with Kaori for coming with Shizuku for her apology- not because she's with Ruri's former bully, but she's pushing herself too far.
• Armor-Piercing Response: Gives one to Shizuku that causes her to realize that her behavior was wrong.
  Seri: Oh yeah...? So that's how you're bullying Ruri.
• Bitch Slap: Angrily slaps Shizuku in the face for bullying Ruri.
• Brutal Honesty: She never minces words, such as confirming that she does, in fact, still hate Shizuku.
• Chekhov's Gunman: She's introduced but not named in Shizuku's flashback, then turns out to be a significant secondary character.
• Chekhov's Skill: It is mentioned during the Enoshima trip that Seri practices judo. As a result, she's strong enough to carry Shizuku downstairs in the final chapter.
• Childhood Friend: She has been close to Ruri since elementary school.
• Contrasting Replacement Character: To Rei Miyamoto of The Girl I Want is So Handsome!. Both are relatively hostile to the main protagonists, but while Rei doesn't know Hinami and is simply being hard on her for her clumsiness, Seri hates Shizuku for bullying Ruri. Rei has apparently met Shiki relatively recently, and they are on a Last-Name Basis, while Seri has been friends with Kaori since at least fifth grade, albeit meeting her through their mutual friend Ruri, and Kaori calls Seri by her first name while Seri calls Kaori "Kao-chan." Lastly, Rei and Hanna are the Beta Couple while Seri's friendship with Ruri appears to be entirely platonic.
• Cruel to Be Kind: In the final chapter, she picks up Shizuku, who's been holed up in her room since Kaori's death, drags her downstairs, and tells her to get dressed and go to Kaori's house. It works, as reading Kaori's diary brings Shizuku out of her depression.
• Establishing Character Moment: In her first scene, she walks up to Shizuku, slaps her and calls her out on bullying Ruri, establishing that she's protective of Ruri and despises Shizuku.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Choleric. She's rather temperamental, from her hostility toward Shizuku to her Anger Born of Worry reaction to Kaori pushing herself.
• The Friends Who Never Hang: While she's friends with Kaori, the two have relatively few onscreen interactions compared to Kaori with Ruri or Shizuku, and only have one on-panel one-on-one conversation.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • As harsh as she is to Shizuku, she's right about how Ruri hasn't forgiven her, and that meeting up with Ruri will only reopen Ruri's old wounds. She also calls out Kaori on essentially manipulating her and Ruri to meet with Shizuku, something Kaori admits.
  • While she's not nearly as much of a jerk to Kaori as she is to Shizuku, she angrily calls her out on coming with Shizuku, because she knows that Kaori shouldn't be exerting herself so much. Kaori collapses as Seri and Ruri are walking away.
  • Her Cruel to Be Kind response to Shizuku completely shutting down while grieving Kaori's death turns out to be exactly what Shizuku needs.
• Jerkass to One: She's far harsher to Shizuku than she is to anyone else due to hating her for bullying Ruri.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's sharp-tongued and has a grudge against Shizuku for bullying Ruri, but is incredibly loyal to Ruri and can be kind to Shizuku on occasion.
• Last-Name Basis: She rudely calls Shizuku "Hoshikawa" without honorifics. Shizuku, meanwhile, politely calls her "Ichihara-san," and this, combined with the fact that Shizuku only remembers Seri from the time she slapped her, implies that they were never particularly close.
• Nice, Mean, and In-Between: The mean of herself, Kaori and Ruri. She still bears a grudge against Shizuku for bullying Ruri.
• "Not So Different" Remark: She states that she saw a little of herself in Shizuku when the latter helplessly stood over Kaori- both wanted to help the people closest to them, but they didn't know how due to being Locked Out of the Loop.
• Pet the Dog: While she's far from a bad person, she can be rather hostile to Shizuku, but nevertheless can also be kind to her.
  • Seri takes the time to tell Shizuku about Kaori's condition, simply because she realizes that they're in similar situations.
  • It is revealed in Chapter 27 that not only did Kaori tell Ruri about how much Shizuku changed, but so did Seri.
  • In Chapter 31, when Shizuku is distraught over Kaori being on the verge of death, Seri takes her home.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives one to a young Shizuku in Chapter 7, saying for all of Shizuku's excuses, she's nothing more than a bully who hurt Ruri and made her cry.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The hot-tempered red oni to Ruri's blue.
• Shipper on Deck: In Chapter 18, she confesses that one of the reasons she told Shizuku about Kaori's condition is because she thought she and Kaori were a couple. She didn't know about their temporary relationship, but thought it seemed obvious.
• Static Character: Apart from warming up to Shizuku a little, Seri changes the least out of the four main characters.
• Tomboyish Ponytail: She wears her hair in a ponytail, dresses in a practical and boyish style and practices judo.
• Tsundere: Very heavy on the tsun towards Shizuku, but she can occasionally be kind to her. She tells Shizuku about Kaori's condition, as well as her own experience with Ruri. During the outing to Enoshima, she initially bluntly refuses to trust Shizuku with pushing Kaori's wheelchair, but lets her do it when Shizuku and Kaori have a second aquarium date.
• Unknown Rival: She hates Shizuku for bullying Ruri, but Shizuku only knew that Ruri was from another class back in elementary school.
• What the Hell, Hero?: She bluntly tells Kaori that neither she nor Ruri wanted to meet with Shizuku and only did so because Kaori asked, then passive-aggressively accuses Kaori of using her illness to manipulate them.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Her initial reaction to Shizuku's apology letter is this phrase, verbatim, refusing to accept it.

Family

Shizuka Hoshikawa

Shizuku's older sister, an aspiring hairdresser.

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• Cool Big Sis: She cares for Shizuku a lot and wants to get her out of her shell.
• Foil: To Shiori. Shizuka's outgoing and cheerful, while Shiori is moody and only has a connection with her sister. Shizuka gets along well with Kaori, but Shiori is initially hostile toward Shizuku, albeit privately admitting she's a nice person.
• Genki Girl: She's cheerful and energetic, especially in comparison to Shizuku.
• Locked Out of the Loop: She knows that Kaori is hospitalized, but doesn't know that she's terminally ill.
• Nice Girl: A rather cheerful and friendly girl who cares a lot for her sister and almost immediately hits it off well with Kaori.
• Parental Title Characterization: While most of the cast calls their parents "Mom" and "Dad," Shizuka uses the less formal "Mama" and "Papa."
• Precision F-Strike: After Shizuku gets home from the aquarium date, clearly upset and dripping wet, and says, "It's nothing," Shizuka fires back, "Like hell it is!"
• Shoo Out the Clowns: She's the closest thing to a comic relief character and appears significantly less in the darker second half. Her last major appearance is during the hiking trip in Chapter 19, as well as when she and Shizuku get home at the start of Chapter 20.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: She's outgoing, cheerful and athletic, in contrast to the withdrawn, gloomy and nonathletic Shizuku.

Mrs. Hoshikawa

Shizuku and Shizuka's mother.

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• Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Pats Shizuku's head after she thanks her mother and apologizes for being a nuisance.
• Housewife: Implied, since she's always seen at home and often wears an apron.
• No Name Given: Her given name is never disclosed.
• Parents as People: She does what she can to help her chronically depressed younger daughter, even if her lack of understanding of Shizuku's problems causes her to have limited success.

Shion

The Hoshikawa family dog.

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• Fuzz Therapy: After Shizuku's mother looked into animal therapy to help her daughter's depression, she got Shion, and Shion helped Shizuku open up to her family a bit more.
• Precious Puppy: The dog's age is unknown- at least four years old in the present day- but he's very small and is shown affectionately licking Shizuku's face in a flashback.

Shiori Asaka

Kaori's younger sister, a grade schooler.

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• Affectionate Nickname: Kaori calls her "Shio."
• Big Sister Worship: She greatly looks up to Kaori and cannot bear the thought of being separated from her.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Gets jealous of Shizuku's closeness to Kaori, and takes out her anger on her when she comes to visit.
• Establishing Character Moment: In Chapter 4.5, after giving Kaori the morning glory seeds, she worries that Kaori is pushing herself too hard, but Kaori reassures her. Shiori then says it's fine for Kaori to spend time with her "friend"(Shizuku) but asks that she spend time with Shiori, too.
• Foil:
  • To Shizuku. Both are close to Kaori and no one else, but Shizuku used to be more outgoing and popular, while there is no indication Shiori was ever close to anyone besides Kaori. Shiori is close to her sister, while Shizuku is distant from her sister and the rest of her family.
  • To Shizuka. Shizuka's outgoing and cheerful, while Shiori is moody and only has a connection with her sister. Shizuka gets along well with Kaori, but Shiori is initially hostile toward Shizuku, albeit privately admitting she's a nice person.
• Full-Name Basis: Angrily calls Shizuku "Hoshikawa Shizuku" in their first encounter.
• Only Friend: Her sister is the only one she's close to, and Shiori believes she's the only one she needs.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: She's rather hostile to Shizuku when they meet in Chapter 20, so the fact that she can't bring herself to be that way in Chapter 25 after Kaori slips into unconsciousness shows how much she's suffering.
• Satellite Character: Defined by her relationship with her sister, to the point at which she says she doesn't have or need any friends.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: To Kaori. Kaori is at least outwardly cheerful and outgoing, whereas Shiori doesn't have any friends besides Kaori and can be grouchy and moody.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Shizuku immediately notices how much Shiori looks like Kaori, to the point of thinking of her as "a mini-Kaori."
• Took a Level in Kindness: In Chapter 20 and 21, she angrily lashes out at Shizuku and insists on delivering the book to Kaori, but in the final chapter, she hands Shizuku Kaori's diary with no noticeable reluctance.
• Tsundere: She's extremely harsh toward Shizuku in their first meeting, angrily ranting at her, but tells Kaori that Shizuku is a nice person.

Mr. Asaka

Kaori and Shiori's father.

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• Nice Guy: From his limited panel time, he's shown to be a pleasant individual who loves his daughters dearly.
• No Name Given: His name is never revealed.
• Outliving One's Offspring: He outlives his terminally ill elder daughter, Kaori.