Literature / Kokoro Connect

From left to right: Taichi, Inaba, Yui, Aoki, and Nagase.

Everyone has something they don't want others to know. There are things you're better off not knowing.

— Himeko Inaba

The "love and teen pentagonal comedy" follows the five members of Yamaboshi High's Student Cultural Society club—consisting of three girls and two boys—and their everyday lives as they deal with some very strange phenomena such as randomly switching bodies with each other or having their innermost desires unleashed. It is revealed that the phenomena are caused by a mysterious supernatural entity that goes by the name 'Heartseed' who wants to be entertained.

Kokoro Connect is a series of Light Novels written by Sadanatsu Anda and illustrated by Shiromizakana, which was published from 2010 to 2013. deals with what would happen if people could see different sides of their friends—their darkest and even their most vulnerable sides. Each arc addresses curious dilemmas such how someone would react if they switched bodies with someone else, especially the opposite gender, or what it would be like if people had no inhibitions. This series explores the ramifications such bizarre situations would have on the people themselves and how they might try to fix each others' failings and complexes as they discover them. It is a story of Ordinary High School friends dealing with the ordinary struggles of teenagehood, all the while in the middle of very unordinary situations, and how their friendships survive it all.

US and Canada viewers can watch the anime adaptation legally on HIDIVE. The light novels were translated by J-Novel Club, with the first volume published on August 22, 2018.

The original light novel series consists of eleven volumes, three of which are side stories.

• Vol. 1 Hito Random ^note Random People
• Vol. 2 Kizu Random ^note Random Wounds
• Vol. 3 Kako Random ^note Random Past
• Vol. 4 Michi Random ^note Random Courses
• Vol. 4.5 Clip Time - Short Stories
• Vol. 5 Nise Random ^note Random Fakes
• Vol. 6 Yume Random ^note Random Dreams
• Vol. 6.5 Step Time - Short Stories
• Vol. 7 Asu Random (I) ^note Random Tomorrow (I)
• Vol. 8 Asu Random (II) ^note Random Tomorrow (II)
• Vol. 8.5 Precious Time - Epilogue

The light novels have a fan-translation here.

The anime, by SILVER LINK., ran for 17 episodes from July to December 2012. A new arc covering the material from one of the books starts every few episodes. The series is separated like this:

• Vol 1 - 5 episodes
• Vol 2 - 5 episodes
• Vol 3 - 3 episodes
• Vol 4 - 4 episodes

A PSP (non-canon) Visual Novel, Yochi Random, has also been released on 22nd November 2012, featuring an original story taking place in an alternate timeline after the events of Hito Random, with different, serious arc based on each of the 5 main casts' perspectives, as well as a number of comedic side arcs.

We have a Character Sheet right here.

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Tropes:

• Abhorrent Admirer: Aoki for Yui, and Fujishima for Iori.
• Absurdly Powerful Student Council: In Asu Random II. When the entire school is trapped in an Isolation Dimension by Number Three, the Student Council steps up to keep order amongst the confused students, and its president has some very extreme ideas on how to escape the dimension.
• Abusive Parents: One of Iori's stepfathers turned out to be like this and he became the reason why Iori started taking on adaptable personalities.
• Adaptation Distillation: The anime to the light novels and manga.
• Adaptation Dye-Job: The eye and hair colors of some characters differ slightly between the anime and novel art.
• Adults Are Useless: Averted, but the stuff the main characters go through is so weird they figure no one would believe them if they asked for help. It also doesn't help that the supernatural entity toying with them leaves no evidence to work with.
• All Love Is Unrequited: Oh boy, is it! We have Aoki for Yui initially, Fujishima for Iori, Watase for Fujishima, Shiroyama for Iori, Setouchi for Shiroyama (initially, but she managed to win the guy few months later in the novel) and for a brief time, Taichi would qualify this for Iori during the Michi Random arc.
  • In the novel, we also have Misaki for Yui.
• All Men Are Perverts: Taichi and Aoki regularly share their porn with each other.
• And the Adventure Continues: Since the body switching ended so early, did you actually think Heartseed would stop messing around with the cast after just 5 episodes?
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: The Desire Unleash phenomenon forces our heroes to give into all kinds of horrible impulses such as random acts of violence, verbally assaulting each other and eating lots and lots of food.
• Baffled by Own Biology: When Taichi finds himself in Nagase's body for the first time, he freaks out confusedly as he squishes the breasts on her body and hears her voice coming from his mouth. The others also express various concerns about this and have their own freakouts during the various body swaps that follow.
• Beach Episode: The first Drama CD, "Summer, Swimsuits, and a Storm."
• Beauty Contest: Iori wins one in Clip Time, effectively earning the title "No.1 Beauty" of Yamaboshi High.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: Two of the three main girls seem to be falling for Taichi largely because of his willingness to help them out with their problems.
  • Yui seems to be lowering her guard against Aoki as well because of this trope. Despite all of her attacks, insults, and rejections, he still wants to be with her.
• Beta Couple: Aoki and Yui become this later to Taichi and Inaba. They have their rough moments, but tend to have it easier than the other two.
• Betty and Veronica: Throughout Kako Random and Michi Random, Taichi is conflicted between Iori (Betty) and Inaba (Veronica). It takes some soul-searching, but he ultimately chooses Inaba.
• Big Damn Heroes: The CRC members do this in episode 17, after Inaba is kidnapped by some thugs who ruined their club room along with the materials they were working on for a presentation.
• Big Word Shout: Episode 5: "NAGASE!!!" as Heartseed makes her fall into the river, complete with Futile Hand Reach.
  • Episode 17: "INABA!!!" Complete with Taking The Lead Pipe.
  • Similar scenarios occur in the PSP visual novel, 1) when Iori was about to get hit by a truck and 2) when Inaba was plummeting onto the ground off a cliff.
• Bland-Name Product: Bazkin Robin ice cream, Inaba's VAIA laptop, Cola-Cola, Sontory (Suntory) and Melpis (Calpis) drinks, and a Seike (Seiko) clock all make appearances.
• Blue-and-Orange Morality: Heartseed's methods to interacting with the club members can seem rather strange to most people including the main characters, such as the random warping into different bodies, and especially episode 5 when he takes over Iori's body and throws it off a bridge into the river below.

• Breakfast Club: The Cultural Research Club, made up of 5 people who wanted to join different clubs, but ended up as single-member clubs.
• Breaking the Fellowship: The various character's problems cause them to avoid each other during the Random Wounds arc. After some soul searching, however, they largely make amends for the strife they caused the group.
• Brick Joke: In Episode 9, Aoki requests Yui dress as a bunny girl and she refuses. Come Episode 17...
• Broken Bird: More like a cast of Broken Birds. Each member seems to carry some type of emotional luggage.
• Cerebus Rollercoaster: The Random arcs are very dramatic with some comedic points sprinkled in. The Time side stories, on the other hand, are completely comedic Slice of Life tales.
• Chekhov's Gun: Taichi and Inaba look over the edge of a cliff and note that someone could die if they fell off it. Later, Heartseed implies that Taichi has fallen to his death but it's subverted; he fell out of a tree trying to rescue a kitten, and is uninjured. Heartseed only said he "fell," but he knew Inaba (and the audience) would assume the worst.
• Chekhov's Skill: In episode 3, Taichi taught Yui that the best way to defeat a man was to kick him in the balls. Then, in episode 17, she beats one of Inaba's kidnappers with that same tactic.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: Taichi, as noted by Inaba. It has earned him the title, "Selfless Freak."
  • Deconstructed: The series repeatedly points out the flaws in Taichi's supposedly "heroic" personality, which he will learn to overcome.
• Credits Jukebox: If the endings are anything to go by, each arc has its own ED theme.
• Crime of Passion: The Kizu Random Story Arc has the inhibitions of the Student Cultural Society members suppressed at random times, which sometimes also makes them react violently. Examples include Yui using excessive force on a pair of guys sexually harassing girls, Aoki fighting off the police officers arresting Yui, and Yui breaking the table in a fit of rage. This arc has led to some people outside the Student Cultural Society getting hurt and was also toned down in the anime.
• Crucified Hero Shot: How Iori is posed when Heartseed forces her to leap off a bridge.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Heartseed vs anyone.
• Dark Secret: In episode 4, when Inaba reveals her trust issues to Taichi, Taichi tells her a secret that he had hoped to carry with him to his grave: he has masturbated to pictures of her in the past, as well as Iori and Yui. Inaba seems shocked at first, but then starts laughing. At the end of the episode, she also evens it out with her own secret: she's done the same with his picture.
• Date Peepers: Iori and Yukina in Step Time.
  • The entire Cultural Club in Clip Time. Yui is spied on in both instances.
• Deadpan Snarker: Inaba, 24/7. He mirrors her own cynical outlook on the world.
  • Taichi quite frequently as well, which Inaba doesn't tolerate.
• Deconstructor Fleet: Deconstructs Chronic Hero Syndrome, Genki Girl, Tsundere, Plucky Comic Relief, and A Friend in Need, among other high school Slice of Life / romance / drama tropes.
• Demonic Possession: Heartseed's method for communicating with the cast. It's unclear if he even has a physical body.
• Does Not Like Men: Justified, double subverted, then reconstructed with Yui. She was a victim of attempted rape in middle school and, as a result, developed androphobia. She seemed to get along all right with the male characters, but people closer to her are somewhat able to tell she has a fear of men. Taichi then gives Yui a little push to start overcoming her fear. He does this by kicking her/himself in the balls. It Makes Sense in Context.
• Domestic Abuse: Iori's second father to her mother, which is why she changed her personality in the first place.
• Doppelgänger: The Nise Random arc.
• Double Standard: Abuse, Female on Male: Taichi and Aoki get beat up a lot, don't they? Inaba specifically stops herself from hitting Iori when Taichi's in it.
• Dysfunction Junction: All five of the StuCS members have some sort of emotional baggage to deal with.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Several students who do not appear until much later in the novels can be seen as background characters early on in the anime.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Everyone in the StuCS goes through hell over and over, but they always find their way back to each other.
• Epiphany Therapy: Taichi's MO, though in reality he merely scratched on the surface of everyone's problem.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Heartseed was not pleased with Number Two's over the top meddling with the cast.
  • Let's not forget that Heartseed didn't get Iori's phone wet, even though what he did afterwards was pretty messed up.
• Everything's Better with Rainbows: The opening credits has a rainbow beam running through many of the happy scenes.

• First Kiss: Taichi gives one to Iori while she's in Inaba's body in episode 5, because Iori was going to die, and she wanted a memory from him before she went. Later, Inaba gets upset that he stole her first kiss, and threatens that it'll "cost" him big time.
• First-Name Basis: The other four main characters all call Taichi by his first name. One can be forgiven for forgetting that Taichi's last name is Yaegashi, as the other characters rarely use it.
  • Aoki and the girls call Yui by her first name, while Taichi sticks to her last name.
• Foreshadowing: Inaba's statement in Episode 4: "Do you want me to fall for you too?" is this for her Reveal in the second arc. Her getting upset at Taichi stealing her First Kiss counts as well.
  • All the strange rumors that were spreading around the school during Fujishima's side story in the novel, setting up the stage for what was to come in the next and final arc of the series.
• Fountain of Youth: The Kako Random arc.
• "Freaky Friday" Flip: The Hito Random arc, although generally for short periods of time instead of the driving theme.
• A Friend in Need: The series.
  • Deconstructed in Michi Random where Iori is further frustrated and alienated by her friends' repeated attempts to help her. It culminates with Iori raging at Inaba for pretending to be her friend when Inaba has created many hardships for Iori in the past.
• The Glomp: Yui does it to Aoki in episode 12.
• Got Volunteered: In episode 2 of the anime, Taichi is about to volunteer to help Fujishima with cleaning up litter when he and Inaba suddenly switch bodies.
• The Greatest Story Never Told: The Cultural Club choose to keep their supernatural encounters secret from anyone outside of the club. In Asu Random II, a select few other characters like Rina and Iori's mother learn the truth.
• Groin Attack: In episode 3 of the anime, Taichi in Yui's body delivers one to Yui in Taichi's body. Then they switch back.
• Heroic BSoD: Everyone has one at some point, though they always overcome them.
• Hidden Depths: Arguably everyone. For example, Yui, who loves cute things and is usually the quiet one, is actually a karate champion.
  • Also Mr Gotou, who's a professional level saxophone player despite his Hippie Teacher appearance and attitude. He's even had offers from professional jazz bands.
• Idiot Ball: The reason why Taichi and Aoki thought it was a good idea to take cute pictures of themselves while controlling Inaba and Yui's bodies. Also, they did so in the Cultural Society's clubroom of all places!
• Imaginary Love Triangle: Though nearly all the club members get involved in complex emotional scenarios at one point or the other, Taichi and Yui seem to play this straight, especially in Aoki's mind. Come the beginning of Episode 12, he's not the only one who thinks so either.
• Ironic Echo: "If you're worried about something, say something!"
• Is That Cute Kid Yours?: Various people ask this in episodes 11 and 12 when 4 of the 5 members start reverting to younger ages due to No.2's phenomenon.
• It Amused Me: Heartseed's motivation. Or so he says.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: When Iori runs away, Taichi chases after her, but doesn't know where she went. He asks Fujishima, who says she saw Iori run through the front gate, then gives him the key to her bike, and tells him that he's the one she needs right now.
  • Inaba also attempts to invoke this trope for Iori and Taichi, but ultimately subverts it herself.
• Last-Name Basis: Aoki and Inaba are almost always called by their last names. Aoki and Inaba's first names, which are rarely used, are Yoshifumi and Himeko, respectively.
• Lighter and Softer: The anime distilled and toned down some of the harsher elements from the novel. For a few examples:
  • Hito Random, Taichi was swapped out of his body and was prevented from reaching out for Iori as she plummets into the river.
  • Kizu Random, the anime distilled some of the casts' darker desire during their individual BSOD moments, such as Taichi smashing things in his room, Inaba shoplifting, etc. And Inaba also appeared to be much less of a jerk than she did in the novel.
  • Michi Random, Iori appeared less of a jerk as well. The footage at the end of episode 15, in the novel, Iori didn't just lash at Inaba. She verbally crushed her to the point where Inaba broke and collapsed on spot. Also, the kidnapping was arguably more violent in the novel.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: Anytime Yui breaks out her karate skills.
• Loss of Identity: Iori (while in Aoki's body) wondered if this would happen to them if they keep swapping bodies with each other, since the soul is intangilbe and invisible. She started assuming different personas to accomodate other people, and found she didn't know who her true self was any more.
  • Taichi, when he begins to realize his obsession with being selfless is controlling his life.
• Loss of Inhibitions: The Kizu Random arc has this happen to the club members when they feel powerful desires.
• Lovable Sex Maniac: Fujishima, a card-carrying Love Freak, describes herself as a "Missionary of Love." Her Establishing Character Moment was throwing herself at Iori, asking if she needs help groping herself.

• Love at First Sight: Aoki for Yui, which he tells her during his Love Confession.
• Love Confession: Aoki has given several to Yui, who also has repeatedly rejected him.
  • Played straight with Taichi towards Iori in episode 5. She smiles when she hears it, but then her body is taken over by Heartseed, and he apologizes as he throws her body into the river.
  • Inaba gives one to Taichi in episode 10. While he appreciates the thought, he tells her he's currently in love with Nagase, but Inaba says she already knew that. And since they're not dating, she figures she still has a chance, and tells him that both Nagase and herself agreed to compete for him fairly.
  • Yui gives one to Taichi in episode 12. However, she just said it as an example of her current issue of avoiding the subject, which she's been doing the entire time since her attempted rape and how she used to be strong but now relies almost solely on everyone else.
  • Chihiro gave one to Yui near the end of the Nise Random arc during their sports event, which distracted Yui enough for Chihiro's team to win, as he had planned.
  • Yui to Aoki in Yume Random arc, where they become an Official Couple.
  • Taichi to Inaba, to earn her back after their Second Act Break Up. A long confession, in a church, with mementos, completing with a kiss. Jeez, he really went all out.
• Love Epiphany: Inaba has one with the help of Heartseed of all people.
• Love Hurts: The main reason why Inaba was skipping out on club activities around episodes 7-9 was because she was in love with Taichi, but didn't want to act on her impulses with him as she believed that it would destroy the group's friendship if they found out, and more importantly, Iori's feelings, which causes the latter to lash out at her in episode 10 for burdening herself like that.
• Male Gaze: A couple throughout the series towards Inaba and Iori.
• Man, I Feel Like a Woman: Happens to everyone during the first arc.
• Manipulative Bastard: The others tend to think of Inaba as one.

• Masturbation Means Sexual Frustration: Played for Laughs in episode 4, where two of the Hormone-Addled Teenager characters, Taichi and Inaba, reveal to each other that they've masturbated while thinking of classmates before, including each other. Inaba thinks it's funny, but Taichi finds the whole ordeal embarrassing.
• The Matchmaker: Inaba, who loves shipping Iori and Taichi at any given opportunity. However, she does not take Taichi kissing Iori in Inaba's body very well...
  • Matchmaker Crush: Inaba also has feelings for Taichi, as it turns out.

• Mistaken for Gay: Aoki and Taichi get this when they visit Nana, Aoki's ex girlfriend.
• Mountain of Food: Episode 9 when Yui accidentally buys a feast of junk food off a rogue impulse. A impulse-fueled binge ensues.
  • A more serious example, Heartseed claims he and Taichi are in many ways similar in the Yume Random arc.
• Not What It Looks Like: Having experienced a body switch (with Iori, no less) for the first time, Taichi naturally decides to check his suddenly female body just to be sure. At that moment, Class Representative and lesbian, Fujishima, shows up and enthusiastically offers to help the apparent Iori grope herself. Hilarity ensues.
  • Episode 6: Taichi says this word for word when caught by Aoki and Yui after Inaba has her inhibitions suppressed and comes onto him.
• Oh, Crap!: Taichi gets this expression when Inaba tells him that will be reprecussions when he kisses Iori in her body. She gives him a Slasher Smile and laughs evilly.
  • Setouchi has this look after an angry Iori finds her in episode 16 after the latter finds out the former was indirectly responsible for destroying everything her friends had been working hard on.
• One Head Taller: Aoki, the tallest member and Yui, the smallest
• Passing the Torch: In Precious Time, Chihiro and Shino become the Cultural Club president and VP respectively.
• Poor Communication Kills: The whole drama in the Michi Random arc might have been averted had Iori been more open to her friends or her friends been more intuitive to catch on to the cause of her angst.
• Rape as Backstory: Yui was assaulted in middle school, and developed androphobia as a result.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Everyone gets one from Inaba sooner or later, even herself.
  • Taichi gives one to Inaba, harshly berating her for running away and abandoning their companions. A tear can be seen in Inaba's eye before she walks off and he snaps out of it.
  • Heartseed essentially does this to Inaba in episode 9. He tells her about her insecurities and trust issues, and how her attempts to hide her true feelings for Taichi is causing strife within the group that she also is trying not to break up.
  • Iori also does this to Inaba in episode 15 when the latter tries to dig into why she's going through her Heroic BSoD and doesn't seem to want anyone's help. Iori then flat out tells her she hated how Inaba kept pushing her to date Taichi, and when she finally considered it seriously, Inaba then decides she likes him too, and messes things up as a result. Then when Iori rejected him the second time he confessed to her, she also hated Inaba getting on her case about that as well.
  • Aoki and Taichi have a "Reason You Suck" war in episode 8.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Iori's red to Inaba's blue.
• Relationship Upgrade: Inaba and Taichi
  • And later Yui and Aoki
• Rubber Face: Inaba does it to Aoki in episode 11.
• Running Gag: Taichi being accused of being everyone's boyfriend. Yes, everyone's.
  • Also played with in the visual novel, where one of the scenes, depending on the player's choice of action, Taichi will end up groping ANY one of the other 4 members of the cast. To fuel the tease, besides the endings with either Inaba or Iori, the game also features gag endings with Yui, Aoki and Fujishima. And then there is that "harem route".
• Sadistic Choice: Heartseed gives the group the choice of which personality will die with Iori's body.
• Sacred First Kiss: Inaba does not take it well when she hears from Iori that the latter shared her first kiss with Taichi in the former's body. To fuel the Ship Tease, technically both girls had shared their First Kiss with Taichi.
  • Inaba's grudge is played for laugh in the PSP visual novel. In one of the side route ending, Fujishima stole a kiss from Iori. Inaba and the rest of the club try to comfort Iori, but as soon as Iori starts lamenting that it was her first kiss, Inaba immediately shifts to a nonchalant attitude and said: "You gave away your first kiss already... with MY BODY! This is what you get for using someone else's body without care!"
• Second Love: Between Yui and Aoki, it turns out that Aoki used to love a girl similar to Yui.
  • Inaba is this for Taichi.
• Secret-Keeper: Taichi is usually the go-to guy for the various characters regarding their issues. Then in episode 11, No.2 forces him to keep the current situation a secret from everyone else, lest he wants all of the club members reverting to a younger age for the rest of their lives. And then when Inaba and Iori wonder how long their current situation would last, he lets it slip that it shouldn't be long. Which then causes both girls to start grilling him about exactly how much he knows.
• Shaped Like Itself: Heartseed is using vague mind-control to make the gang act upon impulse. In Iori's case, no one notices a difference.
  Inaba: They seemed to write it off as Iori being herself.
  Iori: That was the worst part! If everyone thinks I'm being myself when I suddenly shout "Yahoo!" in the middle of class, what does that say?
  Taichi: That you're the sort of person who likes to shout "Yahoo!" in the middle of class.
• She Is Not My Girlfriend: In episode 2, when the class rep asks Taichi what his relationship with Iori is, he proudly boasts that they're dating. Cue a shocked Inaba looking at him making that proclamation. In actuality, Inaba and Taichi had switched bodies, and Inaba claimed to be doing it to help move their relationship along, as well as get the class rep away from Iori. Taichi was not happy about it nonetheless.
  • Taichi's response when his sister calls Iori his girlfriend in episode 6.
  • And then in episode 12 he has to explain, that neither Inaba nor Yui is the mother of his kid. And he isn't Aoki's boyfriend either. He sure gets it a lot.
• She Will Not Cry So I Cry For Her: Played with. When it looks like she is about to die, Iori tries to be strong and spends her last moments cheerfully speaking to each of friends while not shedding a tear herself. Everyone else, on the other hand, can barely keep it together. Everyone, that is, except for Taichi who refuses to cry so that Iori may be allowed to.
• Ship Tease: Taichi tends to be the receiver of this. Main pairings teased so far are Taichi/Iori, Taichi/Inaba, Taichi/Yui, and Aoki/Yui.
• Shipper on Deck: Inaba for Taichi and Iori. She actually seems to be a little ''too supportive'' of the two...
• Shout-Out: There is a poster in the clubroom of The Undertaker and Taichi has a John Cena poster in his room.
• Slice of Life: With a hint of drama, supernatural and romance.
• Split Personality: Or personalities, for that matter. While not as potent as a Jekyll & Hyde case, it's arguably just as bad— when she was younger, Iori began assuming any persona she felt was necessary to please or placate a person or situation. Now that she no longer needs to assume a persona, she never really developed her own sense of self, and as a result, she worries that she'll lose the definition of who she is. Her dilemma is made that much worse with the Freaky Friday Flips.
  • However, in Episode 5, Taichi successfully argues that her making personas is no different to anybody else adapting to a given scenario.
  • Not as successful as you would think. By the events of episode 14, she began to be aware of her darker feelings, and mistakes those as her true self while dismissing her friendly persona as yet another facade, not realizing that they all define who she is.
• Status Quo Is God:
  • Iori tells Taichi in episode 6 that they should put off a relationship for now due to Heartseed screwing with them, which would likely complicate matters. He agrees to it.
  • Inaba tells Nagase she wanted to put this trope into effect as to why she was trying to hard to get her and Taichi together. Nagase gives her a good tongue lashing regarding that.
• Telepathy: In the Michi Random arc. Not as cool as it sounds.
• Tempting Fate: In episode 10, while taking out some trash on the field trip, both Inaba and Taichi notice that the garbage collection area is right in front of a steep cliff. Taichi mentions reading that he was going to have bad luck today according to his horoscope, but assures Inaba the only way he'd fall was if he jumped off deliberately. Cue Heartseed showing up later in the episode to tell Inaba that Taichi had a little accident and fell...
• Thanks for the Mammary: Taichi to Inaba in episode 6 after she got her lust unleashed. Fortunately, Yui and Aoki arrive at the scene before the situation got any further.
• There Are No Therapists: Iori, Inaba and Yui each have some kind of psychological issue they struggle with. Though this is justified since, at the beginning of the series, all three deliberately hid their issues as best they could.
• They're Called "Personal Issues" for a Reason: Inverted. Most of the problems in this series are only solved by the characters opening up to and asking each other for help.
• Three Plus Two: Arguably, Taichi, Iori and Inaba compose the three, while Yui and Aoki are the two. Though each character has their fair share of the limelight.
• Tonight, Someone Dies:
  • In episode 5, Heartseed visits to tell the other club members that Iori will die in 30 minutes. He gives the rest of them the chance to volunteer to take her place, but ultimately they decide Iori will die with her body and says her goodbyes to the rest of the club. Ultimately, her life was saved.
  • Invoked in episode 10, when Heartseed takes over Nagase again, this time to tell Inaba that Taichi had a little accident and fell. She immediately fears the worst, and wonders if Taichi really did fall off the cliff they saw earlier in the episode. Then its subverted again when it turns out Taichi only fell a short ways from a small tree while trying to rescue a cat.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Taichi in the later episodes. Some of the other characters call him out on it.
  • Inaba in episodes 7-10.
  • Iori in episodes 14-16.
• Tournament Arc: The Couples Battle Royale in Precious Time.
• A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: The Kizu Random arc has the club members lose their inhibitions when extremely passionate. Some of the hurt results without having an episode trigger.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: Between Iori and Taichi. And later Taichi and Inaba, though both cases are eventually settled after Michi Random.
• Villainous Rescue: Heartseed comes to the StuCS's aid near the end of the Kako Random arc when they are completely at the mercy of Number 2's phenomenon.
• Voices Are Not Mental: When the club members swap bodies, their voices stay with their bodies, but their mannerisms and speech patterns stay. Iori uses this to trick Taichi at one point into making him think she was actually Inaba.
• Wham Episode:
  • Episode 5, which takes a very dark and dramatic turn in contrast to the fairly lighter earlier episodes.
  • Invoked in episode 10, when Heartseed once again shows up to tell Inaba that Taichi fell. She thought he may have fell down the cliff from earlier, but it turns out that he fell from a small tree while trying to rescue a cat. Both Taichi and the cat were okay, but Inaba imagined the worst.
  • Episode 16, Iori going on an rampage of fury and then Inaba being kidnapped at the end.
• What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: Aside from Heartseed, this is the great mystery that the characters try to figure out.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Happens a few times throughout the series, but they immediately regret what they did, such as Yui beating up some guys, or Taichi accidentally knocking Iori over and causing her to hit her head on a cabinet while arguing with Aoki.
• "Which Restroom?" Dilemma: Happens when members of the club switch bodies with the opposite sex. Also leads to some hilarious moments when they forget and go into the wrong bathroom. Inaba asked the rest of the club which of them had made that particular mistake, and all four of them raised their hands.
• Will They or Won't They?
  • Taichi & Iori: They Don't.
• Would Hit a Girl: Taichi in episode 8 though his inhibitions were forcibly lost at the time when arguing with Aoki and afterwards he deeply regrets it.
• Wrong Bathroom Incident: During the Personality Exchange phenomenon, Taichi and Yui swap bodies randomly, which leads Taichi to go to the restroom to contact the others. He mistakenly enters the boys' restroom due to a force of habit, leading him to reluctantly enter the girls' restroom before contacting his friends on the phone.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Iori to Inaba in Episode 10 when she finally puts together the clues as to why Inaba has been avoiding the club and her friends.
• You Are Not Alone: Ultimately the theme of the series. Specific instances highlighted below.
  • Once again, Iori to Inaba in Episode 10, reminding Inaba that she has friends who truly love her.
  • The entire StuCS to Iori in Episode 13.

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