Manga / Engaged to the Unidentified

Benio, Kobeni, and Mashiro

Kobeni: "A guy (Hakuya) is going to be staying with us?!"

Akane: "There are a few circumstances..."

Kobeni: (Thinking) Oh, maybe it's for family reasons. It might be wrong to pry.

Akane: "By the way, Grandpa arranged for you to marry him."

- Chapter 1.

On Kobeni Yonomori's sixteenth birthday, she gets an unexpected present: a fiancé. Her grandfather, the recently-deceased patriarch of the family, gave her hand in marriage to the tall, dark, and silent Hakuya Mitsumine, a boy her own age who hails from high up in the rural mountains. He and his sister, the pint-sized Mashiro (who claims to be a high schooler despite all evidence to the contrary) move into the Yonomori house alongside Kobeni, her working single mother Akane, and her sister Benio, who has no flaws whatsoever except for her overzealous sister complex. Kobeni isn't exactly thrilled with this new development, but her mother convinces her to try it out and decide if she wants to go through with it. As the Yonomoris and the Mitsumines begin to share a home, Kobeni dreams of a long-ago accident that left her scarred and stricken with amnesia, and she begins to suspect her connection with Hakuya runs deeper than humanly possible.

Engaged to the Unidentified (未確認で進行形 or "Mikakunin de Shinkoukei") is a manga^note Originally, it began life as a Yonkoma, but starting with volume 11 its layout evolved into an irregular wide-panel format which is frequently interspersed with traditional manga layouts. by Cherry-Arai. It began its serialization in Ichijinsha's Manga 4-Koma Palette on April 22, 2009, moved to Comic Rex in 2022, and ended in 2024 after 187 chapters.

An anime adaptation produced by Doga Kobo premiered in January 2014. Two OVAs were later produced; one was included with the (Japanese) Blu-Ray, and the second was included with the manga's fifth volume. HIDIVE and VRV are streaming the anime for English-speaking viewers.

SPOILER WARNING: The anime hinges on a Mid-Season Twist that occurs relatively early in the manga. Since this twist is the backbone of the manga's story, spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.

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Engaged to the Unidentified gives examples of the following tropes:

• A-Cup Angst: Mashiro is quite envious of Kobeni's rather large breasts in episode 2. The latter tries to downplay it by saying they're more of a hindrance, but the former says that's what all big-breasted girls say. On a few other occasions, Mashiro does notice that the Buxom Beauty Standard isn't always the case, but that doesn't change her general perspective.
• Absurdly Youthful Mother: During the festival arc, Shirayuki dons her old school uniform and walks around enjoying the sights. Absolutely nobody can tell she isn't an actual high school student.
• Accent Relapse: Konoha reverts to her Tohoku accent (which is considered "backwater" in Japan) when she gets riled up.
• The Ace: Benio, to a ridiculous degree. Kobeni is close to this as well, being a smart student as well as a good cook, but finds herself Overshadowed by Awesome compared to her big sister.
• Adaptational Early Appearance: In the manga, Mashiro doesn't become obsessed with aliens and UMAs until after Kobeni learns the truth about her. In the anime, it's introduced almost at the start. Same with Mashiro's love of UMA toys, which in the manga is introduced about where the anime ends.
• Adaptation Expansion: Episode 12 is entirely anime-original material. When Kobeni visits the Mitsumine household in the manga, it's a totally uneventful (albeit a bit mysterious) vacation with her sister.
• Adorably Precocious Child: Mashiro often tries to act mature and rational, but it quickly becomes apparent that she really is a little kid, with such instances as her Suspiciously Specific Denials about foods she dislikes and her fear of aliens and UMAs.
• Aloof Big Brother: Subverted, Hakuya could have easily been one given his stoic nature. But he's actually very attentive and protective of Mashiro.
• Always Wanted to Say That: Chapter 175 opens with Mashiro ridiculing a ghost show by saying it's all post-processing with Photoshop. When Kobeni looks at her, confused, Mashiro drops the name of the trope in response.
• Angry Dance: Mashiro in episode 3, as seen here.
• Arranged Marriage:
  • Between Kobeni and Hakuya. Arranged by Kobeni's deceased grandfather, who was a friend of Hakuya's grandfather. This later gives Konoha hope, as she believes if they were forced into the marriage and don't like each other, then she can nab Hakuya for herself. She quickly finds out that her hopes are less-than-well-founded.
  • By the end of anime, which is fairly early in the manga, it's pretty obvious that Kobeni and Hakuya are in a Perfectly Arranged Marriage.
  • The ninth volume introduces an engagement between Hakuya and Mashiro's cousin, Komagamine Arata, and Konoha.
• Arrow Gram: The main method of communicating with Mashiro and Hakuya while they're living with Kobeni and Benio.
• Art Evolution:
  • The art in the manga. Everyone starts out with rather sharp features (to the point that it would be hard to convince anyone that Kobeni had a weight problem), but eventually settles into the rounded style shown in the anime's eyecatches and end cards.
  • The manga began life as a Yonkoma. Then Cherry-Arai started incorporating manga layouts with irregular panels, typically only for the first page, but they grew and grew in number until the manga stopped following the Yonkoma format at all and became a normal manga.
• Art Shift:
  • Benio is prone to being drawn in an exaggerated shoujo style whenever she starts complaining about Kobeni and Hakuya becoming closer.
  • When the characters are drawn from a distance, the girl characters' legs and feet are drawn as dainty and tiny as if they were doe's hooves◊.
• A Sister On Each Arm: Benio's fantasies involve this, with Kobeni and Mashiro obviously the ones clinging to her.
• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Mashiro's mom keeps getting sidetracked by confectioners and food vendors on her way to the house her children are staying in. By the time Kobeni runs into her, she's already accumulated a considerable collection of bags.
• Audience Surrogate: Considering this is a seinen series, Benio's obsessions and her common use of 2chan-speak would suddenly make sense—a considerable segment of the audience do have such obsessions and frequent imageboards such as 2chan.
• Bait-and-Switch: During the festival arc, Konoha overhears Kobeni and Hakuya sneaking off into the forest looking for a secluded spot where they can be alone. When she broaches the topic with Niko, Niko gasps loudly and comes to the most reasonable conclusion:
  Niko: Here!? In the woods with no one else around? Well obviously— . . . they're doing a test of courage!
  Konoha: That's it!!
• Bedmate Reveal: Kobeni wakes up to Benio staring at her in episode 3. She just ignores her sister, causing the latter to phone Nadeshiko about it.
• Beneath the Mask: In public, Benio is a straight-A student beloved by her juniors. At home? She's a somewhat loopy teenager with a fixation on both her sister and her probable sister-in-law. Subverted because she acts the same way in front of said two.
• Big Brother Attraction: Inverted with Benio, whose fixation on her younger sister Kobeni goes far beyond just "sisterly."
• Big Damn Heroes: Hakuya saves Kobeni from falling off a particularly high cliff in episode 12. Averted with Benio, Mayura, and Kobeni's mother, who arrive in a helicopter a few scenes later after he's already located and saved her.
• Bishie Sparkle:
  • Benio, Benio, Benio, when she's in full onee-sama mode. Nadeshiko can do this too, apparently.
  • Hakuya seems to be able to do it as well. But it seems only Kobeni can detect it, as seen in episode 4.
• Blank White Eyes: Kobeni and especially Mashiro display these in episode 5 a lot.
  • It happens regularly throughout the series. The opening at one point shows Benio, Mashiro and Kobeni one after the other, all with these.
• Blood from the Mouth:
  • Played for Laughs in episode 8 with Benio after hearing from Kobeni that Mashiro and Konoha aren't fighting over her.
  • Played for Laughs in episode 10 with Benio again. She suffers from it twice, once from Mashiro smacking her for interrupting Kobeni and Hakuya, and later when Kobeni and Hakuya try to keep a secret from her regarding matching handkerchiefs.
• Blunt "Yes": In chapter 163, after Hakuya overhears Kobeni talking about the Great Ginjirou — a dog Nadeshiko likes to pet — Kobeni jokingly asks if he's jealous. He responds "Yes," with the caption "Extreme Sincerity."
• Book Dumb: Two examples:
  • Played straight with Mashiro. While Kobeni assumes Mashiro is in her class despite being a few years younger due to being really smart, she actually isn't much smarter than someone around her age. That said, Kobeni still thinks she's doing really good considering she was in grade school prior to moving to the city.
  • Zigzagged with Hakuya. He has excellent test scores so long as it involves rote memorization, due to studying a lot and not having much else to do. In fact in episode 6 the teacher announces that he has the highest score in the class, a 96%. (Kobeni meanwhile got an 80%, while poor Mashiro scored a 44%.) However, when he takes a test requiring practical application, he fails badly (25% in math).
• Brainwashed: Youkai possess the power of hypnosis, which they can use to blend in with humans. Or, in Konoha's case, to get a spot on the student council near the light of her life, Benio. The hypnosis also requires the youkai to be physically present, or else it starts to wear off; when Mashiro and Hayuka got sick and had to stay with their mother, their classmates began to forget all about them.
• Bratty Half-Pint: What Mashiro comes off as to viewers, especially when one considers her initial treatment of Kobeni, who is her prospective sister-in-law.
• Brick Joke: In the second OVA, where Nadeshiko asks Kobeni (as a child) if she really has any idea what "Sexual Harrassment" actually means. At the end of the episode, she reacts favorably to Kobeni (as a teenager) now fully realizing the creepy implications of Benio's actions during that time.
  Kobeni: You still remember that?!?
• Bridal Carry: How Hakuya carries Kobeni after he rescues her in episode 12.
• Broken Pedestal: How Mashiro views Benio. While the latter acts like a model student at school, and is beloved by the students, at home or in private she acts very perverted towards the former. As a result, Mashiro often wonders if the students suffered some kind of brain damage due to the way they fawn over Benio.
• Camera Fiend: Niko, who's in the newspaper club.
• Cannot Spit It Out: Kobeni once she starts having feelings for Hakuya. In episode 9, Mashiro points it out for them.
• Cassandra Truth: Shirayuki asks Benio in episode 5 to keep their newly learned secret that she, Hakuya, and Mashiro are Youkai to themselves. While Benio does agree, the former also says that even if she did say anything, nobody would believe her anyway due to how absurd it would sound.
• Cat Smile:
  • Mashiro displays one in episode 5. Bonus points for doing it while wearing some cat pajamas.
  • Benio has one in episode 10 when wondering if she'll get something from Mashiro for White Day. The latter immediately dismisses that notion.
• Character Development: Nadeshiko began as the straight man to Benio's fool. However, when Cherry Arai amped up her love of animals and small children (who are inevitably turned away by her grim and stoic face), she became a loveably hapless and comically serious loser.
• Charles Atlas Superpower: Despite supposedly being a normal human as far as Mashiro or Hakuya are concerned, Benio's been shown to be capable of frankly ridiculous physical feats. While the main series shows how she's able to jump down from the second floor of her school unharmed, the OVAs show how she's capable of keeping up with Mashiro, duplicating everything Mashiro was doing — super speed, ballistic jumps, walking on water, even running across the sides of trees. And judging from what was shown in the second OVA, she's been able to do this as a child (where she jumps to the top of the park's jungle gym from the ground in a single bound, without as much as a running start). A conversation by some of the older folk in Mashiro's hometown in the same OVA hint that the Yonomoris might not be as mundane as they think they are.
• Chekhov's Gun: While Kobeni is sick in episode 4, she starts having a small flashback to the accident when she was younger. She mentions holding onto something soft, and it appears to be a patch of fur from a dog...
• Children Are Innocent: In episode 4, Benio is against Hakuya staying at home alone with Kobeni. Mashiro is unsure why that is, and misinterprets what the other two are saying, while its clearly a Double Entendre that doubles as a Sexual Euphemism.
• Childhood Friends: The second OVA shows that Benio and Nadeshiko have been friends since before grade school.
• Clingy Jealous Girl:
  • Zigzagged with Benio. In episode 5, she gets a little jealous and displays a Battle Aura when Hakuya seems to be comforting Kobeni, a job she used to do. But then she immediately reverses herself, and says she has no problem with it. She does it again though at home later in the episode. Then she does similar things in episode 6, simultaneously wanting to see Kobeni in a wedding dress, while not wanting to give her up for marriage. She goes full blast again after overhearing that Kobeni and Hakuya have reached the "lovey-dovey" portion of their relationship.
  • Played straight with Konoha Suetsugi, who absolutely despises the preferential treatment Kobeni at first, and later Mashiro, seem to get from Benio. Even when she confronts the latter about it, despite Mashiro's complaints about Benio, Konoha only focuses on the fact that the two spend so much time together and gets jealous.
• Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Nadeshiko, the student council vice president, is this to Benio. She pretty much makes it her duty to make sure Benio's eccentricities — like, say, having an unhealthy obsession with her sister and Mashiro — don't get out of hand. Later subverted, as Nadeshiko becomes a loveable loser who wants children and animals to love her (platonically, that is) even though they're constantly driven away by her grim, stoic demeanor.
• Color Failure:
  • Hakuya suffers one after shopping with Kobeni for the first time in episode 3. He later comments that she must be incredibly brave to have to deal with crazy crowds like that everyday.
  • Kobeni's reaction to learning that the young woman she was helping find her way was actually Hakuya and Mashiro's mother. In other words, her future mother-in-law.
  • Benio suffers from this in episode 8 after Kobeni innocently says Konoha and Mashiro's debate had nothing to do with her, after the former spent the entire episode thinking they were fighting over her. They were, but not in the way Benio probably thought, as Konoha worships her, while Mashiro despises her]].
  • Mashiro suffers this in episode 8 as well, after Konoha clarifies what she was arguing about with the former in the first place: using their magic to live with Benio.
• Colourful Theme Naming: The Yonomori sisters and their mother have names to do with red (Kobeni means Scarlette, Benio means red-thread and Akane means brilliant red); the Mitsumine family likewise have names related to the color white (Shirayuki: white-snow; Hakuya: white-night; and Mashiro: pure-white).
• The Comically Serious:
  • Hakuya.
  • Nadeshiko is unflappable under pressure, such as discussing the intelligence of crows with Kobeni while a flock of them are attacking her.
• Comedic Lolicon: Benio's fixation on the much younger Mashiro is always Played for Laughs.
• Corner of Woe: Benio sits in the corner in episode 8 after Kobeni tells her Mashiro and Konoha are definitely not fighting over her.
• Country Mouse: Both Hakuya and Mashiro come from a small town located deep in the mountains. While Hakuya seems to have adjusted quickly to his circumstances, Mashiro certainly acts the part of the country mouse, as she's constantly boggled by the things readily available in the city.
• Covert Pervert: Benio appears to be a model student at school, beloved by all the students. At home however she likes to smother Mashiro, and occasionally Kobeni.
• Cryptid Episode: In one episode, the cast leave the city for a while and may or may not have found an analogue to Nessie.
• Cuteness Proximity: Benio towards Mashiro, much to the latter's chagrin.
• D-Cup Distress: Kobeni's not really happy about her bust or hips, as for her it's a bad reminder of how easily she puts on weight, and the other inconveniences of large busts are not exactly foreign to her. For her admirers though? A gift from heaven. Regardless, Kobeni does have an understanding of A-Cup Angst and firmly believes that an average amount is best.
• Deadpan Snarker: Nadeshiko typically does this towards Benio whenever the latter is acting foolish.
• Death Glare: Hakuya's default expression.
• Delayed Reaction: Kobeni has a brief one in episode 9 after Benio asks if she's jealous of how the former dotes on Mashiro. It takes her a couple of seconds to register what was said, then she claims she does.
• Denied Food as Punishment: A slight variation of this in episode 6. After Mashiro teases Kobeni about Hakuya, the latter decides that dinner that night would consist of everything the former hates, such as natto. She apologizes for it immediately.
• Did I Say That Out Loud: Konoha does this a few times in episode 7. Kobeni is usually within range of hearing it, giving the former a lot of shock once she realizes she spoke out loud.
• Didn't Think This Through: In episode 8, Konoha asks Mashiro to walk with her up to the school rooftop to discuss their relationship with Benio. They get exhausted racing each other up there, then the wind is quite strong and cold. Not only do both girls feel cold, they also can't hear what the other one is saying, so they both propose going somewhere else instead. When they both jump to the ground from there, the impact of the fall finally kicks in a few moments after they've landed as well.
• Disappeared Dad:
  • Kobeni's mother divorced her father and is now a single mother.
  • According to Hakuya's mother, her clumsy husband died when he got drunk, fell down, and hit his head. Hakuya says it hit them hard at first, but they've learned to find the humor in it.
• Does Not Like Spam: Mashiro's obvious dislike for natto and other types of sticky food.
• "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: Both the opening and ending songs are sung by the voice actresses of Kobeni, Benio, and Mashiro.
• Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: Happens quite a few times, most frequently in response to Benio's antics.
  • Mashiro displays some in episode 9 after Benio says she'll "take responsibility" for the fight the former had with Konoha regarding herself, and suggests the two get married. She displays some again at the end of the episode after Benio gives her an autographed picture of herself, thinking that's why Mashiro was secretly taking pictures of her.
  • Several of the characters display them in episode 11 after various things, such as Benio finding out Kobeni, Mashiro, and Hakuya are going out for fun without her.
• Even the Girls Want Her: Benio, part of what makes her The Ace. Her first appearance at school includes her walking past crowds of guys and girls who gaze at her adoringly.
• Expressive Hair: Mashiro's ponytail. It wags like a dog's tail when she is happy, and sticks straight out and becomes frayed when she is scared.
• Expy: Shirayuki is extremely similar to Isumi Saginomiya. They both wear Kimonos, are easily distracted, get lost all the time, and they are both utterly clueless. Even their appearances are similar, as both have long dark hair with the same cutesy face.
• Fanservice: Of the blink and you'll miss it type. Pay close attention to the still images of Kobeni in the opening animation. A good lot of them wouldn't be◊ out of place◊ in a gravure shoot◊. Indeed, all of the images in the opening seem to be deliberately done in the style of photographs one would expect to find in teen fashion magazines, or commemorative idol albums.
• Flash Step:
  • Hakuya saves Kobeni from slipping on the sidewalk in the first episode. What makes it unusual is that he was inside the house at the time, yet is able to save her from hitting the ground after she slips. Kobeni doesn't think too much of it at the time.
  • Benio seems capable of doing them as well. In episode 8, after calling out to Kobeni, she is some distance away from her sister in the hallways. Then in the next moment, she becomes a blur, then instantly appears in front of the latter.
• The Flatwoods Monster: In Episode 2, Mashiro watches a sensationalist documentary about aliens, which covers the case of the Flatwoods Monster and implies a connection between them and Martians. Mashiro, who is afraid of UMA but up until then didn't know about aliens, is horrified to learn that "the threat" is everywhere and imagines herself surrounded by Flatwoods Monsters.
• Flying Broomstick: While on cleaning duty, Mashiro hops on a broomstick and jumps up and down a couple of times on it in episode 12. Benio, who was observing her from the third floor window at their school, is absolutely delighted to see that, and teases her about it at dinner.
• Food as Bribe: Benio tries to lure Mashiro into the student council office with snacks.
• Foreshadowing:
  • All of Kobeni's comments on how Hakuya possesses dog-like traits? They mean something.
  • Another subtle one is Kobeni's purple eyes, which match up with Hakuya's... except as flashbacks show, Kobeni had pink irises like Benio. This is due to how Hakuya shared half of his power to save Kobeni's life when they were children.
  • The conversation between the adults in the second half of the second OVA (it shows up eventually in the manga), on how some of the younger folk don't like to come back to the country after moving to the city, points to just how the Yonomoris might be related to the Mitsumines, and just why Kobeni's grandfather was so friendly with the mountain folk to begin with.
  • Kobeni is uniquely adept at reading Hakuya's moods not only because of her emotional connection to him, but also because she is magically linked to him due to him surrendering part of his powers to save her life after her accident. This, she also speculates in chapter 127, may be the reason why he's so stoic and inexpressive, as she deems that he doesn't have enough power or vitality to move his face accordingly. However, his mother tells her that even if that were the case, Hakuya was a quiet boy to begin with, and he has never had any difficulty conveying his emotions to Kobeni, who is the person that matters the most to him.
• Forgotten First Meeting: Kobeni remembers nothing about Hakuya at all, aside from the fact that her grandfather used to bring her to Hakuya's hometown during holidays.
• Giving Up the Ghost:
  • Mashiro does this in episode 5 after finishing a test which she was totally unprepared for.
  • She does it again after passing out from fright after spotting something unusual in the forest in the first OVA. It ultimately just turned out to be Kobeni and Hakuya whom they got separated from earlier.
• Embarrassing Animal Suit: During the festival arc, Kobeni decides she and Hakuya will wear matching animal-themed onesies. She loves it, but he doesn't.
• Grade Skipper: Invoked by Mashiro; despite being much younger than Kobeni, she's somehow able to attend the same high school as Kobeni and Benio and even manages to transfer into Kobeni's class, solely so she can keep an eye on Kobeni and Hakuya. However, this doesn't mean she's actually able to keep up with a high school curriculum, as she's later shown struggling with her grades due to how much younger she is than everyone else.
• Gratuitous English: Used a couple of times in episode 8, especially during the next episode preview.
• Ham-to-Ham Combat: Mashiro and Konoha do this in episode 7, arguing about Benio. They do it again in episode 12, this time regarding UMAs.
• Hate at First Sight: Konoha initially towards Kobeni, although she's okay with it later due to the latter being Benio's little sister. Played straight with her attitude towards Mashiro, whom she views with contempt due to how Benio fawns over her despite having only been at the school for a very short time.
• Heroic BSoD: Benio suffers from this whenever she thinks those she fawns over hate her. Played for Laughs.
• Heroic Second Wind: Played for Laughs in episode 11. After Benio is dragged by Nadeshiko to help out at a charity event, she grows depressed due to not being able to join Hakuya, Kobeni, and Mashiro on their day out. Two little girls ask her at the event if she's okay, and due to them calling her "big sister," she gets instantly recharged and feels better afterwards.
• Hidden Depths:
  • One of Hakuya's defining character traits is that outwardly he appears shy, sleepy, mute and generally as not paying attention. In reality he simply prefers things to be quiet and he is smart, sharp and very fast both in reaction and actual speed due to being a youkai and it becomes very obvious that he'd do absolutely everything he can to help his family, his bride-to-be and her family as well.
  • Though Benio is markedly intrusive, selfish and pushy, it's shown that she cares deeply for both Kobeni and Mashiro, and would turn the world upside down at the mere hint that they'd be wronged or hurt. For Hakuya, though? They just plain don't like each other.
    • Benio's quirks, curiously, are not detrimental to her capabilities. The fact that she is indeed intrusive, selfish and pushy doesn't mean that she's not a remarkable person on top of that. This aspect of Benio is one of the things Mashiro finds so puzzling about her, as she lives up to her reputation... but she's a loony too.
• Hiding Behind Your Bangs: Hakuya's hair covers one of his eyes. Justified in that he has a scar and the eye that is covered is nearly blind.
• High-Pressure Emotion: Mashiro turns red and vents steam from her head when saying she wants nothing to do with Konoha in episode 10.
• His Own Worst Enemy: Benio would be considerably closer to both Kobeni and Mashiro if she weren't so maniacally overbearing, not to mention creepy.
• Hypocritical Humor: In episode 10, Benio sees Kobeni and Hakuya leaving school together. She thinks that's a bad idea, and also dangerous that Mashiro would then have to walk home alone. So she jumps down from the second floor to tell them that. Kobeni immediately asks her if she's okay having just jumped from that level.
• Ignored Enamored Underling: Konoha is madly in love with Benio—to the point she chose the same school and hypnotized her way onto the student council just to be near her—yet Benio treats her with indifference at best since she's not little sister material. When Benio found out she's a youkai, Konoha frets about her idol treating her differently, yet Benio says nothing at all. The awestruck Konoha chalks it up to Benio's generous heart, while the caption above Benio just says "APATHETIC".
• Imagine Spot: Konoha has a few in episode 7, usually related to Benio.
• Improbable Age: Mashiro seems much younger than her brother and Kobeni, yet is in the same grade as they are. It is brought up in episode 7 between Konoha and Niko, but due to some Applied Phlebotinum applied with Mashiro, the latter forgets about it. Konoha hasn't however, due to being suspected of being a Youkai when Mashiro asks her if she's from the country like them.
• Improbably Female Cast: For a heterosexual rom-com, the manga goes out of its way to have as few male characters as possible. Of the three noteworthy ones, one (Hakuya) is a love interest for Kobeni, another one (Hakuya's cousin Arata) is a potential marriage candidate for Konoha, and the third (Konoha's brother) is a potential bromance candidate for Arata.
• I'm Taking Her Home with Me!:
  • Well, Benio would, if Mashiro wasn't already living with them. However, she does constantly try to smother Mashiro at school.
  • Pretty much everybody's reaction to Ui, Mashiro's cousin. Even the staunch stoic Nadeshiko can't help fawning over her.
• In a Single Bound: Shirayuki's default mode of transport. Benio even wonders why Shirayuki would even bother taking a train if she can move that fast, but Mashiro mentions she likes riding in things. Later on, Mashiro demonstrates she's capable of it too.
• Informed Attribute: Half the cast are animal shifters, yet you'd never know if they didn't tell you about it. In the first 125 or so chapters, the only time a character has used their powers "on-screen", as it were, is the toddler Ui accidentally turning into a cat for a single panel while she's napping. It takes until chapter 154—a decade after the manga started—before Hayuka finally shows Kobeni his animal form.
• Insane Troll Logic:
  • Benio uses this a couple of times in episode 8, wondering what secret Kobeni is keeping from her. At one point she wonders if the secret is that Kobeni is secretly a boy, remembers her breasts, and concludes she's actually a hermaphrodite. Later she mentions something about having awakened her seventh sense. Nadeshiko makes some Deadpan Snarker replies to her to try and get her back to reality.
  • Benio again in episode 10. She suddenly disapproves of Kobeni and Hakuya's relationship after Mashiro says they're in a "lovey-dovey phase." She says that she won't go so far as to not allow the engagement, but doesn't like it. She then immediately adds that she considers Mashiro a little sister and promptly leaves the room. While Mashiro brushes it off, Hakuya goes Blue with Shock trying to comprehend what she just said.
• Insecure Love Interest: Kobeni falls into this in episode 9. Konoha suggesting that Hakuya marry her instead of the former hits her pretty hard. When they talk privately about it, the latter suggests their Arranged Marriage isn't fair to him, causing Kobeni to shed some tears at the thought of losing him.
• Instant Bandages: Hakuya sports one after he braves the crowd of people getting the daily special at the grocery store in episode 3.
• It's All My Fault:
  • Benio is still privately beating herself up over Kobeni's accident, as it would have never happened in the first place had she not selfishly wanted to stay and play with her friends rather than join her grandfather on his trip, and instead suggested that Kobeni accompany him instead. She also dislikes the fact that due to the accident and Hakuya's surrendering of his powers to keep Kobeni alive, he is inexorably linked to her whether Benio likes it or not.
  • Hakuya feels like this as well, though in his case he feels guilty for not being able to stop the accident from happening.
• Large Ham: Benio almost all the time.
• Lethal Chef: Apparently Benio's only failing is that she can't cook to save her life as evidenced by the... purple miasma-spewing thing she presented to Hakuya and Mashiro. The next day:
  Mashiro: If your breakfast were censored, you would be lifeless too.
• Lightning Glare: Mashiro and Konoha do this in episode 8 while taking a short breather from racing to the rooftop.
• Locked Out of the Loop:
  • None of the students at school know about Mashiro and Hakuya being Youkai. All they know is that the two are distant relatives of Benio and Kobeni.
  • Played for Laughs in episode 8 when Benio asks Kobeni what secret she was keeping. The latter doesn't tell her, causing her to think about it excessively at school the next day.
• Long Runner: Began publication in 2009, ended publication 15 years later in 2022.
• Love Epiphany:
  • Konoha seems to develop some feelings for Hakuya at the end of episode 7. When she suspects that Mashiro may also be a Youkai based on their conversation earlier, she then thinks of him when she recalls another conversation in the episode with him.
  • Episode 9 is more or less this for Kobeni. After hearing Konoha's marriage proposal, Kobeni is downright miserable. She feels even worse when Hakuya lies to Niko to cover up their engagement. Kobeni even starts to realize if she feels bad about lying of their engagement, she has feelings for him. Later when Konoha asks Kobeni's opinion on the engagement, Kobeni starts crying when Konoha says it makes more sense for two Youkai to get married.
• Love Triangle: One forms at the end of episode 8. After Konoha proposes marriage to Hakuya, all while Kobeni is rounding the corner and overhears it.
• Luminescent Blush: Kobeni when she realizes she's more or less in love with Hakuya.
• Magical Land: The Mitsumine house is situated in what they call a "gap" in reality. It's always shrouded in mist, and normal humans supposedly lose their way when they enter. However, that doesn't stop Benio from marching right up to their front door, though she was hardly normal in the first place.
• Magic Realism:
  • When Shirayuki visits her children for the first time, she casually discusses the fact that they aren't human like she's asking about their diet, under the presumption they've already broached the topic with the Yonomori family.
  • The Mitsumines, the Suetsugis, and the Komagamines go to school, eat sweets, watch television, text their friends and family . . . while being animal-shifting youkai.
  • Although the Mitsumines live in a mystical, fog-shrouded "gap", they nonetheless get WiFi.
• Male Gaze: Used on Kobeni quite often in the anime.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Are Benio's incredible feats of strength and constant breaking of the rules about youkai just her Ace status turned up to eleven for comedic effect, or is her family actually descended from youkai (as the second OVA suggests)?
• Mum Looks Like a Sister: Hakuya and Mashiro's mother, who looks like she's in her mid-20's at most and even then she is almost as tiny as Mashiro.
  Benio: This woman has given birth!?
• My Greatest Failure: Hakuya still feels bad about not being able to save Kobeni from falling off the cliff and getting hurt when they were younger. So when it happens again in episode 12, he rushes to save her this time around.
• My Significance Sense Is Tingling: Apparently Benio can sense whenever a romcom-esque scene is taking place between Kobeni and Hakuya.
• My Sister Is Off-Limits: In episode 9, after Mashiro suggests that Kobeni and Hakuya have reached the "lovey-dovey" stage in their relationship, Benio watches silently in the background while a dark aura grows over her. Shortly afterwards she bumps into Hakuya hard enough to knock him down, then claims he was so big she didn't see him, while having the same dark aura around her. Somehow she doesn't seem to like the idea that the two have gone up a level as Mashiro mentioned.
• New Transfer Student: Hakuya and Mashiro, to Kobeni's class. While Hakuya's expected given they're the same age, Kobeni is boggled at how Mashiro, who is by all accounts a grade schooler, is able to do so too.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • When Shirayuki visits Kobeni's house in episode 5, she starts to mention some unusual things to the latter. Mashiro tries to stop her, but she continues until she mentions they're not human. Both Mashiro and Hakuya have an Oh, Crap! look on their face. Their mother joins in on it after Mashiro tells her they haven't revealed those things to Kobeni yet.
  • Mashiro openly brags to Konoha about Kobeni and Hakuya's engagement in episode 9, after being asked not to. She later tries to fix the problem by bribing Konoha into silence by taking pictures of Benio. But that causes its own problems with Benio thinking Mashiro secretly likes her.
  • Mashiro again causes some trouble by accident in episode 11, when she hops from rooftop to rooftop in order to get home quickly. Unfortunately Niko was out at the time and catches a glimpse of her on the roof, and gets obsessed about that.
• Noblewoman's Laugh:
  • Benio does one in episode 3 when bragging about Kobeni to Mashiro. The latter really doesn't care and already knows Kobeni is good at those things such as cooking, and leads her to doing her Angry Dance in the next scene.
  • Konoha has an Imagine Spot where Kobeni does this in episode 8.
• "No. Just… No" Reaction: Mashiro gets Dull Eyes of Unhappiness and Hakuya goes Blue with Shock at Konoha accusing them of trying to take Benio.
  • Mashiro also starts crying and Hakuya is facepalming.
• No Sense of Direction: The Mitsumine matriarch is partly this, and partly Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!, as she takes half an episode to find her way to Kobeni's family's house, and only because Kobeni ran into her.
• No Sense of Personal Space: Benio gets a little too close to Nadeshiko in episode 10 when stating that any mention of Kobeni in a newspaper would be bad, while displaying some Yandere eyes.
• Not Cheating Unless You Get Caught: Mashiro cheats on a test using her powers in episode 7, just enough to not have to do a makeup test like several others including her brother. When Kobeni asks Hakuya if he could do the same thing, he confirms it, but says he refuses to cheat.
• Oblivious to His Own Description: Mashiro and Konoha love to insult each other with "UMA!" despite both claiming they're not UMAs.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Hakuya and Mashiro in episode 5, after their mother spills a secret they didn't tell Kobeni or Benio yet. They are Youkai, or supernatural beings, and Kobeni survived a fatal injury when she was younger because Hakuya gave her half of his power.
  • Mashiro develops this look in episode 11 after Niko accidentally spots her jumping from rooftop to rooftop to get home quickly.
• Older Than They Look: Episode 5 introduces Hakuya and Mashiro's mother Shirayuki, who can be mistaken for her daughter's elder sister.
• One Degree of Separation: On a whim, Konoha follows another youkai she crosses paths with, only for the other youkai (Shirayuki Mitsumine) to warmly greet Konoha's mother. Later, it's revealed Konoha's mother had a crush on Shirayuki's future husband. Later still, she tries to set Konoha up with Shirayuki's nephew, meaning Konoha might become Hakuya & Mashiro's cousin-in-law.
• Open Mouth, Insert Foot:
  • About every other thing that Benio says or does serves to undermine her own shining reputation.
  • Anytime Konoha fumes about Mashiro or shouts something embarrassing about the Yonomoris in public, Kobeni will inevitably be right behind her for maximum embarrassment.
• Our Cryptids Are More Mysterious: Cryptids are part of its main cast (Hakuya, Mashiro, their mother Shirayuki and a few more), though while they are called many names, including "demons," "Youkai," and the like, they look and mostly behave like ordinary humans. Mashiro is also a fan of cryptids and collects figurines; one of the show's Running Gags is that she somehow always ends up with lots of Nessies, but not much else.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: As Mayura and, later on, Mashiro correctly observe, Kobeni's actually above average in a lot of things: in looks, academic ability, and cooking. It's just that her sister Benio's achievements at school and with the local community draw away any attention that might have been sent Kobeni's way.
• Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Much to the ire of Benio, Hakuya and Kobeni are practically made for each other.
• Playing a Tree: Hakuya in the ending credits.
• Plot-Based Voice Cancellation: One occurs during episode 8, when Konoha and Mashiro are both on the school rooftop. The wind is blowing rather hard, so not only are they both cold, but neither girls can hear the other.
• The Quiet One: Hakuya rarely speaks, if at all, which makes him seem like The Stoic to anyone outside of Kobeni's family. In chapter 127, Kobeni deduces that his apparent aphasia may have something to do with the accident she suffered, as he may not have enough vitality/magic to perform facial movement; however, his mother tells her that even if that's the case, Hayuka was very quiet to begin with, and has never been unable to accurately convey his feelings to Kobeni regardless]].
• Relationship Upgrade: While they were technically already engaged, in episode 9 Mashiro suggests that they've reached the "lovey-dovey" phase of their relationship where both of them like each other. Hakuya wonders what that means, while Benio doesn't seem to take that announcement too well.
• Repeat Cut: Used on Benio in episode 8 after Kobeni claims Mashiro and Konoha being seen together has nothing to do with her. She turns gray from this, and Kobeni's line is repeated a few times, and with one of the instances having her line slowed down.
• Replacement Goldfish: Benio tries turning Mashiro into one to replace Kobeni as her little sister. The latter isn't too pleased with it.
• Right Behind Me: In episode 10, Kobeni gives Hakuya a matching handkerchief. She tells him to keep it a secret from her sister, who then just coincidentally happens to be right behind her at the time.
• Running Gag:
  • Almost every single time Mashiro buys collectibles, she overwhelmingly gets Nessie toys.
  • Whenever Hakuya is working on a model house, Mashiro inevitably causes it to fall apart, either because she slammed the door nearby, or runs into him.
  • Kobeni calling Nadeshiko over her failed sisterly plans, who just hangs up on her.
• Scars Are Forever:
  • Kobeni's hiding a large scar that stretches from her right side to the middle of her abdomen, a reminder of the accident she and Hakuya experienced.
  • Episode 11 reveals that Hakuya also has a scar on the right side of his face, hidden away by his bangs. Although he tells her not to worry about it, Kobeni still feels bad and responsible for it.
• Scary Shiny Glasses: Benio displays this occasionally when wearing her glasses.
• School Idol: Benio, so much. Kobeni might have also become this apparently, had her sister not been around to grab most of the attention.
• School Newspaper Newshound: Niko, who really wants to find a big scoop.
• Secret-Keeper:
  • Kobeni tells Hakuya not to reveal their engagement at school.
  • Hakuya tells Mashiro not to tell Kobeni about their secret. Then in episode 5, their mother accidentally reveals it, that they're Youkai, supernatural beings native to Japanese folklore.
  • After accidentally blurting that secret out, Shirayuki asks Benio to keep it secret, which she promises to.
  • It turns out that Kobeni and Benio's mom was in on the secret the whole time, though in her case it's because she's grateful for what Hakuya did to save Kobeni's life.
  • In episode 9, Kobeni asks Konoha to keep her engagement to Hakuya secret after Mashiro accidentally tells her about it. Konoha uses this against her, stating that if they're just simply in an Arranged Marriage, it's unfair to Hakuya due to the notion that he's being forced into it. Kobeni starts crying when she hears that.
  • Konoha and Mashiro eventually reveal to Niko and Mayura (respectively) that they're supernatural beings. Mayura is as chill as ever, while Niko gets despondent over all the Innocently Insensitive things she said to Konoha.
• Self-Serving Memory: When Kobeni and Kayuka discuss the big double date to the farm, we see Hakuya picturing the whole group. Benio's face is replaced by the kanji for "sister", and Suetsugi just has her mouth wide open with the words "Screech! Screech!" coming out of it.
• Serious Business: Mashiro develops a sort of horrified fascination in regards to aliens, unidentified mystery animals (UMAs), ghosts, and so on, constantly worried they're coming after her. She buys a bunch of UMA collectibles in episode 6 in an attempt to collect all the figures. Unfortunately the one she wants never seems to appear, although she gets a lot of Nessie figures, which drives her a little crazy. Benio tries to buy some for her as well, but buys the wrong product^note Benio bought horses ("uma") instead.. Her fears are kind of ironic when you take into account that Mashiro is a Youkai.
• Shared Life Energy: Hakuya saved Kobeni by giving her half his life energy when she was gravely wounded.
• Shout-Out:
  • In episode 11, after finishing the movie with the alien in it, Kobeni asks Hakuya if he liked it. He then mentions liking the part with the baseball bat at the end. Mashiro immediately accuses him of having slept through it, as there was no scene like that in this movie.
• Sick Episode:
  • Kobeni becomes ill in episode 4. Benio says it's partly because Kobeni has never had a strong constitution to begin with, and the shock of the Wham Line in episode 3 probably helped cause the sickness. Episode 5 reveals the cause. Hakuya saved her life by giving half of his powers to her when they were younger. Unfortunately Kobeni's body can't handle the magic too well, so she periodically gets sick.
  • When Kobeni and Benio visit the Mitsumine home, Mashiro falls in the river and gets a cold, forcing her to stay in bed and recuperate while the Yonomoris return. She passes it to Hakuya (who stayed behind to look after her) and her mother, causing all of them to be out of commission for a week.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Hakuya and Kobeni only have eyes for each other.
• Slasher Smile: Benio has one in an Imagine Spot Mashiro has in episode 11 after imagining/associating her as a criminal.
• Smarter Than You Look: Hakuya is assumed to be fairly dim early on because he has a tendency to zone out, but when the first test results come around he gets the top scores in the class.
• Something We Forgot: When Kobeni vacations at the Mitsumine house, she enjoys spending the day with Hakuya. That is, until she realizes she forgot to pick her sister up from the bus stop. Cut to Benio, unwittingly wandering into the spooky mist while wondering aloud where everybody is.
• Spooky Photographs: Young youkai can't be photographed without appearing as a faded blur, unless they scrunch their face up and concentrate really, really hard, making them look like a gurning idiot and thus unsuitable for pictures. Apparently, however, Benio is so good at concentrating that this doesn't apply to her, and her pictures of the Mitsumine clan turn out crystal clear. Mashiro is utterly baffled by the strange creature known as Benio Yonomori.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Several characters have a tendency to do this. Benio uses this by far the most out of all of them however, usually whenever anyone mentions her name in passing.
• Straight Man: Nadeshiko, Benio's vice president. She will often smack Benio if the latter gets out of line around Mashiro. And since she's not trying to smother Mashiro, the latter trusts her more than Benio. Later subverted, as her determination to befriend children and animals at all costs turns her into a comically straight man.
• Strong Family Resemblance:
  • Mashiro looks a lot like her mother Shirayuki.
  • Mashiri's cousins Arata and Ui look so similar that onlookers are inevitably stunned Mashiro has multiplied.
  • Hakuya is a dead ringer for his father.
• Student Council President: Benio is this, much to Mashiro's disbelief.
• Super-Deformed: The main characters during much of the ending, especially Mashiro.
• Super-Speed:
  • Hakuya does this in episode 4 after thinking Kobeni is angry with him due to her childhood injury. Mashiro tries to explain that the unusually fast speed is just typical for them due to running around in the mountains back home. But the look on her face as she explains it seems like she's hiding more explanation from them. Episode 5 reveals that Hakuya, Mashiro, and their mother Shirayuki are Youkai, and Hakuya can turn into a dog. So Mashiro wasn't exactly lying, but she left that part out probably because it would have sounded unbelievable to Kobeni and Benio.
  • In the first OVA, Mashiro runs away from the group after being spooked by a crow while searching for UMA near a hot springs inn they're staying at. Benio chases after her, and initially falls behind. However, as she worries that she'll lose sight of Mashiro, she suddenly moves as fast and catches up to the latter, and keeps up with her entirely. Hilariously they make the paper as an UMA report in the paper the next day says a witness spotted two beings moving at incredible speeds the night before.
• Supreme Chef: Kobeni is very good at cooking, to the point where she's virtually taken over that particular duty at home.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial:
  • Mashiro tends to do this when Kobeni asks her things like why such a young girl is in the same grade as her. The latter thinks the former must be using Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!, which the former seems too eager to agree with, but doesn't reveal why she's able to get certain things done. Then in episode 5, Shirayuki, Mashiro and Hakuya's mother, gives their secret away, that they're actually Youkai. She has a slight Oh, Crap! look once she realizes neither one of her kids told the Yonomori sisters about this yet.
  • In episode 8, Benio attempts to walk away from Nadeshiko and shirk her duties. After the latter catches her trying to sneak away, Benio claims she totally wasn't going to spy on Konoha and Mashiro up on the roof.
  • In episode 9, after Kobeni was caught listening to Konoha's marriage proposal to Hakuya. She says she didn't hear anything, especially anything about a marriage proposal.
• Sustained Misunderstanding:
  • In episode 6, Kobeni has a lot of trouble giving Hakuya the chocolate she made for him for Valentine's day. He overhears some other students talking, and they mention that not getting chocolates from a girl means they hate you. Naturally, he assumes Kobeni must hate him, so he goes home all depressed until Mayura clears up the misunderstanding, and Kobeni nonchalantly gives it to him.
  • Another occurs in episodes 7 & 8 regarding Mashiro and Konoha. Both girls are connected to Benio, but for different reasons, and they get into some Ham-to-Ham Combat arguments regarding it until Mashiro clears up that she wants nothing to do with Benio at all.
  • Then another one pops up in episode 9 regarding Kobeni's engagement to Hakuya. When Niko presses info for it, both of them deny it, causing her to tell Konoha about it. This leads her to think that the two are (correctly) in an Arranged Marriage, and that if that's the case, they could break up and then she could snag Hakuya for herself.
  • Mashiro does this towards Benio in episode 9 with the former secretly taking pictures of the latter, mostly to use as a bribe for Konoha. However, Benio catches on to it, and it only further reinforces the notion that Mashiro does secretly like her despite acting like she doesn't.
  • In episode 11, Konoha states that it's not like she was in love with Hakuya or anything like that to him, after seeing him with Kobeni at school.
  • Oddly enough, the alien in the movie in episode 11 also uses this trope as well in a similar fashion to the way Konoha did earlier.
• Sweet Tooth: Mashiro has one for Western sweets. Benio picks up on this immediately, and uses it as bait to get Mashiro to spend time with her.
• Taken for Granite:
  • Happens to Kobeni after finding out the lady she was guiding was Mashiro and Hakuya's mother in episode 5.
  • Benio suffers one a few moments later after her misconception of Shirayuki and Mashiro of being fairies literally shatters by the latter revealing Hakuya doesn't fit the description she just gave.
  • Benio develops this look after Kobeni tells her that Mashiro and Konoha walking around together has nothing to do with her in episode 8.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Mashiro and Hakuya can't stand either Benio or Konoha, Konoha can't stand Mashiro, and Benio tries to forget Hakuya even exists. Yet they face the prospect of becoming extended family, so naturally as the rom-com atmosphere thickens they sometimes need to grit their teeth and work together.
• Tempting Fate: In episode 11, Mashiro heads home after having bought a lot more collectibles. However, she doesn't want to walk the entire way, and reasons that because it's evening now, she can probably jump on rooftops to get home quickly without anyone seeing her. Unfortunately she does get spotted, and is seen by probably the worst possible person, Niko, who then obsesses about it and plans to write a newspaper article about it. While it seems Niko didn't spot who was doing that jumping, she still believes she saw something, causing Hakuya to scold Mashiro later on.
• Thanks for the Mammary: Shirayuki does this to Kobeni in episode 5.
• Theseus' Ship Paradox: Hakuya says the wooden swing in his front yard was made by his father, which is why he's kept it up for so long. However, he then says he's replaced the ropes and the seat many times, prompting Kobeni to point out it wasn't really made by his father anymore.
• Token Mini-Moe: Mashiro, at first, but then her cousin—who looks exactly like her minus five years—appears and Mashiro looks positively mature in comparison.
• Tsundere: Benio thinks Mashiro acts this way towards her. The latter seems truly disgusted with the former's actions, but then does things in episode 9 that makes Benio think Mashiro is exhibiting this behavior towards her.
• Undead Tax Exemption: While Hakuya transferring to Kobeni's school is plausible enough due to being around the same age, Mashiro also attends the same school and even classroom with them despite being a few years younger. Kobeni does wonder how the latter got in, and it gets discussed in episode 6. However, said explanation^note Mashiro says she's just trying to blend in, and that in a big crowd, if another person showed up, no one would likely notice them would be a bit hard to pass off in a school where they have records of students versus a big crowd at a mall or shopping center. Even later, Kobeni is still not convinced so she brings Mashiro to admit that the latter used magic to change the perception of the people around her to appear to them simply as short, rather than actually younger.
• Valentine's Day Episodes: Episode 6.
• Wacky Marriage Proposal: Konoha to Hakuya at the end of episode 8, simply because they're both Youkai.
• Weight Woe: Kobeni is rather insecure about her figure and afraid of getting fat. And when Mayura mentions all that extra fat seems to go to her breasts, Mashiro gets a little jealous about it.
• Wham Line: Chapter 23/Episode 5. Shirayuki casually lets slip that her family aren't human, radically changing the nature of the story.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • Konoha accidentally finds herself in these situations a lot, and usually ends up thinking she'll look like the bad guy when she ends up making Mashiro and Kobeni cry with her statements.
  • Mashiro chides Hakuya in episode 12 for not giving a clear email stating that they would be back to Kobeni's house. As a result, Kobeni thought they abandoned her and left due to leaving suddenly and taking all their clothing and textbooks with them. Mashiro explains they brought their clothing home to exchange it for summer attire, and that they'd be using new books for the next school term, so leaving the old ones at her house wouldn't have made much sense.
• When He Smiles: As Kobeni finds out, Hakuya's actually quite dreamy when he manages to smile.
• White Glove Test: When shown her new room in the first episode, Mashiro does this to a windowsill, and is disappointed to find no dust. Clearly she was looking forward to finding something to complain about. Benio notices this and smugly comments on it.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Shirayuki, Mashiro and Hakuya's mother, seems to emanate this. Kobeni, when she first sees her, even feels a little jealous that the kimono the former is wearing looks incredible on her.
• Yandere: It's made very clear that Benio is this way as far as Kobeni is concerned; until Hakuya showed up, she successfully drove off every male with any kind of interest in her little sister.
  • When Mashiro states Kobeni is in love with Hakuya. Benio becomes this, bumping into Hakuya out of anger. At the beginning of episode 10, she certainly has that look in her eyes for one scene. And she develops that look again in episode 11 after hearing that the Kobeni, Mashiro, and Hakuya are going out without her, so she steadfastly refuses to allow them to, before Nadeshiko drags her away for a charity event.
• Yonkoma: Most of the manga follows the Yonkoma format, with some chapters having parts in a more typical manga style, typically when things are on the more dramatic or serious side.
• World of Technicolor Hair: The characters run the gamut of improbable hair colors. For example Kobeni has pink hair, while her sister Benio has orange hair.
• Youkai:
  • The Mitsumine family, though they don't label themselves as such. In the words of Shirayuki, Hakuya and Mashiro's mother: "Well, humans call us all sorts of things. Demons, monsters, ogres, spirits..." While Kobeni is understandably shocked by this revelation, Benio seems perfectly okay with it. Mainly because she wants to see Mashiro sprout animal ears.
  • Konoha's family are also youkai. Her mother knows Shirayuki from elementary school, which leads to a potential marriage between Konoha and Hayuka & Mashiro's cousin, Arata.