While the story is mostly a romantic dramedy, it does have its share of Nightmare Fuel, courtesy of the main villain and his obsession over Iori.
- Both of the rape attempts against Iori are made of this. In the first attempt, she is lured to a remote part of the school under the pretense of a photoshoot as part of a school beauty pageant. In reality, the photoshoot is fake, and it has been organized by a senior named Samejima (who was at the forefront of the male seniors harassing her earlier) in order to secretly film the girls while they're changing, with Iori being the real target. When she notices the hidden camera and tries to get out, she's almost raped by the fake "cameraman," who tells his accomplice to guard the door, telling him that he can have Iori "after him." The live-action TV version actually manages to make this even more terrifying, as Samejima and another accomplice are hidden in the next room rather than in the floor above like in the manga. Unlike their manga counterparts, who promptly tried to cut their losses and flee when Iori discovered the camera, here they promptly step in, trapping Iori and dragging her screaming back to the room, with Samejima using a hand-held camera to film her while struggling against the men assaulting her, screams and all, showing himself to already be utterly sadistic. Like in the manga, Iori is only saved by Ichitaka and Teratani's intervention.
- In the second attempt, Samejima concocts an elaborate plan that lures Iori into a dilapidated building where she is trapped by him and his gang with the intention of raping her as revenge for getting him expelled. He has her tied to a pole and spends his time taunting her, telling her that he intends to let his gang have her after he's had his way with her. Needless to say, she is utterly terrified. This time Iori is saved by the fact that Samejima and his men overlooked Jun, thinking he was just some weak pretty boy when he was anything but. Jun knocking out the whole gang bought Ichitaka enough time to finish the job by knocking out Samejima after he had managed to temporarily blind and incapacitate Jun.
- Samejima/The Marionette King himself, period. He sexually harasses and later tries to rape and kill Iori. Sci-fi and fantasy villains (like the ones in Katsura's other works) are one thing, but sexual predators like him are an all too real threat in the real world that can be encountered.
