History Characters / OddTaxi

* GrumpyBear: Well, Grumpy ''Walrus'', but he still fits this trope to a T.

* KarmaHoudini: We don't really see her get any sorts of comeuppance for [[spoiler:acting as a honey trap in Yano's extortion scheme. Granted, she was blackmailed into it, but she still put poor Kakihana through hell.]] That said, it's pretty much a given that [[spoiler:her career as an idol is over, the police may get to her once they interrogate Yano or Yamamoto. And even if they don't talk, she'll need to keep her profile low; making maskless media appearances would guarantee one of her victims will recognize her]]. There's also [[spoiler:Sakura implying that she might go after Shiho if she feels it's necessary, so either way Shiho definitely isn't free of consequence.]]

* HugeGuyTinyGirl: He’s dating Rui who is shorter than him.

* AloneWithThePsycho: [[spoiler:His last scene has Sakura enter his cab. By that point she killed Yuki Mitsuya, possibly killed Taeko and she's thinking about offing him and Shiho, but the series ends before it's resolved. However, it's implied that Odokawa isn't unaware of this situation]].

* CastingGag: Fittingly for a member of the Yakuza, he just so happens to be voiced by Creator/TakayaKuroda, most well known for voicing ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu. [[spoiler:To boot, this yakuza is also running an organisation helping out troubled children. Ironically, his human form rather closely resembles Shimano, one of Kiryu's enemies]].

* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: Possibly. Odokawa suggests he knows who he drove on the night of the murder and Taeko told him about the wiretapped pen. She also assaults Taeko and threatens Nagashima in the middle of a livestream.

* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:The audio drama ends with Taeko being attacked by Sakura in order to retrieve the heart-shaped pen, with it left unclear if Taeko survived or not.]]

!!!'''Voiced by''': Atsuhiro Tsuda (Japanese), Brent Mukai (English)

* SeldomSeenSpecies: Kakihana is a gibbon, specifically a lar gibbon - or white-handed gibbon.

* SeldomSeenSpecies: He's a gelada.

[[folder: ditch-11]]

* ImageSong: Retroactively, "Sugarless Kiss" appears to be one for her. The vague, ominous lyrics appear to be a confession that she gave the real Yuki a dispassionate "goodbye kiss" while pursuing her dreams, and she's confident the secret will disappear from the public confidence.

* AmbiguousInnocence: She plants a phone in Odokawa's taxi at Tanaka's request, but it's up in the air what her motives were or whether it was malicious or not. It was - she knows who drove her to murder the real Yuki Mitsuya and she was counting on Tanaka resolving it for her.
* AmbiguousSituation: She ''might'' be the missing girl. While her face is obscured, the photo of the girl shown on the news resembles Yuki quite a bit, and when Dobu finds out Yamamoto might be involved in the case he wonders if the girl is one of the members of Mystery Kiss (though he doesn't say ''which'' of them it would be). So it could be Yuki, or Yuki could be a RedHerring. Further muddled by Odokawa not remembering her as a passenger for a long while. As it turns out, the ''original'' Yuki was the missing girl. She was the one who rode Odokawa's taxi on the night of Yuki's murder... to kill her.

* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: Unfortunately, she took her mother's belief ''too close'' to heart to the extent that she sees nothing wrong with committing murder to get what she wants. Needless to say, her actions are framed as horrifying rather than justified.
* {{Foil}}: Interestingly, to Odokawa. Odokawa is almost devoid of ambition, content with just living a humble, quiet life and doesn't believe he's anyone special, even though he's very brave and an excellent schemer. Sakura is instead murderously ambitious and [[SmallNameBigEgo convinced she's untouchable and destined for greatness]] despite being a mediocre idol and largely just lucky. They are both fairly distant from other people: Odokawa because his illness causes him to see others as animals, making it a bit harder to relate to them, while Sakura because she's TheSociopath. Odokawa also grew up in an abusive household and later without parents, yet he turned out a very decent, if grumpy man; Sakura has an apparently caring mother yet she grew up to become a budding SerialKiller and is superficially nice and cheerful. Fittingly, they both end the series together in a cab: Odokawa finally sees her "real self" - a human girl, whom he possibly recognizes as the real culprit - while Sakura is [[UnderestimatingBadassery seemingly oblivious to the fact that he's much more than a random taxi driver]].

* GreenAndMean: Outside of wearing blue as a idol, she wears green clothing and has green eyes - she is the murderer of the original Yuki.
* HiddenInPlainSight: She's the killer of Yuki Mitsuya and begins impersonating her at Mystery Kiss' request]].

* ThePollyanna: She's remarkably chipper even off the clock for a girl who was asked to impersonate someone who vanished (i.e. was murdered) under mysterious circumstances... Turns out that's because she's TheSociopath.
* RedHerring: It seems like she might be the missing girl who ran away to become an idol, but really she's just a stand-in for the ''real'' missing girl, who died prior to the main plot. This in turn hides the seemingly obvious reveal that she killed Yuki so she could take over.

!!!'''Voiced by''': Kohei (Japanese), Brandon [=McInnis=] (English)

!!Yuki Mitsuya (Real Name: Sakura Wadagaki)]]

[[folder:Yamamoto]]

* AllForNothing: [[spoiler:Ultimately, his plan to obfuscate Yuki Mitsuya's death just derails Mystery Kiss' career entirely - they end up forced to confess about the cover up, putting the group on indefinite hold and getting Rui and himself arrested. To add insult to injury, the plan plays entirely to Sakura's hand: they gave her the perfect diguise, the circumstances put her BeneathSuspicion and the confusion doesn't allow Odokawa to realize who he was driving the night of the murder early enough for it to matter]].
* BeneathTheMask: Beneath his cold and business-like exterior is an incredibly stressed and nervous man, which really shows when Sekiguchi frustratedly assaults him in "Bless You". [[spoiler:"If We Could Go Back to That Day" reveals the source of his stress: to keep Mystery Kiss safe, he was forced to cover-up the original Yuki's murder and call the yakuza for help.]]
* ForcedIntoEvil: [[spoiler: It turns out his villainous deeds are due to being blackmailed into helping Yano out with his schemes, unless he wants the death of the original Yuki Mitsuya come to light.]]
* HiddenDepths: Despite seeming like a thug, he's actually deeply and genuinely invested in Mystery Kiss' success; this is slightly foreshadowed by the opening, where he's seen cheering them on alongside their biggest fan, Imai. [[spoiler:Justified because his crime ties are entirely secondary: he got in with the yakuza in a misguided attempt to protect the group.]]

* PoorCommunicationKills: [[spoiler:Yamamoto covering up the real Yuki's murder and using Sakura as a body double to hide her death in a well-intentioned attempt to protect Mystery Kiss ultimately caused more problems than it solved. Not only because it forced him and Mystery Kiss in the debt of the Yakuza, but the confusion involving the replaced "Yuki" made Odokawa unable to realize he'd actually ferried Sakura (aka Yuki's murderer) to the office that night until after Yuki's corpse is recovered and identified.]]
* PunchClockVillain: Downplayed. [[spoiler:He's clearly out of his depth and is in it for Mystery Kiss -- as their manager, he is deeply invested in their success. While he tries to kill Odokawa after the taxi driver tries to get him in on his gambit, once knocked out by Shirakawa he folds like a deck of cards and agrees to it on the condition the idol group comes out of it unscathed.]]
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: In truth, [[spoiler:he's actually terrified of Sekiguchi, his handler in the Yakuza. Yamamoto is his and Yano's hostage, not partner.]]
* VillainsWantMercy: [[spoiler:He still tries to ask Odokawa for forgiveness for all he's done, even after trying to ''murder'' Odokawa moments ago. Though Odokawa recognizes that he's a pitiable & desperate man, he doesn't quite offer Yamamoto forgiveness but instead ropes him into his own plan.]]
* {{Yakuza}}: [[spoiler:It's implied and then later confirmed that he's working for Yano. That he presses Odokawa for his cab camera footage specifically after hearing that Odokawa may have met the missing girl is a big tell, but later on he's specifically called in by Yano to kidnap Kakihana. Subverted in that while Yamamoto is working for Yano, he is not actually part of the yakuza: in exchange for help disposing of the original Yuki's body, Mystery Kiss are forced to provide the yakuza with a cut of all their future profits, as well as take part in any schemes they may be running.]]

[[folder:Yuki]]
!!Yuki Mitsuya [[spoiler:(Real Name: Sakura Wadagaki)]]

* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler:Assuming her demeanor isn't all just an act, she's this trope. She is an unrepentant murderer, but her friendliness towards everyone is so consistent as to potentially be sincere.]]
* AmbiguousInnocence: [[spoiler:She plants a phone in Odokawa's taxi at Tanaka's request]], but it's up in the air what her motives were or whether it was malicious or not. [[spoiler:It was - she knows who drove her to murder the real Yuki Mitsuya and she was counting on Tanaka resolving it for her]].
* AmbiguousSituation: She ''might'' be the missing girl. While her face is obscured, the photo of the girl shown on the news resembles Yuki quite a bit, and when Dobu finds out Yamamoto might be involved in the case he wonders if the girl is one of the members of Mystery Kiss (though he doesn't say ''which'' of them it would be). So it could be Yuki, or Yuki could be a RedHerring. Further muddled by Odokawa not remembering her as a passenger for a long while. [[spoiler:As it turns out, the ''original'' Yuki was the missing girl. She was the one who rode Odokawa's taxi on the night of Yuki's murder... to kill her.]]
* AmbitionIsEvil: [[spoiler:She killed the original Yuki so that she could get a shot at being an idol.]]
* BeneathSuspicion: [[spoiler:She's never connected to Yuki's murder by anyone because she's seemingly just a nameless rookie, hired to pretend to be a dead girl. The only person that can connect her to the crime is Odokawa who drove her to the office on the day of the killing, but by the time he realizes it he's knee-deep in a GambitPileup that's about to be resolved]].
* BigBad: [[spoiler:Closest to there being one in the series. She is revealed to have murdered the original Yuki and thus is responsible for much of the plot.]]
* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler:She's cheerful and friendly so long as you don't stand in the way of her career aspirations. As the original Yuki found out, she's more than willing to kill to make her way to the top.]]
* BodyDouble: [[spoiler:The Yuki seen in the anime is actually another girl, Sakura Wadagaki, who is masquerading as Yuki after the latter was found murdered and subsequently disposed of by Yano's crew]].
* CatsAreMean: [[spoiler: Her animal self is a black cat, and she is the murderer of Yuki.]]
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: [[spoiler:A flashback indicates that she does legitimately care about her mother and worries about how much she works. Part of the reason she wants to be a success is to support her family. Unfortunately, she's willing [[TheUnfettered to do anything for a shot at stardom]]. Additionally complicated because the anime and audio drama leave it ambiguous just how aware of her daughter's actions she is.]]
* FaceOfAnAngelMindOfADemon: [[spoiler:Her innocent demeanor hides the fact that she's a cold-blooded murderer.]]
* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:She's poor and she took her mother's belief that you only get one chance to achieve something to heart. The audio drama and their conversation in the finale leave it ambiguous if her mom knows about the murder]].
* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: [[spoiler:Unfortunately, she took her mother's belief ''too close'' to heart to the extent that she sees nothing wrong with committing murder to get what she wants. Needless to say, her actions are framed as horrifying rather than justified.]]
* {{Foil}}: Interestingly, to [[spoiler:Odokawa]]. [[spoiler:Odokawa is almost devoid of ambition, content with just living a humble, quiet life and doesn't believe he's anyone special, even though he's very brave and an excellent schemer. Sakura is instead murderously ambitious and [[SmallNameBigEgo convinced she's untouchable and destined for greatness]] despite being a mediocre idol and largely just lucky. They are both fairly distant from other people: Odokawa because his illness causes him to see others as animals, making it a bit harder to relate to them, while Sakura because she's TheSociopath. Odokawa also grew up in an abusive household and later without parents, yet he turned out a very decent, if grumpy man; Sakura has an apparently caring mother yet she grew up to become a budding SerialKiller and is superficially nice and cheerful. Fittingly, they both end the series together in a cab: Odokawa finally sees her "real self" - a human girl, whom he possibly recognizes as the real culprit - while Sakura is [[UnderestimatingBadassery seemingly oblivious to the fact that he's much more than a random taxi driver]]]].
* FromNobodyToNightmare: [[spoiler:An also-ran as a Mystery Kiss member that ends up committing cold-blooded murder, putting the series' events in motion. And she potentially gets off scot-free.]]
* GirlishPigtails: [[spoiler:Her human self has them.]]
* GreenAndMean: [[spoiler:Outside of wearing blue as a idol, she wears green clothing and has green eyes - she is the murderer of the original Yuki.]]
* HiddenInPlainSight: [[spoiler:She's the killer of Yuki Mitsuya and begins impersonating her at Mystery Kiss' request]].
* IdenticalStranger: [[spoiler:She and the real Yuki do resemble each other quite a bit, allowing her to serve as Yuki's BodyDouble. Their resemblance isn't perfect however, which was why Yamamoto has her and Shiho wear masks in public. It works well enough to fool even Odokawa's particular form of PhotographicMemory - neither girl makes enough of an impression for him to realize their subtle differences until it's too late. This also lets her get away with murdering Yuki]].
* ImageSong: Retroactively, "Sugarless Kiss" appears to be one for her. [[spoiler:The vague, ominous lyrics appear to be a confession that she gave the real Yuki a dispassionate "goodbye kiss" while pursuing her dreams, and she's confident the secret will disappear from the public confidence.]]
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:She's positioned to end the series as one. Sakura is beneath suspicion for the murder of Yuki, since she was just the girl hired to maintain the charade. Rui's set to take the fall and last we see her, she's entering Odokawa's taxi to either leave Tokyo or kill him.]]
** KarmaHoudiniWarranty: [[spoiler:Possibly. Odokawa suggests he knows who he drove on the night of the murder and Taeko told him about the wiretapped pen. She also assaults Taeko and threatens Nagashima in the middle of a livestream]].
* KillAndReplace: [[spoiler:The show ends with the reveal that she murdered Yuki with the intention of taking her spot in Mystery Kiss.]]
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Subverted. In "We Have No Tomorrow" it's reported on the news that her body was the one recovered from being dumped in the sea, but it was actually the ''real'' Yuki's body, not hers.]]
* ThePollyanna: [[spoiler:She's remarkably chipper even off the clock for a girl who was asked to impersonate someone who vanished (i.e. was murdered) under mysterious circumstances... Turns out that's because she's TheSociopath.]]
* RedHerring: [[spoiler:It seems like she might be the missing girl who ran away to become an idol, but really she's just a stand-in for the ''real'' missing girl, who died prior to the main plot. This in turn hides the seemingly obvious reveal that she killed Yuki so she could take over.]]
* SmallNameBigEgo: [[spoiler:She's a mediocre performer unwilling to work hard and make even minor concessions for the job, like cutting down on fried chicken, but she's convinced she's destined for stardom. She's also clearly intoxicated by her murder of Yuki, judging by her subsequent assault on Taeko, the [[TroubleEntendre casual mention that she might take out Shiho and Odokawa]], and threatening Nagashima on livestream, even though she only got away with the killing due to incredible circumstances and dumb luck - and there's plenty of reasons to believe it's about to run out]].
* SmallRoleBigImpact: [[spoiler: The fallout of her envy-driven murder of Yuki Mitsuya could have fully played out in the context of Mystery Kiss. Instead, thanks to Yamamoto's Yakuza connections, it essentialy sparks the series' entire plot.]]
* TheSociopath: [[spoiler:She matter-of-factly kills Yuki Mitsuya, then she pretends to be her for months without a care in the world and she cheerfully talks about this on the phone. She also attacks (and possibly kills) Taeko and tells Nagashima, through the wiretapped pen, that he's next and it's implied she wants to kill Odokawa in the final scene of the series. That being said, it seems like [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes she does legitimately care about her mother]] if the one flashback of the two of them is any indication; further muddled by the tone of their conversation and the fact that her mom tips her off about the wiretapped pen]].
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: She loves fried chicken, especially since it reminds her of her mother's cooking. It's enough so that both Shiho and Yamamoto warn her about gaining weight. [[spoiler:While every other witness to Odokawa's dive into Tokyo Bay is reminded of something depressing, she thinks of the happy memory of her mom frying up some chicken. This hints at something wrong with her]].

[[folder:Missing Girl]]
!!The Missing Girl from Nerima [[spoiler:(Name: Yuki Mitsuya)]]

[[caption-width-right:225:[[labelnote:Spoilers]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oddtaxi_missinggirl.png The Missing Girl[[/labelnote]]]]

* TheAce: [[spoiler:She is revealed to be an outstanding student and entertainer, to the point she can get into an idol group just because she felt like it, and manages to do it while still being on the track and field team of her school.]]
* AmbiguousSituation: [[spoiler:She reacts in shock to being promoted over Rui as the group's lead, but why is not elaborated on. Adding fuel to the fire she's just as ambitious as Rui, yet hid her family connection and dies shortly after.]]
* ConnectedAllAlong: Her father turns out to be specifically [[spoiler:Donraku Shofutei.]]
* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler:She was killed by her replacement Sakura before the present events of the anime. The missing person report was just a ruse to hide this.]]
* TheGhost: Understandable since she is missing after all, but even within that scope her identity is never given out, not even on the news. Multiple characters have apparently seen her or know who she is, but the viewer is left in the dark to preserve the mystery. All that's afforded to the audience is that she's (probably) a cat. [[spoiler: "If We Could Go Back To That Day" reveals she's the real Yuki Mitsuya, and in fact her identity was actively concealed from the media as part of the plan to dispose of her after she died.]]
* MafiaPrincess: Subverted; her father was possibly affiliated with the Yakuza, but according to Kuroda she might have disappeared deliberately because she disapproved of this. [[spoiler:Her father is the famous rakugo performer Donraku Shofutei, however, so she's still certainly a "princess".]]
* RandomSpeciesOffspring: Subverted. [[spoiler: She's a cat while her father is a mandrill, but since everyone being animals is just Odokawa's mental illness, they're actually both human so this doesn't apply.]]
* SpannerInTheWorks: Her disappearance is this for a lot of people, but ultimately most importantly for Odokawa. Specifically, [[spoiler: the reveal of her ''death'' - it takes out the leverage he had over Yamamoto and completely breaks Imai's spirit, derailing the plan to take out Yano and Dobu in one go]].
* UncertainDoom: Between everyone's knowledge of what could have happened to her, it's not even clear if she's still alive or not, though evidence points toward the former. [[spoiler:"If We Could Go Back To That Day" confirms that she, Yuki Mitsuya, is certainly dead.]]

* {{Fanboy}}: He's one of the first fans Mystery Kiss ever had and dedicates himself a lot to them. He even wants to get more money just so he can spend on more of their merch and [=CDs=].

!!!'''Voiced by''': Chado Horii

!!!'''Voiced by''': Creator/HochuOtsuka

!!!'''Voiced by''': Creator/AkariKitou

!!!'''Voiced by''': Creator/KenjiHamada

!!!'''Voiced by''': Creator/TakayaKuroda

!!!'''Voiced by''': METEOR

* AffectionateNickname: [[spoiler:Called "Don-chan" by Kuroda, and he calls him "Kuro-chan", despite both being grown men, hitning that they are indeed extremelly close.]]

!!!'''Voiced by''': Creator/SomaSaito

* BeautyMark

* AloneWithThePsycho: [[spoiler:His last scene has Sakura enter his cab. By tha point she killed Yuki Mitsuya, possibly killed Taeko and she's thinking about offing him and Shiho, but the series ends before it's resolved. However, it's implied that Odokawa isn't unaware of this situation]].

!!!'''Voiced by''': Atsuhiro Tsuda

!!!'''Voiced by''': Creator/SuzukoMimori

!!!'''Voiced by''': Moeka Koizumi

!!!'''Voiced by''': Manatsu Murakami

!!!'''Voiced by''': Creator/MakotoFurukawa

* AllForNothing: [[spoiler:Ultimately, his plan to obfuscate Yuki Mitsuya's death just derails Mystery Kiss' career entirely - they end up forced to confess about the cover up, putting the group on indefinite hold and getting Rui and himelf arrested. To add insult to injury, the plan plays entirely to Sakura's hand: they gave her the perfect diguise, the circumstances put her BeneathSuspicion and the confusion doesn't allow Odokawa to realize who he was driving the night of the murder early enough for it to matter]].

!!!'''Voiced by''': Kohei

!!!'''Voiced by''': Asei

!!!'''Voiced by''': Yusuke

!!!'''Voiced by''': Mahiro Takasugi

* ConnectedAllAlong: Her father turns out to be specifically [[spoiler:Donraku Shofutei]].