History Characters / ShuukanShounenHachi

* HateSink: His dishevelled look, angular face, threatening shadowing, the creepy font when he speaks, his generally petty attitude and finally his KickTheDog moment (see below) all make him the perfect punching bag for fans. It doesn't help that such negativity-filled (and non-comical) characters are unusual in Masuda's stories.

* CharacterDevelopment: Part of the E-rank arc is about her breaking out of her shell through her interactions with Hachi and Ran. It peaks in chapter 25, [[spoiler:where she finally calls out Hoozuki on his hypocrisy and exposes his scheme, shouting with her real voice in public for the first time.]]

* ShrinkingViolet: To the point she doesn't even want to show her face around people. Chapter 9 opens with a shot of her running and jumping through a window… just because someone tried to talk to her. It appears quite clearly in later chapters that she has social anxiety, especially around men. The only person she talks to with her "real" voice is Hachi, with whom she bonds… through sarcasm and insults, before they develop a genuine mutual understanding. Later on [[spoiler:she also starts to talk to Ran, who is also the first character she shows her face to.]]

* AmbiguouslyBi: Asks Hachi to pose as a nude model for her, before proudly proclaiming that she also wants to draw every girl's boobs. She also has quite a fondness for Handa as shown by an early FunnyBackgroundEvent [[spoiler:and her insistant SkinshipGrope in the bath.]]

[[folder:Mikeya Touma ("Miké")]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mik.jpg]]

A gifted artist who already had an award-winning oneshot published before entering the school. He nonetheless feels that he still has a long way to go to measure up to the pros. He's one of the rare Onigahama students good enough to start directly in the A rank.

* TheAce: He has already had a story published and won a prize by the time he enters the school. But since Myaako has never praised his mangas, he considers himself unworthy of becoming a pro, despite everyone else calling him a genius. Additionally, the reader ratings for his published oneshot weren't very good.
* BrutalHonesty: While Hachi already has rather low expectations on his storyboard when he send it to Mikeya for evaluation, Mikeya's words nonetheless beat Hachi's mental state to a bloody pulp.
* DudeLooksLikeALady: Hachi and Saru both take Miké for a pretty girl before he quickly (and angrily) corrects them. Being hit on by guys is apparently a monthly occurence for him, which he isn't too fond of.
* {{Expy}}: He's basically [[Manga/MyMonsterSecret Aizawa Nagisa]] in all but name and gender. Same hair as adult!Nagisa, same way of talking and same serious, gallant air hiding a tinge of idiocy.
* LonelyRichKid: Hachi's first impression of him. In the series proper, it is downplayed as he never had a cup ramen before (preferring to cook his meals for nutrition and taking care of his father) and took extensive care of his apperance, but isn't particularly rich. As for the lonely part it stems more from his attitude (preferring to focus on manga in his childhood) and being seen as a genius makes other people hesitant to approach him with appealing to his interest.
* NiceGuy: Despite being the one to criticize Hachi's storyboard, he's also the first to stand up for Hachi in Chapter 2 when the class derided Hachi.
* OutOfFocus: While he's set up as Hachi's main rival in the the first volume, the scene where he accepts Hachi's challenge and they part ways to their respective ranks is the last we see of him for the next couple of volumes, which focus on Hachi and the E rank students. Probably a way to reinforce that he's still way out of Hachi's league at this point in time.
* SelfDeprecation: Despite having an established start before entering the school, he still found himself not as worthy to become a pro mangaka. Additionally, his hardwired "main character" personality traits actually embarrass him.
* SignatureStyle: Fantasy action.

[[folder:Myaako]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/myahko.jpg]]

A strange girl who happens to be Miké's friend. She sleeps a lot and apparently has pretty weird tastes in manga. Her rank is unknown.

* CharacterTic: Has a habit of holding her book in front of her mouth when she has her cunning smile. It adds an air of mystery, as if she was hiding something.
* ChildhoodFriend: Apparently and old acquaintance of Miké, although it's so far unknown whether they're more than friends. Regardless, she's the one whose opinion he seems to value more than anyone else's.
* ForgottenFirstMeeting: Despite being the inspiration for Hachi to attend Onigahama, she doesn't remember Hachi when they meet again (Miké actually explains that she usually forgets people's faces).
* HairDecs: A butterfly-shaped hairpin on her side ponytail. Gives her a cute but elegant look.
* HeavySleeper: Myaako's sleep cycle ranges from oversleeping to sleeping at her desk, to sleeping ''[[UpToEleven on]]'' her desk.
* IdiotHair: Sports a rather large one, which fits with the quirkier parts of her character.
* InnocentInnuendo: Innocence is ambiguous, but her praise of Hachi's Twidder manga is littered with flirtatious language.
* MarshmallowHell: When she tries to give advice to Hachi in chapter 4, she doesn't seem to realize that her breasts are pressing on his arm and his back. Hachi does, and can't focus for the rest of the day because of that.
* {{Meganekko}}: Her glasses go hand-in-hand with the book she's always carrying to give her a somewhat mysterious demeanor.
* OfCorsetsSexy: Despite her very wholesome outfit − a plain, long-sleeved shirt with a pendent lace and a long, frilly skirt −, the corset on her waist emphasizes her pretty generous chest.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Everyone just calls her "Myaako". Her real name has yet to be revealed, which makes her all the more enigmatic.
* ScaryShinyGlasses: Sports these with a somewhat ominous smile in chapter 28 [[spoiler:when she sees Hachi's last manga for the Like Battle.]]

[[folder:Handa Sasami]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handa_7.jpg]]
[[quoteright:200:[[labelnote:Without her mask]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handa_sans_masque.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]

A shy girl with a panda mask that she never seems to remove. She almost only communicates by text messages. She starts in the E rank despite her obvious artistic talent.

* AnimalMotif: Well, the panda, obviously. Besides the mask, she wears mostly black and white clothes and sports a bobble tail.
* AnimeChineseGirl: She's not Chinese, but her panda mask, OdangoHair and the cover of chapter 12 depicting her in a tangzhuang and a kung-fu pose, all create a similar visual theme.
* BlankWhiteEyes: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] − when she's startled, white pupils appear in her all-black panda eyes.
* CharacterDevelopment: Part of the E-rank arc is about her breaking out of her shell through her interactions with Hachi and Ran. It peaks in chapter 25, [[spoiler:where she finally calls out Hoozuki on his hypocrisy and exposes his scheme, shouting with her real voice in public for the first time.]]
* ClingyJealousGirl: Shows some signs of this towards Hachi when she thinks Myaako is getting too close to him. It gets even worse when Ran starts teasing.
* CuteLittleFang: Reveals one when she removes her mask. It adds to her childish appearance.
* DeadpanSnarker: Mostly towards Hachi, and through her text messages. While not exactly a jerk, she seems to have trouble talking nicely to him.
* DoesNotLikeMen: In great part due to her apparently OverprotectiveDad who told her all boys were savage beasts. She was in all-girl schools both in middle and high school, which didn't really help. She often hides behind Ran when she's on her guard with Hachi.
* TheFaceless: At first, the only "face" she has is her panda mask, due to being uncomfortable around people. She only removes it when she's alone (or taking a bath with Ran in chapter 22.) [[spoiler:After Hachi accidentally sees her face in chapter 34, courtesy of Ran, she removes the mask in front of him too… but puts it back when she's too embarrassed.]]
* HiddenDepths: She turns out to be an extremely talented artist, but ended up in the E rank because she was too scared to submit her manga at all when the ranks were decided.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: Partly played for laughs in chapter 12, where she can't seem to get why Hachi keeps getting ticked off by her "harmless" remarks. But it also goes to show how much trouble she has communicating with people.
* {{Emoticon}}: Her smartphone lines occasionally include those, such as "m9(^Д^)" or "orz".
* LoveEpiphany: Has a pretty spectacular one in chapter 13, after Hachi helps her get over her fear of criticism and post her fanart. [[InconvenientAttraction She's not happy at all to realize it at first]], but warms up to Hachi after talking some more.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Near the end of the Like Battle arc [[spoiler:she shouts at Hoozuki, in public and with her real voice, to expose his schemes]], something that doesn't happen before nor after that. That tells you how pissed off she is.
* OlderThanSheLooks: Despite her small stature and slightly childish behavior she has graduated high school, making her 18 or 19 like the rest of the cast.
* PunnyName: Obviously. "Handa" (はんだ) sounds and looks like "panda" (ぱんだ).
* TheQuietOne: Played with. In the first few chapters where she appears, she doesn't utter a single word, but she's ''quite'' talkative with her smartphone.
* ShrinkingViolet: To the point she doesn't even want to show her face around people. Chapter 9 opens with a shot of her running and jumping through a window… just because someone tried to talk to her. It appears quite clearly in later chapters that she has social anxiety, especially around men. The only person she talks to with her "real" voice is Hachi, with whom she bonds… through sarcasm and insults, before they develop a genuine mutual understanding. Later on [[spoiler:she also starts to talk to Ran, who is also the first character she shows her face to.]]
* TalkingWithSigns: A modernized variant. As mentionned above, she usually communicates using text messages on LIME. [[RuleOfFunny Which can happen even when she or the other characters aren't actually looking at their smartphone.]] She only talks with her real voice around people she's comfortable with, like Hachi or Ran, and only if there are no strangers with them.
* {{Tsundere}}: Exhibits some traits towards Hachi. Even when they get closer and she grows genuinely fond of him, she still can't help taking sarcastic shots at him to hide her attraction [[ItAmusedMe (and also because it's just that fun to pick on him).]]
* YaoiFangirl: Chapter 14 reveals that she reads some… ''interesting'' literature, and in chapter 34 she fantasizes about [[spoiler:a threesome between Hachi, Mikeya and Mikeya's editor.]] [[CovertPervert It all serves to show she's not nearly as innocent as her cute panda outfit might lead you to think.]]

[[folder:Inohara Ran]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/inohara_ran_2_9.jpg]]


A ''pretty'' energetic girl who just wants to have as much fun as possible in the school. She ends up in the E rank like Hachi.

* AmbiguouslyBi: Asks Hachi to pose as a nude model for her, before proudly proclaiming that she also wants to draw every girl's boobs. She also has quite a fondness for Handa as shown by an early FunnyBackgroundEvent [[spoiler:and her insistant SkinshipGrope in the bath.]]
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Her very first scene has her loudly answering to a teacher and laughing it off when she's told to shut it, before we see her drawing her "self-introduction" ''with a flipbook''. Thus she makes quite an impression before her name is even known.
* {{Expy}}: Quite clearly the successor of [[Manga/MyMonsterSecret Youko]], with all the liveliness and ditziness that comes with it. There's also some [[Manga/SakuraDiscord Nomiya]] thrown in with her pink hair and ENERGY. Her hairstyle and love of teasing are also reminiscent of Shiho, so she borrows from three different characters.
* {{Foil}}: Works as one to Hachi. Hachi initially takes everything too seriously and ends up working with a negative state of mind, while Ran doesn't take things seriously ''enough'' and tends to get too confortable as long as she finds something "fun". A great deal of their respective developments comes from acknowledging "what one can see and the other can't", to put it in Hachi's words.
* FunPersonified: She's always smiling, can instantly get along with anyone, and wants to draw as much fun out of every second of her life as possible. This alas comes with the drawback of [[AttentionDeficitOhShiny being unable to focus on one endeavor for very long.]]
* GenkiGirl: Everything she does, she does it with ENTHUSIASM; a bit too much for her teachers, who frequently have to tell her to stop fooling around. And also a bit too much for her teammates who consistently fail to stop her terrible ideas for the Twidder Battle.
* GenreRoulette: InUniverse, her first storyboard in Onigahama ended up doing this due to her [[AttentionDeficitOhShiny godawful attention span.]] It starts as a crime mystery, then becomes a time-travel period piece, then a horror story, then a high-school romcom. Featuring a samurai and a ghost.
* HairDecs: Bat-shaped ribbons in her hair, again reminiscent of Youko in Masuda's previous series.
* MarshmallowHell: Prone to give this to Handa when she's happy, though the latter is "protected" by her panda mask.
** Also gives one [[spoiler:to Hachi]] in chapter 31, [[ItAmusedMe just to see Handa's reaction.]]
* MsFanservice: One trait that her predecessor Youko most definitely ''didn't'' have. She's ''quite'' well-endowed, and isn't above using her assets for teasing, as Hachi and two other unfortunate guys find out in her introduction. This combined with her goofy "just kidding" attitude makes for a baffling contrast.
* TheNicknamer: Downplayed. She usually adds "-chan" to people's surname or part of it. Handa is "Handa-chan", Hoozuki is "Hoo-chan", and her teacher Enma is… "Enma-chan". Hachi is the only exception, for some reason, as she just calls him "Yasaka".
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: When even the perpetually cheery Ran is genuinely angry, you know that [[spoiler:Hoozuki breaking Handa's tablet and insulting her]] won't be forgiven easily.
* RapunzelHair: To emphasize her voluptuous figure a bit more.
* RoseHairedSweetie: More mischievous and reckless than most examples, but nonetheless, there doesn't seem to be a negative bone in her body. In chapter 21, [[spoiler:when she actually cries briefly, Sasami is actually shocked that she has "functional lacrymal glands".]]
* ShipperOnDeck: Starting from the D-rank arc, she starts teasing Handa to hell about her feelings for Hachi, and pushing her to confess.
* TheSocialExpert: A variant − she's apparently so loveable she can make friends with pretty much anyone she meets just by talking to them a little. Hachi himself notes that her social skills are "way too high".
* StatuesqueStunner: Taller than Hachi and other boys in the class, and definitely has an adult charm to her − especially in contrast with the petite Handa.
* SureLetsGoWithThat: For the "Twidder Battle", she has the idea to draw an "exquisite corpse" style manga where each member of the team would draw a page. The results are… not exactly stellar, so when Hachi wonders if she did that deliberately to bring the four of them closer, she acts as if it was her intention all along. [[SubvertedTrope Except no one actually buys that for a second.]]
* VerbalTic: She has a habit of saying "yaaah" in Japanese, which emphasizes her carefreeness.
* VictoriasSecretCompartment: Lampshaded by Hachi in chapter 18, when she pulls out a storyboard ''and'' a notebook from between her ample breasts. He wonders if her cleavage leads to a fourth dimension.

* ClingyJealousGirl: Shows some signs of this towards Hachi when she thinks Myakko is getting too close to him. It gets even worse when Ran starts teasing.

* TheFaceless: At first, the only "face" she has is her panda mask, due to being uncomfortable around people. She only removes it when she's alone [[spoiler:or taking a bath with Ran.]]

* TalkingWithSigns: A modernized variant. As mentionned above, she usually communicates using text messages on LIME. [[RuleOfFunny Which can happen even when she or the other characters aren't actually looking at their smartphone.]]

* AllWomenAreDomsAllMenAreSubs: Shown to be a huge sub, who likes being verbally abused by Myaako [[spoiler:and is apparently a regular custommer at a BDSM club, from which he casually takes a phonecall from Hachi while a dominatrix sits on his back.]]

[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/minatokazetaizan.jpg]]

* PermaStubble: Always uncleanly shaved, which adds to his "lazy quitter" vibe. [[spoiler:He didn't have it during his first year in the school.]]

Self-proclaimed "no. 2" of Onigahama Academy with a strange bat backpack, she proposes Hachi to make him her "servant" to help him improve. She's childhood friends with Hoozuki, but their relationships have been tense since the latter started acting like a jerk.

Despite being in second year, he's still stuck in the E rank and has a strong enemity with Alice. He ends up being Hachi's teammate in the special assignment.

A gifted artist who already had an award-winning oneshot published before entering the school. He nonetheless feels that he still has a long way to go to measure up to the pros.

A strange girl who happens to be Miké's friend. She sleeps a lot and apparently has pretty weird tastes in manga.

!!E Rank students

[[folder:Handa Sasami]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handa_7.jpg]]
[[quoteright:200:[[labelnote:Without her mask]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handa_sans_masque.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]

A shy girl with a panda mask that she never seems to remove. She almost only communicates by text messages.

* AnimalMotif: Well, the panda, obviously. Besides the mask, she wears mostly black and white clothes and sports a bobble tail.
* AnimeChineseGirl: She's not Chinese, but her panda mask, OdangoHair and the cover of chapter 12 depicting her in a tangzhuang and a kung-fu pose, all create a similar visual theme.
* BlankWhiteEyes: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] − when she's startled, white pupils appear in her all-black panda eyes.
* CharacterDevelopment: Part of the E-rank arc is about her breaking out of her shell through her interactions with Hachi and Ran. It peaks in chapter 25, [[spoiler:where she finally calls out Hoozuki on his hypocrisy and exposes his scheme, shouting with her real voice in public for the first time.]]
* ClingyJealousGirl: Shows some signs of this towards Hachi when she thinks Myakko is getting too close to him. It gets even worse when Ran starts teasing.
* CuteLittleFang: Reveals one when she removes her mask. It adds to her childish appearance.
* DeadpanSnarker: Mostly towards Hachi, and through her text messages. While not exactly a jerk, she seems to have trouble talking nicely to him.
* DoesNotLikeMen: In great part due to her apparently OverprotectiveDad who told her all boys were savage beasts. She was in all-girl schools both in middle and high school, which didn't really help. She often hides behind Ran when she's on her guard with Hachi.
* TheFaceless: At first, the only "face" she has is her panda mask, due to being uncomfortable around people. She only removes it when she's alone [[spoiler:or taking a bath with Ran.]]
* HiddenDepths: She turns out to be an extremely talented artist, but ended up in the E rank because she was too scared to submit her manga at all when the ranks were decided.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: Partly played for laughs in chapter 12, where she can't seem to get why Hachi keeps getting ticked off by her "harmless" remarks. But it also goes to show how much trouble she has communicating with people.
* {{Emoticon}}: Her smartphone lines occasionally include those, such as "m9(^Д^)" or "orz".
* LoveEpiphany: Has a pretty spectacular one in chapter 13, after Hachi helps her get over her fear of criticism and post her fanart. [[InconvenientAttraction She's not happy at all to realize it at first]], but warms up to Hachi after talking some more.
* OlderThanSheLooks: Despite her small stature and slightly childish behavior she has graduated high school, making her 18 or 19 like the rest of the cast.
* PunnyName: Obviously. "Handa" (はんだ) sounds and looks like "panda" (ぱんだ).
* TheQuietOne: Played with. In the first few chapters where she appears, she doesn't utter a single word, but she's ''quite'' talkative with her smartphone.
* ShrinkingViolet: To the point she doesn't even want to show her face around people. Chapter 9 opens with a shot of her running and jumping through a window… just because someone tried to talk to her. It appears quite clearly in later chapters that she has social anxiety, especially around men. The only person she talks to with her "real" voice is Hachi, with whom she bonds… through sarcasm and insults, before they develop a genuine mutual understanding. Later on [[spoiler:she also starts to talk to Ran, who is also the first character she shows her face to.]]
* TalkingWithSigns: A modernized variant. As mentionned above, she usually communicates using text messages on LIME. [[RuleOfFunny Which can happen even when she or the other characters aren't actually looking at their smartphone.]]
* {{Tsundere}}: Exhibits some traits towards Hachi. Even when they get closer and she grows genuinely fond of him, she still can't help taking sarcastic shots at him to hide her attraction [[ItAmusedMe (and also because it's just that fun to pick on him).]]

[[folder:Inohara Ran]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/inohara_ran_2_9.jpg]]


A ''pretty'' energetic girl who just wants to have as much fun as possible in the school. She ends up in the E rank like Hachi.

* AmbiguouslyBi: Asks Hachi to pose as a nude model for her, before proudly proclaiming that she also wants to draw every girl's boobs. She also has quite a fondness for Handa as shown by an early FunnyBackgroundEvent [[spoiler:and her insistant SkinshipGrope in the bath.]]
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Her very first scene has her loudly answering to a teacher and laughing it off when she's told to shut it, before we see her drawing her "self-introduction" ''with a flipbook''. Thus she makes quite an impression before her name is even known.
* {{Expy}}: Quite clearly the successor of [[Manga/MyMonsterSecret Youko]], with all the liveliness and ditziness that comes with it. There's also some [[Manga/SakuraDiscord Nomiya]] thrown in with her pink hair and ENERGY. Her hairstyle and love of teasing are also reminiscent of Shiho, so she borrows from three different characters.
* {{Foil}}: Works as one to Hachi. Hachi initially takes everything too seriously and ends up working with a negative state of mind, while Ran doesn't take things seriously ''enough'' and tends to get too confortable as long as she finds something "fun". A great deal of their respective developments comes from acknowledging "what one can see and the other can't", to put it in Hachi's words.
* FunPersonified: She's always smiling, can instantly get along with anyone, and wants to draw as much fun out of every second of her life as possible. This alas comes with the drawback of [[AttentionDeficitOhShiny being unable to focus on one endeavor for very long.]]
* GenkiGirl: Everything she does, she does it with ENTHUSIASM; a bit too much for her teachers, who frequently have to tell her to stop fooling around. And also a bit too much for her teammates who consistently fail to stop her terrible ideas for the Twidder Battle.
* GenreRoulette: InUniverse, her first storyboard in Onigahama ended up doing this due to her [[AttentionDeficitOhShiny godawful attention span.]] It starts as a crime mystery, then becomes a time-travel period piece, then a horror story, then a high-school romcom. Featuring a samurai and a ghost.
* HairDecs: Bat-shaped ribbons in her hair, again reminiscent of Youko in Masuda's previous series.
* MarshmallowHell: Prone to give this to Handa when she's happy, though the latter is "protected" by her panda mask.
** Also gives one [[spoiler:to Hachi]] in chapter 31, [[ItAmusedMe just to see Handa's reaction.]]
* MsFanservice: One trait that her predecessor Youko most definitely ''didn't'' have. She's ''quite'' well-endowed, and isn't above using her assets for teasing, as Hachi and two other unfortunate guys find out in her introduction. This combined with her goofy "just kidding" attitude makes for a baffling contrast.
* TheNicknamer: Downplayed. She usually adds "-chan" to people's surname or part of it. Handa is "Handa-chan", Hoozuki is "Hoo-chan", and her teacher Enma is… "Enma-chan". Hachi is the only exception, for some reason, as she just calls him "Yasaka".
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: When even the perpetually cheery Ran is genuinely angry, you know that [[spoiler:Hoozuki breaking Handa's tablet and insulting her]] won't be forgiven easily.
* RapunzelHair: To emphasize her voluptuous figure a bit more.
* RoseHairedSweetie: More mischievous and reckless than most examples, but nonetheless, there doesn't seem to be a negative bone in her body. In chapter 21, [[spoiler:when she actually cries briefly, Sasami is actually shocked that she has "functional lacrymal glands".]]
* TheSocialExpert: A variant − she's apparently so loveable she can make friends with pretty much anyone she meets just by talking to them a little. Hachi himself notes that her social skills are "way too high".
* StatuesqueStunner: Taller than Hachi and other boys in the class, and definitely has an adult charm to her − especially in contrast with the petite Handa.
* SureLetsGoWithThat: For the "Twidder Battle", she has the idea to draw an "exquisite corpse" style manga where each member of the team would draw a page. The results are… not exactly stellar, so when Hachi wonders if she did that deliberately to bring the four of them closer, she acts as if it was her intention all along. [[SubvertedTrope Except no one actually buys that for a second.]]
* VerbalTic: She has a habit of saying "yaaah" in Japanese, which emphasizes her carefreeness.
* VictoriasSecretCompartment: Lampshaded by Hachi in chapter 18, when she pulls out a storyboard ''and'' a notebook from between her ample breasts. He wonders if her cleavage leads to a fourth dimension.

[[folder:Hoozuki Akatarou]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hoozuki_akatarou_7.jpg]]

Despite being in second year, he's still stuck in the E rank and has a strong enemity with Alice. He ends up being Hachi's teammate in the special assignment.

* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:He ends up dropping out and deciding to work on his manga another way after feeling like he went too far to face everyone he antagonized, including his old friends.]]
* BitchInSheepsClothing: He talks politely and genially to Hachi and his team, but very clearly cannot wait to see them kicked out of the school. When talking to Alice, he doesn't even try to hide his ill intentions, since she already knows how he really is.
* HateSink: His dishevelled look, angular face, threatening shadowing, the creepy font when he speaks, his generally petty attitude and finally his KickTheDog moment (see below) all make him the perfect punching bag for fans. It doesn't help that such negativity-filled (and non-comical) characters are unusual in Masuda's stories.
* KickTheDog: When [[spoiler:Handa exposes him as the instigator of the media scandal about the school's methods]], his only response is to [[spoiler:break her graphic tablet and then make fun of her social anxiety in front of everyone.]] It tells you something when even ''[[GenkiGirl Inohara]]'' is angry at him.
* PermaStubble: Always uncleanly shaved, which adds to his "lazy quitter" vibe. [[spoiler:He didn't have it during his first year in the school.]]
* SoreLoser: It's implied he just wants to take out his jealousy and the frustration of his own failure on those who haven't yet given up, unlike him.
* TraitorShot: Has numerous ones in… most of his appearences, really, full with heavily shadowed face and a creepy-looking font when he speaks. The only reason he doesn't have devilish fangs and horns growing on his head is probably because it would have been too obvious.
* UnknownRival: It's revealed in chapter 26 that [[spoiler:while he and Alice were childhood friends and promised to become mangaka together, in terms of ''ability'' he wasn't even on her radar. Despite that he still tried desperately to fill the gap, before giving up.]]
* UsedToBeASweetKid: [[spoiler:He was a perfectly nice guy when he got into Onigahama with Alice and their other friend, but eventually lost hope of ever achieving his dream and became a total {{Jerkass}} around the end of his first year. Alice herself isn't sure why he turned out that way.]]

[[folder:Tanuma]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tanuma.jpg]]

Another one of Hachi's classmates. His friends in high school encouraged him to pursue a mangaka career, but he soon realized that being the best of his former school didn't mean much in Onigahama.

* BystanderSyndrome: He does find it unfair that two students who only politely spoke up are expelled on a teacher's whim, but like everyone else he's too terrified of the backlash to object, and advises Hachi to keep quiet too. He also makes all sorts of excuses about how that's two rivals less to deal with.
* HeelRealization: [[spoiler:Has this toward the end of the Twidder battle, and ends up deleting his post about the conditions of the school after seeing everyone continue to work hard in spite of the negative press. This continues into regrets he starts to feel about not trying hard enough to polish his work and riding on controversy as he loses.]]
\\
\\

!!A Rank students

[[folder:Mikeya Touma ("Miké")]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mik.jpg]]

A gifted artist who already had an award-winning oneshot published before entering the school. He nonetheless feels that he still has a long way to go to measure up to the pros.

* TheAce: He has already had a story published and won a prize by the time he enters the school. But since Myaako has never praised his mangas, he considers himself unworthy of becoming a pro, despite everyone else calling him a genius. Additionally, the reader ratings for his published oneshot weren't very good.
* BrutalHonesty: While Hachi already has rather low expectations on his storyboard when he send it to Mikeya for evaluation, Mikeya's words nonetheless beat Hachi's mental state to a bloody pulp.
* DudeLooksLikeALady: Hachi and Saru both take Miké for a pretty girl before he quickly (and angrily) corrects them. Being hit on by guys is apparently a monthly occurence for him, which he isn't too fond of.
* {{Expy}}: He's basically [[Manga/MyMonsterSecret Aizawa Nagisa]] in all but name and gender. Same hair as adult!Nagisa, same way of talking and same serious, gallant air hiding a tinge of idiocy.
* LonelyRichKid: Hachi's first impression of him. In the series proper, it is downplayed as he never had a cup ramen before (preferring to cook his meals for nutrition and taking care of his father) and took extensive care of his apperance, but isn't particularly rich. As for the lonely part it stems more from his attitude (preferring to focus on manga in his childhood) and being seen as a genius makes other people hesitant to approach him with appealing to his interest.
* NiceGuy: Despite being the one to criticize Hachi's storyboard, he's also the first to stand up for Hachi in Chapter 2 when the class derided Hachi.
* OutOfFocus: While he's set up as Hachi's main rival in the the first volume, the scene where he accepts Hachi's challenge and they part ways to their respective ranks is the last we see of him for the next couple of volumes, which focus on Hachi and the E rank students. Probably a way to reinforce that he's still way out of Hachi's league at this point in time.
* SelfDeprecation: Despite having an established start before entering the school, he still found himself not as worthy to become a pro mangaka. Additionally, his hardwired "main character" personality traits actually embarrass him.
* SignatureStyle: Fantasy action.

[[folder:Ibaraki Alice]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ibaraki_alice.jpg]]

Self-proclaimed "no. 2" of Onigahama Academy with a strange bat backpack, she proposes Hachi to make him her "servant" to help him improve. She's childhood friends with Hoozuki, but their relationships have been tense since the latter started acting like a jerk.

* AwesomeEgo: She calls herself a "genius" before Hachi and has the chops to justify it… but at the same time she makes it very clear to him that she's had to work ''a lot'' to reach that level, and that talent or the lack thereof shouldn't be used as an excuse. All while showing him a huge pile of storyboards she has drawn during her first year at the school.
* AintTooProudToBeg: She badly needs assistants to finish her next manuscript in time, so she recruits underclassmen by more or less bribing them with food and desperately pleading on her knees if that doesn't work.
* {{Expy}}: Obviously one of [[Manga/MyMonsterSecret Akane]], which includes being a mentor figure to the protagonist and resorting to slave labor. Unlike Akane, however, she's not a prankster and generally much less of a jerk.
* MentorArchetype: Aware of his rivalry with Mikeya, Alice decides to take Hachi under her wing after seeing some kind of potential in him.

[[folder:Kamiya]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mohawk_1.jpg]]

Alice and Hoozuki's friend, who promised to become a pro mangaka with them. He started out in the D rank but climbed to the top of the tower in only six months.

* DelinquentHair: At least that's the vibe it gives him. His rather brash attitude fits twith that.
* NoNameGiven: For a long time his name wasn't told, even in Hoozuki's flashback. Chapter 30 indirectly (see below) reveals it as "Kamiya".
* SmallNameBigEgo: One of his manga he drew in grade school has himself as the protagonist, a super-strong and macho gang leader, which Alice teases him to hell about.

!!Other students


[[folder:Sarushima Kuugo ("Saru")]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/saru.jpg]]

Hachi's friend from their high school baseball club, who likes to tease him.

* TheGadfly: Prone to pick on Hachi for shits and giggles. He's a supportive friend nonetheless.
* IfItsYouItsOkay: PlayedForLaughs. In chapter 1, Saru is shocked by the fact Mike is a guy… but he still asks him his contact anyway.
* ReversePsychology: In chapter 6, when Hachi's morale is destroyed by his E rank, Saru asks Ms. Shinonome to give his own C rank to Hachi because he "worked hard". This naturally pisses off Hachi to no end, just as Saru expected, and helps Hachi to pull himself together.

[[folder:Myaako]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/myahko.jpg]]

A strange girl who happens to be Miké's friend. She sleeps a lot and apparently has pretty weird tastes in manga.

* CharacterTic: Has a habit of holding her book in front of her mouth when she has her cunning smile. It adds an air of mystery, as if she was hiding something.
* ChildhoodFriend: Apparently and old acquaintance of Miké, although it's so far unknown whether they're more than friends. Regardless, she's the one whose opinion he seems to value more than anyone else's.
* ForgottenFirstMeeting: Despite being the inspiration for Hachi to attend Onigahama, she doesn't remember Hachi when they meet again (Miké actually explains that she usually forgets people's faces).
* HairDecs: A butterfly-shaped hairpin on her side ponytail. Gives her a cute but elegant look.
* HeavySleeper: Myaako's sleep cycle ranges from oversleeping to sleeping at her desk, to sleeping ''[[UpToEleven on]]'' her desk.
* IdiotHair: Sports a rather large one, which fits with the quirkier parts of her character.
* MarshmallowHell: When she tries to give advice to Hachi in chapter 4, she doesn't seem to realize that her breasts are pressing on his arm and his back. Hachi does, and can't focus for the rest of the day because of that.
* {{Meganekko}}: Her glasses go hand-in-hand with the book she's always carrying to give her a somewhat mysterious demeanor.
* OfCorsetsSexy: Despite her very wholesome outfit − a plain, long-sleeved shirt with a pendent lace and a long, frilly skirt −, the corset on her waist emphasizes her pretty generous chest.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Everyone just calls her "Myaako". Her real name has yet to be revealed, which makes her all the more enigmatic.
* ScaryShinyGlasses: Sports these with a somewhat ominous smile in chapter 28 [[spoiler:when she sees Hachi's last manga for the Like Battle.]]

[[folder:Kijima Yuito ("Kiji")]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kijima_yuito.jpg]]

One of Hachi and Saru's classmates, who likes pretty ladies.

* KansaiRegionalDialect: Rather downplayed, as he doesn't really show any traits usually associated with the accent, but still prominent.
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* MyGreatestFailure: [[spoiler:Heavily implied by him as he leads Hachi and his friends to D rank, telling them that if they can't get results as a pro then they can't protect anything important to their career.]]

* NoNameGiven: For a long time his name wasn't told, even in Hoozuki's flashback.

Self-proclaimed "no. 2" of Onigahama Academy with a strange bat backpack, she proposes Hachi to make him her "servant" to help him improve.

* CharacterDevelopment: Part of the E-rank arc is about her breaking out of her shell through her inetractions with Hachi and Ran. It peaks in chapter 25, [[spoiler:where she finally calls out Hoozuki on his hypocrisy and exposes his scheme, shouting with her real voice in public for the first time.]]