| 1 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 2 | |
| 3 | !The Babysitter's Club |
| 4 | [[folder:Ryūichi Kashima]] |
| 5 | [[quoteright:150:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chara_img_ryu.png]] |
| 6 | [[caption-width-right:150:''"We really aren't alone, are we?"'']] |
| 7 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KotaroNishiyama (anime), Creator/YukiKaji (drama CD) |
| 8 | |
| 9 | ->''"God, thank you for not taking Kotarō away from me too. It's pathetic, but I think I'm probably the one who's being saved by Kotarō's warmth."'' |
| 10 | |
| 11 | A high school freshman who, having lost his parents in an airplane accident, is now left to care for his little brother Kotarō. Having been taken in by Yōko Morinomiya and enrolled at Morinomiya Secondary School, where she is also the chairwoman, he is tasked with also working at the school's daycare in exchange for her legal guardianship. He is known as an "ideal big brother", who embodies everything a CoolBigBro has to be in its entirety. |
| 12 | ---- |
| 13 | * AffectionateNickname: Gets called "Ryū-chan" by Usaida. The kids also tend to shorten his name to "Ryū". Kirin calls him "Ryū-nii-sama"[[note]]a very polite "Big Brother Ryū"[[/note]]. Kotarō calls him "nii-chan" as would be appropriate for a little brother, [[BigBrotherWorship and it's the only thing he says more often than "Ung."]] |
| 14 | * AnimalThemeNaming: His name refers to dragons. Combined with his little brother's tiger-themed name, they form a reference to TigerVersusDragon. |
| 15 | * AttractiveBentGender: While disguised as a girl during the cultural festival, Inui falls in love with him, thinking he is a girl called Inomata. After a few mishaps, he reveals his identity to him, but Inui's feelings for Ryūichi are apparently [[AmbiguouslyBi more complex than that]]. |
| 16 | * BewareTheNiceOnes: Ryūichi is normally very kind and polite. The few times he's angry usually indicates something's gone really wrong. |
| 17 | ** He may respect his elders and teachers, but as shown in Chapter 25 he angrily ''shoves'' his reflection piece in Hebihara's chest after he sees how hurt he made his own son Kamitani felt. |
| 18 | ** Although extremely rare, Ryūichi can be stern with the kids, like in Chapter 38 after they lock Usaida out of the daycare. |
| 19 | ** Taking advantage of Kotarō isn't wise, as the otherwise carefree and friendly Ryūichi ''will'' chase you down with the determination of a buck as Inui was going to find out in Chapter 53. |
| 20 | * BigBrotherInstinct: His first instinct at all times is to check on Kotarō and the kids. If anything happen to them, he will drop everything and do anything to go to their aid. At one point, he chases Inui when he thinks he might harm Kotarō with a terrifying expression in his face. |
| 21 | * ChasteHero: His lack of interest in romance is sometimes brought up: |
| 22 | ** He decides that his priority should be Kotarō and he should focus on his work at the daycare. As a result, he decides he doesn't have time for romance and turns down a girl who confesses to him. Though early on, he admits to have never really liked anyone, so he doesn't really care for romance that much anyway. |
| 23 | ** During a trip to the beach, the mothers are surprised by the fact that, when they dress up Inomata in a two-piece bikini, his only comment is that her bikini looks nice because it matches Kirin's floaty. |
| 24 | * CluelessChickMagnet: He is so engrossed in his work he doesn't have an idea that he has a lot of female schoolmates swooning over him. Even when pressed on the issue, he admits that he hasn't paid much mind about it. |
| 25 | * CoolBigBro: His skills in babysitting are acknowledged as borderline legendary. Inui's younger sister Mika once even said she'd prefer him over her actual big brother, some of his classmates have called him "the ideal onii-chan" and even voiced that they wanted to call him "onii-san" too. All the children also consider him an honorary older brother to them. |
| 26 | * TheDitz: While not BookDumb by any means, his ignorance of pop culture and relative awkwardness when dealing with women make him come off as dense at times, which his classmates notice. |
| 27 | * DraggedIntoDrag: During the cultural festival Kirin's mother Yayoi puts him on a dress and a wig under the name "Inomata" to help placate her husband Satoru, who is rather suspicious of any other male around Kirin. He (as well as Kotarō) gets dolled up again while on a date with Inui, with the intent of finally confessing that "Inomata" is actually a guy. |
| 28 | * FatalFlaw: Ryūichi has a very hard time asking for help or relying on anyone to help or care for him. This has been noted and sometimes even lampshaded by a plethora of characters, including the Chairwoman and Usaida (both in chapter one/episode one), Inomata and Kamitani. As a direct consequence, he tends to blame himself for everything. |
| 29 | * FriendToAllChildren: He actually manages to make baby Tsugumi stop crying just by holding him. All the children absolutely love him and he loves all of them in return. He generally tends to be really good with children, due to having already a lot of experience looking after Kotarō while their parents are away. |
| 30 | * HeroWithAUniqueName: While he's also part of the AnimalThemeNaming convention like the other character, Ryūichi differs due to how his first name translates to "dragon", a mythical animal instead of a regular one like the rest. |
| 31 | * LivingEmotionalCrutch: Just as Kotarō is one for him, he acts as constant emotional support for Kotarō, with the young guy breaking out into intense crying and begging to be with Ryūichi whenever he thinks his brother might either get hurt or for whatever reason leave him behind, making it clear how Kotarō misses their parents too and is just as terrified of losing his older brother. |
| 32 | * NakedApron: PlayedForLaughs. At one point, he had to take off his shirt after he got soaked while the kids enjoy a pool party and decided to use an apron for the time being, which causes Inui to blush picturing him (as "Inomata") in a naked apron. |
| 33 | * ObliviousToLove: Inomata and Ushimaru vie for his affection and, apparently half the girls in his class are interested in him. He remains completely ignorant of this fact, in spite of the fact that everyone else (with the possible exception of Kamitani) is aware of that. |
| 34 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ryūichi rarely scolds the kids even when they are naughty but one chapter has him doing so for locking Usaida out of the daycare on a cold day (earlier, the Mamizuka twins locked their father on the balcony while Taka locked his brother) as he realizes that strictness is the only way to make sure they learn their lesson. This ''is'' a serious lesson for the kids, since it's quite dangerous for adults to be locked out of a room with little kids inside; if there was a danger or one of the kids got hurt, the adults wouldn't be able to help them. |
| 35 | * PopCultureIsolation: InUniverse, Ryūichi only watches educational programs that Kotarō likes and spends the rest of the time either at the daycare or studying. As a result, he is unaware of Japanese pop culture, let alone the fact that the Mamizuka twins' father Kōsuke is also a famous actor. |
| 36 | * PromotionToParent: Ryuuichi already had to look after Kotarō a lot while their parents were traveling or busy with work, but now that their parents are dead he's become the main person who's responsible for his little brother. |
| 37 | * SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Ryūichi is the sensitive and sweet CoolBigBro to Kamitani's brash and violent AloofBigBrother. |
| 38 | * SharedFamilyQuirks: Ryūichi is a lot more upbeat than his younger brother, but he makes the exact same dull look when he's zoning out. Also, during the chick hatching, both brothers have the same excited sparkles and stars in their eyes. |
| 39 | * StupidSexyFlanders: Apparently Ryūichi is so convincing in drag, Inui has a hard time disentangling his memories of "Inomata" whenever they meet. |
| 40 | * TeamMom: Among the members of the babysitter club, he has the most natural talent at taking care of kids and possesses a lot of HouseHusband traits. |
| 41 | * UnableToCry: According to Morinomiya, she noticed how he and Kotarō were too shellshocked to react to their parents' deaths at a public memorial service. Then when Kotarō fell ill, Ryūichi tries to contact their parents, only for the realization that they are gone to finally sink in, and he collapses into a tearful wreck. |
| 42 | * WiseBeyondTheirYears: Very mature and level-headed for his age, which may be a result from having to take care of Kotarō even when their parents were still alive. |
| 43 | * YouAreNotAlone: The aesop he receives in chapter 1/episode 1. He misses his parents greatly, and finally realizes that they will never come back. However, he notices that he still has not only Kotarō but also the chairwoman and Saikawa, and their relationship with the others is growing, so he doesn't have to face it alone. |
| 44 | [[/folder]] |
| 45 | |
| 46 | [[folder:Hayato Kamitani]] |
| 47 | [[quoteright:170:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chara_img_hayato.png]] |
| 48 | [[caption-width-right:170:''"Lame."'']] |
| 49 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YuichiroUmehara |
| 50 | |
| 51 | ->''"I hit people who don't do what I say. I'm not going to treat him differently just because I'm looking after him."'' |
| 52 | |
| 53 | Ryūichi's classmate and star player of Morinomiya's baseball team. Rude, cold and stoic, he has a habit of putting his little brother Taka in his place by hitting him in the head. |
| 54 | ---- |
| 55 | * NumberOneDime: Kamitani cherishes a baseball signed by a famous player, so when Taka, in retaliation for refusing to play with him, defaces the ball, he was apparently so angry [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness he ignores him]]. |
| 56 | * TheAce: Kamitani is considered to be the best player of the school's baseball team. [[NormalFishInATinyPond Not that this is much of an achievement for him given their state.]] |
| 57 | * AffectionateNickname: "Kamita" and "Kami-chan" are some of the names that the kids in the daycare call him. |
| 58 | * AloofBigBrother: He often hits his brother in the head and calls him an idiot very openly. He does however, shows a more loving side, especially when his brother is in trouble or in relation to their estranged father. |
| 59 | * AnimalThemeNaming: His family name contains the kanji for "wolf" and his given name means "falcon". This goes into FamilyThemeNaming as he shares the bird-of-prey theme with his brother, whose name means "hawk". |
| 60 | * ChasteHero: While it's clear he doesn't have any interest in women and openly declines any of their affections, it's unknown whether he even understands that he is attracting women or he is aware and doesn't care. |
| 61 | * ChickMagnet: Like Ryūichi, Kamitani is one of the most liked boys in the school; unlike the former, however, it remains ambiguous as to whether he is aware of all the eyes on him or he is just as oblivious as Ryūichi. |
| 62 | * TheComicallySerious: He always keeps the same expression even when he is joking. |
| 63 | * EveryoneHasStandards: He might scare people and welcome using force, but when a baby starts annoying him, he explicitly states that though he'd hit kids in Taka's age, he'd never hit a baby. |
| 64 | * {{Foil}}: Kamitani is just about the opposite of Ryūichi in every way, playing sports, being somewhat BookDumb, being surly all the time instead of sweet, and ''especially'' in regards to his relationship with his own baby brother. |
| 65 | * GenerationXerox: From his mother Shizuka he inherited her dark hair, facial features and a habit of hitting someone younger on the head; from his estranged father Hebihara he inherited his scowl, no-nonsense attitude and a HiddenHeartOfGold, which his mother appears to have noticed. |
| 66 | * HiddenDepths: He cares a lot about his friends and family, just dislikes showing it clearly. He is ready to help around the daycare at any given time and he has more than once approached his father in an attempt to talk him into becoming a part of Taka's life (despite the fact that Taka is blissfully unaware of his father's even existence). In fact, during a Christmas, he says that the only thing he wants is to know when he is going to tell Taka he is his father, though he himself appears to have decided he doesn't want his father in his life. |
| 67 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: On one hand, he is callous and more than ready to hit Taka for every annoyance he brings. On the other hand, deep down he cares for his baby brother, albeit in his own grumpy way. |
| 68 | * NormalFishInATinyPond: By his own admission he's an average hitter by the standards of most other high school teams. He only happens to be considered TheAce of Morinomiya's baseball team because otherwise their performance is ''abysmal''. |
| 69 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Kamitani is grumpy by default, and has a habit of hitting Taka on the head whenever he acts out of control. But when he crosses the line by defacing his [[NumberOneDime autographed baseball]], Kamitani doesn't react by hitting him much harder. In fact, he ''ignores'' him for almost the entire day, and, before Ryūichi talks to him, is in a state of TranquilFury. |
| 70 | * PerpetualFrowner: Tends to keep an angry expression at all times. |
| 71 | * TheQuietOne: He doesn't talk much unless necessary or spoken to. |
| 72 | * SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: He is considerably manlier than the sweet polite Ryūichi, being more physically stronger and more devoted to sports and even welcoming of the use of force. |
| 73 | * TheStoic: He has a very serious face and very rarely emotes anything. In fact, he rarely seems to feel things beyond annoyance. |
| 74 | * StrongFamilyResemblance: He looks extremely similar to his mother, and they both share several similarities with his baby cousin who looks more like him than his own brother. |
| 75 | * TallDarkAndHandsome: Not particularly tall (he's taller than Ryuuichi, at least), but does fit the dark and handsome aspect. |
| 76 | * WouldHitAGirl: He hit Kirin upside the head once, with [[OcularGushers predictable]] results and [[WhatTheHellHero chastisement from Ryūichi]]. |
| 77 | * WouldHurtAChild: Frequently hits Taka whenever he acts out of control, and has threatened to hit the other toddlers at least once before. Apparently got this habit from his mother who does the same to both him and Taka. |
| 78 | [[/folder]] |
| 79 | |
| 80 | [[folder:Yoshihito Usaida]] |
| 81 | [[quoteright:210:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chara_img_usa.png]] |
| 82 | [[caption-width-right:210:''"Play till your heart's content"'']] |
| 83 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TomoakiMaeno |
| 84 | |
| 85 | ->''"Oi! Taka! I was having a good dream. What will you do to make up for that?"'' |
| 86 | |
| 87 | An alumnus-turned-faculty member of Morinomiya and initial caretaker of the daycare before Ryūichi and Kamitani's arrival. A man seeking some direction in his life, he was inspired by the Chairwoman's late son to stick around the school. Otherwise, he is often found sleeping and taking care of Midori while Ryūichi looks after the other kids. |
| 88 | ---- |
| 89 | * AnimalThemeNaming: Keeping up with the rest of the cast, his family name Usaida contains the kanji for "rabbit". |
| 90 | * ButtMonkey: Out of the three babysitters, Usaida gets the least respect from the kids, who aren't above insulting or tackling him amongst other things. Given his lazy personality, it's probably not unwarranted. |
| 91 | * {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: He is very out-there with his ideas and descriptions. At one point, when Takuma and Kazuma seem to grow distant, he pictures the scenario as a soap opera where they are a couple and Takuma cheats on Kazuma with Kamitani while the other seeks comfort with Ryūichi. At other point, he describes the twins and Taka fighting for Kotarō's attention as a "harem battle". |
| 92 | * ADayInTheLimelight: Several chapters shed light on Usaida's past as well as his HiddenDepths. |
| 93 | ** Chapter 27 shows Yukari (with Midori) and Ryūichi figuring out why he is always so sleepy and unintentionally delve into his past as well as his other job of tutoring his neighbor who is trying to enter night school to be able to provide for his pregnant wife and their child. |
| 94 | ** Chapter 40 tells about his involvement in Midori's birth and how he and Yukari have become PlatonicLifePartners when he loses his keys and believes Midori has them. |
| 95 | ** Chapter 63 focuses on him taking care of Kotarō when Ryūichi, Saikawa and the Chairwoman all leave for a trip. Here readers (and Ryūichi) find out he's interested in becoming a teacher. |
| 96 | ** Chapter 84 is about a dream he has where everyone except him swap ages. |
| 97 | * HasAType: He likes girls who wear glasses. |
| 98 | * HiddenDepths: |
| 99 | ** He is very dedicated to becoming a teacher someday, having been studying secretly and teaching his adult neighbor who wants to get a high school degree. The end of Chapter 27 shows that he is actually quite the hard worker and studies every night to become a teacher. |
| 100 | ** He is very observant and well aware of his surroundings (considering he takes care of little kids, he has to be), despite his quirky tendencies. He quickly notices things that are happening among the kids, teachers and students, and lays it out when Ryūichi fails to understand it, such as that the Kashima brothers need to learn to speak up or the nature of any fight that could have happened. |
| 101 | ** He's very good with handiwork, something Ryūichi is surprised to find out. He makes the vegetable costumes for the cultural festival and vegetable puppets in Chapter 58, his snowman in Chapter 61 is well done, and he has decent gardening ability and sometimes shares the food with others. |
| 102 | * HiddenHeartOfGold: As the Chairwoman's late son was quick to notice, Usaida's [[CloudCuckoolander odd]] and {{lazy|Bum}} behavior belies his reliability, which is why he was offered a job at the newly-opened daycare. |
| 103 | * ImpoverishedPatrician: Usaida came from a family whose father ran a large company. However, it went bankrupt and his parents went into the countryside to become farmers, leaving him aimless. |
| 104 | * LazyBum: Tends to fall asleep when nobody is looking and gets tired easily of playing with the kids. The kids also complain that it gets boring to play with him, because he gets tired so easily. |
| 105 | * MellowFellow: Always chill and calm. He is very nice to everybody even if he is a little strange. |
| 106 | * {{Neet}}: Joked about and discussed in Chapter 4 when playing house with Kirin as her NEET son (yes, she uses that exact term). Chapter 27 reveals he was similar to one or even worse at one point, sleeping for a year with no work nor additional schooling to do (as a reaction to his father going bankrupt and becoming a farmer)--ever since then, he is working to become a teacher, albeit slowly. |
| 107 | * OddFriendship: Shares some sort of friendship with Saikawa who could not be any more opposite in terms of personality. They go drinking in one chapter and he is considered a friend by him in later chapters despite not knowing anything about him. |
| 108 | * ParentalSubstitute: Of a sort towards Midori. While the baby is aware of her real parents and she loves them dearly, she is more often around Usaida because her father Yutaka is frequently away on archaeology work and her mother Yukari is a faculty member, to the point where her apparent first words are "Udda!" rather than "Mama" or "Papa", much to Yukari's chagrin. |
| 109 | * PornStash: He doesn't bother hiding his stash of sexy magazines in his apartment; of course, he never has anyone over, so it's not like he has to. Kotarō accidentally stumbles upon them when he spends a night at his apartment (amusingly, he goes out of his way to hide the book on becoming a teacher but ''not'' the magazines). |
| 110 | * RunningGag: His constant complaints about his small paycheck and his ideas on how to get money on the side, which includes selling cute pictures of the toddlers. |
| 111 | * {{Sleepyhead}}: He is always shown to be sleeping that at one point. At one point, Ryūichi begs him to go to the hospital to check if he has narcolepsy or some sleep-related illness. Justified when it's revealed he is constantly up late at night tutoring his neighbor for the GED. |
| 112 | * TragicKeepsake: His textbook on becoming a teacher is his last reminder of Yōichi, son of Chairwoman Morinomiya who with his wife also died in the same airplane accident as the Kashima brothers' parents, who not only invited him to work at the daycare, but also inspired him to become a teacher someday. |
| 113 | [[/folder]] |
| 114 | |
| 115 | !The Kids at the Daycare |
| 116 | [[folder:Kotarō Kashima]] |
| 117 | [[quoteright:160:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chara_img_kota.png]] |
| 118 | [[caption-width-right:160:''"[[BabyTalk Ung!]]"'']] |
| 119 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Nozomi Furuki (anime), Creator/MegumiTakamoto (drama CD) |
| 120 | |
| 121 | ->''"Nii-chan! Don't go to the sky... Ni-chan. Nii-chan, don't go."'' |
| 122 | |
| 123 | Ryūichi's younger brother. Well behaved, sweet, and somewhat stoic, he sometimes acts as someone older than his own age. He is extremely close to his older brother, specially following the death of their parents. |
| 124 | ---- |
| 125 | * AlliterativeName: '''K'''otarō '''K'''ashima. |
| 126 | * AnimalThemeNaming: He has the kanji for "tiger" in his name, and he also often wears tiger printed clothes. Combined with his older brother's dragon themed name, they form a reference to TigerVersusDragon. |
| 127 | * BabyTalk: Sometimes, Kotarō can speak somewhat normally, but mostly, he speaks in broken sentences and incomplete words. Often, he also simply says, "Ung," which most often is his way to say, "Ok." Like the other toddlers, he also can't pronounce certain words and sounds properly. He pronounces the honorific "-chan" as "-cha" and can't pronounce the second syllable in "arigato", truncating it to "aagato". |
| 128 | * BigBrotherWorship: He looks up to Ryūichi and a lot of what he does is, one way or another, meant to please him. It actually extends to the point that it is inconceivable to him that anyone could dislike his brother in any way, or imply that he is less than perfect. With the age difference and their parents no longer here, this is probably a given. |
| 129 | * CatchPhrase: Says "Ung!" the most, due to his quiet nature and his speech likely not being as developed as the others. |
| 130 | * CharacterTic: Has a habit of nodding his head to communicate. He even does it over the phone. |
| 131 | * CuteBookworm: He is a fan of picture books, always asking for Ryūichi read to him. He is specially fond of a series of children's books focused on a panda. |
| 132 | * ADayInTheLimelight: |
| 133 | ** Chapter 14/Episode 6 has him going on his "first errand" to bring Ryūichi his lunch after he forgot it in the daycare. |
| 134 | ** Chapter 39 is a heartbreaking one, which focuses on him reading ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Bamboo_Cutter The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter]]'' (also known as Kaguya-hime's story) and having a dream of Ryūichi leaving if he doesn't give him a precious gift, like the ones Kaguya asked for in the tale. |
| 135 | * {{Determinator}}: The Chairwoman and other students notice that, when Ryūichi is the subject, Kotarō isn't easily deterred. He faces stairs he can't go up easily to deliver his brother's lunch and tries to learn kanji so Ryūichi won't have to read things for him while he is going through exams week. |
| 136 | * DrearyHalfLiddedEyes: His eyes are near-constantly hept half-closed, with them only fully opening during rare emotional moments. This trait acts as a signifier for how he's extremely subdued and mellow, especially for a toddler, and rarely gets even slightly emotional, unlike most children. |
| 137 | * {{Fanboy}}: He is especially fond of a series of children's books focused on the "Teary-eyed Panda". |
| 138 | * HeroicBSOD: He goes into a PlayedForLaughs one whenever it seems like someone [[BigBrotherWorship dislikes Ryūichi or implies that his beloved brother is anything less than the most perfect human being ever]]. |
| 139 | * InnocentlyInsensitive: Him calling Chairwoman "shaggy" is a simple observation of her hair, and he means no ill will when he says it despite her negative reactions. |
| 140 | * LivingEmotionalCrutch: Ryūichi quietly realizes to himself that it is Kotarō's presence that is helping him cope with the trauma of losing their parents. |
| 141 | * NiceGuy: As far as the toddlers go, Kotarō is the most well-behaved. In addition to his BigBrotherWorship compelling him to acts of kindness for the sake of Ryūichi's happiness, he is generally an outlier whenever the other kids are causing trouble, has attempted to break up fights between Taka and Kirin, and ([[FacialDialogue non-verbally]]) affirmed that he would support Saikawa when the latter was at a loss as to how to fill in for an ill Usaida. |
| 142 | * NotSoStoic: Calling toddlers "stoic" is a bit of a stretch, but in comparison to his fellow toddlers, Kotarō is normally quite calm and rather unflappable. So when he cries, everyone notices how uncharacteristic it is of him, such as thinking Ryūichi is drowning while the latter is swimming with Kamitani, or after waking up from a dream about Ryūichi abandoning him. |
| 143 | * OhCrap: In Episode 11, he gives one when he sees his friends have a breakdown due to failing to help Saikawa change Midori's diaper. |
| 144 | * OnlySaneMan: Compared to the rest of the kids, he is level-headed and mature for his age. He knows how to act in most situations, like getting lost, and he often settles everyone down when emotions run high among his friends. |
| 145 | * TheQuietOne: The least talkative of the daycare kids, usually content to nod his head or simply go "Ung". |
| 146 | * RedOniBlueOni: The calm Blue to Taka's rowdy Red. |
| 147 | * SeriesMascot: Kotarō is in almost all chapter covers of the manga, is the most prominent character in promotional material, even more so than his brother. So far, he is also the only character to have a solo appearance at the manga covers (an extra jokes that this wasn't easy for him to do and he runs back to his brother afterward). |
| 148 | * TheStoic: Kotarou emotes very little, but others can easily read him anyway. He blushes and looks saddened without really changing his expression. When he cries or smiles, it's because something big has happened. |
| 149 | * StrongFamilyResemblance: If Episode 3's end card and Usaida's dream of him as a student is anything to go by, Kotarou will grow up to look a lot like Ryuuichi except with greenish-blond hair. |
| 150 | * SweetTooth: Kotarou's love of sweets isn't more pronounced than what is realistic for someone of his age, but in the anime's end credits, while the other daycare kids have their favorite toys in their designated backgrounds, Kotarō's is made up of desserts and candies. |
| 151 | * ThirdPersonPerson: To go with his broken grammar, Kotarō says "Kota" in place of pronouns. |
| 152 | * WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Like many children too little to swim, Kotarō is deathly afraid of deep water. Not even being held by Ryūichi quells his fear. |
| 153 | [[/folder]] |
| 154 | |
| 155 | [[folder:Taka Kamitani]] |
| 156 | [[quoteright:210:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chara_img_taka.png]] |
| 157 | [[caption-width-right:210:''"Aniki, you jerk… I love you."'']] |
| 158 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YukoSanpei |
| 159 | |
| 160 | ->''"Ryū-chan, my wish is that I can play baseball and be as cool as my brother!"'' |
| 161 | |
| 162 | Hayato Kamitani's little brother. He loves {{Sentai}} shows and always carries around a toy sword, which he considers his greatest treasure. He and his brother have a strange but ultimately loving relationship. |
| 163 | ---- |
| 164 | * AnimalThemeNaming: His given name means "hawk" and his family name contains the kanji for "wolf". He shares the bird-of-prey first name with his brother, whose name means "falcon". |
| 165 | * AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Kamitani largely views him as a little nuisance of a brother, though it doesn't help that Taka can be a BrattyHalfPint at times. |
| 166 | * BigBrotherWorship: While he hides it, he really looks up to Kamitani and yearns to be like him someday, which is even a wish he makes in a chapter. |
| 167 | * BrattyHalfPint: Easily the rowdiest among the kids, and the one who mouths off to adults the most often (especially Usaida). Taka's bratty behavior makes Kamitani view him as an AnnoyingYoungerSibling most of the time. |
| 168 | * CatchPhrase: "I didn't do nothin' bad!"[[note]]"Ore waruku nai mo!"[[/note]] usually when he ''did'' do something bad. |
| 169 | * CommanderContrarian: Taka ''hates'' being told what to do, to the point where his immediate reaction to it is usually some variation of "Don't wanna", even when it involves being told to look at the camera when he's having his picture taken. |
| 170 | * CrazyJealousGuy: Taka considers Kotarō his best friend and has shown a bit of possessiveness toward him as a result. For example, when Takuma tries to take Kotarō's hand to make him his companion while Kazuma is indisposed, Taka takes the other hand and end up in an impromptu tug-of-war before he realizes the situation and takes Takuma in, too. |
| 171 | * ADayInTheLimelight: |
| 172 | ** Chapter 64 has him running away from home when his mother refuses to buy him a toy, leading to him accidentally running into his father Hebihara while Ryūichi, Kamitani and Shizuka look for him. |
| 173 | ** Chapter 74 focus on him and his mother, as he has gotten his first cavities and refuses to deal with it, while Shizuka thinks on how to make him go to the dentist. |
| 174 | * DoesNotLikeSpam: Taka has to either be tricked or bribed into eating [[StockYuck broccoli]]. |
| 175 | * {{Fanboy}}: He's a big fan of a {{Sentai}}-themed ShowWithinAShow called ''Ranger Five''. Being so young, he's convinced that superheroes are real, and he uses a photo of him and one of the show's characters as evidence (not realizing that they were really just actors in costume). |
| 176 | * {{Foil}}: Similar to their brothers' dichotomy, he is Kotarō's complete opposite--brash, rebellious, and with a vitriolic relationship with his brother, in stark contrast to Kotarō's sensitivity, kindness, and loving relationship with his brother. |
| 177 | * GreenEyedMonster: |
| 178 | ** About Kotarō. He considers himself the latter's best friend and hates it when others try to snatch him away. He is also prone to holding Kotarō's hand to push him away from others. |
| 179 | --->'''Taka:''' Kotarō is mine! You can't just kiss him! |
| 180 | ** He also dislikes when his brother doesn't pay enough attention to him and others try to spend too long with them. He even pushes other kids who seem too close to his brother. |
| 181 | ** This comes to a head in Chapter 75 when he sees Kotarō and his brother making a pinkie promise and he doesn't know who to be jealous of. |
| 182 | * ItsAllMyFault: He blames himself for the school's baseball team suffering a heartbreaking loss (and after actually leading in several innings) when he accidentally destroyed Kamitani's wish paper for UsefulNotes/{{Tanabata}}, where he wrote his aspirations to enter the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_High_School_Baseball_Championship Japanese High School Baseball Championship (Koshien)]]. Kamitani assures him otherwise. |
| 183 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He can be quite a little brat, especially when things don't go his way, but if he realizes he has done wrong, he will try to make up for it and apologize. He also genuinely cares for everyone in the daycare, with a special mention to Kotarō, whom he considers his best friend. |
| 184 | * MoralityPet: To his father Hebihara. He is a hardass with everyone else and does not even seem to care all that much about his elder son Hayato, but he appears to have a soft spot for the kid, automatically calling for first aid when Taka trips during a sports meet, and Kamitani reveals he sends anonymous gifts every Christmas to Taka, something he figured out a long time ago. When he learns of Kamitani and Taka's fallout over a baseball, he instantly sides with Taka and berates the elder brother. |
| 185 | * NeverMyFault: He has a hard time apologizing and admitting his mistakes, which is noticeable because the other kids do that easily. He will blame whoever is fighting him and it takes until his brother talks with him for him to admit his mistake. |
| 186 | * NoIndoorVoice: Taka's default mode is loud squawking, and that's when he's not having a tantrum. |
| 187 | * OddFriendship: Taka is the loudest, rowdiest, and rudest of the daycare kids, in stark contrast to the quiet, gentle, well-mannered Kotarō. Despite this, Taka considers Kotarō his best friend. |
| 188 | * RedOniBlueOni: The rowdy Red to Kotarō and Kirin's well-behaved Blue. |
| 189 | * SpoiledBrat: Taka has a rowdier behavior in comparison to his brother. Hebihara snarks that this is due to the lack of strict parenting, and Shizuka mentions this in Chapter 74 with her ex-husband's words in mind. She attributes Hebihara's strictness to Kamitani's good hygiene and thinks that maybe she is spoiling Taka a bit. Although, to a certain degree, Kamitani notes that, even if he were there, he'd be much more favorable of Taka over him. |
| 190 | * StrongFamilyResemblance: He has Hebihara's face. This is more prominent in Usaida's dream in Chapter 84, where a teenage Taka is shown to look like a younger, less grumpy version of his father. |
| 191 | * {{Tsundere}}: Mostly because he gets easily flustered or offended, he can be a boisterous and jerkish kid, but just as easily shifts towards a very sweet and caring boy when he notices someone needs it. |
| 192 | * VerbalTic: He tends to end his sentences with "jo" or "da jo", a childish way of saying the standard masculine sentence particle "zo"/"da zo". |
| 193 | [[/folder]] |
| 194 | |
| 195 | [[folder:Kirin Kumatsuka]] |
| 196 | [[quoteright:210:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chara_img_kirin.png]] |
| 197 | [[caption-width-right:210:''"You can't get in the way of peopwe's works, Kotarow-chan"'']] |
| 198 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KonomiKohara (anime), Creator/AyanaTaketatsu (drama CD) |
| 199 | |
| 200 | ->''"Thankyou fow wooking aftew me, I'wl be a good giwl. Mummy towd me to be a good girl, I fowgot!"'' |
| 201 | |
| 202 | The oldest of the children. She's mature and well-spoken for her age, and intends to study really hard once she gets older. She has a fondness for her giraffe plushie that is always seen in the daycare center and is very close to her mom, something her dad finds beautiful, but is also a bit jealous of. |
| 203 | ---- |
| 204 | * AlliterativeName: '''K'''irin '''K'''umatsuka. |
| 205 | * AnimalThemeNaming: Though her given name is written with different characters, it sounds the same as the Japanese word for giraffe (''kirin'')[[note]]This is because there is no kanji for "giraffe" in Japanese, so it's typically written in hiragana or katakana instead[[/note]]; she loves giraffes and is very attached to her giraffe plushie. Her family name also has the kanji for "bear". |
| 206 | * BabyTalk: The most pronounced case. Because she speaks in a very polite and developed manner, a way to show that she is still a toddler is by making otherwise eloquent sentences filled with childish speech impediments (such as how she pronounces "desu" as "deshu" or "kudasai" as "kudachai"). English translations tend to give her ElmuhFuddSyndwome to reflect this. |
| 207 | * BigSisterInstinct: As the oldest and most mature of the kids, she sometimes likes to play big sister, especially towards baby Midori, whom she sometimes holds and hugs. She also tries to play sister to the Mamizuka twins after they got the same haircut as her. |
| 208 | * CatchPhrase: "Kirin wa nee~! Kirin wa nee~!" whenever she's excited to tell someone something. Depending on the context it can translate to "Kirin knows! Kirin knows!" or "Kirin, ya know! Kirin, ya know!" |
| 209 | * CuteWitch: |
| 210 | ** She wants to become one due to believing that witches are real, and even spends a(n) chapter/episode trying to [[FlyingBroomstick fly on a broom]] before being saved by Ryuuichi when she jumps from a high ledge. Though she's upset that she can't fly, the Chairwoman lets her down easy by telling her that it's 100 years too early for her to become a witch, which gets Kirin to stop endangering herself without shattering her fantasy. |
| 211 | ** In the Halloween event of chapter 72, she dresses up as one and is even given the name of "cute witch". |
| 212 | * ADayInTheLimelight: |
| 213 | ** A few chapters focus on her coping with being away from her mother whenever she has drama or other school commitments, with two of them focusing on her staying over with the Kashima brothers. The first time this happens, she and Ryuuichi set up a play with the daycare kids for her mother. |
| 214 | ** Chapter 15/Episode 5 focuses on her desire to become a witch and prove the daycare kids wrong and that witches are real. |
| 215 | * GenerationXerox: If the anime's endcard and Usaida's dream in Chapter 84 of her as a teenager is anything to go by, she will eventually join the Drama Club, where her mother Yayoi is currently its advisor. |
| 216 | * GirlishPigtails: A girly toddler who sports a pair of pigtails at all times, and says that her mother does them for her. Ryūichi has trouble doing them when she first stays with his household. |
| 217 | * GirlsLoveStuffedAnimals: She's often seen with a stuffed giraffe when she's at the daycare, and she's very attached to it. |
| 218 | * GirlyGirl: Something that often causes tension in the daycare is how different her interests are from the rest of the boys’ (while Midori is still too young to share interests with). She likes to play house, but boys rarely go along with it, especially Taka. This causes her to feel isolated sometimes, up until she meets Kyōko, who befriends her and starts visiting the daycare. |
| 219 | * OnlySaneWoman: She is notably more eloquent and mature than her peers, or at least tries to be. Her speech is the most developed out of all the kids, she's the only one who can carry juice without falling over at their cafe (to be fair everyone's costumes made it really hard for them to walk), and she's the first to know how to write. This can be justified by the fact that she's the oldest of the daycare kids, so her development is ahead of everyone else's. |
| 220 | * ParentalFavoritism: Inverted and played for laughs. She is much more fond of her mother than her father and doesn't hide it. In a chapter focused on each family's daily life, his father shows that he feels a bit left out because Kirin is so clearly closer to Yayoi than him. |
| 221 | * ShipperOnDeck: In chapter 21/episode 7, she attempts to hook up Inomata and Ryūichi when she finds out the former likes him. This is less of her shipping them together and more of an extreme overreaction to the (incorrect) notion that the former doesn't play with the kids at the daycare because she hates Ryūichi. |
| 222 | * StrongFamilyResemblance: Looks very similar to her mother, except for the shape of her eyes, which she got from her father. |
| 223 | * ThirdPersonPerson: Kirin speaks in third person, which is typical for very young children in Japan. Her aged up version in Usaida's dream also does the same. |
| 224 | [[/folder]] |
| 225 | |
| 226 | [[folder:Takuma and Kazuma Mamizuka]] |
| 227 | [[quoteright:290:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chara_img_takumakazuma.png]] |
| 228 | [[caption-width-right:290:Takuma and Kazuma, respectively]] |
| 229 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AyakaSaitou (Takuma), Creator/AtsumiTanezaki (Kazuma) |
| 230 | |
| 231 | Identical twin brothers with not-so-identical personalities: Takuma is always cheery, while Kazuma is always teary. Despite their different temperaments, they're very close to each other and are rarely ever seen apart. |
| 232 | ---- |
| 233 | * AlwaysIdenticalTwins: Outside of their expression, which is the way others use to differentiate them, they are completely identical. Even their parents have a hard time telling them apart when both of them are smiling or crying. |
| 234 | * AnimalThemeNaming: They both have the kanji for "horse" in their names, which doubles as ThemeTwinNaming in their case. Their family name also has the kanji for "{{tanuki}}". |
| 235 | * BigBrotherInstinct: Takuma, being the older of the twins, has a bit of a protective vein for Kazuma, as showcased when he fought a cat to get Kazuma's gift back. |
| 236 | * CannotTellFictionFromReality: Being toddlers, it is a given that they have trouble making a distinction between reality and a television screen, which spells trouble for their father Kousuke when he plays a villain on a crime drama. |
| 237 | * CheerfulChild: Takuma is the straightest example out of all the kids, since he's almost constantly smiling and cheerful. |
| 238 | * ColorMotif: Interestingly inverted. Takuma most often dresses in cold colors, usually blue, while Kazuma wears warm colors, like yellow. However, Kazuma is the melancholic one while Takuma is the warm upbeat one. |
| 239 | * CoordinatedClothes: They are always wearing similar outfits but with some differences, like the first letter of their names or the color of their shirts. It is rare when they don't wear similar clothes but it does happen. |
| 240 | * CowardlyLion: Ryūichi considers Kazuma an extremely brave kid deep down, seeing as how, no matter the risk, he will go for it once he notices that his brother can benefit from it one way or another. |
| 241 | * ADayInTheLimelight: |
| 242 | ** An extra chapter shows a day in their household where Takuma and Kazuma have a fight. |
| 243 | ** Chapter 46 follows them in their first errand as they go to their neighborhood store to buy milk by themselves (followed by their father). |
| 244 | ** Chapter 88 in turn focuses on them and their parents mainly when the two start fighting over everything, with the rest of the cast only appearing at the end. |
| 245 | * TheDividual: They don't quite count as SingleMindedTwins since they have [[PolarOppositeTwins different personalities]], but they're hardly seen apart and mostly always act as a single entity, with Kazuma's lines often just repeating what Takuma said with fewer words. This gets subverted on a few occasions: when they fight, when Kazuma has a cold and Takuma goes alone to the daycare and when they split because Takuma wants to go to a pool and Kazuma doesn't. |
| 246 | * FunnyBackgroundEvent: Both twins are seen eating food that's been dropped on the floor at daycare in the background on a few occasions. |
| 247 | * GagHaircut: Downplayed in Chapter 69 when Umi accidentally cuts their bangs too short and they love it until Taka mocks them and Kamitani attempts to take Kazuma's "wig" off. |
| 248 | * GenerationXerox: A personality variant to their parents. |
| 249 | ** Their father Kōsuke is a ShrinkingViolet who can be brought to tears very easily, a trait Kazuma inherited wholly. |
| 250 | ** Their mother Umi is an ever-cheerful lady who rarely ever shows a face that isn't a smile, something she shares with Takuma. |
| 251 | * IdenticalTwinIDTag: They're identical twins and can be easily confused on that alone but there are cues to differentiating the two of them: |
| 252 | ** Their expressions. Takuma is always smiling and Kazuma is always teary-eyed. Once Takuma starts crying, they're harder to differentiate--in an extra chapter, it's revealed that Umi and Kousuke have difficulty telling them apart when they are both either crying or smiling. |
| 253 | ** They often wear similar clothes but with different colors, with Kazuma often in warm colors and Takuma in cool colors. When they're seen at home, they're often shown having cups or shirts with the first letter of their name imprinted on them. |
| 254 | * MouthyKid: Takuma can be, albeit without really meaning to. Since he likes to repeat what he hears, he'll loudly mimic Taka or Kamitani calling people stupid. |
| 255 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: The usual perky and smiling Takuma breaks down crying after spending a whole day without Kazuma, who was bedridden at home with a fever. |
| 256 | * ParentalTitleCharacterization: When Kōsuke was first introduced, it's shown that Takuma and Kazuma [[CallingParentsByTheirName call him "Kō-kun"]] since Kōsuke's busy schedule makes him unable to spend much time with them and they don't really see him as their father as a result. Once it registers to them that he really does love them, though, they call him "Papa" from that point on. |
| 257 | * PerpetualSmiler: Takuma is almost constantly smiling, in contrast to Kazuma who's [[ProneToTears always teary-eyed]]. Even in situations where the other kids start crying, Takuma can stay cheery or at least less teary. |
| 258 | * PolarOppositeTwins: Takuma is outgoing and constantly smiling, while Kazuma is shy and constantly teary-eyed. |
| 259 | * ProneToTears: Kazuma is constantly on the verge of tears, and he's prone to crying at the drop of a hat since he scares so easily. His tendency to get easily upset can be justified since he's only a toddler, though it's also meant to contrast with his PerpetualSmiler twin brother. |
| 260 | * ShrinkingViolet: Kazuma is very withdrawn compared to Takuma, and doesn't often speak unless Takuma speaks first; even then, he'll usually just repeat what Takuma says with fewer words. |
| 261 | * ThemeTwinNaming: Both of their names contain the kanji for "horse", which is also keeping in line with the other characters' AnimalThemeNaming. |
| 262 | * ThirdPersonPerson: Kazuma will occasionally refer to himself in the third person, which isn't surprising since he's just a toddler. |
| 263 | [[/folder]] |
| 264 | |
| 265 | [[folder:Midori Sawatari]] |
| 266 | [[quoteright:210:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chara_img_midori.png]] |
| 267 | [[caption-width-right:210:''Udda!'']] |
| 268 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KaedeHondo |
| 269 | |
| 270 | The sole infant of the daycare kids. Usaida usually looks after her when he isn't sleeping. |
| 271 | ---- |
| 272 | * AnimalThemeNaming: Her family name has the kanji for "monkey" in it, and she's associated with monkeys in the anime's opening. Her given name also contains the kanji for "bird". |
| 273 | * TheBabyOfTheBunch: Literally, as she's the only infant amongst the toddler-dominated daycare. |
| 274 | * BabySeeBabyDo: As of Chapter 14/Episode 6, Midori copies Usaida's fist-to-palm "I've got it!" gesture, right down to the sound effect. |
| 275 | * BlackBeadEyes: Notably the only one of the kids to be drawn with round black eyes, which tend to be commented on by other characters. Even as a teacher in Usaida's dream, one simplified panel of her still uses these eyes. |
| 276 | * BlushStickers: Downplayed but her cheeks are constantly rosy. |
| 277 | * BrainyBaby: Sometimes for comedy, Midori will show more intelligence than is average for an infant. When the whole daycare room was preoccupied with Tsugumi, Midori suddenly wet her diaper. Her sneaky expression makes it apparent this was an intentional ploy to get attention. |
| 278 | * CheerfulChild: She's constantly smiling and happy, along with being something of a GenkiGirl. |
| 279 | * TheDiaperChange: Being the only infant in the cast, she's often the source of the diaper change gag. One chapter implies that she's aware of this and invokes it to get people's attention. |
| 280 | * GenkiGirl: For a baby, she's very cheerful and energetic. Even in Usaida's dream, Midori as a teacher is still bubbly and full of energy, something Usaida notes. |
| 281 | * LivingProp: Since she's unable to communicate with others outside of baby noises, she usually serves this role unless a(n) chapter/episode is related to her or she's part of a joke. |
| 282 | * SignatureHeadgear: Her hair bobbles, which are used to tie up what little hair she has. The anime's endcard of her as a Morinomiya Academy student depicts her as still wearing the bobbles for her ponytail as a way to indicate that it's her, despite being much older. |
| 283 | * TheUnintelligible: Can't speak yet so she can only babble. Her first and only word in the series is ''Usaida's name'' ("Udda!"/"Usa!") — though no one can seem to agree if she's really trying to say his name or if it's typical baby gibberish. |
| 284 | [[/folder]] |
| 285 | |
| 286 | !The Morinomiya family |
| 287 | [[folder:Yōko Morinomiya]] |
| 288 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chara_img_riji.png]] |
| 289 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Tomoko Miyadera |
| 290 | |
| 291 | Chairwoman of Morinomiya Academy and adoptive guardian of Ryūichi and Kotarō. |
| 292 | ---- |
| 293 | * AnimalThemeNaming: Her given name is written with the kanji for "sheep", and her large, poofy hair makes her look like one. |
| 294 | * BerserkButton: Half-assing things or not being sufficiently responsible are things that quickly get her angry. Also quick to anger if her hair is called fluffy/shaggy like Kotarou does. |
| 295 | * BrokenBird: She's become very bitter after losing both her son and daughter-in-law. |
| 296 | * CoolOldLady: Though she tries to hide it, the Chairwoman is a reasonable and caring parental figure for the Kashima brothers and she's also firm yet wise. She gives Ryūichi life advice when necessary and can easily get on the same wavelength as the toddlers if she wants to teach/tell them something. |
| 297 | * EveryoneHasStandards: She might work everyone she knows to the bone, however, she has an extremely caring vein, and is very rigid on her rule that sick people should take care of themselves. So when Ryūichi gets sick, she makes him lay and rest, not even waking him up. |
| 298 | %%* FunnyAfro: Has a big, bushy afro reminiscent of a sheep. Kotarō thinks it's fluffy. |
| 299 | * IWasQuiteALooker: Chairwoman Morinomiya, who is depicted as an exaggerated caricature of a cranky old lady in the present, was once an adorable little girl. |
| 300 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She's harsh and abrasive but she does care. She just hardly shows it and, when she does, she plays it off as something else. |
| 301 | * OutlivingOnesOffspring: She lost her son (and his wife) in the same plane crash that killed the Kashima brothers' parents. |
| 302 | * ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The Chairwoman seems really tough at first, but it turns out that she genuinely cares for the children and Ryūichi. She takes it upon herself to take care of him when he gets sick, and even lets Kotarō help. |
| 303 | * ReplacementGoldfish: Defied. She warns the Kashima brothers that she hasn't called them to replace her son, and makes it clear how she doesn't intend to replace their parents; they, however, do build a new family with each other without necessarily using each other as replacements for their lost ones, but in the principle that even when their flesh-and-blood are gone, they are never alone. |
| 304 | * ToughLove: Most of everything she does boils down to this. Case in point, her way of teaching Taka a lesson in respecting other people's property was making him think she was going to smash his beloved toy sword. Somewhat less so with her talk with Kirin, where, as Kirin is distraught that she can't fly on a broom, the Chairwoman lets her down gently without shattering her fantasy by claiming that it takes a hundred years for a witch to be able to learn to fly a broom, and lets Kirin's imagination do the rest. |
| 305 | * {{Tsundere}}: Shows this in the first episode when she decides against throwing out the meager floral arrangement on her desk after finding out Ryuuichi and Kotaro picked them for her, brushing off the change of heart as simply changing her mind. In general, she's quick to play off any sentimentality she shows as simply being rational or pragmatic. |
| 306 | * YouAreNotAlone: When she finally sees Ryūichi mourning his parents, she assures him that, even if their family is gone, it does not mean they are completely alone. Despite her gruff nature, it's all but said she took in the siblings so that they'll still have a family even if not blood-related. |
| 307 | [[/folder]] |
| 308 | |
| 309 | [[folder:Keigo Saikawa]] |
| 310 | [[quoteright:160:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chara_img_sai.png]] |
| 311 | [[caption-width-right:160:''"I promise to protect Kotarou-sama even if it costs my life"'']] |
| 312 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/DaisukeOno |
| 313 | |
| 314 | ->''I... was not aware of that. To the chairwoman, Ryūichi-sama and Kotarō-sama, and... even I am considered family.'' |
| 315 | |
| 316 | Chairwoman Morinomiya's butler, who takes care of her mansion and is known for excelling at every house task. |
| 317 | ---- |
| 318 | * AffectionateNickname: Kotarou calls him Sai-chan/Sacchan. |
| 319 | * AmbiguouslyHuman: PlayedForLaughs. Saikawa is a stoic, hypercompetent butler/secretary/whatever who has the tendency to pop out of nowhere. When a discussion about his house comes up, Kamitani expects him to live in a coffin like a vampire, while Usaida expects him to come from a manufacturing company. In one omake, he agrees to go for a drink with Usaida, and is mistaken as a mannequin by the store patrons because he suddenly stops moving. Apparently he was also able to understand Kotarō's BabyTalk when he offers to help him change Midori's diaper while he has to look after the daycare while Usaida is down with a fever. |
| 320 | * BeautifulSingingVoice: He sings an opera while trying to put the children to sleep, and it's so good that Usaida imagines him sprouting angel wings. |
| 321 | * {{Butlerspace}}: Like any good butler, he somehow has the ability to pop into a scene out of nowhere. |
| 322 | * ColdHam: He is capable of chewing scenery, mostly without the need of making any expression during it. |
| 323 | * TheComicallySerious: He always harbors a serious and emotionless expression, even when it's very clear by his speech that he is emoting something, this results in several funny moments. |
| 324 | -->'''Ryuuichi:''' ''[while leaving to go to a movie]'' Okay, please take care of him, Saikawa-san. |
| 325 | -->'''Saikawa:''' ''[serious face]'' Understood. I promise to protect Kotarou-sama, even if it costs me my life. |
| 326 | -->'''Ryuuichi:''' ''[surprised]'' Ah, no, I don't think you need to go that far... |
| 327 | * DeadpanSnarker: Saikawa often snarks while maintaining his stoic and polite demeanour, for example in this lovely bit during a phonecall: |
| 328 | -->'''Taka''': *breathes heavily into the phone, having unexpected Saikawa to pick up, rather than Ryuuichi* |
| 329 | -->'''Kamitani''': Talk, you idiot! State who you are! What are you, a pervert? . . . *takes the phone* Ah, I'm sorry. It's me. |
| 330 | -->'''Saikawa''': If you're asking about my underwear, it's black today. |
| 331 | * ExtremeDoormat: Despite being skilled in almost everything, Saikawa's sole purpose of existence is to dutifully serve the chairwoman and, by extension, the Kashima brothers. When he's assigned to take care of the toddlers in place of Usaida, he actually bows down to the kids because "dealing with children" is one of the few things he's not really an expert at. |
| 332 | * EyesAlwaysClosed: His eyes are are rarely opened, which contributes to his "butler-like" appearance. |
| 333 | * HiredHelpAsFamily: He is considered to be part of the family, though he only realizes that once the chairwoman forces him to rest up after he catches a cold. |
| 334 | * MysteriousPast: Due to his AmbiguouslyHuman traits, other characters would sometimes wonder about his personal life outside of being the chairwoman's butler. What little he reveals about his past (he mentions having a grandmother who cooks him French dishes, implying that he has [[ButNotTooForeign some French ancestry]]) only makes him more mysterious. |
| 335 | * TheStoic: Outside of surprise, he rarely shows any other emotion. Even then, he is very rarely surprised and it does not always show through. |
| 336 | * SupremeChef: Capable of making any dish. He takes pride in providing his family high quality meals and making sure they're enjoying them. For example, in Chapter 58, he attempts to create a dish with vegetables so delicious that Taka will eat them; despite the struggles, he succeeds by making veggie burgers and giving them to Taka without telling him about it (he's mad at first but begrudgingly asks for seconds). He's easily offended when it looks like people dislike/reject his meals and it's a RunningGag in such cases that he'll comment on going back to culinary school while packing up to leave. |
| 337 | [[/folder]] |
| 338 | |
| 339 | [[folder:Yōichi Morinomiya]] |
| 340 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Tomoko Miyadera |
| 341 | |
| 342 | The Chairwoman's son and only child, as well as another teacher at her school. He, along with his wife, died in the same plane crash as the Kashima brothers' parents, which is what lead to his mother taking in the brothers. |
| 343 | ---- |
| 344 | * BrutalHonesty: Casually described Usaida as someone "who looks incapable at a glance" to Kamitani when introducing them to each other. |
| 345 | * DeathByOriginStory: He and his wife died before the series begins. |
| 346 | * MentorArchetype: He helped give Usaida a direction in life by recruiting him for the school's daycare, helping him prepare for the childcare exams and get back into leading a more productive life. Usaida still secretly keeps the teaching guidebook he wrote, using it for his future plans of becoming a teacher. |
| 347 | * NiceGuy: Flashbacks show that he was helpful and kind to others, whether it be people at school like Kamitani and Yukari or his own butler Saikawa. Notably, he got Usaida out of his slump by helping him become the academy's daycare worker, recognizing that Usaida was always helping others as a student. His kind actions is what inspired Usaida to look into teaching himself. |
| 348 | * PlotTriggeringDeath: His mother would had unlikely taken the Kashima brothers and kickstart their daycare adventures if he and his wife had died in a separate incident from the brothers' parents (or not died at all). |
| 349 | * PosthumousCharacter: His death from the plane crash occurs shortly before the story begins. |
| 350 | * UglyGuyHotWife: From the little we see of his wife, she appeared to be more attractive and aging better than her husband who looked more unfit and had a saggy face. |
| 351 | [[/folder]] |
| 352 | |
| 353 | !Morinomiya Secondary School |
| 354 | [[folder:Maria Inomata]] |
| 355 | [[quoteright:180:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chara_img_maria.png]] |
| 356 | [[caption-width-right:180:''"I don't intend to do something so irresponsible as going back after I was asked to do something."'']] |
| 357 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/SatomiAkesaka |
| 358 | |
| 359 | ->''"'Sorry' won't cut it!"'' |
| 360 | |
| 361 | The school's brightest student and a member of the Advanced Class. She is a stickler for the school's rules and berates people who break them. Tends to react very harshly to everything, but she hides a soft and lonely interior. |
| 362 | ---- |
| 363 | * ACupAngst: When the kids meet Ushimaru for the first time, several of them note her large bust reminds them of their mothers'; she holds her chest and comments how the kids never had the same interest in her, depressed. |
| 364 | * AdaptationExpansion: Due to a lot of story shuffling, the anime includes several stories that star her, giving her much more screentime than what she would have if the series was adapted in chronological order. Her screentime nearly rivals Kamitani, who is a lead character. |
| 365 | * AffectionateNickname: Called "Maria-chan" by Ushimaru. The kids in the daycare tend to call her "onee-chan" or "Ino-nee-chan". |
| 366 | * AnimalThemeNaming: Her family name contains the kanji for "boar". |
| 367 | * BerserkButton: |
| 368 | ** She loathes people who half-ass things and don't work hard in their studies or respective duties. The initial dislike towards Ryūichi comes from the idea that he isn't taking his duties in the daycare or his studies seriously enough, despite the fact that the kids followed ''him''. |
| 369 | ** She yells at anyone who doesn't follow rules, no matter how small there are such as eating and walking at the same time. |
| 370 | * BettyAndVeronica: The uptight, {{tsundere}} Veronica to Ushimaru's sweet Betty for Ryūichi's Archie. |
| 371 | * BrokenAce: She is one of the brightest students in Morinomiya. She also admits to feeling a lot of loneliness due to her prestige. |
| 372 | * TheComicallySerious: Even when she’s wholeheartedly throwing herself into the activities of the daycare babies, she brings with her the dedication to rules and standards that she always has, such as in Chapter 83 when she refuses to go gentle on throwing the beans at the ones wearing demon masks for Setsubun. |
| 373 | * DefrostingIceQueen: Through Ryūichi and the kids, she starts to mellow out and make friends with them. |
| 374 | * EndearinglyDorky: She is extremely easy to embarrass, and her overreaction to even the smallest questions as accusations causes people to think that she is cute when she gets like this. |
| 375 | * FaceOfAThug: PlayedWith. She has the face of an average teenage girl; however, her scary expression, no-nonsense attitude and serious tone makes people scared of her all the same. This is enough to even make the kids ask her to be an oni in their play. |
| 376 | * FirstFriend: Ushimaru, despite being her romantic rival for Ryūichi, becomes her first true friend. |
| 377 | * FriendlessBackground: She was never good in making friends and would often react with anger at the slightest note of someone pitying her; as a result, she pushed everyone away and focused on her studies. After a while, she starts opening up to people and making friends with others and the kids. |
| 378 | * HiddenDepths: She believes all she is good for is studying, which directly affects the fact that she doesn't have friends, as she believes to simply not being wired to be good with people. |
| 379 | * NoIndoorVoice: Accidentally. She is capable of speaking calmly when the situation calls for it, but she will easily get angered or embarrassed and start screaming. At one point she was so loud she accidentally woke up and caused Midori to start crying, further souring her impression amongst the other kids. |
| 380 | * NoSocialSkills: She is very awkward and easily embarrassed, and is still learning how to improve her interactions with others and how to not burst attempting to communicate simple things. In Chapter 61, she briefly mentions she never had any phone numbers in her phone besides her parents' up until then. |
| 381 | * NotSoAboveItAll: Inomata, who often states how childish some action is or how its against the rules, usually relents later in the chapter/episode. In the case of childish things, she is either "forced" to do it by simply being asked or by tries it out in secret, such as pretending to ride a broom like a witch when she thinks no one is looking. |
| 382 | * PrinciplesZealot: Downplayed. Whenever she makes an appearance, expect someone to be scolded for acting unruly in any way, with Inomata pointing out what infractions they're committing. She'd even scold others just for standing on the hallway or right in front of the door. It's why she has a reputation of being a wet blanket. |
| 383 | * RageBreakingPoint: There are a lot of things that set her off. But it's best shown in Episode 5 when Ryuuchi points out that the books she got to help Kirin prove the existence of witches have a very dark and violent history surrounding it, Inomata snaps and has a huge meltdown as a result before she storms out and again in Episode 7, she has another meltdown when Kirin and Kotaro's attempts to make her like Ryuuchi even more fail. |
| 384 | * SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: She slowly but continuously falls for Ryūichi's kind attitude and aptitude when dealing with little kids. |
| 385 | * {{Tsundere}}: |
| 386 | ** She is angry, harsh and strong headed, but she can quickly become docile and sweet, especially with the kids and Ushimaru. |
| 387 | ** She has difficulty coming to terms with her crush on Ryūichi. Learning that he received a love letter makes her flustered and agitated, yet she insists to herself that she doesn't care because she doesn't like him. |
| 388 | * WhenSheSmiles: When she laughs in Chapter 61, the kids, Ryūichi and Ushimaru are briefly amazed and even start smiling as well. |
| 389 | [[/folder]] |
| 390 | |
| 391 | [[folder:Hiroyuki Inui]] |
| 392 | [[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chara_img_inu.png]] |
| 393 | [[caption-width-right:220:''"Nothing matters in love, not even age."'']] |
| 394 | |
| 395 | ->''"Oh no. My angel, no, my goddess is here!"'' |
| 396 | |
| 397 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YoshimasaHosoya |
| 398 | |
| 399 | A second-year boy with several love woes and a tendency to fall in love. |
| 400 | ---- |
| 401 | * AmbiguouslyBi: He's initially in love with Yukari and tries to pursue her before finding out that her husband's actually away for work and not dead. He then falls in love with a cute girl he sees at the daycare during the school festival -- the thing is, that girl is actually Ryūichi in a wig (at Yayoi's insistence, to avoid having Kirin's father have a fit at seeing boys around his precious little girl). Inui eventually finds out and is embarrassed; later on, however, it's implied that he's still attracted to Ryūichi. |
| 402 | * AnimalThemeNaming: His family name contains the kanji for "dog". |
| 403 | * BigBrotherInstinct: Though not at the same level as Ryūichi, it's shown that, even though they bicker a lot, he truly cares for his little sister Mika, and tries to protect and cheer her up after her own romantic woes. He also starts to warm up to the daycare kids and develops a protective instinct towards Kotarō. |
| 404 | * ButtMonkey: A lot doesn't go well for him, whether it be his romance woes or the kids and fellow students looking down on him. |
| 405 | * FaintInShock: Upon realizing that "Inomata" is actually a guy in a wig, Inui was so shocked that he loses conscious. |
| 406 | * GoMadFromTheRevelation: The discovery that "Inomata" is actually a crossdressing Ryūichi doesn't suit well for Inui's mind. Following encounters has him fantasizing situations with "Inomata" that didn't happen. To makes things worse, he often comes across Ryūichi either crossdressing or even acting cute which further makes him fantasize even more. |
| 407 | * HasAType: He has stated that he likes cute, fluffy girls, which is true with his crush on Yukari and "Inomata" (actually a crossdressing Ryūichi). |
| 408 | * HopelessSuitor: Poor guy tried to confess to Yukari under the assumption she is widowed, only to be stunned to learn that her husband is still alive and is returning home from overseas. He also tried to confess to "Inomata", only to reveal "herself" as Ryūichi. Apparently this is a trait he and his sister inherited from their mother. |
| 409 | * {{Irony}}: For all his failures at actively courting girls, he ends up overlooking the ''one'' girl who may have more than a hint of pining for him. |
| 410 | * IRejectYourReality: Inui seems to never give up on the person he has a crush on, even after finding out that they already have a partner . Hilariously, even after he finds out that "Inomata" is actually a Ryūichi in a wig, his mind is unable to handle the truth and often imagines situations that didn't happen such as Ryūichi feeding him. Following chapters has him still trying to figure out Ryūichi's true gender since he often sees Ryūichi crossdressing. |
| 411 | * LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: The guy goes after people who are already in a relationship and still thinks he has a chance. What he doesn't know that the only girl who actually likes him is just sitting right in front of him. |
| 412 | * LoveAtFirstSight: This is how his crush on both Yukari and "Inomata" happen. |
| 413 | * LoveHurts: Oh boy. The guy at first is in love with his teacher (a married woman with a baby daughter, mind you) and then with a crossdressing kouhai. Despite these conditions, he still tries to woo them. |
| 414 | * NeverMyFault: Inui often blurts out that the does not considers the girls in his class cute, right in front of them. The girls respond by throwing things at him. Inui tries to protest, asking what he did wrong, not realizing that he had provoked them. |
| 415 | * ObliviousToLove: Ironically, he is unaware of Nekota's slight crush on him. |
| 416 | * PoorCommunicationKills: |
| 417 | ** Twice in his debut chapter alone. Inui went to the daycare to meet Midori but because he never lets Ryūichi explains, he fails to realize that she is the smelly baby next to him. Later, he explains to Ryūichi that he believes that Yukair's husband has been gone away for so long that he is likely dead only to find out that he is actually overseas. |
| 418 | ** Upon falling in love with a girl from the daycare during the school festival, he asks Ryūichi about her who believes that girl is Inomata. After leaving, Ryūichi only realizes that Inomata wasn't at the daycare on that day and the girl Inui met was him wearing a wig. It takes a while for Inui to meet the real Inomata and finds out that the girl he met is actually a guy. |
| 419 | * PrecociousCrush: Initially has a crush on Yukari, who is married and a teacher much older than him. |
| 420 | * SecretIdentity: Twice Inui has saved Kotarō while wearing a paper bag on his head in some way when Kotarō was alone, to the point of where Kotarō put a similar paper bag on his head to copy his hero. |
| 421 | * UnsettlingGenderReveal: He discovers that the girl he met during the school festival is actually Ryūichi in a wig. |
| 422 | * UnknownRival: Considers himself a rival to Yutaka for Yukari's love, but the man barely even knows him. |
| 423 | [[/folder]] |
| 424 | |
| 425 | [[folder:Yuki Ushimaru]] |
| 426 | [[quoteright:130:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chara_img_ushi.png]] |
| 427 | [[caption-width-right:130:''"Well, maybe I do like him a little."'']] |
| 428 | |
| 429 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KaedeHondo |
| 430 | |
| 431 | Ryūichi and Kamitani's classmate and a player at the school's tennis team, who is clearly and hopelessly lovestruck for the former. |
| 432 | ---- |
| 433 | * AffectionateNickname: She is known as "Yuki-chan" to Inomata. |
| 434 | * AnimalThemeNaming: Her family name contains the kanji for "cow". |
| 435 | * BettyAndVeronica: The sweet, lovable Betty to Inomata's unnervingly stern Veronica for Ryūichi's Archie. |
| 436 | * BoobBasedGag: A bit of humor is made about most of the kids happily pointing out Ushimaru's ample bust, at her expense due to them being unaware that it causes her distress. |
| 437 | * ClingyJealousGirl: Inverted. While she's initially nervous about the idea of Ryūichi being closer to Inomata than to her, she ends up finding herself connecting with the latter, specifically on the basis of their shared hopeless crushes on Ryūichi and forming a friendship with her. |
| 438 | * ADayInTheLimelight: Chapter 34 (Episode 11B) focuses on her first encounter with the kids at the daycare Ryūichi works at, and confronting her fear of interacting with little children. |
| 439 | * DCupDistress: She's extremely uncomfortable with the children calling attention to how large her breasts are, although it may be more because of the fact that they try to grab her breasts. ''In front of Ryūichi.'' |
| 440 | * DudeMagnet: She's popular among her male classmates; she doesn't seem to notice them, because she only has eyes for Ryūichi. |
| 441 | * EntertaininglyWrong: She believes Ryūichi and Inomata are already dating when she finds him giving her chocolate. It's just a thank-you gift for her for helping around the daycare, but she has no reason to think it's like that. |
| 442 | * FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Yuki is shown to be quite a diligent and earnest girl. Her older brother, introduced in chapter 105, is a laidback {{neet}} who'd rather spend his days slacking at home than finding a job. He doesn't even have a resumé. |
| 443 | * FriendlyRivalry: She's initially suspicious and jealous of Inomata's relationship with Ryūichi, but eventually gets along with her and becomes one of her first friends. |
| 444 | * NiceGirl: Where Inomata is rather snappy, Ushimaru is unfailingly sweet and approachable. |
| 445 | * ShrinkingViolet: Every single implication that she is interested in Ryūichi, as well as her interactions with him, cause her to become a blushing mess. Interestingly enough, she is nowhere near this shy when around other people (hilariously shown when she runs away flustered when she caught Ryūichi changing out of his shirt but being perfectly fine with her male teammates training shirtless). |
| 446 | * SingleTargetSexuality: She almost exclusively has eyes for Ryūichi, to the exclusion of all her other suitors. |
| 447 | [[/folder]] |
| 448 | |
| 449 | [[folder:Tomoya Yagi]] |
| 450 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chara_img_yagi.png]] |
| 451 | [[caption-width-right:250:''"You just seem so chubby and so round!"'']] |
| 452 | |
| 453 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Toshiyuki Someya |
| 454 | |
| 455 | ->''"But occasionally coming over to pinch the kids' cheeks isn't that bad."'' |
| 456 | |
| 457 | Inomata's classmate who really adores kids. |
| 458 | ---- |
| 459 | * AnimalThemeNaming: His family name means "goat". |
| 460 | * BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: When they were children, Nezu noticed how Yagi was lonely, and invited him over to his house. The warmth the Nezu family has shown him has since made close friends of both boys. |
| 461 | * ChickMagnet: Yagi is the most popular guy in school, and he's often surrounded by a group of girls as background characters. |
| 462 | * ChildhoodFriends: He has been friends with Nezu since childhood, with a few chapters focusing on how they got acquainted. |
| 463 | * CutenessProximity: He likes kids a lot because of their cuteness, which often leads to him breaking out into rather creepy and misleading nosebleeds. |
| 464 | * ADayInTheLimelight: Chapter 37 focus on him and his birthday. It tells his backstory on how he came to adore kids so much and the start of his friendship with Nezu. |
| 465 | %%* LonelyRichKid: While it's unknown if he's rich, his parents are always working and rarely have time for him, similarly, his fairly older sister is always doing something, leaving him alone for most of his childhood. |
| 466 | * FriendToAllChildren: He genuinely ''wants'' to be this, but his constant nosebleeds whenever he interacts with kids tend to give people [[MistakenForPedophile the wrong impression]]. |
| 467 | * MistakenForPedophile: His nosebleeds can give the wrong impression on his liking for kids. |
| 468 | * NiceGuy: Despite his pedophile-like streak, Yagi is a genuinely good person who never even judged Nezu for having come from a poor family. |
| 469 | * PerpetualSmiler: Almost always seen with a grin on his face. |
| 470 | * PrettyBoy: One of the most desired guys in school due to his astounding good looks. |
| 471 | * SiblingsWanted: At the end of Chapter 37, he asks if he can have a younger sibling, much to the shock of his parents and older sister. |
| 472 | [[/folder]] |
| 473 | |
| 474 | [[folder:Chūkichi Nezu]] |
| 475 | [[quoteright:140:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chara_img_nezu.png]] |
| 476 | [[caption-width-right:140:''"Stop it, pervert."'']] |
| 477 | |
| 478 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Motohiro Ota |
| 479 | |
| 480 | Inomata and Yagi's quiet but reliable classmate from the Advanced Class. |
| 481 | ---- |
| 482 | * TheAce: Nezu is known for being able to do basically anything. He has even held second-place in exams in consecutive years, despite working and helping around the house all the time. Every character is impressed by his dedication and responsibility. Also, Chapter 61 shows that he is capable of making a slide out of snow. |
| 483 | * AnimalThemeNaming: His family name means "mouse". |
| 484 | * BigBrotherInstinct: To all his younger siblings. This tends to crop up the most around Yagi and in one chapter, Nezu becomes ''seriously'' pissed when he thinks Yagi did something to make Kichi and Shuekichi cry. |
| 485 | * ChickMagnet: Not to the same extent as Yagi, but he's noted to be quite popular as well. |
| 486 | * ChildhoodFriends: With Yagi. Their friendship apparently started when Yagi was alone for his birthday and Nezu found him crying in a corner. A later chapter also reveals that another reason for their friendship was because Yagi was the only one in his class who didn't judge him for coming from a poor family. |
| 487 | * CloudcuckoolandersMinder: He's the one that keeps Yagi's antics in check. |
| 488 | * FamilyThemeNaming: Like all his siblings, he's named after a type of ''omikuji'' paper fortune, in his case "middle luck". |
| 489 | * MassiveNumberedSiblings: He has five siblings, four brothers and one sister. He is the second-oldest child (as well as the second son) of the family. |
| 490 | * TheReliableOne: The most mature and level-headed out of all the Nezu siblings. In times of trouble, he's often the one to keep calm and takes charge to get the situation under control as well as solving the issue at hand as quickly and efficiently as possible. |
| 491 | * StraightMan: The more reasonable guy who constantly has to keep Yagi, who is often a bit too excited over kids, in check. |
| 492 | * UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Chapter 37 shows that he was the accidental cause of Yagi's love for children. He brought him to his house on his birthday, and the sight of Kichi and Suekichi as toddlers gave Yagi his first nosebleed. |
| 493 | * VitriolicBestBuds: One-sided version with Yagi. He often expresses annoyance at Yagi's behavior around children, openly tells him to stay away from his younger siblings and overall acts more like his keeper than his friend. He even apparently has regular moments where he outright wonders why he's even friends with someone like him. Yet despite this, he knows that Yagi is a good person at heart and still sticks by him regardless. |
| 494 | [[/folder]] |
| 495 | |
| 496 | [[folder:Nekota]] |
| 497 | Inui's classmate who has a slight crush on him. |
| 498 | ---- |
| 499 | * AnimalThemeNaming: Nekota has the kanji for cat. Fittingly, she fights a lot with Inui, whose name means dog. |
| 500 | * GyaruGirl: She follows the gyaru girl styling, wearing heavy makeup (including massive eyelashes) and curling her hair. |
| 501 | * HopelessSuitor: Has a slight crush on Inui that probably won't be reciprocated, but she doesn't seem to mind. |
| 502 | * {{Tsundere}}: Despite her crush on him, Nekota snaps at Inui whenever he says something sexist or tells her she's not a cute girl. |
| 503 | [[/folder]] |
| 504 | |
| 505 | !The Morinomiya students/daycare's families |
| 506 | [[folder:The Kashima Parents]] |
| 507 | [[quoteright:326:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kashimaparents.png]] |
| 508 | [[caption-width-right:326:''"Ryūichi, Kotarō, we're home!"'']] |
| 509 | Ryūichi and Kotarō's parents who passed away in a plane crash. The father worked with IT sales, and the mother was a translator/interpreter. |
| 510 | ---- |
| 511 | * DeathByOriginStory: They died before the story even begins. |
| 512 | * DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: Their habit of travelling and leaving the sons behind aside, Ryūichi has fond memories of his late parents who are always smiling and being affectionate with him in his flashbacks. Even Kotarou vaguely remembers them in a good light. |
| 513 | * TheFaceless: Their faces have yet to be revealed, with their eyes being closed whenever they're not being obscured. |
| 514 | * ParentalAbandonment: Not by choice. They died in a plane crash, leaving their sons alone. |
| 515 | * PlotTriggeringDeath: Their deaths lead to their sons moving in with the Morinomiya Academy chairwoman who has the older son become the daycare's babysitter in exchange, kickstarting the story. |
| 516 | * PosthumousCharacter: The plane crash that caused their death occurs just before the story begins. |
| 517 | * UnnamedParent: Neither parents have been given names yet. |
| 518 | [[/folder]] |
| 519 | |
| 520 | [[folder:Taizō Hebihara and Shizuka Kamitani]] |
| 521 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kamitani_shizuka.png]] |
| 522 | [[caption-width-right:300:''"Honestly, I don't know who you take after."'']] |
| 523 | [[quoteright:231:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hebihara.png]] |
| 524 | [[caption-width-right:231:''"Next time, if you have any personal matters, please consult me after work hours as I may get distracted."'']] |
| 525 | -->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YukoSanpei (Shizuka) |
| 526 | Hayato and Taka Kamitani's parents. Shizuka teaches science at the middle school division while Hebihara chemistry at high school. Divorced prior to Taka's birth, meaning the younger son is unaware he even has a father. |
| 527 | ---- |
| 528 | * AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: Shizuka makes her debut in the manga in Chapter 2, but appears in the very first episode of the anime when Kamitani drops Taka off at her office. |
| 529 | * AdaptedOut: Hebihara only gets a name reference in Episode 5 of the anime. The story that was a precursor to his debut chapter in the manga leaves out Kashima's conversation with Kamitani (where he asks about his father) in the anime. |
| 530 | * AmicableExes: Although it's unclear how they get along at work, the two exes attempt to remain civil with each other in their personal lives albeit with mixed results. On one hand, they still have fond/nostalgic opinions of each other; and they'll at least contact each other when family's involved, and Shizuka's not against the idea of either of her sons interacting with their otherwise absent father. On the other hand, they have comical instances of getting on each other's nerves (complete with {{Lightning Glare}}s), especially if their parenting (or lack thereof) is involved. |
| 531 | * AnimalThemeNaming: Shizuka's family name Kamitani contains the kanji for "wolf" while Hebihara contains the kanji for "snake". |
| 532 | * ChekhovsGunman: Hebihara is mentioned in Chapter 14 as the mean, demanding high-school chemistry teacher. Chapter 25 reveals him as Kamitani and Taka's father, and also reveals his face. |
| 533 | * ADayInTheLimelight: Chapter 89 focuses on Hebihara trying to give a shaved ice machine to the babysitter's club, leading to a lot of interaction with him and Taka (who's become attached to his new "friend"). |
| 534 | * DisappearedDad: Both Kamitani brothers are estranged from their father ever since he and Shizuka divorced. Though emotionally distant, they are still physically close, since Hebihara is one of the teachers in the school. Nevertheless, Hebihara treats Kamitani like other students and doesn't allow him to address him as his father during work hours, and he (initially) avoids contact with Taka who is oblivious. |
| 535 | * HiddenHeartOfGold: Behind his gruff exterior, Hebihara is a deeply caring man, which is why Shizuka fell in love with him in the first place. A flashback shows that one of their first meaningful interactions was when he nursed her when she passed out due to overworking and offered her his lunch despite the fact he wouldn't have anything to eat until the end of his day. The man also has a huge soft spot for their toddler son, Taka, despite the fact he hides it with vigor. |
| 536 | * LightningGlare: They exchange glares intense enough to induce lightning for stylistic purposes when they start ragging on each other for how they do (or don't) parent Taka. |
| 537 | * SternTeacher: Hebihara is extremely strict and overworking, even forcing some students to work through the interval if their work wasn't up to his standards. He has somewhat of a infamy in school because of that. |
| 538 | * SweetTooth: Hebihara apparently likes eating ''tamago'' (sweet omelet) a lot, and Shizuka teases to Ryūichi that he has a sweet tooth, which Taka inherited. |
| 539 | * TeacherStudentRomance: Shizuka was Hebihara's student when they first met; it's not clear, however, whether they started dating when they were still in that position. |
| 540 | * VisitByDivorcedDad: Hebihara still interacts with his children once in a while, though Taka is still unaware he is his father. |
| 541 | * WorkingWithTheEx: They're both teaching in the same school, but it's yet to show how they interact in a professional environment. It's also unclear whether their former relationship was still in place when they began working at the school together and whether it's common knowledge there (at least among students), seeing how fellow classmates aren't aware that Hebihara is Kamitani's father. |
| 542 | [[/folder]] |
| 543 | |
| 544 | [[folder:Yayoi and Satoru Kumatsuka]] |
| 545 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kumatsuka_family.png]] |
| 546 | [[caption-width-right:350:The favoritism is quite obvious.]] |
| 547 | -->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AtsumiTanezaki (Yayoi), Creator/TaishiMurata (Satoru) |
| 548 | Kirin's parents. Yayoi is the head of the high school's Drama Club, while Satoru is a freelance photographer. |
| 549 | ---- |
| 550 | * AllMenArePerverts: Satoru believes that any male that is not himself who is associated with [[BoyfriendBlockingDad his daughter]] is a beast with ulterior motives. It doesn't help that he often says to girls, "If I were ''x'' years younger, I would ask for your hand." |
| 551 | * BoyfriendBlockingDad: Satoru goes berserk whenever he thinks boys are interested in his daughter. This is taken to a comedic extreme due to the fact said boys are, well, toddlers. Yayoi has enough foresight to ask the babysitters to dress up as girls, but Usaida's disguise isn't enough to fool him, prompting him to question the motives of the male babysitters and accuse the young boys of being "beasts" that are after his daughter. |
| 552 | * CreepyGood: Yayoi is an EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette with CreepyShadowedUndereyes and is once seen dressed up as a StringyHairedGhostGirl, but she's not a bad person at all and loves her daughter Kirin very much. |
| 553 | * CreepyShadowedUndereyes: Yayoi's often shown with dark eye circles, contributing to her creepy look. |
| 554 | * EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Yayoi is a tall pale woman with a creepy attitude and long dark hair. |
| 555 | * GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: In one extra chapter, Satoru goes crazy thinking of the possibility that his daughter is dating one of her male friends, leading to Yayoi calming him down with a slap on the face so they can talk normally. |
| 556 | * GoodParents: They love Kirin very much even if they don't appear together often. Emphasized when Yayoi has to leave Kirin with the Kashimas for drama club work and it's made clear she doesn't enjoy leaving her--in one chapter, they make an exchange diary so her daughter won't be lonely. |
| 557 | * HamAndDeadpanDuo: Satoru is very over-the-top in his behavior, whether it be singing praises to his family or making threats the moment a boy interacts with his daughter; Yayoi is very calm and does not express much emotion. |
| 558 | * HypocriticalHumor: Satoru claims [[AllMenArePerverts all males, other than himself, are beasts]], yet nothing stops him from flirting with women (or boys who look close enough to fool him when crossdressing), presumably younger than his wife. |
| 559 | * LargeHam: To say Satoru loves Kirin and wants to protect her would be an understatement. Satoru immediately starts taking pictures of his daughter as a carrot in his debut, and when Kirin says she doesn't like when Satoru bullies others, he is ready to jump out of the window (of the first floor) of the daycare. |
| 560 | * LoveAtFirstSight: A bonus chapter shows how Satoru and Yayoi first fell in love, though it was shown through an aloof facade which Satoru states is a dark part of his past. |
| 561 | * MortonsFork: Consoling Satoru is never an easy task. When Taka says he doesn't like Kirin, Satoru scolds him. When the other toddlers say they like Kirin, Satoru accuses them of being beasts. When Satoru cries about losing Kirin to some guy through marriage, consoling him saying Kirin could end up not getting married has him say she most certainly will. |
| 562 | * TrainingFromHell: PlayedForLaughs when Ryūichi checks up on the usually calm Yayoi the first time she leaves Kirin with him to focus on her drama club, and she's [[NotSoStoic angrily yelling at her students to be more passionate and that she won't let them sleep until they capture their roles]]. He is rather disturbed, and Usaida lampshades beforehand that he is brave for attempting to talk to Yayoi during drama club boot camp. |
| 563 | * {{Tsundere}}: Satoru acted like this towards Yayoi when they first met, pretending to not like her acting only for her to catch him in all her performances and applauding her in the last one (which makes him stop and look away in embarrassment when she smiles at him in acknowledgement). This is a stark contrast to how he treats her now--if anything, the tables may have been reversed, with Yayoi giving him the aloof treatment and not going out of her way to reciprocate his hammy affections but still showing her love now and then. |
| 564 | * UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: As Yayoi admits, a lot of the trouble with Inui developing a crush on "Inomata" is because she made Ryūichi crossdress the first time. |
| 565 | [[/folder]] |
| 566 | |
| 567 | [[folder:Umi and Kōsuke Mamizuka]] |
| 568 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mamizuka_2.jpg]] |
| 569 | [[caption-width-right:350:The actor and the woman of physical activity, demonstrating the image of sadness and happiness.]] |
| 570 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AyakaSaitou (Umi), Creator/SatoshiHino (Kōsuke) |
| 571 | Takuma and Kazuma's parents. Umi is a Physical Education teacher while Kōsuke is a famous actor. |
| 572 | ---- |
| 573 | * ButtMonkey: Outside of acting, Kōsuke has been called useless and a crybaby. A RunningGag is that his twin boys prefer being around their mother more than him, or they don't think he's cool unlike his characters. |
| 574 | * ChickMagnet: Kōsuke is one of the most sought-after actors, and his presence will call for every girl in close range. |
| 575 | * ClingyJealousGirl: Subverted when Kōsuke thinks Umi is crying while watching his kiss scene in a movie because she's jealous and pauses it, only for her to unpause it and tell him off for for interrupting her at the most important part (and even makes him watch it with her). She clearly states she's fine with him kissing other women as a part of work but also off-handedly mentions she'll kill him if he does it in private. |
| 576 | * DawsonCasting: InUniverse, Kōsuke gets cast as a high school student in a drama. Usaida makes fun of him to no end since Kōsuke is well in his late twenties. |
| 577 | * ADayInTheLimelight: Chapters 88 and 98 have the focus more on Kōsuke. The former focuses dominantly him trying intervene with the twins fighting over stuff and Kotarō, while the latter is a flashback to his high-school days, how he met Umi, and how he became inspired to pursue an acting career. |
| 578 | * EyesAlwaysShut: Umi, which accentuates her wide smile. |
| 579 | * {{Fangirl}}: Umi has all of Kousuke's [=DVDs=] at home, and watches them very often, sometimes with their children as well. Kōsuke is very thankful for the support. She often praises how cool he looks in his movies. Chapter 88 has her taking the leftover figure of Buido, the villain role he plays in the tokusatsu show ''Justiknight'', when their sons moved on to the titular hero. |
| 580 | * GoodParents: They love their sons very much, with Kōsuke in particular trying to spend time with them whenever he has breaks. |
| 581 | * HighSchoolSweethearts: The two first met in high school, and it was LoveAtFirstSight, at least on Kōsuke's side. It was his determination to become confident enough to confess to her that lead to his career as an actor. |
| 582 | * MistakenForPedophile: In his debut appearance, Kōsuke wears a mask, sunglasses and a hat while visiting his kids. Because of this, Ryūichi and Kamitani mistake him for a pedophile, though he's really just disguising himself so he won't get mobbed by fans. |
| 583 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Chapter 88 has Kōsuke finally put his foot down and be stern instead of constantly crying when his twin boys didn't stop fighting over things, which resulted in Kotarō falling. |
| 584 | * OppositesAttract: Umi is an upbeat and cheery woman who is in a loving relationship with the awkward Kōsuke. |
| 585 | * PerpetualSmiler: Umi is usually carefree and bubbly, and maintains a smile in her face at all times. |
| 586 | * PrettyBoy: One can't deny the good looks and slender body of Kōsuke, which is probably the main reason why fangirls flock to him. |
| 587 | * ProneToTears: Kōsuke gets upset and stressed easily. Kazuma clearly takes after him in this regard. |
| 588 | * SoMyKidsCanWatch: InUniverse, Kōsuke often tries to stick to acting stints that are child-friendly as he feels embarrassed when he learns Umi and his sons watched a movie where he played a ''kidnapper''. He also feels dreadful when dealing with the aftermath of doing a commercial that said to "Kiss the ones you like" and when he plays a villainous role in a {{Tokusatsu}} show the toddlers watch. |
| 589 | * WastedBeauty: Zigzagged with Kosuke, who is a popular actor with hordes of fangirls fawning over his good looks. In his high school years, however, he was not as popular since he was in the Kendo club and the girls who watched him were unimpressed by how weak and pathetic he was during matches, and they rather disappointedly murmured to each other about how he was "handsome but weak". |
| 590 | [[/folder]] |
| 591 | |
| 592 | [[folder:Yukari and Yutaka Sawatari]] |
| 593 | [[quoteright:326:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/midori_3.png]] |
| 594 | [[caption-width-right:326:Very much in love, even when they're often far apart.]] |
| 595 | -->'''Voiced by:''' Yuna Kamakura (Yukari), Kento Fujinuma (Yutaka) |
| 596 | Midori's parents. Yukari is a secretary at the school, while Yutaka is an archaeologist currently working in Turkey. |
| 597 | ---- |
| 598 | * DatePeepers: One chapter has Yukari curious about Usaida's love life and following him around with Ryūichi to figure out if he has a girlfriend and/or what kinds of girls he's into. |
| 599 | * ADayInTheLimelight: The flashback to Usaida's past in Chapter 40 also shows how he and Yukari struck a friendship when the former was assigned to look after her, then pregnant with Midori, while Yutaka is away. |
| 600 | * TheFaceless: Yutaka does not get his face revealed until much later in the story, appearing in almost all chapters with a large beard hiding his face. |
| 601 | * TheGadfly: During Chapter 40's flashback, Yukari, then pregnant with Midori, was not above joking about her water breaking with Usaida in order to break the tension between the two. |
| 602 | * JustTheWayYouAre: In one extra chapter, Yukari assures Yutaka that no matter what he looks like, he is beautiful to her and vice versa, after Midori started crying when she couldn't recognize his new, clean-shaven look. |
| 603 | * PapaWolf: Yutaka gives the subtle hint to Satoru that he's not fond of strangers holding his daughter, especially after hearing the latter's rant about how he wants to watch his own daughter, Kirin, work at the school festival and meet high school girls. |
| 604 | * StepfordSmiler: The pregnant Yukari tried to hide how unwell she was feeling by being cheerful and joking a lot when Usaida accompanied her to parenting class. He noticed, however, and excused her out of class so she could throw up and feel better. |
| 605 | [[/folder]] |
| 606 | |
| 607 | [[folder:The Nezu Family]] |
| 608 | Chuukichi Nezu's family consisting of his parents, older brother Daikichi, three younger brothers (Shōkichi and twins Suekichi and Kichi) and younger sister Kyōko. |
| 609 | ---- |
| 610 | * AlwaysIdenticalTwins: With the Nezu twins, it's hard to tell due to their similar hairstyles, but their personalities are different with Suekichi being a bit more hot-blooded compared to Kichi. |
| 611 | * AnimalThemeNaming: The family name means "mouse", and they are a rather large family, alluding to how real mice are {{Explosive Breeder}}s. |
| 612 | * BigBrotherInstinct: The twins are rather protective of their younger sister and any of the toddlers whenever Yagi is around. Of course, still being children themselves, they usually just end up diverting his attention towards ''them'' instead, more so given that seeing them when they were toddlers is what started then-grade-schooler Yagi's... tendencies. |
| 613 | * DayInTheLimelight: The twins have some chapters about themselves while Kyōko gets two chapters about herself (the first, about her budding friendship with Kirin, and again when she takes refuge at the daycare after an argument with the twins). |
| 614 | * EyesOutOfSight: Only the mother, the twins and Kyōko have hair that hide their eye(s). Daikichi and Shōkichi do not. |
| 615 | * TheFaceless: On the rare occasion Mr. Nezu appears, he will be seen from the back or bowing his face to keep his face out of sight. |
| 616 | * FamilyThemeNaming: The siblings are named after six of the eight kinds of ''omikuji'' paper fortunes. |
| 617 | * GirlishPigtails: Kyōko wears her hairs in pigtails, which further emphasise how girly she is. They also serve as a way to tell her apart from her brothers as the only girl. |
| 618 | * TheKlutz: Every time Daikichi, the oldest child, appears, he is sheepishly apologizing for breaking something. It's bad enough that, back in his high-school years, his family regularly had to replace school equipment that he accidentally damaged. |
| 619 | * InnocentlyInsensitive: All four brothers, when they overhear Kyōko asking Chuukichi whether she could become an idol, laugh and say she's neither cute enough nor talented enough to ever make it. |
| 620 | -->'''Usaida''': [[LampshadeHanging Your brothers have no delicacy at all, do they?]] |
| 621 | * IntergenerationalFriendship: Kyōko, a first-grader, is good friends with the toddler Kirin since they are the only girls in their respective groups (not including Midori, who's too young) who don't enjoy doing "non-masculine" activities with them. |
| 622 | * MassiveNumberedSiblings: The family consists of six children. |
| 623 | * SheCleansUpNicely: Despite fearing she's too plain, Kyōko looks amazing with a new hairstyle and dressed in one of Ushimaru's childhood idol costumes in Chapter 80. |
| 624 | * StrongFamilyResemblance: All of them look extremely similar to the point Kamitani calls them clones. Even Kyōko, the only daughter, looks a lot like her brothers aside from having pigtails to distinguish herself with. |
| 625 | [[/folder]] |
| 626 | |
| 627 | [[folder:Inui Family]] |
| 628 | Hiroyuki Inui's family, consisting of his middle-schooler sister Mika and their parents. |
| 629 | ---- |
| 630 | * CordonBleughChef: Mika is an awful cook, which worries her brother enough that he goes out of his way to eat the lunch she's made so no one else will suffer. |
| 631 | * DayInTheLimelight: Mika gets two chapters dedicated to herself, mostly related to her crush on Kamitani. |
| 632 | * {{Fangirl}}: The mother is a fangirl of an idol, while Mika fawns over Kamitani. |
| 633 | * HopelessSuitor: Minus the father, having crushes on people they most definitely will not end up with runs in the family. |
| 634 | * PrecociousCrush: Middle-school student Mika has a crush on the high-school student Kamitani. |
| 635 | [[/folder]] |
| 636 | |
| 637 | [[folder:Tsugumi]] |
| 638 | Kamitani and Taka's infant cousin and Shizuka's nephew. The Kamitani family takes care of him for a day when his parents are down with the flu. |
| 639 | ---- |
| 640 | * AnimalThemeNaming: Tsugumi means "thrush", which goes with the bird theme. |
| 641 | * BabySeeBabyDo: Unfortunately for Taka, him slapping Tsugumi teaches the infant how to hit. |
| 642 | * ADayInTheLimelight: His main appearance is in Chapter 31, when he had to be taken in by his cousins while both his parents are down with the flu. |
| 643 | * FaceOfAThug: For a little infant, he has an intimidating face. |
| 644 | * StrongFamilyResemblance: He looks more like Kamitani than Taka does his own brother. |
| 645 | [[/folder]] |
| 646 | |
| 647 | [[folder:Tamako]] |
| 648 | Nekota's toddler relative who visits the daycare for a day. |
| 649 | ---- |
| 650 | * AnimalEyes: Her most defining feature are her cat-like eyes. |
| 651 | * AnimalThemeNaming: Played with; while her name isn't written with any animal-related kanji like most of the other characters' names, "Tama" is a [[StockAnimalName name commonly given to cats]] in Japan. |
| 652 | * BabyTalk: She is still figuring out words and only says one phrase ("Uunjajoba!") that sounds ominous. She's slightly more intelligible by her second appearance. |
| 653 | * BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Kotarō is the only toddler not intimidated by her gaze, and is the first person to welcome her with a remotely friendly attitude, which leads to her growing possessive of him. |
| 654 | * BigBrotherWorship: One of the first things Tamako does when she gets better at communicating is call Nekota her "nee-nee" (big sister). |
| 655 | * ClingyJealousGirl: She quickly latches onto Kotarō and vaguely expresses hostility to anyone who comes close to him, including Ryūichi. In her second appearance, this now extends to Nekota. |
| 656 | * CreepyChild: Her intimidating cat eyes and unfriendly personality disturb everyone but Kotarō. When she's shy, she crawls under the table where [[ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes only her eyes are visible]]. The one word she can say in her BabyTalk is somewhat recognizable as threatening, and she directs it at anyone she doesn't like. |
| 657 | * ADayInTheLimelight: Chapter 65 focuses on her visiting the daycare for a day and making a largely bad impression with the rest of the little kids save Kotarō. |
| 658 | * MeaningfulName: Her name is a variant of a common cat's name used in Japan (Tama). |
| 659 | * PuppyLove: She develops a crush on fellow toddler Kotarō because he is the only one not intimidated by her. |
| 660 | * ThirdPersonPerson: Like Kotarō, Tamako isn't eloquent enough for pronouns yet, calling herself "Taako" instead. |
| 661 | [[/folder]] |
| 662 | |
| 663 | !Others |
| 664 | [[folder:Asahi Kisakata]] |
| 665 | An actor and Kousuke's co-star in a show. Plays the main character "Justi-Knight", which is the kids' favourite show. He has great respect for Kousuke and calls him "Kou-san". |
| 666 | ---- |
| 667 | * HeroWithAnFInGood: He tries to be a hero outside of acting in front of the toddlers, but in some way or another, he screws up. |
| 668 | * NiceGuy: His attempts to save Kousuke's face for the children are admirable, and he respects him very much. He's also friendly with the children, eager to accompany them in activities and lets them have a proper goodbye with his colleague's dog they come to love. |
| 669 | [[/folder]] |
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