The characters appearing in DIVE!!
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MDC Divers
Tomoki Sakai
Voiced by: Yūki Kaji
The main character. He's second-year middle school student who at first doesn't seem to be particularly good at diving, but under Kayoko's nurturing he begins to show his hidden talents.
- Abel And Cain: Downplayed as he and his brother Hiroya are really more like each other's Sitcom Archnemesis.
- Even when Miu is 'stolen' from him by Hiroya, Tomoki doesn't really show much contempt toward Hiroya.
- Achievements in Ignorance: In episode 10, after he was released from the hospital due to the accident caused by him losing focus during practice because of his fear that Kayoko would leave the club, his choice of words when talking to Youichi is just what Youichi needed to overcome at least some of his issues that have been bothering him for the last few weeks.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Seems to be what he is thinking of his 11 months younger brother Hiroya.
- Dumb Muscle / Jerk Jock: Hiroya accuses him of being a combination of this by calling him a 'dumb jock'.
- First-Name Basis: With Youichi, who in turn often calls him 'Tomo'. Justified, in that they know each other for six years.
- Foil: To Shibuki. Tomoki is short, a bit pale diver who was trained by regular means and took up diving after witnessing Youichi's splendid diving. Shibuki is a tall and tanned, and had been involved in diving as a part of a family tradition. Tomoki is often criticized for not standing up to himself enough, while Shibuki is often seen as either too stubborn or too cold to others. Tomoki's relationship with Miu flopped, while Shibuki's relationship with Kyouko is much more successful.
- Furthermore, they both have younger siblings, except that Tomoki's only sibling is his brother Hiroya, while Shibuki has two younger sisters: Misaki and Minami.
- Hard Work Hardly Works: Defied completely. Him putting up with the training regiment he was given resulted in a visible improvement of his physical abilities, which in turn contributed to his diving techniques gradually getting more and more refined.
- Heroic BSoD: In #6, after his relationship with Miu sinks for good. He stays depressed for 2 weeks until Kayoko pulls him out of it.
- Hero-Worshipper: Admired Youichi ever since a chance sighting of Youichi's performance 6 years ago.
- In-Series Nickname: 'Tomo' for short.
- Idiot Hero: Averted for the most part, as he is really more akin to hero with average intelligence.
- Odd Friendship: Despite of their differences, he and Shibuki become this.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: He and Hiroya are not only are mean to each other almost every time they meet, but they also have differing opinions on almost everything. Most notably, Hiroya was openly questioning the meaningfulness of Tomoki training so much lately.Hiroya: 'What's the point of getting all buff?'
- Tomoki is an avid diver, while Hiroya enjoys river fishing.
- Warrior Therapist: Accidentally helps Youichi to overcome the latter's emotional baggage.
- Workout Fanservice: Quite a few scenes, ever since he started the training regiment Kayako prepared for him.
Youichi Fujitani
Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai
A high school student who's also the ace of the MDC. He's the son of two accomplished divers (his father is the head coach of the MDC, and is the middle school diving champion for three years in a row.
- The Ace: The best diver in the club, and one of the best junior divers in Japan.
- He also defeated Atsuhiko in several contests on land. To be fair, Atsuhiko's personality contributed to it but still...
- Big Man on Campus: His achievements made him both famous and popular, especially among his teammates in the diving club.
- Broken Ace: In # 9 he starts to experience the first symptoms of this trope.
- Comically Missing the Point: The entire fast food scene in episode 5.
- First-Name Basis: Fittingly as they know each other for six years, he and Tomoki are this. Bonus points for often calling him 'Tomo' for short.
- The Gadfly: He is this whenever having conversations with Atsuhiko.
- Guile Hero: He certainly doesn't mind getting his hands dirty in order to win.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Inverted, as he is in fact good at seeing through people.
- Magnificent Bastard: Talks Shibuki's ear off about their rivals under the guise of increasing his stage fright to make him more nervous, which would make him a better diver—but it turns out to be a ploy to get his head so mixed up that he won't be able to dive properly.
- Muscles Are Meaningful: He once won a weight-lifting contest against Atsuhiko. And an arm-wrestling contest. Then even a thumb-wrestling contest. Granted, Atsuhiko is stated to be hindered by being a Nervous Wreck, but it is evident that Youichi's muscles aren't (just) for show.
- One Head Taller: A (probably) non-romantic example. He is one head taller than Tomoki. Granted, he is in high school while Tomoki is still in middle school, but still...
- Panty Thief: To another guy, no less. In a competition a few years back, Yoichi got jealous of Ryou's brand-new, red swimwear which overshadowed his own lemony-yellow ones and stole it, only returning it after the competition. At the end, Ryou was forced to wear Youichi's spare, which was gray and looked rather underwhelming.
- The Perfectionist: Is described by Tsuji as one.
- Pragmatic Hero: Despite of being a fairly capable diver, he is willing to go an extra mile in order to win.
- Serious Business: Diving. He also often demonstrated concern for Tomoki's diving
- Smug Snake: Subverted. His arrogance shines through when he's describing their rivals to Shibuki, and while it's pretty rude of him to belittle them, he can more than back up his words with his incredible talent.
- The Stoic
- Not So Stoic: One of the very few times Tomoki sees him get excited is about the chance to get sent to the Olympics. He was also visibly shocked when seeing Shibuki's diving for the first time, which affected even his diving, something that's also very rare.
- Played for Laughs in episode 8. He does not take it well when Shibuki reveals to his sisters that Youichi never had a girlfriend. Then there's his reaction to Shibuki having a girlfriend.
- Not So Stoic: One of the very few times Tomoki sees him get excited is about the chance to get sent to the Olympics. He was also visibly shocked when seeing Shibuki's diving for the first time, which affected even his diving, something that's also very rare.
- Unexpected Virgin: Played Straight, unlike Shibuki. Despite of what you might have expected from The Ace Bishounen, he is yet to have a girlfriend or boyfriend.
Shibuki Okitsu
Voiced by: Yūichi Nakamura
A high school student from Tsugaru known as the "Phantom High School Diver". He was brought to the MDC by Kayoko because of their contract. The grandson of the genius diver, Shiraha Okitsu.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Two of them, in fact.
- The Big Guy: Is this for the team. However, his personality is far more unfriendly than most examples.
- Character Development: Goes from a lone wolf to a fairly sociable person.
- Country Mouse: Came from the small city of Tsugaru from the north to the bustling Tokyo metropolis.
- Culture Clash: In a diving sense. The MDC's standard teaching method clashes with the diving that he learned from his grandfather.
- Defrosting Ice King: As the series goes one he becomes increasingly more open and friendly to others.
- Friendless Background: It is very likely that Tomoki might be his very first friend.
- Heavyworlder: Played With, as while he didn't exactly live in the mountains (despite of the relative proximity of Mount Iwaki to Tsuguru), the environment he did live in definitely contributed to him growing up to be so big, alongside his rigorous training.
- Hormone-Addled Teenager: One of his plans for the future is to have sex every night with Kyouko.
- Hunk: Has a way more manly design than either Youichi or Tomoki. Still easy on the eyes, though.
- I Need to Iron My Dog: In episode 6, he tries to hide his anxiousness from the others by saying that his horoscope foresaw bad luck for the day. Youichi doesn't buy it.
- In Touch with His Feminine Side: Played for Laughs in #10. He shamelessly makes a single, graceful pirouette, all while bragging that he was apparently complimented for his talent.
- I Work Alone: More-or-less his motto.
- Likes Older Women: His girlfriend Kyouko is three years older than him.
- Muscles Are Meaningful: It doesn't really emphasize any extraordinary physical strength on his part (despite it being very likely to be the case as well), as much as to showcase the more rough environment he's been training in and the passion that he trained diving with.
- One Head Taller: Non-romantic example. He is this to the majority of the other characters in the cast.
- Not So Stoic:
- While he is a Perpetual Frowner for most instances, he occasionally displays quite a bit of temper.
- In #6, he is initially showing a degree of stage fright.
- Perpetual Frowner: Smiling isn't really his thing.
- Raised by Grandparents: Partially. His father was busy with work, so his mother and grandfather raised him. His grandfather was the one who taught him how to dive.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Even after failing to get a spot among to Olympics team,Shibuki refuses to give up and goes as far as to take lessons in ballet just so he could improve his still raw form.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Needless to say, he fulfills all of the requirements.
- Training from Hell: Seemingly a self-imposed version. He goes so far as to train diving by jumping from a precipice into the ocean.
- Deconstructed when it is revealed that his reckless training resulted in him getting a serious (but probably recoverable) back injury.
- Unexpected Virgin: Surprisingly averted. One of the first things he does when he goes back to Tsugaru in Book 2 is to have sex with his girlfriend.
Ryou Ohiro
Voiced by: Ryōta Ōsaka
A middle school student in the MDC.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Deconstructed. Ryou was initially the best diver in his year, not needing to even put much - if any - effort into it and was basically second only to Youichi in the whole school. This all changed when the less skilled Tomo quickly surpassed him thanks to Kayoko's training. Ryou didn't take it well.
- Character Development: Goes from a lazy bum who blamed others for his own shortcomings to a Spirited Competitor.
- Discard and Draw: After accepting his shortcomings, he quits diving and starts playing basketball.
- Dramatically Missing the Point: Him comparing Tomoki to the Stock Shōnen Hero certainly fits, as while Tomoki is held in high regards by the others, it is entirely due to Tomoki's hard work and natural talent that Tomoki managed to (not even intentionally) impress the others that much. Not to mention how Ryou and Reiji both slacked off, instead of training.
- Green-Eyed Monster: It turns out that he is this for Tomoki, who despite not being a very good diver gets attention from Coach Fujitani, Youichi, and their new coach Kayoko.
- Hard Work Hardly Works: Does not show satisfaction with his current state, yet isn't convinced that he can overcome his weaknesses, unlike Tomoki.
- Inferiority Superiority Complex: Comes with being surrounded by several far more talented divers who all have much greater prospects for their future in diving. Tomoki who is closer to him in terms of age, yet surpassing him by far and ending up getting the attention of others is what results in Ryou and Reiji becoming envious of Tomoki.
- Jerkass: He is even ruder toward Tomoki than Reiji.
- Overshadowed by Awesome: And he certainly isn't taking it well.
- Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: His rant about Tomoki being like a Stock Shōnen Hero boils down to this trope.
- Spirited Competitor: Slowly became this after realizing that everything he done by that point, or rather the things he didn't do was making his latent talent go to waste.
- Those Two Guys: With Reiji.
Reiji Maruyama
Voiced by: Kōki Uchiyama
A middle school student in the MDC.
- Big Brother Instinct: Seemingly developed this toward Sachiya, as shown in #11.
- Green-Eyed Monster: He is this alongside Ryou for Tomoki, who despite not being a very good diver gets attention from Coach Fujitani, Youichi, and their new coach Kayoko.
- Hard Work Hardly Works: Not as much as Ryou.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: His relationship with Ryou has shades of this.
- Inferiority Superiority Complex: Comes with being surrounded by several far more talented divers who all have much greater prospects for their future in diving. Tomoki who is closer to him in terms of age, yet surpassing him by far and ending up getting the attention of others is what results in him and Ryou becoming envious of Tomoki.
- Overshadowed by Awesome: Same as Ryou.
- Those Two Guys: With Ryou.
Sachiya Yoshida
Voiced by: Yūsuke Kobayashi
An elementary school student in the MDC.
- Gossipy Hens: A Rare Male Example. To be fair, most of the things he says aren't particularly distorted.
- Mr. Imagination: He himself is the biggest and pretty much only victim of the rumors he spreads, which often backfires into embarrassing misunderstandings.
- Plucky Comic Relief: His main role.
- Tareme Eyes: To assure the audience that he is ultimately a well-meaning person.
MDC Coaches
Kayoko Asaki
Voiced by: Kaori Nazuka
The new coach at the MDC, in charge of the middle schoolers. She vowed to send one member to the Olympics, so that the MDC could be saved.
- Badass Teacher: She herself has quite a few accomplishments in diving. Her arrival and the training regiment she prepares for Tomoki results in him becoming significantly better as a result.
- The Determinator: Is willing to go through any hardship to save the MDC.
- Ms. Fanservice: Frequently wears very little, almost nothing but her
one-piece. Even out of pool, her clothes are, well... - "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Over the course of the series she repeatedly scolds the divers for their many petty outbursts and childish behavior.
- The Ojou: Could be arguably considered this to the MDC given that she's the granddaughter of the club founder, who's also the former president of the Mizuki sports company.
- Training from Hell: Downplayed, as her training regimens are tough yet reasonable.
- What the Hell, Hero?: In episode 6, she and Jirou both chew out Shibuki for playing it safe and temporarily abandoning his own style.
- Earlier in the same episode she chews out Tomoki for all but giving up on diving after his girlfriend gets 'stolen' by his brother Hiroya.
Keisuke Fujitani
Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi
The MDC's head coach, and Youichi's father. He was a former Olympic diver.
- Retired Badass: A former Olympic diver who's now a diving coach.
- The Stoic: Probably where Youichi gets it from.
- Tough Love: May or may not be the case towards his son.
Chikara Ooshima
Voiced by: Wataru Hatano
The coach in charge of the elementary schoolers. Shibuki is staying with him while he is in Tokyo.
- Friend to All Children: Is in charge of the elementary schoolers, and even manages to get Shibuki to open up.
- Like a Son to Me: Tells this to Shibuki.
- Motor Mouth: According to Shibuki, he never stops talking when they were living together.
- Porn Stash: Has a dirty magazine under his pillow that Shibuki finds.
Rivals
Kenichirou Teramoto
The ace of the Japanese diving world, and is considered a definite contender at the Olympics.
Atsuhiko "Pinky" Yamada
Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita
A high school third-year from Ibaraki. Known for his flashy dives.
- Agent Peacock: Natch.
- Butt-Monkey: Whenever Youichi is around.
- Camp: Ho boy. The nickname "Pinky" ain't for nothing.
- Child Prodigy: Was extremely gifted even in his childhood days, yet still he came across a wall that he still can't overcome: Youichi.
- Failure Is the Only Option: He just can't win against Youichi. Not just in water, but on land either.
- To wit, on land they have already competed at: foot racing, who could stay in the sauna longer, weight lifting, arm wrestling, thumb wrestling and - most recently - a one-handed push-ups contest.
- Fatal Flaw: His lack of confidence at the decisive moments is this.
- His Own Worst Enemy: Needless to say, his personality is anything but appropriate for success.
- Ignored Enemy: Zig-Zagged, as Youichi isn't ignoring him as much as getting bored of him after whatever contest they had recently finishes (with Youichi winning, as always).
- Irony: Youichi flat-out admits to Tomoki that Atsuhiko actually excels Youichi in everything, going from physical build to even technique. None of this really works out for Atsuhiko, as he is only concentrated with beating Youichi than winning any meet.
- Nervous Wreck: The reason he constantly fails to beat Youichi is that he too focused on defeating him and nothing else.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Aside from his underwear color being pink, he has also took ballet lessons in the past. The 'real men' part is still in tact though, as he definitively has the physique and competitive personality to match. Not to mention that said ballet lessons actually contributed a lot to his present flexibility and muscular build.
- Worthy Opponent: Sees Youichi as this. It has been explicitly stated that Youichi is actually the first real challenge he ever faced in his whole life.
Toshihiko Tsuji
Voiced by: Shouta Aoi
A rival belonging to Fukushima Rainbow and a former gymnastic.
- Alliterative Name: Toshihiko Tsuji.
- Brainy Brunette: Appears to be sharper than he lets on.
- Deadpan Snarker: A very Downplayed, not particularly sarcastic example, but man does he gleefully point out others shortcomings.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: When it is time time to dive, he will completely cease smiling and instead demonstrate a great deal of concentration on his diving.
- Mr. Exposition: He and Youichi both explain the backgrounds of the other rivals.
- The Perfectionist: His movements are described by spectators as perfect. He is also shown to be rather careful with his body positioning before jumping.
- She-Fu: He uses a lot of his skills that he developed as a gymnastic for his performances.
Jirou Hirayama
Voiced by: Kengo Kawanishi
A diver of Splash Osaka.
- The Big Guy: Played Straight in all aspects, unlike Shibuki.
- Friendly Rival: Definitely believes in honorable sportsmanship.
- Foil: An obvious one to Shibuki.
- Hot-Blooded: Absolutely.
- In-Series Nickname: Jirou of Fire. It ain't as badass as it sounds when you realize how he came to get it: Due to him often making many mistakes during his jumps, his back quickly turns red.
- What the Hell, Hero?: In episode 6, he and Kayoko both chew out Shibuki for playing it safe and temporarily abandoning his own style.
- Worthy Opponent: Views Shibuki as this, after seeing his 'wild' diving. It's one-sided though, as Shibuki ain't the type for rivalries.
Kiyotaka Matsuno
Voiced by: Kensho Ono
Part of the team Mare Tokushima, Matsuno stands out among the rivals for...not standing out very much.
- Boring Yet Practical: His diving in a nutshell.
- Butt-Monkey: He is rarely ever noticed, yet alone remembered by the others.
- Extreme Doormat: He hardly shows any backbone.
- Forgettable Character: Poor thing. Kids and adults alike have a hard time remembering him, not to mention his own rivals.
Others
Hiroya Sakai
Voiced by: Ryōhei Kimura
Tomoki's younger brother by eleven months. He and his older brother have a strained relationship. He often questions where his brother's relationship with Miu is going...
- Abel And Cain: Downplayed as he and his brother Tomoki are really more like each other's Sitcom Archnemesis.
- Even when he 'steals' Miu from his older brother, Tomoki doesn't really show much contempt toward Hiroya.
- Big Brother Worship: Completely averted. There is absolutely nothing about Tomo that Hiroya admires in any kind, form or shape.
- He does come with Miu to cheer for Tomo at the end of the anime, even looking pretty enthusiastic about it. It helps that by that point their conflict over Miu is water under the bridge.
- Jerkass Has a Point: He is rather rude towrds his older brother, but his criticism of his older brother's neglectful treatment of Miu is justified.
- Perpetual Frowner: Especially around Tomoki.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: He and Tomoki are not only are mean to each other almost every time they meet, but they also have differing opinions on almost everything. Most notably, Hiroya was openly questioning the meaningfulness of Tomoki training so much lately.Hiroya: 'What's the point of getting all buff?'
- Hiroya enjoys river fishing, Tomoki is an avid diver.
Miu Nomura
Voiced by: Rina Hidaka
A girl who goes to the same school as the Sakai siblings. Her relationship with Tomo is anything but enviable.
- Flat Character: Zig-Zagged. At first, she acts like the stereotypical anime school girl you could find in just about any other show, being somewhat shy, making lunch for her Love Interest etc. A few episodes later, it becomes obvious that she does know when to give up and that she has enough self-consciousness to refuse continuing a relationship that could - in a worst-case scenario - degenerate into a Masochism Tango, even if Tomoki was never intentionally abusive.
- Girlish Pig Tails: Very typical ones at that.
- Hopeless Suitor: Her relationship with Tomoki ends up as this. She then starts going out with Hiroya.
- Love Martyr: Downplayed, then fully subverted when she ends her relationship with Tomoki.
- Satellite Love Interest: Deconstructed. Initially, her entire role was being the cute girl that Tomo happens to be dating. However, as it gets increasingly obvious that she and Tomo won't ever form a semblance of a proper relationship, she gives up and goes out with the more caring Hiroya.
- Settle for Sibling: Eventually accepts Hiroya's feelings when she realizes how hopeless her relationship with his older brother has become.
- Sibling Triangle: With the Sakai brothers.
- Nice Girl: Generally very polite.
