Warning!! The examples below may include spoilers for the manga, as well as the anime.
Ayumu Narumi
"The melody of logic will always play out the truth."
An apathetic high schooler, the reluctant hero, and designated the Savior of the Blade Children. He is looking for his older brother Kiyotaka, who disappeared two years ago.
- Angst? What Angst?: Invoked near the end of the manga. He has three years to live, has been psychologically crippled from a young age by his brother and so lost out on the many opportunities his latent genius could have afforded him, betrayed by his closest friend and love interest, and is almost certain to live most of his life sick in a hospital. He puts on a brave front: the point is to show everyone else that no matter what happens, they mustn't give in to despair. It's even double-subverted - Madoka mentions that she saw him cry once, but only once, and he's still holding on and staying positive.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: Less so than others, perhaps, but he has excellent deductive skills, and tends to calculate angles and outcomes on the fly, ALL THE TIME.
- Badass Bookworm: Once he starts playing with guns in the manga.
- Batman Gambit: Many, but the notable one is that he willingly allows himself to lose out on any source of happiness without showing pain, so that the rest of the Blade Children have someone to essentially remind them that things could be worse, and convince them to try and Screw Destiny.
- Chick Magnet: Even forgetting the Ship Tease with Hiyono, Rio, Madoka, and Kirie, in the Hizumi arc of the manga lots of random girls start confessing to him, to Hiyono's horror.
- The Chessmaster: He's generally able to out-think anything in his way.
- Child Prodigy: Toned down compared to the Blade Children, mostly due to a crippling inferiority complex.
- Despair Event Horizon: Refuses to cross this. However, by the end of the manga, he's sacrificed everything and puts on a brave front in order to act as a symbol of hope for the rest of the Blade Children. The psychological toll is heavy, and he's fallen into a state of depression, without letting himself have any respite, but he refuses to give in or let it show.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: He tends to be extremely well disposed towards strangers, but he's also painfully reserved and abrasive towards his friends due to an inferiority complex.
- Likes Older Women: It is hinted in the anime and outright stated in the manga that he's been in love with Madoka since he first met her and he has some mild Ship Tease with Kirie. Hiyono is older, by the way, although he initially claims she's not his type. Later on, he tells Kirie that he's changing his woman preferences to "someone he can always rely on," implying Hiyono.
- Messianic Archetype: Actually, a second Eve, and far from being a Messianic Archetype.
- Although, to be fair, he's generally extremely kind to strangers and casual acquaintances. Anyone who might actually have any bearing on his life doesn't get that kind of treatment.
- Mirror Character: Hizumi is Ayumu's evil counterpart of sorts. He, too, is a clone of a famously charismatic, intelligent, infallible "older brother," neglected by anyone who was expected to raise him, and similarly unable to die except by the other's hand.
- The Paragon: This climaxes in the way he "saves" the Blade Children: making them realize only they can decide their fate.
- Ship Tease: With lots of people, but Hiyono most of all, yet they never quite make it to Official Couple status. Though it's heavily implied that by the end, she's become quite important to him and that his happiness is linked to her. Unfortunately, due to their circumstances they end up in a situation where they can rarely see each other.
- The Spock: Goes with his criminally reserved nature. He's almost never flustered, and always extremely cool even under fire, and is the most reliably logical character in the series.
- Team Mom: Elements of this by the end of the manga, when he fusses over Eyes Rutherford's eating habits.
- Unable to Cry: Offhandedly remarks that he can't remember the last time he cried. Blames Kiyotaka, probably with good reason.
Hiyono Yuizaki
"Love is something that doesn't seek anything in return."
The 17 year old president (and only member) of the Newspaper Club at Tsukiomi High who becomes Ayumu's sidekick after helping him resolve a murder case (in the anime, just an attempt) in their school. Though not an Action Girl and far from being on equal grounds with Ayumu or the Blade Children's intelligence, she is still precious help to Ayumu as an informant - she is absurdly good at gathering information; though she claims regular school gossip is her primary source, she also blackmails Wataya for information on police cases, and is in fact rumored to have blackmail material on everyone.
- Becoming the Mask: Although it never actually interferes with her mission, by the end of the story it's shown that despite that these traits were initially only in her job description for playing 'Hiyono', she did genuinely grow to care about Ayumu and hold a lot of faith in his abilities.
- Catchphrase: "It's a trade secret ! ♥"
- Crutch Character: Kiyotaka's goal in hiring her for the job was to make her one of these to Ayumu so that he could promptly kick away the crutch in their final meeting. However, Ayumu realized she would probably be used in such a way, and manages to foil Kiyotaka despite it.
- Ship Tease: With Ayumu. It certainly does not help that Ayumu is stated to like older woman, which she is, regardless of the fact that he initially claims she's not his type. Note that he gradually revises his "type" toward the end of the manga to "someone he can always rely on," implicating Hiyono. When she's revealed to be the mole, it appears any shipping hints from her end were a total farce, considering she was ordered by Kiyotaka to give Ayumu unconditional support. Then the heartfelt goodbye occurs, topped off with a
shot of her crying after they go their separate ways, and you realize she really did care about him.
Madoka Narumi
"People sure rely on my little brother a lot."
Kiyotaka's wife. A police detective, they met while she worked under him (which apparently consisted mainly of kicking him and forcing him out of various ridiculous costumes).
- Action Girl: As a female cop, Madoka is capable of handling herself in somewhat dangerous situations.
- I Will Wait for You: Madoka is devoted to Kiyotaka even though he hasn't been around in ages and she has no idea whem or if, he'll return.
- Mama Bear: Madoka is very fond of Ayumu and fiercely protective of him, who she sees as a little brother and kid she sort of helped raise.
Eyes Rutherford
"Kiyotaka... Is this the result... of my belief ?"
A world-renowned pianist and child prodigy, the youngest of the Blade Children seems to have assumed leadership amongst the main group. He angsts a lot yet is practically devoid of emotion. At the beginning, he strongly believes Kiyotaka's words but doubts Ayumu's power; however he is arguably the most idealistic and hopeful one of the Blade Children. He is not as directly violent as his fellow Blade Children (probably because of the trouble this would bring him due to his super-star status) but does not hesitate to order Kousuke or Rio to murder people, and will get in the action when required to in the manga.
- Cain and Abel: He and Kanone were close friends (and half-siblings) who grew up to each other closer than the rest of the Blade Children. And then Kanone turned on him...
- Unable to Cry: As a young child at his mother's funeral, decided that feeling miserable is useless when you're one of the Blade Children. He sheds exactly one Single Tear in each verse.
Kousuke Asazuki
"I forgot to tell you but... while I may not lie, I don't keep promises."
One of the most violent of the Blade Children, he is utterly convinced that the Blade Children have no hope and actively tried to kill Ayumu during his "test". Yet he'll let the others believe what they want (and eventually joins them in Ayumu's fanclub anyway).
He is one of the most important protagonists of the prequel, Spiral: Alive.
- Book Dumb: Subverted, he dropped out of school at 14 but easily transferred into Ayumu's elite school. Everyone else still calls him an idiot.
- Demoted to Extra: Along with Rio and Ryouko, barely seen again in the manga once the Hizumi arc starts. Complains about it in the last volume omake.)
- No Guy Wants an Amazon: Claims to Ryouko that's why he'd never like her. She's the only one fooled.
- Nerd Glasses: His school pair - he has a cooler one for streetwear. Notably averts or subverts all the glasses trope - they're regular specs, he does not discard them when fighting, and when they get broken, he is NOT Blind Without 'Em (but does need them), and ends up putting them back on anyway because everyone thinks he looks weird without them.
Rio Takeuchi
"Please trust in your own power, Narumi-otouto..."
Rio looks like a sweet, cute little girl, and plays it for all it's worth; she is actually one of the most violent and slyest of the main group. She is also a student at Tsukiomi, and an explosives expert. She tends to be very extreme in everything she does: she believes in her own strength fully and doesn't not hesitate to put her life on the line... or Ayumu's, but once he has convinced her, she trusts and relies on him completely.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: A Cute Clumsy Girl who loves melons and cute things and happens to be one of the most ruthless of the Blade Children.
- Troubling Unchildlike Behaviour: Played with, in that she's 17, but looks like a little girl who puts bombs in cute stuffed animals.)
- Mad Bomber: A very twisted and genderbent example, yet you know she's this when you're told her head is the only place you can shoot her and be reasonably sure she won't explode to your face. Hopefully.
Ryouko Takamachi
Kousuke's childhood girlfriend, also a student at Tsukiomi. She tries to live a normal life, but is aware that her curse makes that probably impossible. Still, she refuses to give in to her murderous impulses and kill anyone, though she will resort to violence when needed (or anytime Kousuke opens his mouth). She is an athlete and is apparently mildly famous for her near-Olympics level in the running track field. In Spiral: Alive, there are all sorts of weird legends about her exploits, like fighting a bear and an anteater (and they're apparently sort of true).
- Ascended Extra: A main protagonist in the prequel, Spiral: Alive.
Kanone Hilbert
"I'll tell you something useful. The overwhelming power of violence beats logic any day."
Cheerful, polite, charismatic, good-looking, intelligent, can kill all the people in the cafeteria in under twenty seconds. Known even amongst the Blade Children as a particularly dangerous one, called the "Gun With Wings" by the Hunters, woos the ladies with one smile. In the manga, he has "battle reflexes" which mean he's more likely to kill you if you take him by surprise, but has vowed not to kill anyone else than Blade Children, whether out of his own decision or as a requisite for being a Hunter.
- Blade Enthusiast: His preferred weapons are throwing knives. This is especially apparent in the anime, but not so much in the manga where he arms himself with a small arsenal of guns.
- Broken Ace: Among the Blade Children, Kanone is the deadliest combatant. He's the one who taught Eyes, Kousuke, and Ryoko everything they know about combat and was the group's biggest defense against the Hunters until he gave into despair and decided to become a Hunter himself.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: After what seems to be a see-saw battle, in Volume 8, Kanone decides to get serious and totally wastes Kousuke, Rio and Ryoko in less than thirty seconds.
- Did We Just Have Tea with Cthulhu?: Fond of this; greets Kousuke and Ryouko in the street, sits down for lunch with Ayumu and Hiyono, has tea with Eyes...
- Face–Heel Turn: In the anime, it's a shock for his friends; in the manga, he calls Eyes to tell him he's coming to kill them all... and Eyes comes to pick him up at the airport.
- He Will Not Cry, so I Cry for Him: He promised Eyes this at the latter's mother's funeral, though he's never shown to do it.
- Meaningful Name: "Kanone" is the German word for cannon.
- Oh, Crap!: He comes to Japan to exterminate all of the other Blade Children, starting with his friends, and if he can get Ayumu as well, all the better.
- Red Baron: He's known by the Hunters as "The Winged Gun" because of how deadly he is.
Sayoko Shiranagatani
A soft-spoken, delicate girl, also a student at Tsukiomi, involved in a murder case Madoka is in charge of. In the anime, she was also the victim of an assassination attempt in the previous case. She is partly amnesiac; she initially wishes to remember her past, but eventually decides to take the opportunity to lead a normal, happy life, unaware of her nature. No one is quite sure whether this will enable her to evade the curse.
- Adaptation Expansion: Gets a central role in a late episode, after the anime's storyline's split with the manga's.
- Demoted to Extra: Though she's a Blade Child she basically disappears after the revelation.
Kirie Tsuchiya
"Tsuchiya Kirie, a twenty-seven year old lady with good looks and brains."
A member of the Watcher faction, who claim to be entirely neutral and simply watch over the Blade Children. She is sent to watch over the battle with Kanone and mediate between him and the police, and generally be intentionally unhelpful and disclose as little information as possible. She is usually an even-tempered, mellow, unflappable and straightforward woman, but easily loses her cool when things go an unexpected way. She believes nothing anyone can do can go against Kiyotaka's plans - the problem is, no one knows what that bastard is planning exactly.
Spiral: Alive shows that she has been working for Kiyotaka since a little before his disappearing act, and she's one of the few to still have contact with him. Not that she's happy about it. Hizumi calls her "Kirie-chan" and enjoys teasing her/driving her up the wall.
Mizushiro Hizumi
The Devil. Also unbearably cute. With slightly violent tendencies. And suicidal tendencies. And overly friendly tendencies. Is supposed to bring about the end of humanity and will make you feel sorry for him about it.
- Death Seeker: Wants Ayumu Narumi to kill him as he's the only one that can.
- I Cannot Self-Terminate: Hizumi literally jumps off a building and survives. Only Ayumu can kill him, and Ayumu doesn't want to.
- Mirror Character: Hizumi is Ayumu's evil counterpart of sorts. He, too, is a clone of a famously charismatic, intelligent, infallible "older brother," neglected by anyone who was expected to raise him, and similarly unable to die except by the other's hand.
Kiyotaka Narumi
The Chessmaster behind it all.
- Death Seeker: The whole reason he tries to push his brother/clone to the Despair Event Horizon is that his brother will get over his Actual Pacifist and kill him.
