Characters / Tomo-chan Is a Girl!

Characters appearing in Tomo-chan Is a Girl!.

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Main Cast

Tomo Aizawa

Voiced by: Rie Takahashi (Japanese), Lexi Nieto (English), Marysol Lobo (Latin Spanish, teen), Cecilia Guerrero (Latin Spanish, child)

Tomo is a high school student and the only daughter of her family, who run the Aizawa Martial Arts Dojo. Tomboyish, athletic and earnest to a fault, Tomo strives to make her childhood friend and classmate Jun start seeing her as the girl she is.

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• Acquired Situational Narcissism: Her birthday comes much sooner in the year than Jun or Misuzu, who are both annoyed at her annually bragging about being "older" than them.
• All Amazons Want Hercules: Tomo is one of the strongest girls in the manga, and a good deal stronger than many of the boys. But the one she wants is Jun, the only person who she can fight on almost even terms with and whos naturally stronger than her due to training and being a boy. Ironically, Jun thinks he's completely out of her league in that regard anyway.
• Amazonian Beauty: Tomo has a physique that could convincingly play Wonder Woman and the physical strength to go with it. Both boys and girls notice and are attracted.
• Attractive Bent-Gender: Courtesy of Wholesome Crossdressing, Tomo plays the part of The Prince in Cinderella.
• Best Friend: She is Misuzu's best friend bar none other. Much of Misuzu's story in the manga deals with her territoriality towards Tomo and the people who approach her.
• Book Dumb: While not QUITE an idiot (indeed, she demonstrates considerable cunning in fights or athletic contests where she cannot brute-force her way to a win), Tomo isn't very bright where academics are concerned either. During the midterm exams, it takes the combined tutoring efforts of Misuzu and Carol (who would go on to post the top two scores for their grade) for her to reach the top half of the class^* And just barely at that, ranking 70th out of 150 students for the first time in her life.
• Boyish Short Hair: She had a very short, boyish haircut as a child, which is one reason why Jun mistook her for a boy. She's since grown her hair out a bit longer, but it's still short enough that other girls will often mistake her for a boy at first glance, and it fits her tomboyish personality.
• Bully Hunter: As early as their childhood, she went and beat the crap out of the kids who stole Jun's videogame console to take it back. She doesn't actively pick fights, but she does not take kindly to anyone threatening her friends.
• Buxom Beauty Standard: Her sizable bust makes her quite popular with guys, including Jun who gets very nervous when he sees her in a bikini and realizes just how busty she is. Many girls also express jealousy of her figure, including poor Misuzu who suffers from A-Cup Angst often while in Tomo's presence.
• Childhood Friends: With Misuzu and Jun. She has been together with Misuzu in particular for almost all of their lives.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: Tomo will never hesitate to help someone in need, as Misuzu and Ogawa can directly attest. In fact, she was overjoyed to be asked when Mifune and Ogawa came for help against a harassing senior.
  • Realizing this plays for a major epiphany on Jun’s part at the climax. Gorou didn’t challenge Jun to fight him out of some misguided overprotectiveness, but because Gorou wants to be certain that Jun would have Tomo’s back in all circumstances, just as Gorou did for Akemi. Because Tomo absolutely would charge into danger to help others, Gorou is a father who wants to ensure his girl has the best backup.
• Clueless Chick-Magnet: For all her dyed-in-the-wool Jun-sexuality, Tomo has an impressive knack for making female peers question their orientation without even noticing (let alone any sort of conscious effort). In middle school, she was nicknamed 'The Air-Headed Lady Killer'.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Tomo doesn't take it well when girls get close to Jun.
• Cowardly Lion: Played for laughs. Tomo is awful at handling ghosts and the supernatural in general. However, she's the 'deals with fear by attacking' type.
  Jun: Maybe I'm worrying too much but... it's dangerous at night.
  Tomo: EEK! Don't say scary stuff... Ghosts scare the crap out of me...
  Jun: ... There's a strange chill in the air tonight...
  Tomo: HEY! CUT IT OUT!!!
• Cuddle Bug: To her friends, though it's complicated with Misuzu, as she rarely wants physical affection, has difficulty admitting when she does want it, and dislikes how hugs from Tomo remind her of her A-Cup Angst.
• Curtains Match the Window: The anime gave her red eyes to match her hair. (See sidepic)
• Cute Little Fangs: She frequently sports small fangs, which fit her boisterous, fiery personality. Sometimes she has only one fang on one side of her mouth, sometimes both.
• Didn't See That Coming:
  • When Jun finally scampers some courage and talks to her after a year of ignoring her, they makeup and she notices how much Jun has grown and how manly he's become during the time they didn't interact. It was right then and there when she noticed that she has a crush on him... and immediately screws up by telling him that they'll be together forever, as friends.
  • When she's sulking about her rejection of Jun's confession, Misuzu tries to tell her that it was her own fault and starts crying. Given how Misuzu is, seeing her cry shocks Tomo out of her funk.
• Didn't Think This Through: After Jun confesses to her, she gets so mad and so worked-up at him finally admitting that he was dragging his barriers against her intentionally that she snaps at him and flees. She immediately regrets it.
• Does Not Know His Own Strength: She used to break a lot of things when she was younger. Even today she underestimates just how strong she is, especially when it comes to sports. She was such a rowdy child that Misuzu stopped inviting her to her house because she kept breaking everything. When she first met Jun, she asked for his handheld console... it 'twas split in twain lengthwise.
• Dreadful Musician: Her singing is hilariously awful and forced. Junichiro laughs his ass off when they do karaoke together.
• Even the Girls Want Her: Tomo seems to easily draw the attention of girls, to the point that she had a nickname in junior high, "The Air-Headed Lady Killer." Carol herself has admitted that if Tomo were a guy she'd have fallen for her.
• Even the Guys Want Him: As a kid when Jun thought she was a boy, he would often act smitten, much to his shock.
• Everyone Can See It: At first glance, it's apparent that Tomo and Jun are dating; further inspection reveals that they're definitely not. It's so prevalent, that their parents are basically already planning for grandchildren.
• Fiery Redhead: She has red hair, and she also has quite a temper and the ability to back it up.
• Forgiving the Accidental Pervert: When Tomo sees Jun touching Carol's chest by accident when the former was pushed down on a stairway, she is visibly upset but takes no immediate action despite clearly being upset at the sight. However, Jun wants to get hit anyway despite being assured Tomo knows nothing that happened was his fault and Tomo obliges, repeating as Jun twice tells her to hit him again.
• Girl Next Door: Played with. She has been Jun's neighbor ever since their elementary school days, but Jun didn't realize that she was a girl until they were about 13 years old because they technically lived in different districts and she went to a different school. Even since then, he kept himself in denial of her gender for a considerable time until she confessed to him in high school, where the story kicks off, steadily shedding layers on said denial.
• Good Old Fisticuffs: She and Jun have very little inconvenience, and as a matter of fact, it takes very little incentive, for them to start beating the crap out of each other. Due to her father's influence, Tomo initially thinks that conflict can only be resolved through a good knuckle sandwich bonanza until Misuzu corrects her otherwise. After Jun confesses to her, he admits to her that he won't fight seriously with her anymore; she tells Misuzu that she's at odds with this, and implies that she is not aware that he began holding back on her quite a while ago.
• Ham and Deadpan Duo: She is the Large Ham to Misuzu's Deadpan Snarker.
• Heir to the Dojo: Goro expects her to take over his dojo eventually, but grooms Jun for them to take over together.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: She doesn't consider herself girly enough to date Jun. If one goes by Misuzu's brief bout of dating with Jun, a girly girl is not quite his cup of tea, further driving the point that Tomo is just perfect for him. Furthermore, it's shown that Jun would be completely lost if a girly girl were proactive with him, as shown when Carol pounces on him.
• Hidden Depths: Tomo is a profoundly doting friend and a person that is nothing short of excellent. One of the graces that make her this way is her lack of awareness of it and the effortless way she can convey it.
• Hot-Blooded: Invoked and played with. Tomo is one of the nicest people one might ever meet, and it takes quite a lot to rile her up; when she's riled up, however, she's relentless and not shy in the ways of kicking ass. Even when she was a kid, her response to Jun angrily punching her for somehow breaking Jun's handheld game console right in half is to assume that one hit would certainly be insufficient to pay back her mistake and yell at him to punch her a hundred times more if he wants otherwise she could never live with herself.
• Hot Blooded Sideburns: Has long sidelocks well past Cutey Honey length to complete her Boyish Short Hair.
• Huge Schoolgirl: Tomo is very tall for a Japanese girl, to the point where she looms over at least half the male cast.
• I Didn't Mean to Turn You On: When Misuzu and Carol are giving her a makeover, Tomo comments that it feels weird wearing makeup and that if she did it right herself she might have as pretty a face as Misuzu while stroking Misuzu's cheek. Misuzu has to ask Carol to take over for her.
• Idiots Cannot Catch Colds: At least, Misuzu, Jun and even her own mother thought this about her. They were proven wrong.
• I Don't Want to Ruin Our Friendship: While she wants to be with Jun romantically, she genuinely enjoys the dynamic she shares with him at current and worries that dating will end it all. Thus, when she's confronted by Jun in a romantic situation, she walks away from it.
• The Ingenue: Invoked. She is a person who is honest to a fault and thus has the disadvantage of expecting the same standards from the people around her, especially Misuzu. The latter doesn't miss the irony and her own hypocrisy of this, and thus starts feeling bad about her own advice towards Tomo, and how it has only served for her to amuse herself, rather than to help Tomo.
• Innocent Fanservice Girl: A combination of good genes (both her parents are very well built) and regular, vigorous exercise have given Tomo a body that most women would kill for. Tomo herself wonders why Misaki and Jun act weird when she goes around in her sports bra and assumes her display was embarrassing because she thinks she's been less fit since entering high school.
• Insecure Love Interest: This is what fuels many of her actions in the manga. The fact that Jun (presumably) sees her as nothing more than a friend thanks to her tomboyish personality causes her to seek out more feminine ways of grabbing his attention. She's also afraid of what's going to happen to the dynamic between her and Jun after he does recognize her as a woman/they start dating, making her stop short of conveying her feelings even when everything else is in her favor.
  • Even after they start dating, she still acts this way. She thinks Jun won't make a move on her because she's unattractive when he's really desperately holding himself back.
• Ironic Name: "Tomo" is Japanese for "friend", which she would very much like to not be, at least towards Jun.
• Irony:
  • Tomo is well aware that Jun loves her... as a friend. The story consists of her trying to make him see past her friendship for the love that she actually has for him, and for him to love her accordingly.
  • Tomo started getting interested in Jun when he told her that he wanted to be with her forever. She's so flustered at that that she backtracks and tells him that it would be as friends. Little did she know that he would get stuck on this henceforth.
• It Was a Gift: She's kept and even still uses a handheld game console that Jun let her borrow as a kid, swearing he would only take it back after he's become stronger than her.
• Kick Chick: Tomo often uses kicks when fighting.
• Lady Looks Like a Dude: Played for laughs and downplayed. She looks like one at first glance, to the point that the girls that first meet her think that she's a strikingly handsome boy... until they realize that this dude is rocking a healthy, plentiful bust and a sculptural body. She's so handsome that some of the said girls do not let go of that crush.
• Leg Focus: Played for laughs. Due to the fact that she's a dedicated athlete, Tomo sports a remarkable set of gams. However, she wears spats when wearing a skirt, which hides this. Misuzu exploits this by making her not wear the spats and sends her to Jun, who almost has an aneurysm when he sees her showing leg.
• Lethal Chef: She has some weird ideas about food and only Jun is capable of actually stomaching them, albeit reluctantly. One of the reasons Akemi thinks that Jun is perfect for her daughter is that he is willing to indulge her in this aspect.
• Like Father, Like Son: Just like her own dad, it turns out that Tomo is cripplingly embarrassed by loving affection and manifestations of love. This almost bites her in the ass when Jun finally confesses to her, as she snaps at him and runs away.
• Magnetic Hero: Albeit Tomo is friendly enough, she is also a person who commands a great deal of respect from the people that meet her from her strength alone. All of the main characters met through her. She's an excellent, stalwart person to have as a friend.
• Meaningful Name: Tomo, whose name means "friend", is one of the nicest people in the manga bar none, and befriends people easily no matter what type of person they are. She's one of the best friends anyone could have in personality and action.
• The Mentor:
  • Tomo is the kind of person Jun has always wanted to be, as he considers her a true role model. Though the revelation of her gender proverbially rocked his world, she still remains his true north, even before any romantic development happened.
  • Towards Misaki, who like Jun, wants to become a person like her. This, however, is easily confused with him being in love with her, especially by Carol, who is interested in him.
• Modesty Shorts: She wears a pair of shorts under her skirt. Misuzu once made her take them off to get Jun's attention, which embarrassed her greatly and him even more.
• Morality Pet: Towards Misuzu, Mifune, and Ogawa, all of who find themselves questioning their own underhanded methods of dealing with things whenever they interact with her.
• Ms. Fanservice: She's tall, quite well-endowed, and has a physique that is at once curvy and well-sculpted. It's no wonder her looks manage to attract the attention of all of her schoolmates.
• Nice Girl: Tomo is a sweetheart and a bundle of joy, so much so that other characters consider her presence and friendship a true privilege.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The REAL reason for the entire plot of the story? Tomo reassured Jun that they would always be friends, and Jun has stuck by that promise ever since.
• Non-Uniform Uniform: She wears Modesty Shorts under her skirt, and she also wears a hoodie under her blazer during the winter months.
• Oblivious to Love: Ironically, despite having trouble getting her crush to notice her, she herself has a hard time noticing when people have an interest in her, including her crush.
• Obliviously Beautiful: Tomo is unaware of how beautiful she is and how to make use of her feminine wiles. Cue Carol and Misuzu, who is as girly as they come, both who try to teach her the ways of the lady.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • When Jun started talking to her again in middle school after one year of total silence, she freezes, glares, and resumes walking. Understandably, this crushes Jun's impulse, leaving him a mess.
  • After running away from Jun's confession, Tomo is aghast when she sees Misuzu breaking down crying while trying to admit that it was her fault.
• One of the Boys: Because of her boyish personality and her strength, she's often put on the boys' teams in school out of fairness. She also didn't have very many female friends besides Misuzu because of this. Her relationship with Jun also involves so much physical fighting, one could mistakenly think they were rival boys.
• Open Secret: Everyone and their mother knows that she and Jun have a thing for each other. It's actually more surprising that Tomo thinks it was a secret for some reason.
• Rapid Hair Growth: Used for a gag earlier in the manga. She lets her hair grow to her shoulders because Jun tells her that he likes girls with long hair, so she spends an unspecified amount of time letting it grow^note At an average rate of ~1 to 1¼ cm/month for humans, it would have taken her 1½ to 2 years to grow it, which was definitely not the case, as she is a 1st-year student for the duration of the manga; thing is, she's not familiar with hair care, so it looks fried and wild when she sports it and Jun just thought it was cool how she looked like a wandering warrior.
• The Reliable One: Played for laughs. When Mifune and Ogawa challenge her due to her attracting Misaki's attention away from them, they defuse the situation by making her think that they want her romantic counsel. Flattered, Tomo offers her help in such an endearing way that the girls are taken aback by how readily she's willing to extend her hand even when they were rude to her. This very moment makes both girls fall for her instead.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: Definitely a way to get Jun to act like she's actually female. The first time, Jun interacts and talks with her after getting primped up, and then completely refuse to believe his niggling suspicions that this lady could ever be Tomo since any sort of beautification is something Tomo would never do.
• Sibling Seniority Squabble: She is a few months older than Jun and Misuzu, and she isn't about to let them forget it.
• Signature Laugh: "Na ha ha!"
• Single-Target Sexuality: She has eyes for Jun only, but this makes her painfully naive when it comes to other guys that are interested in her. She mostly reacts to it by asking this guy exactly how she's attractive for research purposes.
• Spirited Competitor: She honestly regards not treating any opponent or challenger seriously as an act of terrible disrespect. There are many at school who would prefer the disrespect.
• Stating the Simple Solution:
  • As a sincere and selfless person, Tomo has a habit of reminding her friends that if they're preoccupied with something related to her, they're probably overthinking it.
  • When Jun tells her why he's been avoiding her for a year:
    Jun: When we started school here... you and me... that dating rumor happened, and... I thought it would be trouble for you if I was around...
    Tomo: Come on, was that all it was!? If you want to be together without changing anything, then what people think doesn't matter!!!
  • When Misuzu tells her that they might not be able to be friends anymore:
    Misuzu: (...) I mean, I have absolutely no physical strength, so we can't really do sports together...
    Tomo: Who cares!? It's not like I'm playing all the time... Spending time with other people is nice and all, but you've always been precious to me. Is that different for you?
• Statuesque Stunner: Easily the tallest girl in her class, and one with a figure to knock down mountains. As such, she's an item for both her boy and girl classmates.
• Strong Family Resemblance: She's the very spitting image of her mother (though with the well-meaning lack of social graces of her father).
• Super-Strength: She's so strong that she can knock dudes a head taller across the room, and completely dominates both the male and female karate leagues. It's so intense that she has to willfully hold back so she doesn't just break everything she touches.
• Tender Tears: During junior high, Jun spent a whole year avoiding her when he found out that she was a girl. When he finally musters the courage to talk to her again, she understandably beats the crap out of him, and in tears, admonishes him for ignoring her. However, when he brings out that she's crying, she beats him again.
• Tomboy Angst: While she's more than comfortable with her boyish interests, she does long to be more girly to grab Jun's attention, and she wants to do more feminine roles in plays when everyone feels she should play the men's part.
• Tomboyish Voice: She has a fittingly rough, deep voice in both the Japanese and English dubs.
• Tranquil Fury: Tomo's anger is usually of the loud and explosive variety, but when she's at her most furious, she is calmer, quieter, and SEVERAL times scarier.
• Underestimating Badassery: A mistake many boys make when it comes to her. Just because she's a girl doesn't mean that she's not capable of tenderizing you to complete submission. That is if Jun doesn't catch you first trying to pick a fight with her.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: While she has indeed pounded Jun multiple times before, she is far more aggressive to anyone who tries to hurt him, a feeling that is clearly mutual between the two both before and after they started dating.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: She and Jun have been friends since they were kids. They also physically fight at Tomo's instigation very frequently, harshly enough that it's probably the reason if Jun's ever sporting bandages on his face.
• Wardrobe Malfunction: They had to bind her chest for her role as The Prince in the school play. Apparently, it wasn't enough as they busted out of said bindings.
• Weak, but Skilled:
  • Only relative to Jun; Jun even states that in a regulation fight, Tomo would easily beat him because she is faster with better technique. Both admit he only really beats her in raw power.
  • Lightning Bruiser: That said, she's still a lot stronger than she looks. Most notably, at one point she kicks a guy in the gut and sends him flying back about a dozen feet, while holding back.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Tomo is aggressively scared of ghosts and the occult, though she's the kind of "scared" that bites and kicks back.

Junichirou Kubota

Voiced by: Kaito Ishikawa (Japanese, teen), Makoto Koichi (Japanese, child), Ricco Fajardo (English), Fabián Retiz (Latin Spanish, teen), Marc Winslow (Latin Spanish, child)

Junichirou, or Jun for short, is Tomo's neighbor, childhood friend, fellow dojo pupil, and high school classmate. A complete muscle-head who is painfully unassuming, Jun is blissfully unaware that Tomo holds affections towards him, as he has always treated her as One of the Boys.

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• Accidental Pervert: His inability to see Tomo as a girl leads to Jun doing some fairly perverted things to her in blissful ignorance, such as casually slapping her ass in a friendly manner, grabbing her by the shirt to expose some cleavage when trying to be threatening, sniffing her, and just generally having No Sense of Personal Space. Her usual response is a no brainer.
• Affectionate Nickname:
  • Akemi and Gorou refer to him as "Jun-bo"/"Jun-boy".
  • Tanabe often refers to him as "Kubo-Jun".
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other For all his mutual venom with Misuzu, in not so many words, he lets out that he loved her too for the time they were dating.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Tomo, for the longest time, wanted Jun to properly see her as a viable love option as a woman. After the beach and festival chapters, where she's done up to look more noticeably feminine and tries to get Jun's male attention, he's annoyingly gentle with her like he would be with other girls.
• Best Friend: To Tomo, though this is not what Tomo wants. Most of his plight in the manga consists of him trying to shield himself from anything that would threaten his friendship with her, as she is dear to him. However, he is unaware of both the boundaries he's not supposed to cross and the ones that he should. All in all, Tomo is the best person Jun has ever met and a person he just can't live without regardless of any romantic development.
• Berserk Button:
  • Don't touch Tomo, don't lewd Tomo, don't even hint at anything even remotely sexual towards Tomo. He'll quarter you.
  • Don't suggest to him that Tomo might look to other guys.
  • Do not even try to touch one of his female friends in front of him.
  • A particular one with Tomo comes from her not taking care of her health during the school marathon. Having seen her collapse due to the fever is not something he's looking forward to ever again.
• Can't Catch Up: Played with. This is what animates Jun's side of his friendship with Tomo after her casual feats broke his confidence. He is fully aware that puberty, training under Tomo's father, and being male has left him strong enough to be at least a match for her; but discounts it as he still regards his actual skill as greatly inferior.
• Can't Stand Them, Can't Live Without Them: He disdains Misuzu, but he will not hesitate to come to her aid if she's in danger.
• Character Development: As opposed to the early pages, Jun becomes more cautious around Tomo and is way less touchy-feely around her. He also tries to rationalize his feelings more often.
• Childhood Friends: With Tomo and Misuzu.
• Combat Pragmatist: After being told by Gorou that he had to beat him if he wanted to date Tomo, he opts to sucker-punch him without warning and then brings Akemi to fluster and weaken Goruo by distracting him. Jun's plan backfires because although Gorou is flustered, he refuses to lose in front of his wife and immediately floors Jun.
• Crazy Jealous Guy: Jun doesn't seem aware of it himself, but he does get noticeably annoyed when other men pay attention to Tomo.
• Death Glare: He has one that can turn any opponent into jelly.
• Determinator: He ran half a marathon carrying an unconscious Tomo on his back and won. As long as it doesn't have to do with his love life, he's an unstoppable monster.
• Didn't See That Coming:
  • The revelation of Tomo being a girl left so many confusing emotions in him that it took him a full year to be able to speak to her again. Oh, she wasn't happy at that, though.
  • His dissing of the school's Karate club as pansies in order to appeal to Gorou comes to bite him in the rear end when he realizes that Tomo would be foregoing training in her dad's dojo in favor of the club, meaning, Jun wouldn't be able to wrestle with her anymore.
  • He extended the courtesy of asking Gorou to allow him to date Tomo and was rewarded with a challenge: defeat Gorou in combat and he'll allow it.
• Dogeza: According to Akemi, Jun prostrated himself in full supplication, head on the floor and all, begging her to allow him to date Tomo; goes to show how much he loves Tomo and how much he respects her parents.
• Entertainingly Wrong: Ever since he broke up with Misuzu, he has always thought that she has trolled him because she's mad at the fact that they broke up; as a matter of fact, Misuzu took it in stride and she's actually mad that he beat her to the punch, but never once considered that he's been trying to respect her feelings by not pursuing Tomo, as he feels that it would be a pretty shitty thing to do to Misuzu.
• Fetish
  • The festival arc reveals that he has one for girls in Japanese clothing.
  • The beach arc reveals that he likes girls with big chests. Guess what about Tomo's appearance?
• First Love: Surprisingly, not Tomo, but Akemi, her mother. Guess that's where his "ideal girlfriend = Tomo with longer hair" came from. With this he also implies that, while their relationship was brief, he did love Misuzu too.
• First-Name Basis:
  • Misuzu is the only one who calls him by his first name "Junichirou" instead of his nickname "Jun". It's not mutual as Jun calls her "Gundou". This indicates that Misuzu is not calling him "Junichirou" out of friendship, but rather, to belittle him; however, it's later implied that it turns into an Insult of Endearment.
  • Jun was only allowed to call her by her first name when they were dating, but after that crumbles down, Misuzu doesn't allow him to do so anymore.
• Foreshadowing: Jun had never considered holding romantic affection towards Tomo while he thought she was a boy, but he was always oddly attracted to his best friend. On a couple of occasions, he has expressed his fondness towards visiting Tomo's home and meeting Akemi, Tomo's mom, and had earlier described his type of girl as someone that fits Tomo's description to the point. Thing is, Akemi fits the description too, and later in the story, it's shown that Jun had a Precocious Crush on Akemi when he was younger and still holds her very close to his heart as his first crush, further adding more points to the list of reasons he likes Tomo by proxy.
• Green-Eyed Epiphany: Has one in middle school, when he spies on Tomo talking to a couple of male classmates in the hallway. Normally he wouldn't be bothered by it, but given he just recently realized Tomo was female, new feelings started to well up in him that ultimately make him distance himself from Tomo for a year.
• Heir to the Dojo: Implied Trope. Goro considers him this and it's implied that he wants Jun and Tomo to eventually take over the Aizawa dojo.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: For him, having overtaken Tomo physically meant surprisingly little when he found out that she's a girl, not because of any sexism, but because he became morphologically stronger and bigger than Tomo by virtue of just being a boy and growing, which has considerably less merit. She's strong, but he feels that he gained a great advantage over her that he didn't deserve.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Jun is a more sentimental person, and his heart is more fragile and driven by fundamental feelings than what appears at first glance.
  • Jun, much like Misuzu, laments the fact that their mutual relationship didn't work out, and he wanted it to have at least ended on a better note than how it did. It's later revealed that he never pursued Tomo out of respect for Misuzu as he's her friend and also considering that she's Tomo's best friend.
• Hollywood Healing: Played for Laughs, when Misuzu noticed just how quickly Jun would recuperate from beatdown injuries from him and Tomo's frequent fights.
• Hot-Blooded: Jun is, by far and wide, one of the most intimidating people an unsuspecting high-schooler might come across.
• I Just Want to Be You: Invoked and played for laughs. Interacting with Tomo, Misuzu, and Carol is second nature to him, so he's not quite aware that he's the subject of envy from his male (and some female) classmates, as the three girls are about the prettiest girls in the class, and at school altogether. As a matter of fact, this is the reason why girl schoolmates Mifune and Ogawa don't like him, as he's closer to Tomo than they are.
• Insecure Love Interest: He seems to feel unworthy of Tomo's affections and praise because he feels like he can't measure up to her, especially in the fighting department. It's obvious to anyone looking that he already did, but he's not letting himself acknowledge that fact.
• In-Series Nickname: Usually called Jun. When he was younger, he used to be called "Game Boy" by Tomo, which he doesn't remember fondly since it was for teasing him about how he was far less strong-headed and physically able.
• Iron Butt Monkey: He and Tomo roughhouse on the regular, and he invokes Tomo's wrath often enough to get his ass kicked every other hour. Yet he's always able to bounce back not long after.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • Finding out that there's a defining aspect of one's best friend that was overlooked, an aspect that can completely redefine one's friendship, can leave anyone with confused feelings and treading on eggshells. There's also the fact that Tomo was manlier than Jun when they first met and didn't get any girlier until much, much later.
  • He misled Tomo into thinking that he misunderstood her first declaration of love because he didn't trust himself emotionally not to mess up everything about their relationship, as just as easily he could have admitted it, it could have backfired completely on him; case in point, when he tells Tomo this she goes ballistic on him and almost torpedoes everything.
• Just Friends: Invoked. Tomo is dear to him, and she is a fundamental part of his life, but it takes him a while to see her past being his friend. In that respect, it's fair to point out that Jun loves Tomo already, yet he doesn't see it as romantic love for a considerable part of the story.
• Late-Arrival Spoiler: Used in-universe. Jun hadn't even begun to realize that Tomo was a girl until they went to middle school and he saw her in uniform. Keep in mind, there were numerous, numerous hints which should have been apparent to him, but it downed on him like a truck. Both he and Misuzu reminisce about how stupid he's been for years on end.
• Like a Son to Me: Gorou and Akemi are practically Jun's mom and dad since he's the star student of their dojo. Gorou actually molded Jun into his own likeness. To them, it's a given that Tomo and Jun are an item.
• Locked Out of the Loop: He has walked on eggshells ever since he broke up with Misuzu because he deems that to pursue Tomo immediately after breaking up with her would tantamount to an insult towards Misuzu. Even Misuzu is taken aback when he tells her this, as she never once considered that Jun would hold up on his happiness and Tomo's for her sake, and never thought that Jun never realized that she was using him for her own benefit too, gaining a newfound respect for him.
• Love Epiphany:
  • It's only after he starts dreaming of his middle school years that he finally admits to himself that he finds Tomo cute.
  • It's not until Misuzu asks Jun whether she was his first love that he admits that he did hold affections towards her when they were dating, even when she wasn't his first love.
• Lying to Protect Your Feelings: He tells Misuzu that he never pursued Tomo out of respect for her, as he thought that it would be a pretty shitty thing to do after he broke up with her, and it was shitty enough of him to have dated Misuzu even while knowing that he loves Tomo.
• Manchild: For a person as rugged as he is, Jun is surprisingly immature in many aspects. For instance, he's always jovial and jumpy when Tomo tells him she wants to spend some time together, and is utterly unable to respond seriously when Misuzu taunts him, resorting to retaliating physically in harmless ways instead. Also, in broad terms, a playmate and a girlfriend are still the same things for him.
• Men Use Violence, Women Use Communication: Invoked, subverted, and played for laughs. Jun would never raise a hand against a girl (except Tomo, because she'll hit him back even harder, or she'd start it in the first place), but if either Carol or Misuzu get on his nerves, he always finds a way of reciprocating by being as non-violent as possible, like putting their hair accessories out of reach or pushing Misuzu away from the cover of rain.
• Mistaken Declaration of Love: Played for laughs. When Misuzu asks him whether she was his first love, he tells her that she wasn't his first, basically admitting that he did harbor affection for Misuzu. To tease him, Misuzu coyly retorts that she herself has never been in love before, much to his embarrassment.
• My Greatest Failure: Jun confesses to Misuzu that, among other aspects, one of the main reasons he hasn't pursued Tomo is out of both respect and shame towards Misuzu for what he feels amounted to selfishly taking advantage of her during their previous relationship, as even back then, he loved Tomo. However, it shows that he remains blissfully unaware that Misuzu was taking advantage of him too.
• Not Distracted by the Sexy: He tries his very hardest not to be. Whenever a girl like Tomo or Carol has their breasts out, he snaps his head at unnatural angles just to not look.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: There have been more than a few hints that Jun is not nearly as dense to Tomo being a girl as he acts and that his treating her as a guy is something he does on purpose. It is also implied Misuzu knows this and part of her reason for messing with him is to see how long he can keep it up.
• Oblivious to Love: He has no idea that Tomo has a crush on him - the very first chapter consists of Tomo telling him she loves him, and him responding back "Pffff, of course I love you too bro!" like it was a Platonic Declaration of Love. He's also seemingly unaware of his own romantic affection for Tomo since he's constantly battling with himself to see her as only a friend but still subconsciously falls into "boyfriend" behavior. However, he's aware of the changes that the revelation of Tomo's gender brought, and he is shown to be making a conscious effort to sort out his feelings. Even when he puts all the pieces together and realizes her confession to him was romantic, he still misses an important part...mainly that she was trying to be more girly for him. Naturally, this earns him a punch to the face from an embarrassed and angry Tomo.
• Opposites Attract: Played for laughs. Misuzu and Jun were each other's first girlfriend and boyfriend respectively. They happened to be completely non-compatible, though.
• Paralyzing Fear of Sexuality: Downplayed and mostly played for laughs. He's not scared of girls per se, but when he's forced to acknowledge them as women sexually, he starts to get frightened or surprised. An example from Tomo has her ask what would he do if he was the center of attention of three girls - the idea of it leaves him speechless and devoid of any answer for that. Carol tries to make him realize this when she hangs out with him for a day, and because of her actions makes Jun afraid of her. This fear of Carol carries on to some extent for the rest of the series, to the point that when he finds out Kousuke is dating her he is genuinely impressed he can handle "that", i.e. a girl as forward as Carol can be. Once Jun and Tomo confess his fear of sex calms, and while still very nervous about intimacy the worry is no longer paralyzing.
• Precocious Crush: His first childhood love was Akemi, Tomo's mom.
• Rescue Romance: He's saved Tomo from some bad situations and she loves it whenever she knows it. Unfortunately for him, he always regards it as a Redundant Rescue and apologizes immediately for disrespecting her abilities by jumping in to help with situations that she could have surely just handled herself...which of course ends up pissing her off.
• Selective Obliviousness: Overlapping with Suspiciously Specific Denial:
  • Pre-plot; he refused to acknowledge the signs that Tomo is a girl, including going as far as to chalk her going into a girl's toilet as just something else entirely. He ends up concluding he for some reason simply didn't want to notice she was a girl.
  • During the course of the story, it's shown that Jun is making a conscious effort not to be swayed and that the more time passes, the more he fails at it. This makes him the target of Misuzu's prodding, who finds it rather amusing how obviously Jun is trying not to be pulled down.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: He is the manly man to Misaki's sensitive guy, though Jun himself is more sensitive than it appears.
• Single-Target Sexuality: He doesn't have much interest in women, or men, who aren't Tomo. He regularly seems to regard girl talk from his classmates as uninteresting and expresses a distaste for women wanting to be scantily clad (albeit this is apparently due to embarassment more than anything else). Various flashbacks have shown that Jun had a bit of a crush on Tomo even when he legitimately thought she was a guy.
• Strong, but Unskilled: Jun when compared to Tomo; he even laments that the only reason he can beat her is because he is a guy and therefore stronger than she is, and that her father's dojo has much more permissive rules than official karate matches. Of course, this is only compared to Tomo. He's still extremely skilled, with Gouma only barely managing to beat him in judo, despite the fact that Jun is primarily trained in karate while Gouma practices only judo (and it's made clear that Jun only used judo during their match, never resorting to karate). Nonetheless, Jun is adamant that he could never beat Tomo in a karate match that had normal rules he had to abide by.
• Testosterone Poisoning: So much that it's one of the reasons he initially doesn't see Tomo as a girl. He is not a fan of being sappy or sentimental, so he actually threatens Misaki if he dares to say anything to her after Jun unwittingly opens up to Misaki.
• True Companions:
  • He has loved Tomo and has admired her and treasured her ever since they were kids, even after he realized that she's a girl. The thing is, he wasn't counting on the fact that romantic love became a possibility with the revelation. Even when he is one of the most macho characters in the story, he later admits to Misuzu that he's been attracted to Tomo ever since they met for the first time, long before he became aware that Tomo isn't a boy.
  • Despite all their bickering and vitriol together, Jun unwittingly reveals to Misuzu that he indeed loved her for the short time they were together.
• Willfully Weak: After he's forced to realize Tomo's femininity, he comes to the conclusion that he can't spar with her for real anymore. During a sparring match with Misaki, he just doesn't seem to believe his words about fighting with everything you've got to get the acknowledgment of the strong, because he's forced to do the exact opposite. He even acknowledges the strength difference between them in chapters previous to the spar, showing he's intentionally doing it so he won't hurt her. He finally admits this to Tomo after they hook up.
• Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Though he won't hit them when Misuzu and/or Carol get on his nerves, he's not above stealing their hair accessories, shoving them into the rain, or flicking them on the forehead (though when he flicked Misuzu's forehead it had enough force to make her recoil like she'd been punched). Tomo is, naturally, a special case; after one arc where he finally starts noticing her as a woman, he thinks to himself that he'll never be able to hit her seriously again.
• You Keep Telling Yourself That: Invoked twice over the same incident. When Jun and Misuzu first met, Tomo took them to climb the couple hundred stairs to the local shrine. Jun had to climb them on his own, while Misuzu was carried on Tomo's back; as Tomo reached the peak first, Misuzu considered this an intellectual and physical victory over Jun henceforth because she didn't have to climb anything, she was in constant contact with Tomo, and she "arrived first". Years later, when they were both in middle school, Jun and Misuzu once again visit the foot of the stairs, and Misuzu reminds him of her "victory" over him. When Jun tells her that she didn't "win" over him, she invokes the trope verbatim:
  Misuzu: You keep telling yourself that.

Misuzu Gundou

Voiced by: Rina Hidaka (Japanese), Jad Saxton (English), Stephanie Filigrana (Latin Spanish, teen), Marisol Hamed (Latin Spanish, child)

Misuzu is Tomo's best friend and classmate alongside Jun, being their childhood friend. Beautiful, territorial, manipulative, and standoffish, Misuzu is Jun's bane.

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• The Ace: Misuzu is consistently the most academically adept student at school overall, ranking no. 1 in both middle school and high school; that is, until she unwittingly helps Carol surpass her by pointing out she needs to show her work in math to get full credit.
• A-Cup Angst: She laments that watching Tomo change clothes over the years has given her much more time to accept that Tomo is at least quite physically feminine. Most evident when she gave Tomo permission to hug her like normal girls would, she squished against Tomo's large chest and noted how 'unpleasant' the entire experience was due to this. When the main cast goes to the beach, she observes Jun getting flustered at Tomo and Carol's exposed figures, but guesses that he can remain calm around her because of her relatively modest chest, and demands a chance to punch him.
• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: A benign example because they're sitcom archnemeses but she calls Jun to help her and Carol escape from some thugs, as despite their conflicts she knows she can depend on him.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She has long, dark hair and almost as many male admirers at school as Carol does, but she's also very aloof, haughty, and sarcastic. Unlike most examples, however, she's not particularly tall or mature-looking, being the shortest of the three main girls and also rather flat-chested (much to her displeasure).
• Alpha Bitch: At school, she's unapproachable and haughty, and has the means to socially destroy people that anger her.
• Ambiguously Bi: There have been a few hints that her feelings for Tomo are not entirely platonic. On numerous occasions, Misuzu has been shown being outright smitten by Tomo, which frustrates her. That said there have also been small hints that she may have feelings for Jun, despite having dated him which quickly had both realizing it could never work out. The flashback shows that she did like Jun, so it's likely that she wanted to be close to both of them. Later in the manga, Jun offhandedly admits that he loved her too, however, brief their relationship was. The chapter titled "The Place I Can Never Be" has Tomo and Jun hugging while Misuzu watches and it's not clear what or for whom she has a melancholy reaction.
• Ambiguously Evil: She loves messing with people and does so with an Evil Grin. She's the most "villainous" character in the story.
• Berserk Button: Don't point out how 'small and cute' she is, or you will definitely feel the tension rising.
• Can't Catch Up: Misuzu fears that she's going to be left behind in her friendship with Tomo because of their differing interests and her lack of stamina/sportiness. The whole reason she attempted to date Jun was because she thought he could help her overcome the stamina barrier, but he ended up being too much to handle.
• Childhood Friends: With Jun and Tomo. With Tomo in particular, they've known each other since they were babies.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: She is very possessive of Tomo, as she tends to get in a bad mood when others get close to her which is something Carol was quick to notice. She didn't like Jun when they first met because she felt he was taking something important (Tomo) from her. She herself seems aware of the trope and tries to be better but often just ends up feeling guilty.
• The Cutie: Subverted. Those who first meet Misuzu find her small, dainty, and delicately beautiful, but those who know her find her more frightening than adorable.
• Daddy's Little Villain: A parody. She's the mini-version of her mom, and she's the closest thing to a "villain" in the manga.
• Deadly Dodging: While she is not as athletic as Tomo and Jun she developed an incredible ability to dodge attacks even from Tomo. Or rather only from Tomo, as when Carol tries to induce the same reflexive dodging she hits Misuzu with ease.
• Deadpan Snarker: An aspect of her characterization. She's a pretty little ball of sarcasm.
• Death Glare: Following her discovery that she would be playing the role of Cinderella, she gave an impressive one that scares even Tomo.
• Defiant to the End: Typically smirks at and refuses to cower before any petty retaliation she earns out of giving Jun a hard time. Her first reaction to seeing Jun about to flick her on the forehead is to dare him to do it. Jun doesn't bother to let her finish trash talking.
• Didn't Think This Through: When Jun broke up with her, she assumed that Jun was aware that she knew that he was dating her for selfish purposes. However, it's later shown that this was definitely not the case, and that he has operated ever since under the assumption that Misuzu has always been mad at him for breaking up with her, this being the main reason why he never tried to pursue Tomo even when he loved her back then. That is, Misuzu erroneously thought that Jun has as little respect towards her as she herself has towards him.
• The Dreaded:
  • Jun warns Tanabe that Misuzu is literally the devil. Despite this epithet, Jun and Misuzu are on more cordial terms than at the time he stated it.
  • She frightens Tanabe's dad so much in half a day of work that he warns his daughter not to do anything to make Misuzu angry.
• Emotionless Girl: Her default tone is the most deadpan and empty delivery possible, making it all the creepier with how it contrasts with the words from her mouth.
• Evil Grin: Tends to smile this way when messing with people, threatening them, or plotting to obtain money. Jun sees it all the time, though most instead think she doesn't really smile.
• First Love: Invoked, subverted, and played for laughs. Misuzu asks Jun whether she was the one for him, but Jun actually considers Akemi his first one. Funnily enough, by admitting so, he unwittingly surrenders the fact that he did love Misuzu when they dated, as short as their relationship was, which is a fact that Misuzu uses to immediately tease him.
• Flat Joy: Her utterly forced "woo-hoo" when the gang goes to the beach.
• Foregone Conclusion: Played for laughs. When Misuzu pushes Jun down a small flight of stairs, he thinks that Misuzu finally reached the point where she would try to kill him. Knowing her, he wouldn't put it past her.
• Ham and Deadpan Duo: She is the Deadpan Snarker to Tomo's Large Ham.
• Hates Being Alone: She won't say it out loud, but the only reason she's even helping Tomo win over Jun is that she doesn't want her best friend to start drifting apart after she has her romance fulfilled. At the school festival, she thinks about how Tomo and Carol don't even need to see her since they've both got partners they want to hang around more.
• Hates Being Touched: She does not like being hugged, even when the situation warrants it. This is one of the reasons she dislikes going to Tomo's house, due to the fact that Akemi is a Cuddle Bug. Subverted during winter time; she appreciates the extra warmth, but she still rather use a heater.
• Heroic BSoD: Played for Laughs. When Jun broke up with her, she did not take it well, since she was planning to initiate the breakup. She's hated him for it ever since.
• Hidden Depths:
  • She's a surprisingly lovely singer, as Tomo learns when they do karaoke together.
  • She treasures her relationship with Tomo above anything else, as it brings out the better side of herself. However, this makes her realize painfully that her manipulations of Tomo and Jun have only served to amuse herself, and have contributed very little towards Tomo's happiness.
  • Deep inside, she regrets that her relationship with Jun didn't work out, as even with their mutual ulterior motives, they were both looking forward to it.
  • Unexpectedly, Misuzu is a romance movie fan, even going as far as remembering how many times the main couple kisses on-screen (7 times, she'll have you know!).
  • She's built for customer service and business administration, as Mr. Tatsurou comes to find out.
  • It's hinted that, while Misuzu is largely even-headed and tremendously smart, she is markedly vulnerable emotionally and lets anger get the better of her.
  • Despite her attitude towards it, Misuzu was just as excited as Jun was towards being an item, as they were both each other's first boyfriend and girlfriend respectively. Albeit Jun unwittingly admits that he loved her, her own efforts towards making him and Tomo happy indicates that she indeed loves him too as a friend.
• Hypocritical Humor: Albeit she's amused and makes fun of the fact that Jun unwittingly admits that he loved her for the short time they were dating, her own expectations for their failed relationship hint at the underlying fact that she loved him too. Water under the bridge, though...
• I Just Want to Be Loved: Overlapping with I Just Want to Have Friends, Misuzu's efforts in the manga mainly serve to prevent herself from becoming a Third Wheel, and even worse, from being left behind altogether by Tomo and Jun should they engage in a romantic relationship. And while she often disparages Tomo and Carol about their love lives, it's heavily hinted that she is terrified of actually admitting she too has someone she loves, something that, while her friends are bad at getting across, they are all too willing to do.
• Irony: For all the fuss that she makes, and all the supposed bad blood between them, Jun is the only person that she has ever dated.
• It's Personal: Played with. Misuzu has never forgiven Jun for beating her to the punch when they broke up, but this is accentuated by her annoyance at the fact that he's so wishy-washy when it comes to Tomo, qualifying his avoidance of the subject as unintelligent. However, Misuzu later learns from Jun himself that he has avoided Tomo all this time out of respect for her, as he deemed that pursuing Misuzu's best friend would have tantamounted to the most disrespectful thing he could possibly do to her. Amused, and yet flattered at his actions, Misuzu finally gives him the okay to date Tomo.
• Karma Houdini: Jun reproaches her because when they were little, she'd cause all the trouble in the world and made herself conspicuously absent whenever the adults came. This is one of the main reasons he's so wary of her.
• Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: The aloof and brooding dark to Carol's light. They're even color-coded! But as seen in Carol's entry below, this trope isn't played perfectly straight.
• Manipulative Bastard: She gets a kick out of manipulating the people around her. However, she feels guilty about abusing her friendship with Tomo to convince her to act more girly. Even though she knows that's the wrong approach to help Tomo get together with Jun, she knew Tomo would trust her.
• Money Fetish: If there is one thing almost guaranteed to catch her interest and even have her behave openly friendly it's the prospect of attaining a good amount of money. Downplayed in that in addition to making money she shows a similar interest in attaining material things without having to pay her own money. It's to the point that Jun remarks to Tatsumi that the only advice he can give him regarding getting Misuzu to fall in love with him is to get rich.
• My God, What Have I Done?: After her attempt at tweaking Carol goes further than expected and breaks the poor girl's heart, Misuzu rushes to find Misaki so she can confess, apologize, and ask him to go be with Carol before she falls apart.
• My Greatest Failure:
  • She greatly pains at the possibility that Tomo hasn't been able to reach Jun's heart because of her own shoddy advice, especially due to the fact that Tomo wouldn't suspect her as having an ulterior, selfish motive, deeming that her own presence has only served to hurt her dear friend. She considers this so bad of herself that she doesn't think Tomo would be able to forgive her if she learns what she's been up to. It takes Carol forcing Misuzu to headline a Cinderella play to drag her out of her funk.
  • She blames herself when Tomo rejects Jun's confession and breaks down crying in front of Carol and Tomo. It's poignant because she thinks that the two people she loves the most in the world are going to be hurt on her account. Fortunately, this serves for Tomo to finally scamper up and try to approach Jun again, and this time, with her own defenses down.
  • In a more comedic example, she considers her failed relationship with Jun as this, even more so the fact that he broke up with her first.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: All of her attempts to make Tomo hook up with Jun have led the girl to be insecure about herself, to the point where Tomo feels she's not good enough for Jun even when Jun essentially confesses to her.
• Non-Uniform Uniform: She wears a navy blue sweater instead of the standard blazer, and she also has a longer skirt than most female students.
• Not So Stoic:
  • It's hinted that Misuzu craves physical contact with Tomo, as her friend is not as cuddly to her as with other friends. The problem lies with the fact that cuddling with Tomo reminds Misuzu of her own petite figure and thus she finds it uncomfortable, in addition to her regular dislike for casual physical contact.
  • When Tomo ran a cold during the Fall marathon, Misuzu turned to jello. She even tells Tomo that she has a cold as if her friend was given a death sentence.
  • When Jun confessed to her during middle school, even she had to admit that she was flattered and excited at the prospect, even when they dated for selfish purposes. What makes it even better is that Jun was excited too, unbeknownst to her.
• Odd Friendship: This is the basis of her insecurities regarding her relationship with Tomo. They have nothing in common, so she thinks that if Tomo is able to gain Jun's affection, she'll be left behind, as Jun has an awful lot more in common with Tomo. She further seems to struggle with the suspicion that Tomo is only her friend out of kindness.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • She is aghast when Tomo tells her that there was a molester on the train home, but Tomo immediately defuses the situation when she tells her that Jun took care of it. Misuzu then regains her composure and continues their conversation normally.
  • When she finds out that she's playing Cinderella in the class play◊.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
  • Tomo mentioning that she had been groped on the train earlier in the series is notably the first time Misuzu is shown getting genuinely upset over something, showing how much she does value Tomo's wellbeing despite how much she messes with her for amusement.
  • When the dour, sarcastic, smug Misuzu gives a shocked expression followed by a Death Glare that can scare Tomo, you know she's pissed.
  • When Misuzu breaks down in tears in front of Tomo, this surprises Tomo so much that it makes her rethink her approach to Jun and encourages her to try again with way better results.
• Opposites Attract: Played for laughs. Misuzu and Jun were each other's first girlfriend and boyfriend respectively. As previously stated, they mixed like oil and water.
• Perpetual Frowner: Other people have noted that Misuzu never seems to smile. Jun thinks such an assertion is ridiculous, because she smiles at him all the time.
• Platonic Declaration of Love: Towards Carol. After learning that Tomo snapped at Jun and ran away from his confession, Misuzu tells her that she's going to tell Tomo something really important and that she won't be able to repeat herself. Carol takes this as a cue to give them privacy and stands up to leave, but Misuzu stops her by taking her hand, indicating that she's going to need Carol there at her most abject moment and trusts her completely.
• Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Stark black hair, fair skin, and beautiful to boot, with a gaze to penetrate through concrete.
• Schadenfreude: She states that she "likes" Jun because she finds his discomfort and squirming regarding Tomo extremely amusing for herself.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: She's considered an item in class, but she looks dazzling when dressed as Cinderella; so much in fact, that Tanabe starts crying at the sight.
• Shipper on Deck: For Tomo and Jun, it's an odd example since she resents Jun but she wants Tomo to be happy, plus it's fun watching them squirm. It's heavily implied later in the manga that Misuzu has more selfish reasons for supporting Tomo: the two don't have much in common, so Misuzu is using Tomo's wish to be more girly as a way for the two to have more time together. She also likes to push around Jun in order to see him squirm. Later in the story, Jun tells her that he realized that she was rooting for him too.
• Silk Hiding Steel: She's drop-dead beautiful, refined, and pensive, looking delicate like a rose... a thorny, thorny rose.
• Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: She and Jun do not get along. In fact, she didn't like him from the moment they met as kids. It's later revealed that it's due to the fact that she's very territorial when it comes to Tomo, and not because of any flaws regarding Jun. Jun once implied he never cared for how she always left the other two to get into trouble themselves with their parents while they were kids. On the other hand, Misuzu readily admits she does "like" him in the sense that she finds him very fun to mess with.
• Situational Sociability: Curiously and hilariously, Misuzu is excellent at customer service. She can pull off such an unexpectedly natural smile that Tomo and Carol are floored when they see her greeting a client.
• Stating the Simple Solution:
  • She has told Tanabe that in order to approach her, he has to talk to her with respect, as a person, and not as an object of desire. Tanabe, however, is at a loss about how to do this in the first place, as he doesn't know how to approach a girl in any other way.
  • Jun confesses to her that he didn't pursue Tomo because he felt shitty about how he took advantage of Misuzu during their relationship, even knowing that at the time he loved Tomo. Misuzu is taken aback at both how obvious this is, and how even when she realized what Jun was up to, she herself never realized that Jun didn't notice that she was doing the same thing to him herself. It's glaring to her that, even when she kept tabs on Tomo, she never kept tabs on Jun as she should have. Though she tries to rebuke him by telling him that their relationship was her mistake, Jun reassures Misuzu that he knew she has always been looking out for him, and that her efforts were what made him go through the right path.
• So Proud of You: As stated in Stating the Simple Solution, Jun tells her that he knows that she was always rooting for him to pursue Tomo and that it was her that put him where he is emotionally. His praises hit her straight in the feels.
• Strong Family Resemblance: To her mother, especially their personalities.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Played with. She's mostly "ice", but her "sugar" parts are very sweet. She deeply cares about Tomo, Carol, and Jun, but her actions towards them speak more about her than her words, which are often dismissive and cold. It's also shown that she does crave physical affection from Tomo and Carol, but they tend to go overboard, which she doesn't like.
• The Svengali: Played with. Misuzu is one for Tomo when it comes to romantic advice, as most of the stuff she tells Tomo is said for the express purpose of making Jun squirm, as Misuzu knows that Tomo will take her advice and run with it to the bitter end. This, of course, is for Misuzu's own amusement. However, she starts realizing that by doing so, she's sabotaging both Tomo and Jun's happiness and breaks down in front of Tomo and Carol, admitting her deeds.
• Third Wheel: Eventually, late-game revelations show that she fears becoming this to some extent. She wants to have Tomo and Jun get together, but she wants to have a spot for herself in Tomo's life as her friend, and that can't happen if Tomo and Jun are constantly straddling the line between buddies and coupling. This reason was ultimately why she decided to date Jun in the first place; she wanted someone who could bridge the gap between her relationship with Tomo, and by doing girly activities Misuzu hoped they could become closer again.
• Tranquil Fury: It's generally difficult to tell she is angry, as her behavior and expression only change very slightly (demonstrated to the viewer with two almost identical images of her face). Jun and Tomo can tell the difference right away though thanks to knowing her so well.
• Trying Not to Cry: She breaks down as she's trying to tell Tomo that it's her fault that Tomo rejected Jun's confession. She even denies that she's crying.
• Tsundere: Due to her overall attitude, Misuzu has difficulty expressing her love for her friends:
  • She tends to make assumptions about Tomo and their mutual friendship, being under the impression that it's more fragile than it actually is. Tomo, however, is not one for subtleties, so she's not shy in reassuring Misuzu that their friendship is ironclad.
  • She has trouble admitting that Carol is her friend and that she enjoys her company more than she cares to admit. For a time she starts referring to Carol as "that squishy bitch" once Carol starts taking a more active role in giving Jun and Tomo's potential relationship a push. Misuzu realizes she's selfish in trying to keep Tomo and Jun all to herself, but doesn't want Carol to potentially finish what she started outside of her own terms.
  • It's heavily implied that her attitude towards Jun is her own twisted way of showing him affection and that he's just as important to her as Tomo is. It's not until later that Jun tells her that he knows this is the case.
• Vitriolic Best Friends:
  • Despite constantly butting heads, Misuzu and Jun care a great deal about each other. Jun eventually realizes how much she has done for him and Tomo, and thanks her in kind.
  • Misuzu and Carol's friendship counts as this, with Carol constantly trying to chip away Misuzu's armor, and Misuzu trying to fend her off as much as she can. Regardless of Misuzu's wishes, she and Carol are remarkably close friends.
• When She Smiles:
  • Being a dour person in general, one can't help but be amazed when she gives off a smile even bigger than usual. Carol and Tomo certainly were, even if the smile given was for work.
  • Jun, of all people, digs one out of her when he finally thanks her for having his back since forever◊.
• You Keep Telling Yourself That:
  • Invoked. Though she argues that she's upset at Jun for breaking up with her first, beating her to the punch, it's implied that she regrets that it didn't work out in the first place, and she's upset at the fact that Jun just tried to make her into a "replacement" Tomo instead of making the effort to work it out together with Misuzu as she is, thus signaling that there's no place for Misuzu in his picture, and this is not a route where she can prevent her relationship with Tomo from deteriorating.
  • She keeps thinking that somehow Tomo will leave her behind if she gets together with Jun, as if Tomo were the sort of person to do that to her. As such, with her advice, she convinced Tomo that she is not girly enough for Jun, but Misuzu realized her crass mistake way too late into the game. As such, as soon as Jun confessed back to Tomo at the after-party of the school festival, Tomo ran away from him and has avoided the topic with everyone ever since.
  • Even though they've been at each other's throats ever since they met, it's apparent that Jun has a well-deserved place in her heart too, just as Tomo does.
  • Despite her apparent dislike of Carol's affectionate gestures, it's shown that Misuzu's dad is very much like Carol towards both her and her mom.

Carol Olston

Voiced by: Sally Amaki (Japanese and English), Melissa Hernández (Latin Spanish)

Carol is a classmate and friend of Tomo, Jun, and Misuzu. A beautiful, doll-faced student of British origin with no filter between her brain and her mouth, Carol serves as a foil to Misuzu. The daughter of a British international business tycoon, she is also a distant relative of Kousuke Misaki (and is his fiancée).

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• Accents Aren't Hereditary: In the anime, this applies to her in both Japanese and English; Carol's mother Ferris has an accent in both versions (in Japanese she simply speaks with a noticeable "foreign" intonation while in English she has a British accent), while Carol doesn't. This is justified since despite being fully British, Carol was raised in Japan while her parents weren't.
• The Beautiful Elite: She comes from a wealthy family and she's a profoundly beautiful girl. She's so stunning that she looks like a handmade doll.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Played with. She often gets some well-deserved cheek-pinching from both Misuzu and Tomo, but her face appears to be pliable enough for it to never leave a mark. On the other hand, there was the time when Misuzu told her that Misaki didn't love her as a girl, which plunged Carol into Inelegant Blubbering, and she still has visible marks under her eyes from all the crying the following day.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: This appears to be part of the reason why she fell in love with Misaki. Albeit, Carol herself says she can't really explain it like that, instead saying she loves him because she loves him.
• Berserk Button:
  • Her demeanor changes from bubbly to menacing if you point out that she's gotten 'bigger and heavier.'
  • Do not even hint that Misaki is not interested in her.
• Beware the Nice Ones: As it's shown in the manga, it's not wise to make Carol angry.
• Blush Sticker: She always has big pink circles on her cheeks to indicate a blush.
• Boob-Based Gag: Her breasts are on par with Tomo's in size, and her overall smaller body size means they stand out even more. In turn, they get used on a regular basis for laughs. Compared to Tomo's they get used for visual comedy in a more direct way, namely via their Jiggle Physics kicking in when needed for a joke. Indeed the first thing the viewer sees upon her introduction (after her legs) is the sight of her breasts bouncing about in a quite exaggerated way (played up in the anime especially) despite her just walking normally. When Jun tries to train her and it turns out the only exercise she's apparently capable of is jumping rope, he resorts to looking straight up to avoid looking at just what jumping rope does to her chest and claims he is doing a neck exercise. In another instance, Misaki lightly brushing crumbs off her chest causes them to somehow bounce with each touch.
• Brutal Honesty: Carol has absolutely no problems stating exactly what's on her mind at any time. This tends to get her into trouble with bullies and occasionally her own friends.
• But Not Too Foreign: Carol is 100% British, but she was raised in Japan and is culturally Japanese as a result. When hearing how good Carol is at singing in English during a karaoke session, Misuzu remarks that she almost forgot Carol wasn't Japanese.
• Butt-Monkey: Because of her sharp tongue and lack of filter, she gets a surprisingly high amount of physical retribution from both Misuzu and Tomo; that is, for a girl as feminine as she is. It's normally in the form of a smack to the head (or the threat of one) or the pinching/tugging of her cheeks.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Not as bad as Tomo, but she clearly doesn't react very well any time it looks like Misaki is getting closer to any other girl besides herself, even if she knows the other girl in question (Tomo) already likes another guy.
• Cloudcuckoolander: She has an unusual thinking process. When first introduced she tried to "bully" Tomo by walking up to her, saying "dummy" with a smile, and then walking away (she did this three times), leaving Tomo more confused than insulted. Carol later remarks that she doesn't think Tomo would want to be her friend after she did such "terrible" things to her. She also introduces herself to Misuzu and Jun in odd ways, sitting on her desk and appearing in his locker respectively.
• Covert Pervert: She wants to take the next step with Misaki, and have him take the initiative in skinship. When she flirtatiously requests they do something couples do and he asks if he could touch something soft of hers she assumes he wants to fondle her chest and quickly psyches herself up for it. However, when he aims for her cheeks instead of her breasts (the latter hadn't occurred to him, while he had wondered how her cheeks felt ever since they were kids) she was left sorely disappointed (though she does end up later boasting about how this odd skinship has increased their intimacy). She goes to a window afterward and, with her usual smile, shouts her frustration.
  Carol: Are you kidding me!?
• Cuddle Bug: She loves to hug and cuddle with people she cares about in general, as evidenced by how she starts hugging Tomo multiple times a day after she hears Tomo is interested in skinship, and it indicated she and her mother hug each other tight any time they reunite after being apart for even a few hours. Should she be sleeping near a friend there is a good chance she will cuddle up with them. Misuzu rebuffing Carol's attempts to hug or kiss her becomes a Running Gag through the series.
• Dissonant Serenity: She's able to take out a couple of thugs with a tazer, all while wearing the same sleepy-eyed smile she usually has on. Earlier, when she met Tomo's father, he was awed by her quiet intensity.
• The Ditz: Possibly subverted; she seems to be this, but it might also be mostly an act. It's shown that a significant portion of her actions are done for shits and giggles.
• The Dreaded: She's the only person in the whole series that has been able to make Jun recoil in fear due to his Paralyzing Fear of Sexuality.
• Easily Forgiven: Tomo is surprised at the fact that Carol admits to having pounced on Jun, but realizes that it had something to do with Carol's attempts to rouse Misaki out of the friendzone. As Carol has attained Misaki's affection at the time Tomo hears it from her, Tomo tells her with a smile not to take her friends so lightly.
• Empty Eyes: Her eyes are typically drawn without any pupils, which symbolizes how she's a Stepford Smiler who tends to hide how she really feels behind her constant smile. When she shows genuine emotions, her pupils become visible.
• Everyone Has Standards: She's an open book about most things regarding skinship, but in a late series entry titled "Kou-chan is NG" (slang for a forbidden topic) she (with an exceedingly teasing expression that suggests there is a lot she could tell) refuses to tell her friends about just how intimate she and Kousuke have gotten.
• Fearless Fool: Gorou is impressed at her "fearless, unflinching gaze"...well, she's definitely not the Nerves of Steel type. As a child she picked fights with bullies regardless of having no ability to defend herself.
• Fiction 500: Is so rich that for Tomo's birthday, she brought a gold bar as a present. She even said she had a larger one at her home, but it was too heavy for her to bring to school.
• Friendless Background: She has had a hard time making friends with other girls since she was young. She says she doesn't know why, but it's implied that her foreign looks, which boys find attractive in the present day, also made her the subject of ostracism by her peers while growing up (much as what happened to Kousuke due to his blond hair). Tomo and Misuzu are her first successful friendships.
• Genius Ditz: Yeah, she's a Cloudcuckoolander-slash-The Ditz, but at the same time she's an absolute genius when it comes to math, even outscoring Misuzu on the midterm exam. That or all her mannerism was just Obfuscating Stupidity. In another set of strips she goes from a complete novice to a master at badminton once she gets Jun to explain how to play in mathematical terms (IE what angle to hit the shuttlecock).
• Generation Xerox: She is more or less the spitting image of her mother.
• Gorgeous Gaijin: She's British, and of all the girls in the series, she's the one with the nicest figure and often gets to show it off in the extra pictures. The anime tends to put extra focus on her legs and chest, as well.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She’s blonde and despite some unusual quirks, she’s a very kind person who’s pretty easy to get along with.
• Hidden Depths:
  • She is a more conniving person than she appears, even being able to manipulate Misuzu. She's also surprisingly snappy and quick-witted.
  • She loves and dotes on both Tomo and Misuzu more than it appears at first glance. They are very dear to her.
  • She's more aware of her beauty and attributes than it appears, and worse, how to use them for her advantage, as Jun comes to find out.
• Innocent Fanservice Girl: Downplayed. In one chapter she changes her clothes in public (albeit at an abandoned warehouse); in another, when Jun complains that her swimsuit is so skimpy that it might as well be underwear, she asks if he'd rather she actually did go swimming in her underwear (though she might have just been jerking his chain). She's aware people find her attractive, and that boys often lust for her, but seems less aware of the specifics.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: Albeit she was initially confrontational towards Tomo, she quickly befriends both her and Misuzu, and is shown to be tremendously affectionate towards them.
• I Just Want to Be Loved: By Misaki, who has her in a familiar friendzone that she finds hard to shake off.
• Kissing Cousins: She has a crush on her cousin Misaki-Senpai. This is later reciprocated. They are not 1st cousins though, since Misaki refers to Carol as a "distant" relative.
• Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: The sweet and naive light to Misuzu's dark. They're even color-coded! But as you can see from some of her other tropes, this one isn't played perfectly straight.
• Lonely Rich Kid: To get a glimpse of her childhood, Carol mentions a game she liked to play when she was younger; it boils down to watching other kids play from a distance and pretending she's one of them.
• Nice Girl: The reason she endears herself to Tomo and Misuzu despite her ambivalent behavior: Carol is a tremendously sweet person who is not shy in manifesting her appreciation towards them for being her friends.
• "No. Just… No" Reaction: She gets one when Tomo states that she'll dress in boy's clothes for a date with Jun.
• Non-Uniform Uniform: She wears a pink sweater with her school uniform instead of the standard green blazer. While she does wear the blazer during winter, she still has her pink sweater on underneath it.
• No Sense of Personal Space: Misuzu has held her At Arm's Length a few times for getting too cuddly. Misuzu's mother also complains about her getting too close just to introduce herself.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Carol is not nearly as ditzy as she acts, and loves giving Misuzu a run for her money in messing with people. It's ambiguous whether she's faking it though, since her mannerisms at home are hardly different.

  Misuzu: (in thoughts) It's here... The source of inhuman uneasiness, that surpasses even Tomo.

  • This is demonstrated early on in the manga when while she is giving Misuzu her promised reward of cake Carol casually notes she is fully aware of how much the boys in class lust for her, and hence knows it wouldn't be a good idea to try to pursue a platonic friendship with them. Misuzu then acknowledges Carol is more aware than she expected.
• Oh, Crap!: Misuzu is about to confess her fault in Tomo's rejection of Jun's confession, so Carol takes this as a cue to leave. Misuzu immediately grabs Carol's hand to stop her, prompting Carol to make a face spelling "Oh, damn! This is serious! If I don't stay, Misuzu's gonna crumble!". This is especially poignant due to the fact that it signifies that Misuzu finally sees Carol as an intimate friend, and someone she's going to need if things go south.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When her Perpetual Smile vanishes, everyone takes notice. Sometimes this is Played for Laughs; in the beach arc, she gives a "blank stare of disdain" when Tomo wants to wear a boyish swimsuit to the beach, which even surprises Misuzu. Other times its Played for Drama, as when Misuzu breaks her heart by claiming that Misaki doesn't love her romantically; she breaks down into Inelegant Blubbering, which completely shocks everyone who knows her.
• Perpetual Smiler: No matter what's going on her facial expression never stops being a dull-eyed smile. This is what throws Misaki off, as a romantic aspect. Since she seems to go through life shrugging everything off, he's fearful that he won't be able to tell how she really feels about him. She stopped smiling when Misuzu suggested that Misaki sees her as a daughter of sorts, instead of a woman.
• Pink Is Feminine: She's the girliest of the three main girls and she tends to wear pink a lot, even with her school uniform; the ribbons on her headband are pink, and both her schoolbag and the sweater she wears to school are pink as well.
• Protectorate: To Misaki, or at least he's trying for this. Ever since she was little, she's been a good, strong person, but somewhat oblivious and prone to get into danger. Misaki wanted to protect her from that.
• Rubber Face: Misuzu's preferred way of physically retaliating against Carol when she's fed up with her shenanigans.
  Tomo: You're gonna tear them, Misuzu!
  Misuzu: So be it.
• School Idol: She's the single most popular girl with boys at the cast's high school thanks to a combination of her good looks, foreign status and sweet, seemingly defenseless personality. In the anime, she's even outright referred to as this trope in the title of the episode that introduces her.
• Shock and Awe: Saves Misuzu from some delinquents by pulling out a taser, a fairly powerful taser, and taking out The Leader and The Big Guy.
• Signature Hair Decs: Carol always wears a ribbon in her hair. She's worn one throughout her entire childhood in different styles, due to her mother.
• So Proud of You: Carol is not shy in singing praises for her friends, and she's manifested multiple times that she's more than proud to be Tomo and Misuzu's friend.
• Spanner in the Works:
  • She and Misuzu both play Shipper on Deck in regards to Tomo and Jun, but Misuzu has an ulterior motive, doing what she can to ensure her place as Tomo's friend isn't threatened even if she and Jun hook up. Carol, on the other hand, just wants the two of them to get together and doesn't have any self-interest other than making her friend happy. This means that Carol's attempts to get Jun to see Tomo in a romantic light clash with Misuzu's.
  • She's a cluster of bombs of uncertainty and non-sequiturs, so much so that Misuzu cannot get a read on her and it makes her feel uneasy. It's shown that Carol is aware of this aspect of herself, as when the time came to play the titular role in the class' Cinderella play, she questioned her classmates' choice of her, implying that it might not be wise to leave something so important in her hands.
  • She has a reputation in class for being notoriously unpredictable. Yes, she's admired for her beauty... but that doesn't make her any less weird to them.
• Stepford Smiler: When she was little and something upset her, her mother Ferris told her "You're much cuter when you smile" rather than anything more complicated. This had the unintended side-effect of making Carol shrug off everything with the same untouchable smile, for better or for worse. Ferris does regret her actions, but also wonders if Carol would be the same sweet girl she is now if she'd said something like "Get a hold of yourself" instead.
• Token Minority: The one white British girl in an otherwise all-Japanese cast (well, her and her mother).
• Token Rich Student: She's the daughter of a wealthy British business tycoon and lives in a huge mansion, but she goes to the same high school as her middle-class friends. Kousuke lampshades this as being unusual, noting that a family as prestigious as hers wouldn't usually allow her to go to the same school as him, and it motivates him further to protect her.
• Too Dumb to Live: In one series of strips she gets hit on by some guys and responds by calling them stupid and retarded; with no concern or awareness that they could become violent over the insults. She was bailed out by the fact that Tomo was in the area by sheer coincidence. This little arc's purpose in fact was to illustrate how Carol has been so sheltered that she's pretty much never been anywhere on her own outside of school (deciding on a whim to explore on her own after Misuzu insulted her over never having done so), and Tomo proceeds to have to teach her how to navigate the city without getting herself killed or hopelessly lost. As a child she almost stepped in front of a speeding vehicle while chasing a butterfly, convincing Kousuke that she needed protection.
• Troll: When she's in the mood, she can give Misuzu a run for her money. The whole forcing Misuzu to play as Cinderella in the Culture Festival? All just she could get a picture of Misuzu wearing very girly dress, which sends her to rage.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Misuzu can't stand her, and Carol likes to poke fun at her expense or prod at her inner workings. Yet they still hang out with each other, even when Tomo's not around.
• You Remind Me of X: Upon meeting Carol, Misaki tells Misuzu that she reminds her of her husband.

Tomo's Schoolmates

Kousuke Misaki

Voiced by: Kōhei Amasaki (Japanese), Ciarán Strange (English), Ángel Rodríguez (Latin Spanish, teen), Sammir Hernández (Latin Spanish, child)

The main cast's upperclassman, a third-year student, and a friend of Tomo from the Karate club at school. He is Carol's distant relative and fiancé.

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• Aborted Arc: Earlier on, his interactions with Tomo really make it seem like he's smitten with her. This doesn't last once Carol enters the story, and thereafter he seems to just highly respect her martial arts efficacy. A entry late in the series where he overhears Mifune and Ogawa remark that they see now they weren't really in love with Kousuke so much as in love with the idea of being with him has him think back on his early infatuation with Tomo, implying his situation was similar.
• Affectionate Nickname: Carol calls him "Ko-chan".
• Beware the Nice Ones: One of the kindest people in the manga, his fury is triggered by seeing Carol in what he assumed was a vulnerable state and it takes both Jun and Tomo to keep him at bay (not to mention his total change in facial expression).
• Big Brother Instinct: Towards Carol, much to her frustration. He reveals later on that his wish to get stronger is also based on protecting her. Later revealed that he actually likes her.
• But Not Too Foreign: Like Carol, he has some British heritage, but he's still Japanese. His hair and eyes being different from most Japanese still led to bullying when he was a child though.
• Cannot Spit It Out: He was in love with Carol the whole time, but he didn't tell her because he didn't know how she would take it if she even showed a reaction to it at all. This possibility frightened him into inaction.
• Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: To Carol, often apologizing to others for her odder behavior and trying to keep an eye on her. It's shown in serious ways as well, thanks to the danger Carol puts herself in at times due to her odd ways of thinking. Back when they were kids he became convinced (with good reason) that Carol was not likely to survive the real world if left to her own devices. He's thus overjoyed when she finally gets female friends to rely on and learn from too.
• The Confidant: Sometimes serves as this for both Tomo and Jun regarding their problems and insecurities. Jun lampshades how he didn't intend to share so much with Kousuke the first time he did, with the manga version then noting something about him just makes him really easy to talk to and confide in.
• Crazy Jealous Guy: Heavily downplayed, but when Carol tells about how she hung out with Jun after school, she notes how his face twisted in anger and changed color even as he tried to keep his smile (this was exactly what she wanted).
• Demoted to Satellite Love Interest: Downplayed but after his arc with Carol was completed, he went further into the background and usually if he is brought up it is in relation to Carol. He gives some pivotal advice to Jun late in the series, though even then he talks about Carol during it as his relationship with her is pertinent to the situation.
• Dude Looks Like a Lady: He has an effeminate look and sometimes gets mistaken for a girl. Akemi Aizawa, who never fails to fall under Cuteness Proximity with little cute individuals, glomps him immediately.
• First-Name Basis: With Carol, given that she's the only one of the main group that calls him "Kou-chan".
• Foil: Essentially, Tomo's opposite. Where she's a tomboy who becomes more feminine to get noticed by her crush, Misaki, a feminine boy, tries to become more masculine so he can protect and take care of Carol.
• Gender-Blender Name: Another reason he is often confused for a girl is that "Misaki" is traditionally a girl's name. This is further emphasized by the fact that Misuzu's mother is also named Misaki. That said, Misaki is his surname; his first name, Kousuke, subverts this since it's typically used for boys.
• He Is All Grown Up: Misaki's main childhood bully Kuniki has this reaction when she runs into him again in high school. Her reaction is justified since he used to look like a dorky schoolboy with a bowl cut.
• Killing Intent: Tomo criticizes his fighting style by saying his lack of this is what's holding him back, despite him being technically proficient. When he stumbles onto Carol and Misuzu taking off their clothes after they got dirty, his mistaken belief that they'd been molested is what sets him off. It's strong enough (although still deeply hidden) for Gorou to sense it and take him seriously.
• Love at First Sight: The flashback showing how Carol and Misaki first met implies that he took to her immediately, in his thoughts declaring her a real angel.
• Love Confession: He confesses to Carol after she's lied to by Misuzu and he has to rectify the situation.
• Nice Guy: A sweet, kind, and selfless dude, Misaki is always one to lend an ear to his friends' troubles and provide sage advice. The guy is all-around great, which is why he's Tomo's personal friend, and why Carol is so protective of him.
• Oblivious to Love: Appears at first to be this. He claims he sees Carol as a little sister and is completely oblivious to her feelings for him. After Carol's arc, Misuzu muses that the problem probably doesn't lie with him— rather, Carol isn't showing how serious she is about her love, which makes him mistaken. Eventually, it's revealed he was aware that Carol claimed such affection for him, and he loved her back, but her lack of reaction regardless of how he behaved left him fearful that if he confessed to her she wouldn't take it seriously at all.
• One-Steve Limit: Played with. Misuzu's mom is also named Misaki, though that's her given name.
• Pretty Boy: His androgynous, feminine looks make him one of the more attractive boys in school.
• Unstoppable Rage: When he thought that Carol had been molested, he showed so much Killing Intent that even Tomo and Junichirou were surprised; hell, it took both of them to hold him down. In actuality, she tripped, fell in a puddle, and was in the process of changing her dirty clothes.

Tatsumi Tanabe

Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Japanese), Christopher Llewyn Ramirez (English), Alejandro Orozco (Latin Spanish)

A classmate of the main cast, Tatsumi is on the deep end of being in love with Misuzu, which is a tremendous challenge. Somewhat of a lecher, Tatsumi is the son of a restauranteur whose main drive is to get close to the main cast.

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• Advertised Extra: The anime's official art and publicity features him as being one of the main characters when in reality his role is ancillary to the four main characters. The manga itself features a gag referencing the fact that he doesn't show up that much. For context, he shows up less than Misaki.
• Alliterative Name: "T.T.", once we learn his first name.
• The Bus Came Back: In volume 7, after being missing since at least the Beach arc. The strip where he's reintroduced even lampshades this in its title, "A Guy Who Shows Up Just After You've Forgotten About Him".
• Butt-Monkey: Things tend not to go his way.
• Dumbass Has a Point: Even Jun acknowledged that Tanabe's advice of "just confess honestly and bluntly" was a rather decent piece - but only because Misaki pretty much said the same thing.
• Family Theme Naming: His father Tatsurou shares the "Tatsu" character in his name.
• Forgettable Character: Played with. Misuzu usually acts like he is this to her, but readily remembers him if she wants something from him. It's implied she pretends to not remember him simply to mess with him.
• Given Name Reveal: We only learn his first name, Tatsumi, when he explains that his family's ramen shop was named after him after his birth. This is 7 whole volumes after he's introduced, by the way.
• Horrible Judge of Character: He sees Misuzu as a kind, wonderful person in his eyes. While she's not a complete jerk, she's far from the angel he thinks she is. That said, he seems somewhat aware of Misuzu's actual personality and finds it attractive.
• Hopeless Suitor: For the most part Misuzu doesn't really pay any attention to him and when she does, she is usually either mean to him, manipulating him, or trolling him. She has even made a point of telling him how to approach her, but Tanabe is stubborn in his ways. They have a few more amiable interactions late in the series, including exchanging contact information after Tatsumi cushions her from a fall down a flight of stairs.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: He's absolutely delighted at having Tomo, Misuzu, and Carol working at her father's restaurant, as he's always wanted to get close to them, and not just for the eye candy.
• Irony:
  • Of the three main male characters, Tanabe was, for the longest time, the only one that openly and often expressed romantic interest in his girl. However, his love is the only one where the feelings weren't shown to end up mutual, and in taking the initiative is the only one who drives his girl away rather than closer. By comparison, Misaki and Jun knew about their girls' feelings the whole time and were passive up until they couldn't avoid it anymore. Both are successful in the end.
  • Judging by Misuzu's dad, it's implied that Tanabe may well be the kind of man that Misuzu may like, that is, enterprising while being dumb as bricks and malleable. Tanabe is closer to it than he may realize, but actually starting the romance is going to be a struggle at best (with Jun at one point noting the only advice he can give Tanabe to get Misuzu to give him a chance is to "get rich").
• Like Parent, Like Spouse: It's implied that he'd be led on a leash by Misuzu if he actually were able to be with her... just like her mom and dad's relationship. And like both his father and Mr. Gundou, Tanabe is completely head over heels for his lady love.
• Love Makes You Dumb: In practical terms, he'd be perfect for Misuzu, as he is dumb, malleable, and easily influenced; "perfect" of course, as a perfect peon. The whole birthday arc could only happen because he wants to help Misuzu first and foremost, even if said help also included her blackmailing his dad.
• Lovable Sex Maniac: Much of his screen time is him talking about how attractive certain girls are, usually Tomo or Misuzu. He doesn't do it when he returns in volume 7 though.
• Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places: Apparently he's already sought after plenty of girls, but every single one of them turned him down. His current infatuation, Misuzu, is giving him just as hard a time, but he seems quite comparatively dedicated given he still is interested even a year after high school started.
• Out of Focus: Of the secondary boys and love interests of the girls as shown in one of the initial images, he's the one that shows up least of all.
• Perpetual Smiler: His volume 7 appearance has him with a smile plastered on his face in nearly every panel he's on.
• Rejection Affection: No matter how many times Misuzu says no, Tanabe will not back down. For what it's worth he does eventually give her space.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Played with. Albeit he's confessed to multiple girls dozens of times, it's shown that he wants to be serious when it comes to Misuzu but is at a loss at how to approach her properly.
• Unrequited Love: Of all of the three male love interests, he's the only one that actually plays the trope straight. He's also the only one of the boys openly trying to pursue his love interest. By the story's ending it remains ambiguous if he has any chance in the future with Misuzu.
• You Keep Telling Yourself That: Even though he acts almost exclusively on romantic terms, it's shown that when his dad employed Misuzu, Tomo, and Carol, he is happy with the mere act of having them around. As Misuzu has told him before, being friends should be his first step, regardless of his intentions.

Mifune and Ogawa

Voiced by: Yo Taichi (Mifune) & Atsumi Tanezaki (Ogawa) (Japanese), Marisa Duran (Mifune) & Natalie Hoover (Ogawa) (English), Gabi Gris (Mifune) & Cassandra Acevedo (Ogawa) (Latin Spanish)

Mifune and Ogawa are schoolmates of the main cast. Initially antagonistic towards Tomo, they become her friends later in the story.

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• Ambiguously Brown: Ogawa, she also dyes her hair blond making her a dark-skinned blond.
• Armored Closet Gay: Despite it being obvious that they're taken by Tomo, they adamantly refuse to believe they're into her.
• The Bus Came Back: After Carol and Misaki's romance arc, they make their re-entrance into the comic.
• Cowardly Lion: Mifune seems to be the braver of the two, in confrontations she is the one doing the talking while Ogawa usually hides behind her.
• Even the Girls Want Her: They're kind of in denial of it, but they really like Tomo.
• Fat and Skinny: Ogawa is short and stumpy while Mifune is tall and skinny. A later beach chapter though shows Ogawa is actually quite slim, she just wears baggy clothes.
• Gayngst: They are both in heavy denial that they have feelings for Tomo.
• Gyaru Girl: They dress and speak in typical GAL fashion.
• Hopeless Suitor: For Misaki-senpai. Later, though they heavily deny it, they seem to have fallen for Tomo as well.
• Loving a Shadow: After they learn that Misaki is taken, they're surprisingly not broken up about it. They pretty much realized that they were in love with the idea of him, not getting him themselves.
• Those Two Girls: They are always together.
• Transparent Closet: They really like commenting how much Tomo gets their heart racing despite their constant assertions of not being in love with her.

Takeshi Gouma

Voiced by: Taiki Yamashita (Japanese), Itzíhuappe Escalera (Latin Spanish)

Gouma is Jun and Tomo's upperclassman and the president of the Judo club at school. A towering, intimidating young man, Gouma is considered the strongest person in the whole school.

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• Achilles' Heel: While he is stronger than Tomo and Jun, he is bad at running due to his size. During the Fall marathon, he doesn't even try to compete with them.
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Judo guy, but his early appearances have him acting this way. Later on, this is toned down, making him still competitive, but not as obnoxious.
• Characterization Marches On: His first appearance has him acting like a stereotypical arrogant thug. Later on, he becomes more friendly with Tomo and Jun and is given more depth.
• Didn't See That Coming: As shown in the Volume 7 extras, he surprisingly has a very beautiful, very dainty girlfriend. They look so discordant to one another (he's about four times her size), that Jun even questions the legality of the relationship. Gouma is quick to point out that they're the same age, and that their size difference is brought up very often.
• Gonk: People say he's like a gorilla. They aren't just talking about his size and strength - Misuzu's attempt to be more restrained than that instead has her ask aloud if he's even actually human at the first sight of him.
• Hidden Depths: He has a surprisingly cute girlfriend, and even he is a bit disturbed by Tomo and Jun's extreme levels of competitiveness.
• Hot-Blooded: He is just as belligerent as Tomo and Jun, but unlike them, he knows his limitations.
• Only Sane Man: Out of the competitive trio of him, Tomo, and Jun, he's the only one who has a shred of common sense.
• Worthy Opponent: Jun and Tomo have great respect for him, even though he provokes them during the dodgeball match.

Adults

Gorou & Akemi Aizawa

Voiced by: Kenji Nomura (Gorou) & Kumiko Watanabe (Akemi) (Japanese), Cris George (Gorou) & Luci Christian (Akemi) (English), Héctor Estrada (Gorou) & Gwendolyne Flores (Akemi) (Latin Spanish)

Tomo's parents. A macho dojo sensei and his wife, they raised their daughter as the heiress to the dojo. It's shown that, even though Gorou is in love with his wife, he is painfully bashful of her presence and tries to avoid being around her too much.

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• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Gorou can spend a little too much time at the dojo and neglect Akemi, but it is clear he does love her.
• Berserk Button: Jun accidentally sets Akemi off at one point by calling her Oba-san. She's still young, as she furiously reminds him.
• Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: Played with. Gorou challenges Jun to defeat him in order to allow the boy to date Tomo, but during their eventual fight, it's implied that Gorou only posted the challenge because Jun had asked him for permission in the first place, and saw this effort as a chance for the boy to prove himself "worthy" to him (as he was concerned if Jun had the resolve to protect Tomo if she got into a life-threatening situation).
• Bruiser with a Soft Center: Gorou is a huge dojo sensei as well as loud and forceful whenever he's speaking with Jun or Tomo - clearly, just as Hot-Blooded as them. He also can't handle how embarrassed he gets while around his wife that he practically avoids her to spare himself the ineptitude. His wife also mentioned that he has a strong sense of justice that he won't fail to act on, shown by his defending an old woman by holding a fellow by his shirt while even she insisted it wasn't that bad.
• Buxom Beauty Standard: Played for laughs. While teasing Tomo about spending a night in Jun's place, Akemi notices that her daughter has surpassed her in the chest department. She points it out proudly, much to Tomo's embarrassment.
• Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Akemi often acts as the interface between her outright eccentric dojo master husband and society at large.
• Comical Overreacting:
  • Akemi is so nervous that she's grasping for straws when Tomo catches a cold during the school marathon. It's basically the first time that anyone in her household ever got sick.
  • Gorou usually looks like he's going to have a heart attack every time he interacts with Akemi.
• Cuddle Bug: Akemi, just as much as Tomo, especially when it comes to her daughter's female friends.
• Cute Little Fangs: Tomo clearly got this from her mother.
• Cuteness Proximity: Akemi, as seen by her reactions to seeing Carol and Misaki for the first time. According to her she only ever sees ugly guys all day so she goes ga-ga over cute girls. Her own daughter doesn't take this statement kindly.
• Domestic Abuse: Downplayed, of the emotional neglect variety. Akemi once noted that with Gorou spending most of his time in the family dojo, it's as if they were divorced. However, the instant an earthquake hit (and not even a particularly big one), Gorou came running in a panic and asked if Akemi is all right. Akemi knowing he was about to walk in also shows this is not an unusual occurrence.
• Drama-Preserving Handicap: It's made fairly clear that despite all his training and strength Jun has no real chance of genuinely defeating Gorou at his best in their fight at the end of the series, Tomo remarking that realistically it would take at least a few more years of work for him to possibly reach that point. However, both Jun and Tomo notice that Gorou has handicapped himself. While his strikes are no less powerful, he intentionally swings widely, leaving himself open to counterattacks. Jun eventually realizes that Gorou wants him to win and that the point of the match is for Jun to demonstrate his resolve to face danger for Tomo's sake.
• The Dreaded: Even the local Yakuza are afraid of them.
• Fiery Redhead: Like mother, like daughter. Akemi can be pretty explosive when angered, sometimes even more than Tomo.
• First Love: Akemi was one for Jun when he was little.
• Friend to All Children: Akemi loves kids, plain and simple. This overlaps with Cuteness Proximity.
• Henpecked Husband: Downplayed, but it is clear that Akemi raising her voice is something that intimidates Gorou more than... pretty much anything. Gorou's initial interactions with Jun see Jun inadvertently terrified by him through his sheer size and presence...and then he's hiding behind Jun, a child under half his height (far less in width) when his wife appears irate and (rightly) assuming that her two morons are causing Jun trouble.
• High-Pressure Emotion: Gorou goes totally red and steams up when in Akemi's presence. Exploited for laughs by Misuzu's mother when they were high school students. It's part of the reason he spends most of the time in the dojo, as evidenced by a time that Akemi visited him without warning. He will faint without fail when sufficiently startled by her presence. That fact these two even managed to have a kid is somewhat baffling. Though Akemi reveals that, if she teases Gorou too much, he drops his tough façade and "becomes amazing in a completely different sense".
• Hot-Blooded: Gorou is pretty clearly the person whom Tomo and Jun got this from.
• I'm Taking Her Home with Me!: When she's first introduced to Carol, Akemi glomps her tight and declares that she's going to adopt the girl as her new daughter. Tomo is annoyed, but Carol looks pretty happy with the arrangement. Played when Akemi admits she does this sort of thing in part due to how Tomo's jealousy makes her more amicable for a time to the cuddling that Tomo normally doesn't accept from her.
• Improperly Paranoid: Gorou's dojo paints the world as much, much, much more dangerous than it is in reality, teaching his students that when they're exhausted their "enemies" will gang up on them with wooden planks and pipes to take advantage of the weakness as if they are at war in a peaceful Japan. Gouma remarks to himself after sparring with Jun that Gorou's training is more geared toward actual combat rather than martial arts as a sport. As a matter of fact, it's due to him that Jun and Tomo are as gung-ho as they are.
• Ironic Echo: Akemi and Gorou warn Misuzu not to grow up like her mom, much like Misaki herself warned Tomo not to grow up like Akemi.
• I Want Grandkids: Heavily implied with Akemi considering that her first thought upon hearing Tomo was staying the night at Jun's place was what her first grandchild's name would be. Tomo was less than enthused to hear it.
• Japanese Delinquents: They used to be, in their younger days. Even in the present Gorou is locally famous for being a "legendary" delinquent.
• Like Father, Like Son: Tomo is pretty much a perfect blend of her parents. She's absolutely clueless about romance and dorky and hotheaded like Gorou, while she's a tomboy like Akemi who cross-played in the school play (Tomo was Cinderella's prince, Akemi was André). As a matter of fact, Tomo looks so much like her mother that Jun had a childhood crush on Akemi, as she too is his type of girl.
• Like a Son to Me: Both feel this way towards Jun, and they've both accepted him eventually being with Tomo as a given. Gorou practically raised Jun into what he is, muscle-headedness and all, and basically groomed him to take over the dojo eventually.
• Love Makes You Dumb: Literally. Gorou avoids Akemi not because he doesn't love her (he adores her, in fact), but he just can't act or think rationally when she's close to him. He becomes a flustered mess when he's with Akemi for too long, though ironically he gets even more flustered if he's away from her for too long and then interacts with her.
• Ma'am Shock: When Jun calls Akemi "Obasan", she replies by pulling his ear.
• Ms. Fanservice: Akemi has a toned and well-endowed figure.
• Mrs. Robinson: Invoked. As Akemi fits the bill on Jun's preference towards girls, it's shown that she was his first crush, though it's implied that this overlapped with his own attraction towards Tomo when they were kids, even when he was unaware that his best friend was a girl instead of a boy.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Tomo and Jun's Relationship Upgrade hits Gorou so hard that he is too depressed to exert his usual High-Pressure Emotion when Akemi tries to talk about it with him.
• Precocious Crush: It's revealed that Jun had a childhood crush on Akemi, and that he considers her his first love.
• Sex Goddess: Implied for Akemi. Late in the series she "comforts" Gorou in a way that she says Jun is too young to hear about, but apparently goes "overboard" (in her words) to the point that Gorou is notably more flustered than usual around her even days later.
• Shipper on Deck: Akemi is very much aware of Tomo's attraction towards Jun, and tries to nudge her his way as much as she can. She even indicates (as does Jun's mom) that they'd be supportive of Tomo having a baby with Jun very young.
• Statuesque Stunner: Akemi is slightly taller than her already fairly tall daughter, and Tomo gets her good looks and figure from her.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Akemi just looks like her daughter with a bit more length to her hair and height.
• Testosterone Poisoning: Gorou is as macho as they come, which is an aspect that he enforced into both Tomo and Jun. Except when he's around his wife, then he'll be a red, immobile mess.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Downplayed, aside from when his features get exaggerated for comedy, Gorou is not what one could really call "ugly", but he also looks quite different from the conventionally attractive males in the series, with his rather square head and somewhat thick build (albeit from muscle rather than fat), while Akemi is very attractive.
• Your Size May Vary: Perhaps done intentionally to illustrate how big he seems to smaller characters, but Gorou's build can vary from scene to scene from simply a notably tall and muscular man, to inhumanly broad (for instance when Jun first met him).

Ferris Olston

Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara (Japanese), Morgan Garrett (English), Liliana Barba (Latin Spanish)

Carol's mother. A wealthy and remarkably young socialite, she dotes on Carol and her friends.

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• Absurdly Youthful Mother: She looks so young for a mother due to Teen Pregnancy.
• Adapted Out: Her Teen Pregnancy background isn't mentioned in the anime, it being the main reason why she's so protective of Carol in the manga.
• Always Someone Better: When Misuzu starts prodding her by telling her that she's after Carol's family money, Ferris just laughs at her.
• Casting Gag: This isn't the first time Sayaka Ohara voices a mom who speaks in broken Japanese, having already done so as Leonora Nakiri in Food Wars!.
• Cute Oversized Sleeves: She wears a cardigan that's four times too large for her with the sleeves mostly covering her hands, highlighting her sheltered innocence despite being the mother of a teenage girl.
• Cuddle Bug: She's very given to glomp her daughter's friends.
• The Ditz: Just like her daughter, though it's ambiguous whether she's faking it.
• Dub Personality Change: Less airy and posher in Morgan Garrett's rendition of her.
• Gold Digger: Played with and ultimately subverted. Her pregnancy of Carol sounds like it has overtones of being The Baby Trap to ensnare Eddie, his wealth being the point of contention; her flat delivery when telling him of what he got himself into is markedly dispassionate, though later in the conversation it's shown that this is just due to her offbeat personality, and that she sincerely wants to be with him.
• Hidden Depths:
  • It's implied that Ferris is well aware of the fact that what happened to her (Teen Pregnancy) was fundamentally wrong and that she was very fortunate that Eddie was wealthy, unusually responsible, and genuinely in love with her. She thus goes to great lengths to prevent Carol from going down the same path as her.
  • She is deeply distrustful of people outside her home despite her cheery attitude.
• I Will Wait for You: Ferris had to wait for 3 years in order to marry Eddie, a whole year more than what he had originally intended because, at age 13, she was way too young to get married (the legal minimum age in England is 16, with parental authorization). Still, she stated that even back then, she would accept his proposal and spend the rest of her life with him.
• Mama Bear: As soon as Carol comes home heartbroken when she thinks Misaki doesn't see her as a woman, Ferris straight up headbutts him when he comes over to smooth things out.
• Mum Looks Like a Sister: So much so that Tomo and Misuzu initially thought she was Carol's older sister. This is due to her youth.
• My Beloved Smother: Invoked. Even though she is cheery and a Cuddle Bug, Ferris is tremendously protective of Carol, taking special considerations into preventing her daughter from drifting into Teen Pregnancy as she did, as she considers Carol particularly susceptible.
• Nice Girl: Played with. Albeit she is suspicious of most people she meets, just like Carol, she tends to look for the positive aspects of said people.
• Older Than They Look: She doesn't look much older than Carol despite being 28 years old. She can reliably pass herself off as being Carol's older sister.
• Parents as People: She's a very loving and doting mother to Carol, but she's not perfect; it's later revealed that she's caused some of Carol's deeper issues, namely how she told Carol "You're much cuter when you smile" when her daughter was upset as a child, rather than doing anything to solve the issue. This has caused Carol to become a Stepford Smiler who constantly wears the same placid smile regardless of what she's really feeling. Ferris has come to regret what she said, though she still wonders if Carol would have turned out differently if she'd said something else.
• Shed the Family Name: Played with. Her maiden name is not revealed in the manga, as she adopted her husband's.
• Small Role, Big Impact: She is responsible for how Carol is and behaves, in both the positive and negative aspects.
• Teen Pregnancy: She was pregnant with Carol at thirteen with Eddie, her sixteen-year-old partner.
• Too Dumb to Fool: Misuzu's attempt to troll her failed in the face of her ditziness.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Her telling Carol to smile if she got upset when she was younger caused the major rift between her and Misaki, preventing them from properly having a relationship until years later.
• Wardrobe Flaw of Characterization: She's often seen wearing a cardigan that is about four sizes too big for her, showing how little contact she has with the outside world.
• Younger Than They Look: In the flashback, she was absurdly well-developed for a girl who had just turned into a teenager. It's lampshaded, as Carol's father Eddie initially thought she was at least as old as he was if not a little older, not helped by the fact that he met her while she was working as a waitress, so he assumed she was an adult with a job (in reality, it was her family's restaurant that she was helping out at).

Eddie Olston

Eddie, aged 16

Eddie Olston is Ferris' husband and Carol's father. A British businessman and the heir to his father's company Olsonet, aged 16, he became Ferris' boyfriend sixteen years before the story and proposed to her in order to relocate to Japan for his studies as his father wanted, not knowing what romancing Ferris entailed.

Eddie only appears in a flashback extra for Volume 3 of the manga and is never shown in the present time. He does not appear in the anime adaptation either due to this part of the manga not being shown.

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• Adapted Out: The flashback from the volume extra that features him doesn't get adapted in the anime and thus he doesn't appear at all in the anime.
• The Atoner: What he intended to be a textbook romance with Ferris ended up becoming a responsibility, and it took him years to come through with his duty (as Ferris was too young to get married). He did end up marrying Ferris and providing stability for her and Carol.
• Distracted by the Sexy: The biggest culprit in the story, he saw a beautiful, buxom waitress at his favorite café and immediately engaged in a relationship with her. The thing is, he overlooked some important stuff.
• Follow in My Footsteps: It's implied that his father intended for him to take over Olsonet and the boy's move to Japan to study had to do with it.
• From Bad to Worse: Ferris dropped two gigantic bombs on him when he proposed to her. First, she was 13, and when the dust had settled on that, she was pregnant with his child.
• Hormone-Addled Teenager: The cause of his woes with Ferris, as he proverbially dove face down into what turned out to be concrete.
• Love at First Sight: He fell in love with Ferris the minute he laid eyes on her... but forgot to ask some rather crucial questions.
• Must Make Amends: He delivered on all his promises to Ferris and their marriage is evidently a happy one, but years later, it's shown that their ordeal is one of the reasons Ferris is so protective of Carol's chastity.
• My God, What Have I Done?: He despairs when Ferris told him that she's 13, but that was the least of his worries... because she was 13, and pregnant.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: An affluent young man groomed for high management for an international company. Yes, he is.
• Small Role, Big Impact: It's because of him that Ferris raised Carol the way she did.
• Teen Pregnancy: The other side of the coin. He was a dad at 16 with a 13-year-old partner.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: He only appears in the Volume 3 extras, and while it is not implied he is gone or anything like that it could make a person wonder where he is in the present time beyond the assumption he is busy with work.

Misaki Gundou

Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (Japanese), Colleen Clinkenbeard (English), Marina Reséndiz (Latin Spanish)

Misuzu's mother. Much like her daughter, Misaki is an extremely caustic and aloof individual. She used to be Gorou and Akemi's classmate at school, though she's not as friendly towards them as Misuzu is in turn with Tomo and Jun.

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• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: "Aloof" is too little a word to describe her, as a matter of fact. She's like Misuzu cubed.
• Always Someone Better: Although they barely antagonize each other and they get along very well, it's implied that Misaki always has a way to put Misuzu in her place. She's not Misuzu's mom for nothing!
• The Dreaded: Much like Jun and Misuzu, Gorou does not like her.
• Ironic Echo: She tells Tomo not to grow up like Akemi, much like Akemi warned Misuzu not to grow up like her.
• Like Mother, Like Daughter: She's an adult Misuzu, plain and simple.
• One-Steve Limit: Played with. There's also Kousuke Misaki, who is her daughter's and her friends' upperclassman. However, his is his family name.
• Opposites Attract: Misaki is a stoic, cold woman not unlike her teenage daughter, and doesn't let her affection out in the open. Her husband, however, is more expressive than both his wife and daughter combined, and can't go a minute without showering them in love.
• So Proud of You: As Ferris and Akemi remark that Misuzu is playing a Cinderella bound for bloody revenge, Misaki is filming her daughter proudly.
• Stoic Spectacles: The glasses complement her "serious businesswoman" look.
• We Used to Be Friends: She was Gorou and Akemi's classmate, and their relationship is closer than it appears, but they are not currently friends.
• You Keep Telling Yourself That: According to Akemi, Misaki was excited to see Misuzu in the Cinderella play, but wouldn't admit it to herself due to the fact that Misuzu told her that there was no school festival in the first place.

Mr. Gundou

Misuzu's father. An exasperatingly cuddly and jovial man, he is the exact contrary to both his wife and daughter.

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• Adapted Out: Doesn't appear at all in the anime adaptation.
• Butt-Monkey: Both his wife and daughter like to pick on him.
• Cuddle Bug: It's implied that he's this way with his family.
• Hidden Depths: It's implied that Misuzu is tolerant of Carol because her attitude is reflective of Misuzu's dad. It's also hinted that he is why Misuzu also craves physical affection from Tomo.
• Irony: Played for laughs. It's rather telling that a man made of marshmallow married a woman, and raised a girl who are both as caustic as sulfuric acid.
• Like Parent, Like Spouse: It's implied that should Misuzu take that route, a possible relationship with Tanabe would pretty much play out like her parents' own.
• Pitbull Dates Puppy: He's the puppy in the relationship.

Tatsurou Tanabe

Voiced by: Yuu Wakabayashi (Japanese), Geno Sánchez (Latin Spanish)

Tatsumi's father. A restauranteur who owns and runs the "God Ramen Tatsumi" shop, he becomes Tomo, Carol, and Misuzu's boss when he hires them as waitresses during summer vacation.

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• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Going by the fishy financial stuff that Misuzu found on him, his buying of the sexy waitress outfits would be the least of his worries.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: He is delighted at having the three girls working at his ramen shop, but he ends up getting extorted by Misuzu and apparently gave leeway to them working however they wanted due to whatever dirt she uncovered on him.
• Benevolent Boss: He is one for Tomo, Carol, and Misuzu, as the three girls make his business thrive.
• Deal with the Devil: What his employment of Tomo, Misuzu, and Carol ended up being, as Misuzu uncovered dirt on him that she uses to extort him.
• Happily Married: The man loves his wife to death. Apparently, he always bursts into tears when she goes home twice a year.
• Like Father, Like Son: Tatsumi and Tatsurou were on the same wavelength when they're praising the former for acquiring maid outfits for future female workers.
• Nice Guy: He's a good dude and a great boss... who ends up on Misuzu's leash.
• Penny Shaving: Implied and played for laughs. This is presumably the "dirt" that Misuzu found on him, as she gained quick unauthorized access to the restaurant's funds and accounting to send Tomo to buy supplies when they were getting short (it's equally possible that she uncovered tax fraud on him). She then uses this information to extort him out of extra pay and assures herself and Tomo and Carol with future employment in his establishment. Quite the deal with the Devil indeed!
• Shipper on Deck: He is very much aware that his daughter Akiko has a crush on Jun, and finds delight in encouraging her to get close to him.

Hanao-sensei

Voiced by: Yuu Wakui (Japanese), Sandra Olarra (Latin Spanish)

The school's P.E. teacher, who is usually at odds with how athletic and competitive Tomo and Jun can be at sports.

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• Butt-Monkey: As she finds her students intimidating, and being nice to a fault, it led her to have little to no authority over her students.
• Lovable Coward: She's very jumpy, and will retreat at the first sign of aggression, regardless of whether it's directed at her. Still, it's shown that her students are very fond of her.
• Nice Girl: She's a very sweet person, who finds that being the buffer for Tomo and Jun at P.E. is no easy task.
• No-Respect Guy: To her students, she's basically just another one of them. That does not bode well for a teacher.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: She's the person responsible for making sure Tomo and Jun don't just mow their classmates down.
• Sensei-chan: She's a young, friendly teacher who's too much of a Nice Girl to be much of an authority figure to her students, to the point that some students call her Hanao-chan.
• Stern Teacher: Played with. She's made of jelly, but she has the goal to become one.

Others

Akiko Tanabe

Tatsumi's bratty 8th grader little sister, who likes to pretend she's young and innocent to coddle up to Jun.

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• Adapted Out: Doesn't appear in the anime adaptation.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: To her brother Tatsumi. She is not shy in disparaging him, as she doubts that Tomo, Carol, and Misuzu are his "friends", and that they're in the restaurant just because they're taking advantage of him. However, this is only partially true, as the restaurant is indeed reaping great benefits from their presence.
• First Love: Implied. Jun is presumably her first crush.
• It Runs in the Family: She's just as perverted as her brother when it comes down to it. She was actually proud of her short size just because it'd be less suspicious for her to touch Jun as an innocent "little girl".
• Oh, Crap!: She's quick to notice that Tomo and Jun like each other. She doesn't take it very well.
• Older Than She Looks: According to Tatsumi, she passes off as a third grader in physical appearance.
• Precocious Crush: She has one in Jun, as we learn in the extras. Though she's not terribly innocent in her methods...
• Unknown Rival: To Tomo, who is unaware that she likes Jun as well.
• Wise Beyond Her Years: She's considerably more intelligent and perceptive than her older brother.

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