Characters appearing in Takashi Ikeda's Girls Love manga Whispered Words (2007-2011). Beware of unmarked spoilers.
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Main Couple
Sumika Murasame
Voiced by: Ayahi Takagaki
The protagonist of the series, Sumika Murasame is deeply in love with her cheerful classmate and friend Ushio Kazama. Ushio has a thing for girls, too, but... she's into cute girls. Sumika's problem is that she is too cool: top student, class representative, perfect in sports, black belt in karate, the list goes on. Not only girls, even guys are slightly afraid of approaching her. She herself, for all that's holy, doesn't want to endanger her friendship with Ushio, as much as it pains her to hide her feelings.- The Ace: Black belt in karate, top student, and a great athlete.
- Anguished Declaration of Love: Sumika finally makes hers to Kazama in chapter 46.
- Blind Without 'Em: In a flashback, Sumika rescues Ushio from some guys harassing her but has to stop and put on her glasses before she recognizes her.
- Bodyguarding a Badass: Despite being a karate blackbelt, Sumika is assigned guards before the sports festival because she is such a valuable athlete to her class.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Despite her Love Epiphany in a flashback. She is afraid that she's not Ushio's type and that their friendship will be ruined.
- Closet Key: For Mayu. Arguably for Azusa as well.
- Comical Angry Face: Often, especially in early chapters. She shows lots of fangs.
- Heir to the Dojo: Since her brothers are idiots, Sumika is the obvious person to run the family dojo after her father retires. When challengers from another dojo arrive and dad is unavailable, she beats the crap out of them.
- Huge Schoolgirl: 175cm at age 15.
- Imagine Spot: Sumika has many about Ushio. Miyako comments on a particularly embarrassing one.
- Lethal Chef: Taunted into a cooking contest by Miyako, Sumika demonstrates her lack of skills. In fact, her attempts at a dish explode. Twice.
- Love Epiphany: In a flashback, we see her realize that she loves Ushio. It makes her giddy.
- Love Makes You Dumb: Trying to turn herself into a cute clumsy girl wasn't a great plan. Neither was trying to train Lotte until she develops massive muscles so that she will no longer be Ushio's favorite cutie.
- The Matchmaker: With Kiyori, tries to find a cute lesbian girl for Ushio to fall in love with. She wants to believe that she just wants her beloved to be happy.
- Meido: While the girls are cooking dinner at Ushio's apartment.
- Missing Mom: Sumika's mom passed away when she was young, but she doesn't seem to mind the subject.
- Nice Girl: Sumika helps Azusa with her doujinshi, despite initially being put off by her negative attitude towards Tomoe and Miyako's open lesbianism. She also cares a lot about the girls in the karate club.
- Please, Don't Leave Me: To Ushio, when she says she needs to go live with her grandmother.
- Practice Kiss: With Ushio. Ushio wears a mask so that it won't count as her first kiss.
- Soup Is Medicine: Spooned into her mouth by Ushio while she has a cold.
- Stoic Spectacles: Except of course when she takes them off to fight.
- Suspicious Missed Messages: Ushio worries about her when Sumika goes away for a few days and is unexpectedly out of touch.
- Tomboy: Athletic, often seen in a gi. A student comments in chapter 39, "Murasame's practically a guy anyway!"
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The athletic tomboy to pretty girlish Ushio.
Ushio Kazama
Voiced by:Megumi Takamoto
A pretty cheerful schoolgirl lesbian, Ushio lives with her older brother Norio due to the long-ago death of her parents. She likes to hang out with her best friend Sumika Murasame and helpful but oblivious Kiyori Torioi and tell them about the latest cute girl she has a crush on. As time goes on, she realizes she values her Pseudo-Romantic Friendship with Sumika and then goes further to admit she truly loves her.- Belated Injury Realization: After a violent tantrum/crying fit she realizes the next day that she broke a bone in her hand.
- Captain Obvious: Ushio claims that "cute girls are cute".
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: When Sumika tries to leave Ushio's apartment where the girls are cooking.
- Green-Eyed Epiphany: Almost has one when she sees Sumika and Azusa in a compromising position after Azusa trips on the stairs. She eventually talks herself out of it.
- Heartwarming Orphan: Her parents are long dead and she lives in a small crowded apartment with her older brother. Sometimes the others express sympathy for her, but she seems fairly happy with it.
- Kissing Warm-Up: Briefly practices kissing in a mirror. Subverted: she's not alone, and Sumika reminds her of that.
- Lipstick Lesbian: She's a pretty girl who likes to dress up and loves cute girls. She sometimes wishes Sumika would dress up and she praises her when she does.
- Meido: In Part 5, while the girls are cooking dinner at Ushio's apartment. Her outfit features a cleavage window which embarrasses Sumika.
- New Transfer Student: In a flashback, Ushio is one to Sumika's middle school. It is later revealed she transferred because she was bullied after confessing to a girl who then gossipped about her.
- Soup Is Medicine: She spoons it into Sumika's mouth when she has a cold.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The girly-girl to Sumika's tomboy.
Umeda High School Friends
Tomoe Hachisuka
Voiced by:Hitomi Harada
A tall forceful schoolgirl lesbian, Tomoe is quite open about her relationship with cute clumsy girl Miyako Taema and defends their lifestyle in the classroom. She often takes charge of the group and sometimes can't resist trying to advance Ushio and Sumika's relationship. She is a member of the unofficial girls club and of the later Girls Karate Club.- The Ace: Quite the athlete, she can easily beat Sumika at swimming. It is revealed that she took two years off to save the struggling family business empire and then went back to school.
- Beta Couple: With Miyako. They are already a stable couple when they meet Sumika and Ushio.
- Drives Like Crazy: And how. The car they take to the beach explodes after they get out.
- Hidden Depths: She took two years off to save the struggling family business empire and then went back to school.
- Lesbian Jock: She's a passionate swimmer and in love with Miyako.
- Meido: While the girls are cooking dinner at Ushio's apartment. Tomoe's outfit is extremely professional.
- Shipper on Deck: She knows that Ushio and Sumika love each other and can't help giving them hints every now and then, with mixed results.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The athletic tomboy to cute klutzy Miyako.
Miyako Taema
Voiced by:Chiwa Saitō
Miyako is Tomoe's girlfriend, the daughter of an employee in the Hachisuka household. She appears to be just a cute clumsy girl, but she is also a deadpan snarker almost to the point of being a jerkass. She is a member of the unoffical girls club and of the later Girls Karate Club.- A-Cup Angst: She is not happy at being sent off with the "child" group at the water park. Normally it doesn't seem to bother her.
- Beta Couple: With Tomoe. They are already a stable couple when they meet Sumika and Ushio.
- Cute Clumsy Girl: So much so that when asked to demonstrate how to slip on a banana peel, she slips and falls before she even gets to it.
- Deadpan Snarker: She usually has a mean comment to make. She taunts Sumika into a cooking contest by saying she is so ungirly she probably can't cook. (She is entirely correct, of course.)
- Imagine Spotting: She comments on a particular embarrassing fantasy of Sumika's.
- Lethal Chef: She taunts Sumika into a cooking contest, but her own attempts to cook are a complete failure.
- Meido: While the girls are cooking dinner at Ushio's apartment.
- The Nicknamer: When talking to Tomoe, calls Sumika and Ushio "Four Eyes" and "Big Boobs". When particulary annoyed she even calls them that to their faces.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Her partner Tomoe is tall and athletic, while the boys call Miyako "Princess".
Charlotte Münchhausen
Called "Lotte", she is an exchange student from Germany (no doubt a descendant of Baron von Münchhausen). She loves karate and Sumika becomes her sensei - at first as part of a scheme to make her less attractive to Ushio, but then for real. She is a member of the Girls Karate Club.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: When asked to take over the girls karate club training, Lotte is very serious about it.
- Token Mini-Moe: Sooo this - blond, curls, short, young (she skipped a year of school)... Subverted in that she really wants to be a strong karate fighter.
- My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels: Lotte has an imperfect grasp of Japanese. At one point Miyako tricks her into telling the new karate club members that they are "unorganized pieces of amphibian poop".
Mayu Semimaru
Mayu and her childhood friend Koino join the Girls Karate Club in the second year. She is a first year and physically small but has years of karate experience.
- Brutal Honesty: Tells a bunch of local punks that she doesn't like their beverage choice, and tells Sumika to her face that she might quit the club when she is disappointed in her.
- Childhood Friends: Has been friends with Koino since kindergarten.
- LGBT Awakening: Realizing she is in love with Sumika.
- Love Confession: To Sumika.
- Pseudo-Romantic Friendship: Her relationship with Koino, at least until they both realize that they are lesbians. They walk to school together, hold hands, and at one point little cupids surround them after Mayu says she wants to be in the same club so that she can protect Koino from teasing.
Koino Matsubara
Koino and her childhood friend Mayu join the Girls Karate Club in the second year. She is a pretty first year student of normal height with no previous experience of karate.
- Childhood Friends: Has been friends with Mayu since kindergarten.
- Green-Eyed Epiphany: Doesn't realize that she loves Mayu until she helps Mayu realize that she loves Sumika.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: So much. Encourages Mayu to pursue Sumika and tries fiercely to win a karate match just so that Mayu will have another chance to impress Sumika.
- LGBT Awakening: Realizing she is in love with Mayu.
- Nice Girl: Helps Ushio when she is feeling down, loaning her money and even giving her part of her own dinner even though they hardly know each other at that point.
- Pseudo-Romantic Friendship: Her relationship with Mayu, at least until they both realize that they are lesbians. They walk to school together, hold hands, and at one point little cupids surround them after Mayu says she wants to be in the same club so that she can protect Koino from teasing.
Azusa Aoi
Voiced by:Mayuki Makiguchi
Azusa is a member of Sumika and Ushio's class who first comes to their attention by objecting to a discussion on lesbianism as "indecent". She is a fan of Girls Love who finds open discussion of the topic disturbing. Sumika joins her in producing a doujinshi and attending a girls love festival.- Hopeless Suitor: At the waterpark she realizes she is one to Sumika.
- LGBT Awakening: Possibly. Although Azusa enjoyed Girls Love books, it is unclear whether she realized her own lesbianism until she fell in love with Sumika.
- Nice Girl: Messages Sumika to let her know Ushio is at the hospital. She may be shipping them because she just wants her beloved Sumika to be happy.
- Wingding Eyes: Gets spiral ones on one of the rides at the water park.
Kiyori Torioi
Voiced by:Emiri Katou
Kiyori is a friend of Sumika and Ushio from the beginning of high school and the token straight in a friend group that is largely lesbian. She manages to be oblivious to Sumika and Ushio's relationship until the day before graduation.- A-Cup Angst: Divides up the waterpark expedition into "children's" and "adult's" team by breast size; she's on the "children's" team with Miyako and Azusa."No way am I going to endure being lined up next to those overdeveloped freaks!"
- The Matchmaker: Helpfully compiles a list of cute girls who might be good matches for Ushio.
- Nice Girl: Although oblivious to her friends' love, she always has good intentions. When she decorates their classroom to celebrate their love on the day of graduation, it is totally heartwarming.
- Obsessed with Food: Rarely seen without food, especially her signature curry bread.
Masaki Akemiya
Voiced by:Ayaka Shimizu
Masaki is a classmate of Sumika and Ushio's and the vice-president of the class. He is a small boy with feminine features who falls in love with Sumika. He crossdresses to try to gain her love.- Butt-Monkey: Misfortune befalls him every time it gets a chance.
- Dogged Nice Guy: To Sumika. He eventually gains her respect, if not her love.
- Girly Run: Believe it or not, he runs this way.
- The Matchmaker: Helps out with the scheme to find cute matches for Ushio, although only because his beloved Sumika asked him to.
- The One Guy: Well, after all it is a Girls Love manga, even if Umeda High School is coed. No other male student gets much attention.
- Successful Sibling Syndrome: Subverted: his sister Manaka appoints herself promoter of "Akemi Yamasaki" and doesn't seem at all jealous of his successes.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: His little sister pushes him into it to try to gain Sumika's love; ultimately he admits he's ok with it.
Adults
Tenkai Murasame
Sumika's father runs a karate dojo. The butt of much humor, he is a good father to Sumika - although he would like her to resume training and get married so that her husband could run the dojo after he retires, since, in his words, her triplet older brothers are idiots.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: According to Sumika, every time Ushio comes over he says asks her to share some of her cuteness with Sumika, who is "sorely lacking in that department!" Sumika is not amused.
- Butt-Monkey: When a challenger comes from a rival dojo, he announces he will grind them to a paste... and then discovers he has eaten too much and his stomach hurts. He sends Sumika instead. He is also comically crushed when Sumika finally tells him she may not be able to take over the dojo because she will be with Ushio forever.
- Good Parents: He does care about Sumika. Sending her off on a college tour turns out to be a good decision, and he ultimately seems to accept her decision on marriage.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: As the master of the dojo, he punishes Sumika when she is distracted during a match and strikes a student too hard. He also puts Sumika in charge of Lotte, which eventually seems to work out for both of them.
Sasumi Noe
The Murasame family's live-in housekeeper, needed since they live in a large compound and Sumika's mother is dead.
- Bad Liar: She tries to claim to Ushio that she is "like a mother" to Sumika, but Sumika is right there and corrects her.
- Kindly Housekeeper: She is there to serve tea or hold an ice pack on a headache.
- Say It with Hearts: In a flashback, gets so enthusiastic over Sumika bringing a normal girl (Ushio) home that she gushes about it and tries to make them promise to stay friends forever. Sumika is embarrassed."Stop with the heart marks."
Norio Kazama
Voiced by:Wataru Hatano
Ushio's older brother. He is a part-time author of Girls Love novels. He took Ushio in when she was lonely and being bullied at school living with her grandmother.- Confirmed Bachelor: At least until he feels that Ushio no longer needs his support. Their grandmother tells him he should hurry up and get married while she's still around.
- Good Parents: He makes a good parental figure for his sister, accepting her sexual orientation and resisting the urge to meddle in her relationship with Sumika.
- Promotion to Parent: Norio is however much older than Ushio and she accepts his authority.
