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Main Characters

    Yuu Koito 
Voiced by: Yūki Takada (Japanese), Tia Ballard (English)
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yuu_koito_116652_0.jpg

The protagonist of the story, Yuu has always expected romance to be an overwhelming sensation of butterflies and fluffy feelings, but finds herself unable to experience such. She seemingly finds a kindred spirit in Touko, who claims that no one has ever made her heart flutter, but she soon finds herself in an ambiguously one-sided relationship with her senpai.

In the School Play, Yuu plays the nurse who takes care of the main character.
  • Anguished Declaration of Love: Does this to Touko in Chapter 34, knowing that the status quo can't go on. After Touko apologizes, Yuu runs away.
  • Armor-Piercing Question: After Sayaka says that it was "selfish" for Yuu to want to change the script because of her desire for Touko to change, Yuu asks, "Then... why did you support the new script?" Sayaka is forced to admit that she had the same wish that Yuu did, but was too scared to actually take the lead.
  • Armor-Piercing Response: Does this to Touko in Chapter 28, combined with You Are Better Than You Think You Are, to convince Touko that everyone she knows likes her as a person, rather than just an imitation of her sister.
    Touko: What everyone thinks is me is really just me acting like my sister.
    Yuu: But you are the one who's worked so hard to be like her, senpai!
  • Book Dumb: It's implied that Yuu isn't especially good at school, as she struggles with math and her first choice for a Tanabata wish(though probably not her actual wish) is to get an average grade on the math test. She does well in Japanese and English, but her other grades are mediocre.
  • Brutal Honesty: A trait that really appeals to Touko. Yuu often says what is on her mind and isn't afraid of confronting people she has an issue with.
  • The Caretaker: Though she'll deny it, Yuu is actually a doting and caring individual who will help others because she can't bring herself to leave someone in trouble or in distress alone.
    • Interestingly enough, this is also treated as a character flaw. Because Yuu often just goes with whatever needs to be done to make someone feel better, she has a hard time deciding what she wants for herself and usually ends up doing tasks that she's not particularly thrilled to do. For this reason, her old friend Natsuki chose not to ask Yuu to apply to the same high school and play on the softball team together, since while Natsuki had hoped Yuu would join her, she didn't want Yuu to feel as though she had to.
  • Compliment Backfire: Played for Laughs. In an extra chapter, she gets annoyed when Touko points out her height (Touko finds Yuu cute), and when her former kouhai defend her in an unintentionally backhanded manner by saying that she's "cool" even if she's short.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Yuu can often be fairly snarky, especially with her sister.
    Rei: I left (my phone charger) at the university.
    Yuu: Yeah, sure. You mean you left it at Hiro-kun's, right?
  • The Ditherer: She's said to be this according to her sister and her old friends, the latter of whom note that she took a long time to decide on a club near the start of the story. She's possibly an Emphatic Fence-Sitter considering her willingness to go along with what other people want.
    Rei: That kid's fine once she puts her mind to something, but when it comes to decisions, she gets so wishy-washy. (thinks) It'd be good if she could find someone to pull her forward.
  • Everyone Hates Mathematics: According to a bonus section in Volume 7, she has good Japanese and English grades, and average social studies grades, but her math and science grades are below average.
  • Establishing Character Moment: At the start of the story, it's revealed that Yuu hasn't responded to a boy's Love Confession in two months, since while she doesn't dislike him, she doesn't feel anything special about him. She also has yet to choose a club, having previously played softball because a friend invited her, at which point her teacher suggests that she join the student council. All this establishes Yuu as fairly indecisive, but willing to help her friends, as well as someone who has yet to feel true love.
  • Fatal Flaw:
    • Because she Thinks Like a Romance Novel, she ends up having unrealistic expectations of love, thus causing her to have difficulty recognizing her feelings for Touko. This includes how she feels about Touko's apparent "rejection," as because Yuu didn't break down in tears like Akari did, she wonders if she ever loved Touko.
    • Yuu is also fairly indecisive, which is why it takes roughly a month for her to turn down the boy who confessed to her. She gradually grows out of this flaw as time goes on.
  • First-Name Basis: Not only does Yuu call her closest friends- Akari, Koyomi and Natsuki- by their first names without honorifics, but she also forgoes Japanese Sibling Terminology on her sister, and calls her "Rei-chan". She also considers taking Touko up on her offer to call her by her first name, but decides against it, although she's perfectly fine with Touko calling her by her first name. After they start going out, Yuu starts calling Touko "Touko-senpai", noting that it's a bit too soon for her to drop the honorific. At the end of the sex scene, however, she finally starts calling Touko by name without honorifics, although she still calls her "Nanami-sempai" around Sayaka.
  • Foil: To Sayaka. Both are close to Touko, but she appreciates them for different reasons- Sayaka for letting her act "special" despite knowing of her vulnerabilities, and Yuu for letting her drop her façade. Sayaka loves Touko, while Yuu is the subject of Touko's initially unrequited love.
  • Forgotten First Meeting: In Regarding Sayaka Saeki, she briefly meets Sayaka while the latter is shopping at her family's bookstore. While Yuu is aware that Sayaka is a regular, she doesn't acknowledge the meeting.
  • Gamer Chick: Yuu is occasionally shown playing video games, such as at the start of summer vacation, and has a video game collection in her room.
  • Gayngst: Downplayed. While Yuu's initially convinced that she can't fall in love with anyone, she's a bit uncomfortable with her father joking that he'd have to put his foot down if Touko turned out to be her girlfriend, and is worried about Touko's reputation being ruined if people found out she'd kissed Yuu. She also doesn't feel ready to tell her parents about her going out with Touko, although it's shown that Rei and Natsuki know about their relationship.
  • Good Is Not Nice: Downplayed. Yuu is a caring and kind person, but her Brutal Honesty and practicality sometimes throws people off.
  • Got Volunteered: When Yuu's homeroom teacher overhears that she still hasn't committed to a club, he suggests that she join the student council, more or less taking her asking for a trial run as a "yes." That said, it isn't long before Yuu willingly joins.
  • Height Angst: Yuu is tied with Koyomi as the shortest member of the cast—something that bothers her when pointed out. She's even shorter than two of her old kouhai from middle school. One omake even depicts her drinking milk straight from the carton, presumably hoping to get taller.
  • Irony: There have been several small hints that Yuu has in-fact fallen for Touko, but because she Thinks Like a Romance Novel, she is expecting some sort of large overwhelming emotional response instead of the more subdued feelings she does have of just being happier around Touko.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold/Nice Girl: Yuu sits somewhere between the two. She can be brutally honest and snarky when she feels like it, but she's also a kind person and a supportive friend.
  • Love Epiphany: She comes close in Chapter 22, when she she stops just short of admitting that she's fallen in love with Touko, pondering how disturbed she is that Touko, who hates herself, hates something Yuu loves. Another one occurs after the Student Council play when Yuu realizes that in helping Touko become more open she has removed herself as the "special" person that she only opens up to. Finally, in Chapter 39, Maki helps Yuu realize that she loves Touko
  • Master of the Mixed Message: While she isn't interested in Touko, she doesn't really do anything to dissuade her feelings either. Touko eventually lampshades this.
  • Meaningful Echo:
    • On the receiving end of this. Yuu turns down her former classmate's confession in the first chapter with a simple "I'm sorry." In Chapter 34, Touko says the exact same phrase in response to Yuu's Anguished Declaration of Love, which Yuu mistakes for a rejection.
    • A subtler example happens with two key moments in her relationship with Touko, in which Touko's hands show her emotional state. After turning down her male classmate's Love Confession while Holding Hands with Touko, she mentally notes that, "But it wasn't my hand that was sweating slightly, still holding on." Much later, when Touko makes her Love Confession to Yuu, Yuu notes, "It wasn't my hand that was shaking. It was hers."
  • No Sparks: Yuu's problem with romance in general. She notes that the boy who confessed to her before the school year was a good guy, someone who would be ideal for any high school romance, but she just didn't feel anything.
  • Odd Name Out: She's the only one of her group of friends who doesn't have an I at the end of her name.
  • Oh, Crap!:
    • After she learns that Maki saw her and Touko kissing, Yuu briefly panics and worries that he'll tell everyone, as well as the consequences of what will happen if people learn. Thankfully, though, Maki doesn't hesitate to keep it secret.
    • She considers putting the charm Touko bought her on her cell phone strap or bag, but wonders what people will think if they see Touko doing the same. She isn't too concerned at first, but the idea of Sayaka seeing it and asking her about it makes Yuu immediately reconsider, with a "Yikes!" aside.
  • Performance Anxiety: She initially refuses to play a part in the play, because she hates being in front of crowds. She does get over this by the time of the play, however.
  • The Reliable One: Natsuki considers Yuu to be this for their middle school softball team, since Yuu was dedicated but levelheaded.
  • Sacred First Kiss: Subverted. When Touko kisses her on impulse in Chapter 2, Yuu doesn't make a huge fuss out of it, but she does express confusion over it.
  • Thinks Like a Romance Novel: Another one of her problems with romance. Yuu expects love to be some kind of overwhelming feeling that will blow her away, which is why she is oblivious to the more subtle hints and cues that she's falling in love with Touko. After assuming that Touko refused her confession, Yuu wonders if the fact that she didn't break down and cry like Akari had means that Yuu didn't truly love Touko.

    Touko Nanami 
Voiced by: Minako Kotobuki (Japanese), Luci Christian (English)
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/touko_nanami_116653.jpg

The co-protagonist. Beautiful, intelligent and kind, Touko is the school's Ace and later student council president and has been confessed to several times since freshman year, but has turned all of her suitors down. She initially claims to have never held romantic feelings for anyone, but upon hearing Yuu confide in her that she doesn't believe she can fall in love, Touko declares her love for her kouhai and enters a relationship with her.

In the School Play, Touko plays the protagonist, an amnesiac girl trying to find which of the three different perspectives on her is the "real" one.
  • Academic Athlete: She's one of the top students in the school, and one of the better athletes, enough so that the Student Council team does almost as well as the basketball team in the club relay race.
  • The Alleged Boss: Type 4. While she's an effective leader, she also generally doesn't assert her authority very much, and appears willing to let her fellow student council officers, especially Sayaka and Yuu, treat her as an equal.
  • Berserk Button: A relatively understated one considering that Touko is generally in control of her emotions, but discouraging her from trying to follow in her sister's footsteps is a bit of a sore spot for Touko. When her father tries to suggest that Touko doesn't need to push herself so hard, Touko gets upset, leaves the dinner table and isn't able to concentrate on her homework until a talk with Yuu.
  • Be Yourself: A variation. Touko starts out trying to "become" her sister, but with Yuu's help, gradually learns how to accept herself.
  • Big Sister Worship: She looked up to her older sister Mio when she was young, and desperately wanted to "become" Mio after Mio died. This is part of the reason why she takes it so hard when Ichigaya tells her about Mio's less admirable qualities.
  • Blunt "Yes": When Sayaka, having just been rejected by Touko, asks if Touko loves Yuu instead, Touko says yes.
  • Broken Ace: While she's beautiful, top of her class, and a skilled athlete, Yuu discovers early on that she's actually quite shy and insecure behind her facade of confidence. It's also later revealed that she pushes herself to be perfect to honor her late sister and has come to depend on the praise she gets from people by doing that. Part of her attraction to Yuu is that she feels like she can drop the act around her.
  • Broken Pedestal: An old classmate of her sister later tells her that Mio was not like the perfect girl everyone thought she was, including Touko. This causes Touko to have a sort of existential crisis because she spent her whole life trying to be like the sister she thought Mio was.
  • Compliment Backfire: In addition to telling Touko what was mentioned under Broken Pedestal, Ichigaya also says that Touko is a better Student Council President than her sister, since he believes Touko is truly the kind of person Mio pretended to be, and declares they're nothing alike. Not only is Touko disturbed by the idea that her sister is different than she imagined, but she also knows that means both she and Mio are putting on an act.
  • Crush Blush: She can seldom look at Yuu without blushing.
  • Dogged Nice Girl: Touko due to Yuu not feeling the same way. Subverted in Chapter 10 when Touko hopes that Yuu won't fall for her since she believes that "love is a shackle".
  • Even the Girls Want Her: It's indicated that Touko has gotten confessions from girls before, and she notes that they tend to take rejection harder than the boys. Sayaka(who's a lesbian) also loves Touko, and Yuu has apparently developed feelings for her.
  • Establishing Character Moment: Her graceful rejection of a suitor in the first chapter leaves quite an impression on Yuu, and goes to show the kind of person Touko tries to be.
  • Fatal Flaw: Her low self-esteem and self-loathing make her desperate to become her sister so that others will acknowledge her, and initially prevents her from realizing that her friends see her as a person, rather than a copy of her sister.
  • First-Name Basis: Most of Touko's friends call her by her first name, and she does the same for Sayaka. In the early series, she initially alternates between calling Yuu by her first name when she's playful and using "Koito-san" in relatively serious moments, she asks permission to call Yuu by her first name all the time, and Yuu accepts. Shortly afterward, she casually blows Doujima off when Doujima tries to get her to call him by his first name.
  • Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Initially comes off as a downplayed version of the Foolish sibling to Mio's Responsible sibling, since at the time of Mio's death, she seemed less accomplished than her sister. She's actually the Responsible sibling, since she actually works hard at her Student Council President job, unlike Mio, who apparently delegated most of her responsibilities to her fellow officers.
  • Friendless Background: Downplayed. Touko mentions that she had few friends as a young girl, and Sayaka meets an old acquaintance of Touko's from when she was young(considering that she refers to Touko by her last name, it's unlikely they were very close).
  • Grave-Marking Scene: Is shown visiting her sister's grave a few chapters before the school play, where she says she will finish what her sister started, even if she's not sure what comes after.
  • Hidden Depths:
  • Innocently Insensitive: Touko eventually realizes that, by insisting that Yuu not fall in love with her, she forced Yuu to keep her burgeoning feelings for Touko secret.
  • Instant Expert: Nara-sensei is surprised that Touko did so well in the play without any prior experience.
  • Love Martyr: An interesting variation. Touko definitely has feelings for Yuu, but she tells Yuu not to fall in love with her and is perfectly fine with the ambiguous status of their relationship. This is out of her own self-loathing and self-esteem issues, where Touko believes that she is undeserving of love, but is still more than willing to give it. Yuu eventually realizes just how unfair and unhealthy this is.
  • Master Actor: She's easily the most skilled member of the play's cast, and ends up being scouted for the theater troupe after the play.
  • Master of All: She has excellent grades in all subjects.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: After Yuu's Anguished Declaration of Love, Touko realizes that her insistence on not being loved has forced Yuu to keep her feelings to herself, and she's ashamed of how much she's hurt Yuu.
  • Nice Girl: For all her issues, Touko is a genuinely good-hearted individual who's pleasant to be around. Yuu's first impression of her is, among other things, a "nice" person for her tactful and polite rejection of her suitor.
  • No Poker Face: In the anthology story "Let's Play Cards with Senpai", while they're playing Old Maid, Yuu accuses Touko of having the Joker, which Touko vehemently denies... while shaking like a phone on vibrate. When this is pointed out to her, she collapses on the table and says, "I don't have the stupid Joker!" which only further cements Yuu's suspicions. This lack of poker face is also a key factor in her getting last in the game.
  • Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: She's a natural when it comes to the School Play, and is probably the best of the amateur actors in the student council, but she's the least experienced member of the theater troupe. She's actually glad to be a relative newbie, since it means people won't put her on a pedestal.
  • Oblivious to Love:
    • Averted with Sayaka. She admits that she did actually know about Sayaka's feelings for her even before Sayaka confesses, but admits that she chose not to acknowledge them because Sayaka didn't say them out loud. In Chapter 37, Touko tries to pre-emptively reject Sayaka's confession, assuming that she's simply Loving a Shadow, but Sayaka proves otherwise.
    • Played straight with Yuu, since Touko never imagined that Yuu was in love with her until Yuu confessed in Chapter 34. Granted, Yuu herself didn't think that she was in love with Touko.
  • Oblivious Younger Sibling: She looked up to her older sister, and was shocked to find out that Ichigaya remembers Mio as a slacker who delegated work to her colleagues.
  • Parents as People: Her parents seem to care for her, but it's indicated that they were among the many adults who unwittingly put pressure on her to emulate her sister. Her father seems ambivalent about Touko's efforts to put on the play, thinking she doesn't need to do it, but ends up hitting a sore spot and causing her to leave the table when he brings it up. After the play ends, they realize that they've "said too little for too long."
  • Poor Communication Kills: Played for Drama. Her apology to Yuu wasn't meant to be a rejection of her crush, but Yuu seems to see it as such. Since Touko can't answer Yuu's feelings, Touko can't bring herself to correct Yuu's misconception, thus preventing the two from getting back onto speaking terms.
  • Shrinking Violet: Touko says that in the past, she was a timid girl who had very few friends.
  • Spirited Competitor: She's very driven to see the student council win the club relay race despite the fact that their rivals include the school's sports teams, much to Yuu and Sayaka's chagrin.
  • Stepford Smiler: She appears outwardly cheerful, hiding severe self-loathing issues. Even after making some progress in that regard, she hasn't told anyone else about Yuu's Anguished Declaration of Love or how painful their avoiding each other has been on her.
  • Survivor Guilt: Heavily implied to be suffering from this. A dream reveals that shortly before her sister died, Touko played rock-paper-scissors with her to determine who would throw out some trash for their mother. Touko won, and her sister never came back from taking out the garbage.
  • Through His Stomach: She asks for Rei's cheesecake recipe, clearly wanting to make it for Yuu.
  • Troll: Subverted. In one interlude, Yuu assumes that Touko chose to come all the way to her family's bookstore to buy a romance novel with an eventual lesbian relationship and explicit sexual content to see her reaction. Touko apologizes and says she only wanted to buy something while Yuu was working the register, and didn't even know about what kind of book it was.
  • Umbrella of Togetherness: Does this with Yuu in Chapter 13, and apparently did this for her sister in the past.

    Sayaka Saeki 
Voiced by: Ai Kayano (Japanese), Shanae'a Moore (English)
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sayaka_5.png

Touko's best friend and the vice president of the student council who takes her position at Touko's number two seriously. She can be standoffish and gives off an intimidating aura, but is good at heart. She is secretly in love with Touko and is immediately suspicious of Yuu and Touko's relationship.

In the School Play, Sayaka plays the main character's girlfriend.
  • Academic Athlete: Like Touko, Sayaka excels at school and sports.
  • Alliterative Name: Sayaka Saeki.
  • Always Someone Better: Touko is this to Sayaka, having always been one step ahead of her in most pursuits. Rather than inspire jealousy in Sayaka, this caused her to fall in love with Touko. In Chapter 42, Sayaka manages to surpass Touko in the second semester finals, taking first place while Touko takes second.
  • Brutal Honesty: Zig-zagged. While Sayaka often bottles up her feelings and lets many thoughts go unspoken, she can be quite blunt when she chooses to express what's on her mind.
  • Cannot Spit It Out: Sayaka occasionally struggles with this.
    • After Yuu explains her reasons for having Koyomi rewrite the play's ending, Sayaka notes to herself that she also wants Touko to change, but couldn't bring herself to say it.
    • The second volume of the light novel has her realize that Touko won't find any fulfillment in her quest to emulate her sister, but she can't bring herself to actually say it to her. Because she didn't say that, Touko ultimately chooses Yuu instead.
  • Character Development: In the first volume of the light novel series, Sayaka develops from a girl who's too busy with her classes and extracurriculars to pay much attention to the people around her to someone who gradually falls in love and discovers her sexuality. The third volume has her gradually come to terms with how she feels about Touko as she becomes closer to Haru.
  • The Confidant: Before Yuu, Sayaka was Touko's go-to person for advice. Currently, this has somewhat dimmed down, but she's still Touko's best friend.
  • Damned by Faint Praise: After backhandedly telling Chie that she has no idea how she fell in love with her in the first place, Sayaka then says that she's grateful to Chie "in a way."
  • A Day in the Limelight: She has a three volume Light Novel series. The first volume covers Sayaka's early life and meeting Touko. The second volume follows the manga but tells the story from Sayaka's point of view. The third volume is a Distant Finale and with Sayaka finding love in College.
  • Did You Actually Believe...?: When Sayaka talks with Yuu about Yuu keeping Koyomi's skill as a writer secret from the student council, Sayaka asks Yuu if she honestly thought Sayaka, as Touko's best friend, wouldn't be able to see through the façade Touko puts up.
  • Dislikes the New Guy: She, one of two holdovers from the previous Student Council, is unimpressed with Doujima's attitude toward student council work, and is somewhat jealous of Yuu's closeness with Touko (although they do develop an understanding later). That said, she doesn't seem to have any problems with Maki.
  • Fatal Flaw: Sayaka's fatal flaw is being unwilling to challenge the status quo when it comes to Touko by saying things that might be difficult for Touko to hear— telling her that she knows about Touko's vulnerability, that Touko's quest to become like her sister can't possibly succeed or that she's in love with Touko— out of fear of losing Touko's friendship. Sayaka instead waits until Touko is able to change, and by the time Sayaka confesses to Touko, Touko has already fallen in love with Yuu.
  • First-Name Basis: She calls Touko, Midori and Manaka by their first names without honorifics, although it took her a little while to call Touko by her first name. She eventually starts calling Haru by her first name without honorifics, after a lot of prodding, once they start dating, and doesn't mind Haru calling her "Sayaka-sempai."
  • Full-Name Basis: In the light novels, she refers to Touko as "Nanami Touko" in the narration before getting onto a First-Name Basis with her (but addresses her as "Nanami-san.")
  • Gayngst: Downplayed. Sayaka accepts that she likes girls, but that doesn't stop her from getting frustrated at how it's caused her some problems. For example, when her ex comes over and apologizes for "making her like girls," Sayaka understandably takes offense at her sexuality being taken as something negative.
  • Graceful Loser: She takes being rejected by Touko surprisingly well, and supports her relationship with Yuu when they finally become an Official Couple. And after they graduate from high school, Yuu and Sayaka actually become best friends. Despite this, Sayaka isn't completely over Touko; in the manga, she still has trouble talking to Touko without using Yuu as an inbetween, while the light novel has her admit that spending time around her reopens old wounds.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: She is one of the first people to pick up Yuu and Touko's closeness and suspects that they are in a pseudo-relationship. She doesn't take this well, but otherwise remains civil about it.
  • Hope Spot: While her love for Touko remains unrequited, Touko changing after the play seems to convince Sayaka that she quite possibly has a shot at Touko now. She confesses and is rejected, but takes it fairly well.
  • I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: When she sees Yuu has Touko's charm on her bag, Sayaka, after a short preamble, simply says, "Be good to her."
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Sayaka can be fairly snide and irritable, but nevertheless is a good person at heart and a true friend to Touko.
  • Jerkass to One: Downplayed, but she and Yuu have some unspoken tension in the days leading up to the relay race, although Sayaka gets along well with most other people.
  • Kindhearted Cat Lover: She has cats at her house. One illustration between chapters has Touko trying to get one to play with her.
  • Last-Name Basis: She refers to virtually everyone besides Touko and their friends Midori and Manaka by their last names, with appropriate honorifics. According to the light novel, she almost exclusively uses this mode of address with anyone outside her family, which is why she calls Haru "Edamoto-san" for most of the third novel.
  • Love at First Sight: She was attracted to Touko almost immediately after meeting her.
  • Love Confession: In Chapter 37, she confesses to Touko.
  • Loving a Shadow: Averted. She says that she was initially in love with "perfect Touko," but found she continued to love Touko even after learning of her weaknesses.
  • Master of All: Like Touko, she's adept in all subjects, and it's pointed out that only her tendency to make careless mistakes holds her back.
  • Meaningful Echo:
    • At the start of the series, she asks Yuu to "take good care of" Touko, after Touko chooses Yuu as her campaign manager instead of Sayaka. Near the end, Sayaka tells Yuu the same thing, after Touko rejects Sayaka's Love Confession and gets together with Yuu.
    • In the third volume of Regarding Sayaka Saeki, Haru frequently tells Sayaka, who calls her "Edamoto-san," "You can call me Haru." Near the end, after they've started dating, Sayaka tells Haru, who still calls her "Sayaka-senpai," "You can just call me Sayaka."
  • My Eyes Are Up Here: Ends up on both sides of the view:
    • During one of the interludes between chapters, Sayaka asks Touko if she's grown while obviously looking at her chest. An annoyed Touko asks "Where are you looking while you say that?"
    • In the third volume of Regarding Sayaka Saeki, Haru, when she first cuddles up to Sayaka, ends up intently staring at the latter's breasts, outright commenting (after she confirms that Sayaka won't be offended) that she has pretty big breasts. Sayaka is simply stunned to silence, but the idea is there.
  • Not Quite the Right Thing: Sayaka's decides not to tell Touko about her feelings or the futility of Touko's quest to become like her sister out of fear of losing her friendship, something that Miyako considers her being a good friend to Touko. This decision ultimately costs Sayaka her chance to win Touko over, since by the time she confesses, Touko has already fallen in love with Yuu.
  • The Ojou: Played with. She apparently went to "a school for rich girls," but denies that this is the case, and enjoys things that ordinary girls would, such as fast food and karaoke.
  • Passive-Aggressive Kombat: She engages in this from time to time.
    • After hearing Touko call Yuu by her first name, Sayaka offers to do the same. She then retracts that offer, saying that she didn't call her kouhais at her old middle school by their first names, as a way of subtly expressing jealousy over how close Touko and Yuu are.
    • After hearing that her former senpai is sorry about getting her interested in girls (as opposed to suddenly dumping her and breaking her heart), Sayaka gives a polite but backhanded reassurance that she's no longer interested in her senpai.
    • She also occasionally brings up Yuu's status as Touko's kouhai, as a way of claiming to have a closer relationship to Touko than Yuu does.
    Sayaka: I'm sure she(Touko) wouldn't want her kouhai to worry about it. I'll keep an eye on her myself.
  • Rejected Apology: She refuses to accept her ex-girlfriend's apology for dumping her, although she doesn't do so overtly. Instead, she gives an outwardly polite Stealth Insult toward Chie before saying goodbye to her forever.
  • Romantic Runner-Up: Her first relationship ended when her senpai grew out of her Gay Romantic Phase, and despite how much Touko values her as a person, she's in love with Yuu. The epilogue shows that Sayaka managed to finally find love in college, and has a girlfriend named Haru. She manages to retain her friendship with Touko and Yuu, but still finds it a bit awkward to be around Touko if Yuu isn't there to be a middleman. In the light novel, she believes that her relationship with Touko and Yuu will only grow more distant.
  • Secret-Keeper: She knows about Riko and Miyako being in a relationship. Miyako is willing to discuss it with Sayaka if they're alone but doesn't want Riko to find out that she told anyone.
  • Secret Secret-Keeper: She knows about Touko's secret vulnerability, but Touko doesn't initially know. After Ichigaya tells Touko about her sister, Sayaka does start openly talking with Touko about her sister, though, and openly admits that she's always known the truth about Touko during her Love Confession.
  • Stealth Insult: After meeting up with her old senpai again, her senpai apologizes for making Sayaka a lesbian, and expresses the hope that Sayaka's gotten over it. Sayaka responds as follows before leaving arm-in-arm with Touko; the subtext that Sayaka's still a lesbian, even if she no longer loves her senpai, apparently goes over the older girl's head.
    Sayaka: "No need to worry about me. As of now, I don't know how I ever had feelings for you. Still, I suppose I'm grateful to you- in a way."
  • Stepford Smiler: She has some traits of this after being rejected by Touko, since she notes that when she smiles, she can't do it wholeheartedly.
  • Tritagonist: The third main focus character apart from Touko and Yuu.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Yuu, unsure of whether reviving the tradition of putting on a play will be good for Touko, initially lies and says she doesn't know anyone who can write a play- in fact, she knows Koyomi's a good writer. When Sayaka finds out, she calls Yuu out, accusing her of not respecting Touko's desires.
    Sayaka: She puts on a strong, confident act... but deep down, she's struggling to bear the pressure. You've seen it, haven't you? But this is what Touko wants. Becoming student council president... the play... she's resolved to do all these things. And yet you would deny her wishes... and try to stop her?

Yuu's Friends

    Koyomi Kanou 
Voiced by: Konomi Kohara (Japanese), Brittney Karbowski (English)

A long-time friend of Yuu's and an aspiring novelist. She is the one who writes the School Play.


  • A Day in the Limelight: Chapter 25 focuses on Koyomi and makes her the POV character, something that usually doesn't happen for anyone besides Yuu, Touko or Sayaka.
  • Alliterative Name: Koyomi Kanou
  • Asleep in Class: She sometimes sleeps in class, albeit rarely, when she's so busy writing that she ends up losing sleep. One time, when the teacher catches her, he tells her that what she slept through will be on the test.
  • Brainy Brunette: She has black hair and has the second best grades of all the first-years besides Maki (fifth behind Touko, Sayaka, Maki and Manaka).
  • Broken Pedestal: Subverted. Despite being shocked to find out that her favorite author is actually female, Koyomi continues to admire said author.
  • Chafing Against the Dress Code: Koyomi ditches the ribbon on her school uniform because she thinks it's cute, and she has a strong dislike of cute things.
  • Everyone Hates Mathematics: Despite getting excellent grades in all other subjects, her math grades are merely average.
  • Inconsistent Spelling: The localization of the manga uses "Kanou," while the anime subs use "Kano."
  • Little Miss Snarker: She's just as short as Yuu, and is equally snarky.
  • Non-Uniform Uniform: She doesn't wear the ribbon with her school uniform, since she doesn't like "cute" things.
  • Not So Stoic: The only times she'll ever convey any excitement are when she's been inspired to write, or when she's talking about her favorite novelist: Renma-san.
  • School Uniforms are the New Black: Downplayed. Koyomi wears her school uniform to the training camp, even though she's not required to, and the other participants are wearing casual clothing.
  • The Sixth Ranger: She often attends student council meetings as their playwright, but only for play-related business. Doujima tries to get her to join the committee so there'd be more girls, which is why Koyomi flatly refuses.
  • The Stoic: Her expression is almost always stonefaced. At other times, she either seems bored or sleepy.
  • Tomboy with a Girly Streak: She prefers wearing pants instead of skirts and doesn't like "cute" things, but she also enjoys collecting stuffed animals.

    Akari Hyuga 
Voiced by: Yuka Terasaki (Japanese), Amber Lee Connors (English)

Another friend of Yuu and Koyomi's, and a basketball player. She's in love with a member of the boy's basketball team.


  • Book Dumb: Her grades are bad enough that she's in danger of being given supplementary lessons.
  • Damned by Faint Praise: The Volume 7 bonus listing the cast's grades has her as the worst student, with the description saying, "Decent at biology." Her science grades are on par with Yuu, who's much better than her at every other subject.
  • Dogged Nice Girl: She's not too put out by her crush saying that he wants to focus on basketball after she confesses to him. She takes it fairly hard when she learns that he'd been dating the team captain for a year before she'd even confessed, and didn't tell her.
  • Girl Next Door: Literally and figuratively to Yuu because Akari's house is on the next street over (going left),from where Yuu lives. And while shown to be reasonably attractive, she's the tallest of Yuu's friends, but she has the smallest breasts.
  • Hopeless Suitor: To her sempai/secret crush, Oogaki. She spends most of the series pining for him, while unaware that he's already dating Serizawa, the basketball team's captain. It inevitably leads to heartbreak once Akari finds out.
  • Huge Schoolgirl: She's the tallest of the main cast, and is apparently still growing.
  • Nice Gal: Easily the friendliest and most down-to-earth member of Yuu's female friends. She even stops Doujima from going after Oogaki for not being honest with her about already having a girlfriend. The fact that Doujima was angry for her was enough.
  • Non-Uniform Uniform: While the girls' uniform's bolero jacket is optional during the spring, Yuu notes that Akari is the only person she knows of who doesn't wear it.
  • Ship Tease: She slowly becomes close to Doujima after her Sempai turns her down. The last chapter shows the two are fairly intimate with each other hinting at a possible Relationship Upgrade.
  • Passionate Sports Girl: She enjoys playing basketball, and is the "jock" of the main trio.
  • Together Umbrella: She does this with Oogaki once, in the same chapter in which Touko does it with Yuu.

    Natsuki Sonomura 
Voiced by: Mariko Higashiuchi (Japanese), Margaret McDonald (English)

Yuu, Akari and Koyomi's mutual friend, who ended up going to another high school. She's an avid softball player.


  • Androgynous: Natsuki could easily pass for a boy, due to having short hair, plain facial features, and being semi-flatchested with no noticeable curves to her figure. This includes when she's wearing shorts, or her capris.
  • Boyish Short Hair: She has the look of the classic tomboy type: semi-athletic with short unruly hair.
  • Cannot Spit It Out: During summer vacation, Natsuki admits that she'd wanted Yuu to come to her high school and play with her on the softball team, but didn't ask her to, since Natsuki didn't want Yuu to feel like she had to. Even after admitting this, Natsuki can't bring herself to say that a part of her wishes Yuu could have gotten emotional about softball, rather than Touko.
  • The Friends Who Never Hang: She's drifted apart from Yuu, Koyomi and Akari, and only interacts with them three times- hanging out with the others during Golden Week early on, meeting up with Yuu in summer vacation, and celebrating Koyomi getting an award near the end of the series. As a result, she's the last to hear about Akari giving up on Oogaki.
  • Innocently Insensitive: During Golden Week, Natsuki invites her friends to a romance movie, then after complaining about the leads not confessing, pesters Akari to confess to Oogaki. After hearing that Akari had confessed, but Oogaki had turned her down, Natsuki apologizes for unwittingly upsetting Akari, but Akari tells her not to worry.
  • Passionate Sports Girl: Like Akari, she's into sports, but Natsuki's sport is softball, rather than basketball.
  • Shipper on Deck: She teases Yuu a little about her interest in Touko, noting that this is the first time someone's been able to make her get "fed up," something Natsuki considers a positive change. In the last chapter she teases Yuu about her girlfriend, implying that she (and possibly Koyomi and Akari) knows about Yuu's relationship with Touko.
  • Tomboy: A tall and somewhat boyish looking girl, who has short hair and loves sports.

Student Council

    Suguru Doujima 
Voiced by: Sho Nagami (Japanese), Greg Cote (English)

A first-year and a member of the student council. He's a jokester and somewhat of a slacker.

In the play, he plays the main character's schoolmate.
  • Character Development: His introduction scene makes it clear that he's a slacker, who only joined the student council because it'd look good on his resumé. But he steadily becomes engrossed in his duties during preparations for their play and begins to enjoy it. By the final chapter, Doujima is revealed to have succeeded Touko as the new Student Council President.
  • Chivalrous Pervert: Doujima spends most of his time ogling Touko and Sayaka and suspects that they may be secretly an item. He was also keen at the prospect of Koyomi joining the student council, because it'd mean having more girls around. Despite this, he doesn't like seeing anyone hurt a girl's feelings, and nearly confronted Oogaki for making Akari cry.
  • Establishing Character Moment: His flippantly saying that he decided to join the student council because he "sucked" at kendo and thought it would look good on his transcript is proof that he's not exactly mature. That said, the subsequent revelation that the previous president (who tended to slack off and give work to his subordinates) found him useful does suggest that Doujima's reliable in a pinch.
  • The Friend Nobody Likes: Most of his colleagues find him fairly annoying. That said, he's an example of Necessity, since he came highly recommended by the previous Student Council President, admittedly because Touko's predecessor tended to delegate tasks to subordinates. Amusingly enough, everyone besides Maki votes for him in the first round of the werewolf game.
  • Hidden Depths: While he doesn't seem like the type who takes anything seriously, he was absolutely furious at how Akari's crush treated her, and even was about to go off and confront him.
  • Implied Love Interest: The final chapters show he's grown closer to Akari, which causes Koyomi to ask Akari whether she and Doujima are an item now. When Akari denies that anything's going on between them, Koyomi notes that Akari said "yet".
  • Last-Name Basis: Everyone calls him by his last name. He tries to get Touko to call him by his first name, but she casually brushes him off.
  • Locked Out of the Loop: The last chapter shows that of their highschool group he is the only one unaware of Yuu and Touko's relationship.
  • Nice Guy: As mentioned under Hidden Depths, Doujima is a good person at heart.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: As mentioned under Hidden Depths, his reaction to how Akari's crush treated her was highly uncharacteristic of him.
  • Ship Tease: When Yuu and Maki notice that he's hanging out with Akari (whom he comforted after she learned that her senpai had already been taken), they wonder if he and Akari are in love with each other.
  • Student Council President: The final chapter reveals that he took on the role after Touko stepped down, much to Sayaka's surprise.

    Seiji Maki 
Voiced by: Taichi Ichikawa (Japanese), Clint Bickham (English)

Another first-year who works on the student council. While he enjoys giving relationship advice and watching relationships unfold, he is asexual and has no interest in romance. When he happens to see Yuu and Touko kissing, he agrees to keep it a secret, and Yuu often goes to him for advice on her strange relationship with Touko.

In the play, he plays the main character's younger brother.
  • Armor-Piercing Question: After Koyomi tells him about finding out that her favorite author is actually a woman, he asks if she's "disappointed," and then if she's "broken-hearted." Koyomi's taken aback by the latter and sets out to prove that her admiration for the author is more than a childish crush.
  • Armor-Piercing Response: In Chapter 39, he bluntly tells Yuu that she's different from him, since unlike him, she can fall love.
  • Audience Surrogate: As a Shipper on Deck who enjoys watching others' romances rather than getting into one himself, he can be seen as one for the viewers who want Touko and Yuu to get together.
  • Brainy Brunette: He's the best student in the cast apart from Touko and Sayaka, and has the best grades of all the first-year characters.
  • Establishing Character Moment: After admitting to seeing Yuu and Touko kissing, he readily agrees to keep it secret, simply asking if Touko's love for Yuu is as one-sided as Yuu thinks.
  • Last-Name Basis: He's only ever referred to by his last name, even in the dub of the anime. While Doujima casually mentions that his first name is Suguru at one point, Maki's first name is never mentioned in the story.
  • Not So Similar: While he and Yuu bond over not feeling love, he privately disagrees with her claim that they have that in common, and later tells her this in Chapter 39.
    Maki: (thinking) I don't think we're as alike as she thinks. That face she made before... that's not a face that someone who isn't lonely would make.
  • Secret-Keeper: After witnessing Yuu and Touko kissing, he keeps it secret on Yuu's request.
  • Shipper on Deck: While he doesn't feel any interest in falling in love himself, he takes a great interest in others' relationships, likening it to watching a stage play.

    Kuze 

Touko's predecessor as Student Council President.


  • The Alleged Boss: Type 2, as he tends to delegate most of his tasks to his subordinates, resulting in Sayaka having little respect for him, and Touko getting most of the credit for the student council's successes. That said, judging from how Ichigaya claims that Mio was the same way, this may not be unusual for Toomi High School, since Sayaka notes in the second volume of her light novel series that the president's performance doesn't impact the student body too much.
  • Deliberately Bad Example: Played with. At the start, he seems like a slacker who mainly makes Touko look good by comparison, as well as helping give her an opportunity to prove herself to the school by doing most of the student council's work in her first year. However, Ichigaya seems to believe that student council presidents usually delegate work to their subordinates, like Mio did with him and the rest of their colleagues.
  • The Friend Nobody Likes: Touko and Sayaka don't think much of him. Sayaka in particular chides him for not showing his face much around the student council and believes he only became president for the sake of his resumé.
  • Jerkass Has a Point: He rather harshly rejects Touko's suggestion for the play and makes it clear that he has no intention of seriously considering the proposal. While one might assume he's just being lazy, he correctly points out that the play is not a feasible idea if no one in the school has acting experience, and Touko doesn't even have a script. Sayaka mentally notes that she would have rejected the idea if anyone other than Touko had proposed it, while Touko understands that Kuze has a point, and decides to try again once she's president.
  • Obstructive Bureaucrat: He tends to delegate work to others and is only assertive when he rejects Touko's proposal for the School Play, partly because it's too much work.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Despite his status as The Alleged Boss, he firmly vetoes Touko's proposal for the student play, a rare occasion in which he acts like a president and an upperclassman.
  • Student Council President: Was one in his second-year of high school, when Touko and Sayaka were first-years and Yuu and her friends were in middle school.

Other Toomi East Characters

    Riko Hakozaki 
Voiced by: Mai Nakahara (Japanese), Patricia Duran (English)

Yuu and the other first-years' literature teacher, as well as advisor for the drama club. She also is in a theater group with Ichigaya. She later turns out to be in a lesbian relationship with Miyako.


  • A Day in the Limelight: She and Miyako get some extra chapters focusing on their relationship.
  • Gayngst: She's somewhat worried about what people, including her friends, will think about her relationship with Miyako, which is part of the reason why she wants to keep it secret.
  • Hidden Depths: While she initially seems like a highly serious and professional teacher, she's more easily flustered and vulnerable off the job.
  • If It's You, It's Okay: Despite saying that she doesn't have much of an interest in women, she's in a relationship with Miyako, and previously had a relationship with a guy that ended badly, so it's unclear whether she's bisexual or this trope applies.
  • Mistaken for Romance: The student council assumes that Ichigaya's her boyfriend. Not only is Riko in a relationship with Miyako, but Ichigaya claims to have a girlfriend.
  • Not So Stoic: Despite generally being serious and professional at work, she's a good deal more easily flustered and emotional when off the job.
  • One Degree of Separation: She's Yuu and her friends' literature teacher, advisor for the student council, a member of the theatre troupe and Miyako's girlfriend, meaning that she's directly connected to virtually all the cast except for the Koito and Nanami families.
  • Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: In Special 6, after a bad breakup and a few drinks.
    "Why! Would my ex! Have to be at that group date!?"
  • Second Love: Miyako, whom Riko met after having a bad breakup with her boyfriend in college.
  • Secret Relationship: With Miyako. Miyako admits to her relationship when talking to Sayaka, on the condition that Sayaka not tell Riko.
  • Stern Teacher: She's serious and no-nonsense, insists on formal address between teachers and students, and often takes the opportunity to remind students to keep up with their studies.
  • They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: She insists on being called Hakozaki-sensei, rather than Riko-sensei (in the dub, it's "Ms. Hakozaki," rather than "Teach").

    Serizawa 
Voiced by: Sayumi Suzushiro (Japanese), Chaney Moore (English)
Captain of the girls' basketball team and an acquaintance of Touko's.
  • Friendly Rival: To Touko, who's especially driven to defeat Serizawa and her team in the relay race.
  • Secret Relationship: She's going out with Oogaki, but they don't tell anyone in order to avoid any awkwardness among the team. She reluctantly admits it to Akari when asked directly about it (Serizawa had begged to swap shifts with Akari in order to be with Ogaki).

    Oogaki 

Akari's sempai on the basketball team, as well as the object of her Unrequited Love.


  • Last-Name Basis: Even Serizawa, his girlfriend, refers to him by his surname.
  • Secret Relationship: With Serizawa. His keeping this secret was why he lied to Akari and claimed that he didn't have time for a relationship because of basketball, giving her false hope that he might one day reciprocate her feelings.

    Midori Igarashi and Manaka Yoshida 

Touko and Sayaka's friends and yearmates.


  • Genki Girl: Manaka comes off as this, since she's always fairly cheerful and energetic.
  • Food as Bribe: They get some mitarashi dango for heading on to Nijou Castle and helping Touko and Sayaka with their report for the Class Trip, since Touko and Sayaka are busy discussing Sayaka's Love Confession to Touko.
  • Locked Out of the Loop: Neither of them were aware that Sayaka confessed to Touko and got rejected while the two pairs were separated on the Class Trip. All they knew was that Touko and Sayaka let them go on ahead to Nijou Castle for some reason and bribed them to help them with the report.
  • No Name Given: Despite being recurring characters for much of the story, their names are only revealed in a post-chapter special in Volume 6, and Sayaka only starts calling them by name in Chapter 37.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: Manaka's fairly excitable and light-hearted, while Midori is calmer and more reserved
  • Shoo Out the Clowns: While they accompany Touko and Yuu on the Class Trip, they're promptly shunted aside for the more dramatic moments, such as those involving Sayaka's confession to Touko.
  • Smarter Than You Look: While Manaka comes off as a ditzy comic relief character, she has the fourth best overall grades of the cast, behind Touko, Sayaka and Maki. As the comments below her scores point out, "Everyone's always shocked by her grades."
  • Those Two Guys: They're virtually always seen together, and are never far from Touko and Sayaka.
  • Unmoving Plaid: Manaka's top has this pattern while they're doing karaoke.

Play Characters

    The Amnesiac Girl 

The protagonist of the School Play, "I Only Know You," whom Touko plays. She is a high school girl who has lost her memory.


  • Academic Athlete: According to her schoolmate, as mentioned under The Ace. She apparently considered the school sports festival to be an important day on par with Christmas and her little brother's birthday.
  • The Ace: According to her schoolmate, she excelled in school and sports, and got along well with everyone. She's quite impressed by this account of herself, albeit a bit unsure whether someone that perfect really exists.
  • Aloof Big Sister: According to her younger brother, who notes that she was rarely home and hardly ever talked with him, her mother or her stepfather. However, it's also suggested that since her younger brother's birthday helped make up her phone's password, she cared about him to some extent. Ultimately, it's averted when she decides to be a better sister to him after losing her memory.
  • Amnesiac Hero: She lost her memory in the accident, and the play covers her struggle to find an identity.
  • Amnesiac Lover: She was in a relationship with an older coworker, who saw a different side of her than her brother and schoolmate did. The original ending had her choose to become the person her lover saw her as.
  • Be Yourself: In the end, she decides not to become one of the three people she used to be, but instead chooses to be the person she is in this moment. She tells the three people she knew before that she can't be the person they used to know, at which point they accept her.
  • Black Sheep: The term is used to describe her in the family, because while she's not a troublemaker or a failure, she was apparently somewhat aloof from the others. She suggests that she may have deliberately played that role so the rest of the family would be stable.
  • Character Development: Throughout the play, she learns more about herself and the person she used to be. Initially, she tries to adopt one of her three personae as her "real" self, but with the nurse's help, realizes that she shouldn't try to become someone else.
  • Character Tics: She plays with her hair whenever she's troubled by something, something her nurse notices in a short amount of time.
  • Friends Are Chosen, Family Aren't: She's apparently well-respected at school and trusts her lover with her vulnerable side, but is aloof and distant from the rest of her family. This trope is part of the reason why she "chose" to be the person her lover saw her as in the original ending- because she and her lover chose to be together.
  • Hidden Depths: Each of the people closest to her sheds light on another aspect of her personality, to the point at which neither she nor the viewer is sure which is real.
  • Invisible Parents: Her mother and stepfather don't visit her in the hospital at any point. Her half-brother suggests that his parents are merely afraid that it's "too late" to bond with his sister.
  • Jerkass Façade: She theorizes that she acted aloof from her mother, half-brother and stepfather to keep their blended family harmonious.
  • Loss of Identity: What she's most afraid of after losing her memory, since she doesn't know which of the three aspects of her is real. Her nurse, however, reassures her that there is a fourth aspect to her identity- the one she showed after coming to the hospital.
  • Loved by All: According to her schoolmate, everyone at school liked her.
  • No Name Given: Like everyone else in the play, she's never given a name.
  • Personal Effects Reveal: She checks her cell phone's pictures, and finds more than a few photos of herself with the student council and her girlfriend, but hardly any with her younger brother. It corroborates what she's heard so far, but doesn't get her any closer to understanding herself.
  • The Password Is Always "Swordfish": Played with. She tries three dates important to her- the sports festival (614), her brother's birthday(821) and Christmas Eve (1224)- to unlock her phone, only to finally get it right when she adds them together. In the original version, she only needs her lover's birthday.

    Other Play Characters 

The supporting cast of "I Only Know You." Yuu plays the main character's nurse, who gets to know her as she recovers. Doujima plays her schoolmate. Maki plays her younger half-brother. Sayaka plays her coworker and girlfriend.


  • Ascended Extra: The nurse initially had a small role in the first draft of the play. The revision not only gave her more lines, but also made her the one responsible for the main character's epiphany.
  • Audience Surrogate: The nurse's perspective of the main character is the most similar to the audience's. Yuu realizes that if the main character "chooses" one of the selves that the three people closest to her see, she'd be discarding her current self, resulting in her convincing Koyomi to rewrite the play so the nurse helps her to an epiphany.
  • Brutal Honesty: The main character's younger brother doesn't hesitate to describe her as an Aloof Big Sister, giving by far the least flattering account of the three. That said, he hopes that things will change.
  • Dope Slap: The nurse karate-chops the main character on the head when she lies and claims to be all right, calling her a liar in the process.
  • Limited Wardrobe: All of the characters wear the same outfit even though the play takes place over several days. While the main character wears her patient clothes, the nurse wears her work uniform, and the schoolmate and younger brother wear school uniforms, the girlfriend wears the same casual outfit each time.
  • Nice Mean And In Between: The schoolmate is the Nice, since he comes off as a friendly person with a good relationship with the main character. The younger brother is the Mean, since while he may not necessarily be a jerk, he seems to have some lingering bitterness about his half-sister being distant from their family. The girlfriend is In-Between, since she cares for the protagonist, but doesn't hesitate to tease her a little.
  • No Name Given: None of their names are given.
  • Satellite Character: Each of them is largely defined by their relationship with the lead, with the girlfriend also being a Satellite Love Interest. This is justified, since the play is largely a character study about the lead coming to terms with three facets of herself.
  • Unreliable Expositor: Since we only have their word for what the main character was like, and they have their own biases, it's hard to tell whether what they're saying is true or false. The main character notices some things that corroborate what she heard, such as not having many photos of her family, but doesn't get any conclusive answers.

Theater Troupe

    Tomoyuki Ichigaya 
Voiced by: Kazuyuki Okitsu (Japanese), Blake Shepard (English)

A fellow member of Riko's theater group who once worked on the student council under Touko's sister.


  • Beleaguered Assistant: He and the other student council members apparently did all the work for Mio, sometimes even doing her summer homework for her. He's a bit annoyed by this, but remembers Mio fondly.
  • Compliment Backfire: He's genuinely impressed with Touko's work ethic and skill at her job, but saying that she's nothing like her sister isn't fully well-received, since it forces Touko to question what kind of person her sister really was, and realize that she and Mio were both putting up an act.
  • In-Series Nickname: His old teacher calls him "Yuki-kun," and apparently, so did Touko's sister. While Touko generally calls him "Ichigaya-san," she briefly refers to him by his nickname after recognizing him as one of the student council members her sister had over.
  • Mistaken for Romance: Doujima and Maki mistake him for Riko's boyfriend. He denies it, saying he has a girlfriend.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: He only appears in a few chapters, and his only role is to help teach the student council about acting, but he unwittingly forces Touko to question her goal of emulating her sister.
  • Wham Line: When he casually mentions that he always thought that the Student Council President mainly delegated work to others, he gives Touko(as well as the readers) the first hint that Mio might not have lived up to her reputation.

    Nara 

An old woman who's director in the theater troupe.


  • Cool Old Lady: One of the oldest members of the cast, with the possible exception of Yuu's grandmother, and a well-respected director in the theater troupe.
  • First-Name Basis: She calls Ichigaya and Riko, "Yuki-kun" and "Riko-chan," respectively, being more familiar with them than most of the cast is. Despite that, she calls Touko, a relative newcomer to the troupe, "Nanami-san."
  • Stern Teacher: She's fairly strict with Touko, and actually intimidates her enough that Touko refers to her as "a demon."
  • Tough Love: One of Touko's colleagues in the acting troupe notes that Nara "is only tough on people she sees potential in."

Family, Friends and Other Characters

    Miyako Kodama 
Voiced by: Nanako Mori (Japanese), Samantha Stevens (English)

Manager of a small local café. She is in a lesbian relationship with Riko and becomes Sayaka's mentor in helping her accept her sexuality.


  • Above the Influence: During their college days, when Riko sleeps off a night of heavy drinking, Miyako sleeps on the floor while letting Riko have her bed, not trusting herself not to make a move on Riko.
  • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Most people besides her long-time friend and girlfriend Riko call her "Manager," although in Chapter 36, Sayaka calls her "Kodama-san."
  • First-Name Basis: She's one of the few people who calls Riko by her given name. This, along with other gestures of familiarity (such as greeting Riko with "Welcome back") helps Sayaka figure out that Miyako and Riko are going out.
  • The Gadfly: She enjoys teasing Riko, and to a lesser extent, Sayaka.
  • Hidden Depths: Despite seeming laidback and carefree, she wants to make her café more successful, so that she can not only support herself, but also Riko, if the latter ever wants to quit teaching.
  • Mentor in Queerness: Being a lesbian herself, Miyako gives advice to Sayaka, who realized her liking girls was not just a phase after meeting with Touko. It's partly thanks to their conversations that Sayaka eventually finds the courage to confess her feelings to Touko.
  • Nice Girl: She's a good listener who's willing to lend an ear to anyone who has something on their mind, as Riko and Sayaka can attest to.
  • Secret-Keeper: She's one of the few people Sayaka has told about being in love with Touko, and perhaps the only person who knows about Sayaka's prior relationship with her senpai.
  • Secret Relationship: With Riko. She does readily admit it when Sayaka asks about it, but asks that she keep it secret from Riko.

    Mio Nanami 

Touko's deceased older sister, and the former student council president.


  • The Ace: She had this reputation while she was alive, one that Touko struggles to live up to.
  • The Alleged Boss: Type 2, since she's not above delegating most of the less interesting work to her fellow student council members, or even making them do her homework.
  • Broken Pedestal: She becomes this to her sister, when it's revealed that she wasn't the ideal Student Council President everyone thought she was.
  • Celibate Hero: According to Touko, Mio had no interest in romance, which is why Touko believes that being able to love someone is proof that Touko's being herself.
  • Cool Big Sis: Touko looked up to Mio and was quite close to her while she was alive. When Touko protests that the Mio she knew wasn't at all like the one Ichigaya knew, Ichigaya suggests that Mio was probably trying to look cool in front of her little sister.
  • Disappointing Older Sibling: Touko is rather shocked to find that Mio wasn't nearly as serious about her position as Student Council President as she thought, something Ichigaya suggests Mio kept secret in order to look cool in front of Touko.
  • Feet of Clay: She was apparently a bit of a slacker at heart. Touko apparently never noticed this despite being Mio's sister, but Ichigaya was well aware of this facet of Mio's character.
  • Foil: To Rei Koito. While Yuu finds Rei a bit annoying, even if she loves her, Touko looked up to Mio. Rei has a boyfriend while Mio apparently never showed any interest in romance.
  • Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: She came off as the Responsible sibling to Touko, who saw her as her role model and tried to "become" Mio. In reality, Mio's the Foolish sibling, having apparently been lazy in comparison to the hard-working Touko.
  • Hidden Depths: According to Ichigaya, she wasn't as perfect as she seemed, and was actually a bit lazy. Touko's quite troubled, and wonders what she would learn about Mio if she asked someone else who knew her as well as Ichigaya did.
  • Hidden Eyes: Her face is almost never shown clearly, and she sports these eyes in Touko's dream sequence.
  • Look Both Ways: She died in a traffic accident, presumably being hit by a car as a pedestrian.
  • Posthumous Character: She died seven years ago, and everything we learn about her comes from others' perspectives on her.
  • The Slacker: Ichigaya claims that she left most of the work to the other student council officers, while taking on only the duties she enjoyed. He also claims that she even made them do her homework for her.
  • Student Council President: Touko's predecessor in this position from seven years ago.
  • Warts and All: Despite knowing that Mio wasn't an ideal Student Council President, Ichigaya still remembers her fondly.

    Rei Koito 
Voiced by: Mikako Komatsu (Japanese), Marissa Lenti (English)

Yuu's older sister, as well as a university student. She has a boyfriend.


  • A Day in the Limelight: The bonus chapter, "Her Sister's Perspective" focuses on Rei during Chapter 9. Chapter 34 also is from Rei's POV.
  • Annoying Younger Sibling: Inverted. She often gets on Yuu's nerves, although there's never anything malicious about it.
  • Cool Big Sis: While she does often get on Yuu's nerves, she's also a caring older sister, and it's clear that the Koito sisters love each other dearly.
  • Friends with Benefits: In her second spotlight chapter, Rei mentally notes that she and Hiro were already having sex before they officially started dating. She's kept it a secret from her family, especially Yuu.
  • Love Confession: While it wasn't shown on-screen, she was the one who confessed to Hiro, hoping "to take the ambiguity out of the relationship."
  • Not a Morning Person: She's not one for waking up early, at least not during the summer. When Yuu's mother chides Yuu for lazing around during summer vacation, Yuu counters that she isn't as bad as Rei.
  • Secret-Keeper: Rei is among the first to recognize that Yuu is growing romantically attached to her sempai, Touko, and silently wishes the best for them. By chapter 45, she's become fully aware that her sister and Touko are dating, though Rei has kept it a secret from their parents.
  • Shipper on Deck: She notices that Yuu and Touko are close, and approves of it. So when Touko asks Rei for her cheesecake recipe, Rei sends it to Touko's smartphone, along with a photo of Yuu sleeping. Later, when Yuu asks Rei about how her relationship with Hiro started, it confirms Rei's suspicion that her sister has a romantic interest in Touko. The final chapter shows Rei and Yuu openly discussing her relationship with Touko.

    Chie Yuzuki 

Sayaka's senpai from her old school. She and Sayaka were once in a relationship, until the older girl suddenly broke it off one day.


  • Broken Pedestal: Sayaka was deeply upset by her senpai abruptly breaking up with her, and subtly notes that she has no idea why she fell in love with her senpai in the first place.
  • Dramatically Missing the Point: She apologizes for getting Sayaka interested in girls, and hopes that Sayaka is back to "normal" as a heterosexual. Sayaka, who has since embraced her sexuality, gives Chie a Stealth Insult in response. However, given her expression after seeing how friendly Sayaka gets with Touko, she seems to finally realize that Sayaka actually is a lesbian.
  • First Love: She was Sayaka's first love, although Sayaka is quite bitter over how their relationship ended. The extra chapter in which they meet again is even titled, "So much for first love."
  • First-Name Basis: She's one of the few who calls Sayaka by her first name, and one of the only ones who uses the "-chan" honorific. The fact that Sayaka's grandparents once use this honorific on hernote  causes Sayaka to suspect that her grandparents know about her relationship with Chie.
  • Gay Romantic Phase: How she treated her relationship with Sayaka, and why she broke it off, specifically saying they were too old for that sort of thing. Problem was, it wasn't a phase for Sayaka.
  • Hate Sink: She comes off as the least sympathetic character in the manga, being someone who dumped Sayaka when she got tired of their relationship without realizing what impact it had on Sayaka, or that Sayaka was actually emotionally invested in their relationship. Regarding Sayaka Saeki fleshes out her character a bit more, but doesn't portray the breakup as justified.
  • Hidden Depths: Like Koyomi, she is a fan of Renma Hayashi's work. Lampshaded when Sayaka notes that this isn't what one would expect from a highly classy girl like Chie, and it makes Sayaka wonder how well she knows Chie.
  • In Love with Love: In the first volume of the light novel, Sayaka suspects that Yuzuki fell for her out of a desire for a romantic relationship, rather than because she loved her.
  • Innocently Insensitive: The most charitable interpretation for her actions. She never fully understood that Sayaka was actually a lesbian, and seemed hopeful that she was back to "normal" after their breakup.
  • Nightmare Fetishist: Her love of Hayashi Renma's work, and the disturbing content within, seems to indicate that Chie may have similar tastes, at least in literature.
  • No Name Given: Her name is never disclosed in the main series. Even in the light novel, Sayaka usually calls her "Senpai."

    Haru Edamoto 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/haru_v2.jpg

A character mentioned in the Grand Finale of the manga. She is Sayaka's girlfriend whom she met in college and is an Identical Stranger to Yuu.


  • Buffy Speak: She says that Sayaka is "amazingly... amazing" to her, prompting Sayaka to worry about Haru's grades.
  • First-Name Basis: She frequently tells Sayaka, "You can call me Haru." Sayaka finally accepts just after they start dating. She also gets onto a First-Name Basis with Yuu immediately after meeting her, but Yuu uses the "-chan" honorific on her, unlike how Yuu uses yobisute on her other friends as well as Touko after Their First Time.
  • The Ghost: She doesn't actually appear in the Grand Finale, only mentioned. That said, she appears in a piece of official art and is confirmed to be her instead of Yuu by Nio Nakatani herself in a Twitter post by her.
  • Identical Stranger: If a piece of official artwork is any indication, she's one to Yuu. Ironically though, in terms of personality she couldn't be more opposite.
  • Last Episode, New Character: She's first mentioned in the last chapter of the manga, and officially debuts in the last scene of Volume 2 of the light novels.
  • Malaproper: She says that she and Sayaka had a "cute-meet," when she meant Meet Cute.
  • Meaningful Name: "Haru" means "spring" in Japanese. Sayaka and Haru first meet in the spring, and Haru occasionally makes jokes about the season.
  • Official Couple: With Sayaka at the end of the series.
  • Second Love: Sayaka is hers, since Haru's girlfriend broke up with her just before her introduction.
  • Walking Spoiler: It's almost impossible to talk about Haru without revealing that Sayaka ends up being rejected by Touko, or that she ends up with Haru.

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