The characters of Hand in Hand.
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Shizune Takasugi
One of the two heroines and a delinquent schoolgirl who smokes and is rumored to love getting into fights. She winds up trapped in the school with Akari Hioki, who seems to be her polar opposite in personality.
- Delinquents: She has the looks to fit, and is noted for smoking and getting into fights.
- Kick Chick: Her main attack besides the basic one is a Roundhouse Kick.
- Odd Couple: She's a tomboy delinquent, while her Love Interest Akari is the girly Student Council President who wants an orderly school environment.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The rough-and-tumble delinquent to Akari's orderly, traditionally-feminine-schoolgirl demeanor.
Akari Hioki
One of the two heroines and the straight-laced student council president who took the position in order to enforce the frequently-broken school rules. She winds up trapped in the school with Shizune Takasugi, who seems to be her polar opposite in personality.
- Combat Medic: Her main function is healing; notably, her attack cannot hurt ???, unlike Shizune's.
- Odd Couple: She's the girly Student Council President who wants an orderly school environment, while her Love Interest Shizune is a tomboy delinquent.
- Student Council President: She runs the student council and specifically took the position because she got tired of all the rule-breaking in the school.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The traditionally-feminine-schoolgirl demeanor to Shizune's rough-and-tumble delinquent.
Principal
The principal of the school. He is a friendly and reasonable man.
- Nice Guy: In his scene with Akari, he shows himself to be pretty understanding.
- Putting the "Pal" in Principal: He has a good relationship with Akari to the point that he tells her about his secret security system.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: When he lets Akari in on the secret of the dolls and makes her promise not to tell anyone, he does so in a kind manner and trusts Akari enough to keep the secret. Said secret is a security system he uses to ensure the school is safe and sound for his students.
- Small Role, Big Impact: He only appears in the intro and ending, but his secret security system is the central plot device, as it is what traps the heroines and the Big Bad bank robber inside the school.
The White Cat (spoilers)
A white cat that found its way into the school.
- Chekhov's Gunman: At first, it just appears for a few seconds and then disappears, appearing to have no real role in the plot. As it turns out, the cat took one of the three dolls, which set off the security system and trapped the heroines inside.
- Small Role, Big Impact: It only appears sparingly, but its theft of the doll is what triggered the security system that trapped the heroines inside the school.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: It didn't know that taking one of the dolls would activate the secret security system and trap the girls inside, as it is a cat.
- Walking Spoiler: Knowing the role the cat plays in the plot- accidentally activating the security system- reveals the twist.
The Doll Spirits (spoilers)
The spirits residing in the three wooden kokeshi dolls. They are said to be the spirits of three murdered women from the Edo period. If one is removed, the other two dolls will come to life and kill the thief. The ending reveals the dolls are actually a security system, but may possibly still house the spirits after all.
- Ambiguously Evil: They are said to be vengeful spirits who will kill anyone who steals one of the dolls. Not only is their very existence called into question, but even if they are real, they never seem to antagonize the girls and even help them at points (by giving them the keys needed to access the rooms in which the other dolls are placed).
- Creepy Doll: It is said that they are possessed by vengeful spirits and will grow to human size to kill anyone who steals the dolls.
- Real After All: The ending hints that the spirits might be real, since two of the dolls found themselves in a closed restroom stall and box sealed with strong tape respectively, places that the cat which took the first doll could not reach. Also, the keys to find the other dolls drop after each doll is placed on the shrine, hinting at their influence as well.
- Vengeful Ghost: They were murdered in an unspecified way back when they were alive in the Edo period, and will kill anyone who steals one of their dolls.
- Walking Spoiler: Them not being the Big Bad like it first seemed is a major reveal.
??? (spoilers)
A shadowy figure who wanders the school on the same night as the heroines and seeks to kill them, apparently being one of the dolls come to life and looking for the other two. The ending reveals the figure to actually be a bank robber who ran to the school to evade police.
- Big Bad: He is the one chasing the heroines around with intent to kill them.
- Leave No Witnesses: Presumably his motive for wanting to kill the heroines is so that they don't turn him in to the police.
- My Name Is ???: In the battle screen, his name is given as ???.
- No Name Given: He is called ??? by the game itself, and his real name is never revealed.
- Psycho Knife Nut: He is a bank robber who carries around a knife and tries to stab the heroines with it with a Slasher Smile.
- Silent Antagonist: Never speaks once. Initially this adds to the creepiness factor, though even after he is revealed as a mundane bank robber, he still never says a word.
- Slasher Smile: Has one in his battle sprite as he is holding up a knife and preparing to kill the heroines.
- Walking Spoiler: Him being a mundane bank robber rather than a malevolent spirit is a major twist.
- Would Hit a Girl: He spends the game trying to stab the heroines to death.
