This page is for tropes related to characters appearing in Junjou Romantica. Any characters who appeared here but have more prominence in Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi are in the manga's respective character page.
Note on naming: All names are written in the Eastern order (surname before first name).
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Junjou Romantica
Main Characters
Takahashi Misaki
Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai
"I'm not trying to flatter myself here, not at all, but...if I asked Usagi-san, 'What do you want?' I have a feeling there's a 99% probability he'd say...'You!'"
A naive high school student determined to enter the university that his brother was unable to after the death of their parents. This leads to him being tutored by his brother's friend, Akihiko, which ends up shaking up his life considerably.
- All-Loving Hero: He cares for others more than himself and forgives everyone easily. Justified that he become this since he thought that he was responsible for his parents' deaths due to his "selfishness", so he will always try his best to refrain himself from being selfish.
- Attention Whore: Sometimes towards Akihiko, since he quickly becomes depressed when he seemingly stopped paying attention to him.
- Berserk Button: Even though he will not admit it, but don't ever try to steal Akihiko from him and don't even talk badly about the latter in front of him. And he is one for Akihiko, for the very same reasons as well.
- Book Dumb: Which was the reason why he had to stay with Akihiko in the first place. He got better.
- Butt-Monkey: Almost every ridiculous situation have him as the victim.
- The Cameo: In Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi, he's seen sleeping on the train next to Ritsu.
- Cannot Spit It Out: He doesn't want to say "I love you" to Akihiko, to the point that when he tried saying it out loud, he burst into tears instead. The second time he tried, it came out as barely a whisper.
- The Chew Toy: The Romantica chapters always end with him being in a ridiculous situation.
- Dark and Troubled Past: The death of his parents.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: He hates it if anyone becomes obligated to his feelings, but this is because he does not want to burden anyone with his problems.
- Distressed Dude: In the second season where Misaki was curious of Akihiko's past so he willingly went with Haruhiko but then ends up being kidnapped, in a way. He barely managed to subvert this trope by escaping through the window at the cost of spraining his leg, seconds later being held in Akihiko's arms.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady:
Some viewers mistook him as a girl sometimes. He has other feminine traits such as his housewife-like role, his first name being a unisex name, and his family thinking that he would be born as a girl. At least he uses "ore" though. - Dude Magnet: At some points, he wonders whether he is producing some kind of pheromone that attracts guys. He even believes that he possesses a pheromone named "Usamone", as he easily attracts and befriends the members of the Usami clan.
- Extreme Doormat: The reason why he keeps getting bullied around, plus he never stands up for himself.
- Genre Savvy: See his page quote. He even breaks the fourth wall at one point; as he was unwittingly jealous with Mizuki who were apparently flirting around Akihiko and bullies him, he regrets that he has wasted so many times on thinking whether Mizuki had a thing on Akihiko when he learns that it's Kaoruko who Mizuki has a thing for.Misaki: (thinking) But what I find even more unsettling... is that I've just wasted four pages straight worrying about this drabble!!! Makes me sick, I tell you!
- Good Is Dumb: He is kind-natured to boot but failed in the academic part in the beginning of the story. Arguably subverted with many of the romantic antics later in the story since he does know and try to not give Ijuuin any HopeSpots regarding romantic relationship.
- The Heart: He is very obsessive about being attentive and caring for people around him, and he doesn't want to be a burden to anyone.
- She Is Not My Girlfriend: Only in the beginning. As the time passes he had slowly accepted the fact that Akihiko is his lover even though he never admitted it out loud.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: He always mentioned on how he amounts to nothing compared to anyone else. The word "burden" itself is a taboo for him.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Comes with being an All-Loving Hero.
- House Wife: Not literally but he's self-effacing, caring and friendly to everyone, good at housekeeping, etc. He'd be a perfect example of the trope if it weren't for his Tsundere streak when dealing with Akihiko.
- Hyper-Awareness: Even though he barely knew Akihiko in the beginning, he was able to understand the latter's true feelings and cried due to sympathizing with him after Takahiro introduced his bride to Akihiko. Takahiro even points out that he is very attentive towards others around him.
- Idiot Hero: At the start of the story Misaki has rather bad grade on tests, which forced him to study with Akihiko in the first place. He improves eventually.
- It's All About Me: An unintentional example; whether he likes it or not, all of the problems that he needs to deal with the Usami clan are completely centered around him.
- It's All My Fault: He still blames himself for the death of his parents, to the point that he will never tell anyone about his parents' deaths anymore since he will always get the same answer - "It's not your fault." Heck, he has a habit of blaming himself over everything, especially if something goes wrong.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Even though he is brash and abrasive (most notably towards Akihiko), he is actually the most kind-hearted character Nakamura had created.
- Love Epiphany: For a long time, he doubts whether or not he is in love with Akihiko, and finally admitted it in Volume 8. He already had his Love Epiphany some time before that, though. He was just too stubborn to admit it.
- Luminescent Blush: In all of his shy and embarrassing moments.
- Oblivious to Love: He's very naive when it comes to love, which makes him prone to be in denial about his feelings for Akihiko.
- Older Than They Look: He doesn't look like an adult at all and still looks like a teenage boy, despite the fact that he is currently 22 years old.
- Only Sane Man: He declared at some times that he keeps meeting weird people everywhere he goes. At some times, he manages to invert this trope by being the center of attention and surprise of everyone.
- Parental Abandonment: His parents died in an accident when he was eight and his brother Takahiro single-handedly raised him ever since.
- Rape and Switch: Subverted. Misaki does not have any interest in Akihiko before and after the latter "jerks him off". He only starts to bond with him after understanding the latter's unrequited love over his brother greatly torments him.
- Real Men Wear Pink: He cooks, does the housekeeping, and can do many thing effectively while staying manly in his own way.
- Second Love: He's this to Akihiko.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: In the beginning, Akihiko always compared Misaki with Takahiro, much to Misaki's dismay. In fact, this is why Misaki initially worried that Akihiko only saw him as a replacement of Takahiro.
- Supreme Chef: H's excellent at cooking and doing housework.
- Sweet Tooth: He loves taiyakis and strawberries, which brought him troubles when Haruhiko or Kaoruko gives them as souvenirs to him.
- Tsundere: A Type B example; he's probably the most kind-hearted example of this trope.
- Uke: Though he does somewhat jokingly say that he wants to top Akihiko someday when he grows taller. Akihiko accepts the challenge.
Usami Akihiko
Voiced by: Hikaru Hanada
"You’re mine for the rest of your life. Give up."
Famous author and member of an extremely wealthy and dysfunctional family, he harboured feelings for his friend Takahiro for a long time, and took on tutoring his younger brother Misaki as a favour. After some time, he ends up falling for Misaki as well, ultimately ending up with the younger Takahashi.
- Aesop Amnesia: Any time Akihiko comes close to realizing he may need to give Misaki some space and allow the other to make his own choices, as well as not to get jealous of every single person Misaki interacts with, he goes back to his old ways by the end of the chapter/episode.
- Amicable Exes: While they weren’t a couple, Akihito and Hiroki are able to resume their friendship after a period of awkwardness caused from their one-night stand. When Hiroki discovers that Akihito is in a relationship with Misaki, he’s completely overjoyed for Akihito.
- Attention Whore: Only towards Misaki. It goes to the point that he gets jealous of Misaki's own nephew because Misaki spends his time babysitting rather than hanging out with him.
- Berserk Button: When he was younger, he's quick to flip out if anyone peeks into his notebooks.
- Bridal Carry: He carried Misaki like this the most often compared to the other pairings that Nakamura had created, as this happens twice so far in the manga and sometimes in the covers and the official images.
- The Cameo: In Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi, he briefly appears as the author that Ritsu worked for at the beginning.
- Child Hater: As he stated, "[he's] not comfortable around creatures ruled by instinct", which is quite the rich statement given that he acts on instinct far more than reason.
- Child Prodigy: He knew difficult Japanese phrases that Hiroki had to look up despite growing up in England.
- Cloudcuckoolander: "Normal" is the last thing anyone who knows him would describe him as. He buys every type of marimo in the trip to Hokkaido. The strawberry and cherry incidents also show that he is not altogether of this world.
- Cock Fight:
- Narrowly averted. When he learned about his half-brother's intentions of taking Misaki for himself, hadn't Misaki held him back, he clearly had the intention to go and reality-check Haruhiko with a good punch in the face.
- While they usually prefer Snark-to-Snark Combat, Akihiko has ended up slamming Ijuuin into a wall one time and it may have very well escalated past that had it only been the two of them in the room.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: He is the king of this trope, as the prospect of anyone showing even a bit of interest in Misaki is immediately going to get his attention, and definitely not the good kind of attention.
- Deadpan Snarker: His arrogance and disdain for a lot of things make him susceptible to making the occasional sardonic comments. Likewise, he also loves to make a lot of snarky jokes at Misaki's expense.
- Declaration of Protection: He likes giving these to Misaki often whenever he gives the latter one of his many Love Confessions.
- Defrosting Ice King: He used to be a loner until he met Misaki. That being said, he's still pretty closed off to anyone he doesn't personally know.
- Dirty Old Man: Although he's far from middle age, he's nevertheless older than Misaki by ten years, and his greyish hair strongly invokes the trope... never mind the fact that he's also quite the hands-on pervert whenever Misaki is invovled.
- Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: A constant status of his eyes, which is an indication of his lonely past and his sadness at how his best friend never took a hint of his affection.
- Easily Forgiven: Even though he had raped Misaki in the beginning, the latter gets over it so easily and talked to him afterwards as if nothing happened. Granted, Misaki did threaten to expose his sexuality and his hidden affections to Takahiro, which is his biggest fear.
- Emotionless Boy: In the Minimum chapters.
- Gaydar: Invoked a lot, but his accuracy doesn't seem to be 100%, as most of the men that he suspects to be gay turns out to be straight. Of course, in Ijuuin's case it's another story.
- Green-Eyed Monster: He is easily jealous when Misaki pays attention to someone else, and he will make it known to both Misaki and to the other person. This often causes problems in his relationship with Misaki.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: For all his perverted and possessive behavior towards Misaki, his general idiosyncrasies, and his utter lack of social skills, more than one character has commented on his kindness. He is also willing to go through great lengths for the sake of those he cares about.
- Lethal Chef: He can't make a simple scrambled egg to save his life.
- Lonely Rich Kid: He has a highly successful career and all the money in the world such that he can get anything he wished, but it's not like it will satiate his loneliness.
- Love Epiphany: Akihito realized that Misaki was “the one” when the latter cried for Akihito’s heartbreak over Takahiro getting engaged.
- Meaningful Nickname: It's well known that "Usagi" means "bunny". Considering rabbits' mating habits...
- Manchild: He apears to be this when Misaki first visits his apartment, finding enough toys that would make any child envious. Akihiko's actually trying to simulate a child's environment because he wanted to "recreate what normal kids do in their childhood".
- Men Can't Keep House: Like you wouldn't believe. Misaki even pays his rent by doing the household chores.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Akihito comes to deeply regret his first “encounter” with Misaki (when he gave the latter a handjob without his consent) and he’s disturbed and distressed at the thought of causing Misaki any pain. The fact that Misaki wasn’t traumatized by the encounter and isn’t bothered by it when Akihito brings it up in conversation doesn’t make him feel any better.
- No Social Skills: As a result of being a Lonely Rich Kid. Not to mention, Akihiko was raised in a family that was, er, a little abnormal. It may account for some weird habits he's picked up.
- Not a Morning Person: He is always in a terrifyingly grouchy mood whenever he's waken up.
- Over-the-Shoulder Carry: He has a habit of carrying Misaki in this way.
- Properly Paranoid: While Akihiko's jealousy is excessive and irrational 95% of the time, the one time his jealousy is not entirely warranted is when Ijuuin is involved.
- Rape and Switch: After there first... "encounter", Misaki makes various wild speculations of Akihiko's past in order to rattle him. One such theory is that Akihiko discovered his sexuality after being molested by a male tutor. Akihiko indifferently confirms it, saying if it were ever to be discovered, it'd be headline news.
- Ridiculous Procrastinator: Akihiko is not the person who ever bothers to keep track of his deadlines, ever. This causes an endless amount of grief for Aikawa, and Misaki always has to apologize for it.
- Settle for Sibling: He had unrequited feelings for Misaki's brother before falling for Misaki. But also a subversion to some aspects of this trope, as Akihito genuinely fell in love with Misaki for his kindness and compassion, and not because he couldn’t have Misaki’s older brother.
- Unlucky Childhood Friend: Although Akihiko has been in love with Takahiro for years, his feelings were never noticed, let alone reciprocated.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Zigzagged. He's noted to be kind both as a child and as an adult, but you wouldn't expect someone as strange and perverted as him to be once a polite, demure boy.
- Yandere: He has the potential to become this due to his possessive behavior towards Misaki, with him even saying that he wants to lock Misaki up several times. And it's obvious that he could snap any day now due to his emotional/mental stability relying on Misaki being with him.Akihiko: I'd lock you up in a world where you can only see me and not like anything or anyone else but me.
- Younger Than They Look: He is 28 at the start of the story but looks like he's in his mid-thirties due to his grayish hair when compared to the black-haired Haruhiko or Kaoruko.
Supporting Characters (Usami Family)
General Tropes
- Family Theme Naming: The main family all have names associated with the seasons. Haruhiko (haru-spring), Natsuko (natsu-summer), Akihiko (aki-fall), and Fuyuhiko (fuyu-winter). "Ko" (子)is typically a syllable placed at the end of feminine names meaning "child", "hiko" (彦)being the masculine equivalent meaning "boy".
- Fiction 500: The Usami family has ridiculously huge sums of money. Haruhiko built an aquarium basically for fun, and when planning to go to Fukuoka for a trip, the two options for travel are apparently private jet and private helicopter. Not to mention the entire apartment floor Akihiko devoted to growing marimo, a 1/24th scale model of the Wall of China, and countless teddy bears... in the most expensive part of Tokyo! To make it even clearer, one billion yen is cheap change!
Usami Haruhiko
Voiced by: Kosuke Toriumi
Akihiko's older half-brother.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: The moment his rivalry with Akihiko is no longer a factor in his pursuit of Misaki, Haruhiko genuinely falls for the younger man because he encouraged Haruhiko to pursue his ambition, and treated him as he would any other person.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Almost all his interactions with Misaki screams this.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: After given a proper rejection by Misaki, Haruhiko adopts this stance. He states that while he still won't give up on Misaki, he'll no longer push his feelings on him, and he even says that he's glad he fell in love with Misaki, one-sided his affections may be.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Once Haruhiko gave a genuine confession to Misaki and was properly rejected, Haruhiko took it as it is and no longer attempted to make any forceful pursuits towards Misaki. He even assures Akihiko that although he has yet to move on, he still knows restraint and acknowledges that he has already lost.
- Not Blood Siblings: He and Akihiko are half-siblings; both have different mothers, and Haruhiko's mother was their father's lover.
- Missing Mom: He was taken into the Usami family when he was in junior high school after his mother's death.
- Stoic Spectacles: He wears glasses, and he's not exactly the emotive type.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: He seems like he has no emotions whatsoever, but later chapters reveal that he is actually be in love with Misaki, and is willing to do anything to make sure that Misaki is happy.
Usami Fuyuhiko
Voiced by: Jurota Kosugi
Father of Akihiko and Haruhiko. Married into the Usami family.
- Awful Wedded Life: Enough so that his wife took her frustrations out on their son; thus why Akihiko tries living his missed normal childhood. It is also one of the reasons why Fuyuhiko is trying to re-bond with his son.
- Big Bad: He's more of an antagonist than a villain, but he is nonetheless a constant obstacle in Misaki and Akihiko's relationship, what with most of his apperances have him confronting Misaki and trying to make him have doubts about his relationship with Akihiko.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Despite being all smiles, he went from constantly trying to guilt-trip Misaki into leaving Akihiko, to outright telling him his existence is a hindrance then getting him to doubt his self-worth.
- Heel Realization: Fuyuhiko finally understands how much Misaki loves Akihito when Misaki saves Akihito from getting run over by a car and then screaming at him for not being careful. He knows in that moment that Misaki wouldn’t have yelled like that at Akihito if they weren’t truly close.
- Papa Wolf: It's obvious he cares very much for his sons and tries to do whatever he can to keep them from being hurt. However, he can be a real pice of work about it. When he learns Haruhiko has feelings for Misaki, he tricks Kaoruko into coming back to Japan so the two could be engaged and; despite knowing Akihiko's feelings for Misaki (and being told to stay out of his business), Fuyuhiko still brings match-making photos for brides. His excuse? He knows what's best.
Usami Natsuko
Akihiko's mother and Fuyuhiko's wife.
- Awful Wedded Life: Natsuko returns to Japan upon hearing Fuyuhiko was going to be abroad for the New Year. Mizuki and Kaoruko comment that the two haven't talked in a very long time.
- Bait-and-Switch Comment: As Kaoruko says about her aunt, Natsuko can be so utterly tactless when she speaks that her words are easily misinterpreted and has unintentionally hurt Akihiko many times with what she's said.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She only seems to be. On the outside, she looks utterly ice-cold and is not the best at phrasing her words in a diplomatic manner; but deep down, she genuinely cares for her son. And unlike her husband, she doesn't have any problems with the fact that Misaki is dating Akihiko. It's worth nothing as well that although she and her son are undoubtedly distant, Misaki doesn't sense any hostility between them like he did with Akihiko and his father.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: Although very stern-looking, Natsuko does love her son. She wants Akihiko not to be held back by the Usami family, makes sure to read all of his works, and smiles upon hearing how well he's doing. When Fuyuhiko once again tries to pull Misaki away from Akihiko by doubting Misaki's resolve, she criticizes the way her husband's acting.
- Kimono Is Traditional: Much like Kaoruko, Natsuko is always seen wearing a kimono, emphasizing her aloof and noble appearance.
- The Stoic: Her response to learning from Kaoruko that Misaki is her son's lover? Just an unfazed, "Oh, I see".
Usami Kaoruko
Voiced by: Nana Mizuki
Akihiko's cousin, who takes an interest in Misaki.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: The reason she begins to like Misaki is because he's the first person who ever encouraged her to follow her dreams.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: There's more than one reason why she demands Mizuki constantly act as her gopher despite the fact they always argue.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Subverted, in that while she makes it obvious she likes Misaki and will demand he spend time with her whenever he can (even that he come back to France with her), she doesn't try to forcefully break Akihiko and him up, and Akihiko - while annoyed - still lets them spend time together, which is saying something.
- Crazy-Prepared: In her first appearance, she brings briefcases filled with stuffed bears plus a mechanical bear to bribe Akihiko to let her stay at his apartment.
- Kimono Fanservice: A Type B example.
- Kissing Cousins: She was engaged to her cousin Haruhiko (though due to the Usami Tangled Family Tree is not actually related to him), then demanded her other cousin Akihiko wed her instead to break off the marriage her parents tried to force her into. But she liked Misaki better. And according Mix 5: Mizuki seems to have moved on to her cousin's paternal cousin, Mizuki, so is also unrelated to him.
- Odd Friendship: She seems to have formed one with Ijuuin, even inviting him to come with her to France.
- Supreme Chef: She eventually becomes good in baking when Misaki encourages her to pursue her dreams of being a pastry chef.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Mizuki isn't a hero or a nice guy by any stretch, but at one point Kaoruko chews him out for his treatment of Misaki, combined with a good whack on the head.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: Played with. See the kimono entry here for why she fits and the Tsundere entry for why it's not a perfect fit.
Shiiba Mizuki
Voiced by: Hiro Shimono
Another of Akihiko's cousins (from his father's side this time) that suddenly reappears after living abroad. While clingy to Akihiko, he's hostile towards Misaki for some reason.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Figuring there's no way someone like him could win her over, it's not until Mizuki reveals to Kaoruko that he wants to give up on her that she drops the major hint his feelings aren't unrequited.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: As he puts it, "Everything she likes drives me crazy!"
- Heel–Face Turn: Not that he was evil, just a jerk, but quits clinging to Akihiko in order to make Misaki jealous, and we learn his real reason for coming back to Japan was to spy on Akihiko and Misaki's relationship for his uncle Fuyuhiko.
- Jerkass: His smug attitude rubbed Misaki and fans alike the wrong way.
- Jerkass Has a Point: He may be an asshole, but his berating is what causes Misaki to give serious thought towards his future.
- Kissing Cousins: It's implied his hostility for Misaki is because he has feelings for Akihiko though it's actually over Kaoruko that drives him to be so nasty. They aren't related by blood, due to each being their cousin's cousin from the other side.
- Pet the Dog: Mizuki normally treats Misaki badly, but he does come to the other's defense when he tells Ijuuin that he's making Misaki uncomfortable by constantly coming on to him even after Misaki made it clear that he doesn't reciprocate his affections.
- Tsundere: It seems to be obvious to everyone except Misaki the reason why Mizuki is picking on him and arguing with Kaoruko. He gives his phone number to Kaoruko in case she ever wants to talk and agrees to be swap e-mails with Misaki.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Ijuuin's not a hero, but he is by no means a bad guy so this still counts. After a brief but tense confrontation between Ijuuin and Kaoruko regarding the former's feelings for Misaki, Mizuki calls Ijuuin out on the way he's been pursuing Misaki with a speech reality-checking enough to make him finally back down.Mizuki: I understand where you're coming from, but aren't you ignoring [Misaki's] feelings? If the guy you love says he likes another guy, shouldn't you give up and wish for his happiness? If you don't want to give up, why don't you not interfere, be patient and wait for your chance? After that is questionable, but if the guy you love comes to hate you, be prepared for your defeat.
Supporting Characters (Takahashi Family)
Takahashi Takahiro
Voiced by: Kissho Taniyama
Misaki's elder brother and Akihiko's first love.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: He had some strange ideas about how to raise Misaki.
- Innocently Insensitive: Doesn't know he'd be splitting up Misaki and Akihiko with his demands Misaki move out after graduation in order to join the grown-up world. He's especially harsh with Misaki with what he thinks are excuses Misaki's making so he can stay.
- Oblivious Older Sibling: He doesn't seem to be aware that his brother and his friend are an item.
- Oblivious to Love: He was unaware of Akihiko's feelings for him for ten years.
- Promotion to Parent: Misaki is well aware of how much his brother has sacrificed for him.
Takahashi Manami
Takahiro's wife, Misaki's sister-in-law, and Mahiro's mother. It's Takahiro's marriage to her that kicks off the plot of the main storyline.
- Cool Big Sis: Sister-in-law, to be precise, but Manami is a kind woman who also proves to be a very supporting and considerate sister figure to Misaki. Even Misaki muses about how it's great to have her as family.
- Hyper-Awareness: Manami comments on how he and Akihiko must really love each other and that seems more like Misaki and Akihiko are lovers. Misaki's noticeably freaks-out, especially a chapter later when she asks if the two are dating. He literally runs away from her both times.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Lectures her husband over how he assumes only his view is correct in his demand that Misaki move out of Akihiko's place after graduation. She goes on to list a number of reasons why it's better for Misaki to stay and scolds Takahiro about how forcing his opinions on others is a slippery slope.
Supporting Characters (Miscellaneous)
Aikawa Eri
Voiced by: Noriko Namiki
Akihiko's beleaguered editor.
- Ascended Fanboy: She was a fan of Akihiko before becoming his editor. This can also be considered a case of Be Careful What You Wish For, due to her charge being a Bunny-Ears Lawyer.
- Beleaguered Assistant: She has to work with Akihiko, but she is tough enough to cope with her work and even profits from it.
- Beware the Nice Ones: A kind, welcoming and beautiful woman... who hides a fierce streak that is especially visible when Akihiko doesn't respect his deadlines.
- The Chew Toy: She is subjected to this, thanks to Akihiko often missing his deadlines.
- Fag Hag: With the added benefit of being genuinely attractive, somewhat intelligent and very supportive of Akihiko's relationship with Misaki, which makes for a refreshing positive portrayal of the trope.
- Head-Turning Beauty: She is actually very beautiful herself.
- She Is Not My Girlfriend: Misaki mistakenly assumes that she and Akihiko are dating because of the fact that she has a key to the latter's apartment, but Akihiko clarifies that it's not the case at all and that she only has a key to properly keep tabs on her charge, what with his constant neglecting of his deadlines.
- Yaoi Fangirl: To a devilish degree!
Todo Shinnosuke
Voiced by: Wataru Hatano
Misaki's fellow classmate and friend that he made over their shared love over The Kan. He attends Mitsuhashi University as a Law student in order to become a police officer.
- Badass Bookworm: He's Misaki's tutor for Kamijou's class and a part of the kendo team.
- Commonality Connection: He and Misaki instantly bond over their love for the same manga.
- Imaginary Love Triangle: Akihiko is convinced Shinnosuke is acting the part of the innocent guy who'll steal Misaki away, even though for once this isn't the case. Though afterwards, Akihiko never suspects Todo of secretly being after Misaki again, which speaks to just how even he can sense that Misaki and Todo's relationship is purely platonic.
- Knew It All Along: He figured out Misaki was dating Akihiko quite a while ago, but didn't outright ask him about it until they were on their graduation trip because he didn't want to embarrass him.
- Nice Guy: He easily gets along with Misaki, providing him with support in both his personal life and his studies. And he's one of the few people who approaches and befriends Misaki without any ulterior motives. He also makes it clear that Misaki dating a man does not in any way impact their friendship.
- Only Sane Man: He has the honor of being the only one who can honestly say he's unrelated to the entire madness.
Junjou Egoist
Main Characters
Kamijo Hiroki
Voiced by: Kentarō Itō
"I'm in a gay relationship, my partner is four years my junior and worse than that, I, despite all my pride, am an uke."
Childhood friend of Akihiko, Hiroki ended up heartbroken when he realized Akihiko would never return his feelings. Fortunately at that moment, Nowaki showed up to sweep him away like a typhoon. He eventually becomes an associate literature professor at Misaki's school, and works under Miyagi.
- Amicable Exes: While they weren’t a couple, Akihito and Hiroki are able to resume their friendship after a period of awkwardness caused from their one-night stand. When Hiroki discovers that Akihito is in a relationship, he’s nothing but happy for Akihiko and tells Misaki to take care of him.
- Bookworm: He's one ever since his childhood, as he was willing to look up the words he didn't know even if that lead to even more new words. He has such an extensive collection to the point that there are piles of books in his apartment and Akihiko often borrows reference materials from him.
- The Dreaded: Played for Laughs regarding his students, as they are all afraid of Hiroki’s temper. Even Misaki fears him, to the point of freaking out when he sees Hiroki outside of class.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Hiroki is very quick to anger, and when he gets angry he tends to shout and throws things.
- Insecure Love Interest: Can be like this at times with Nowaki. He’s mindful of their four-year age gap and sometimes worries about their relationship ending and Nowaki leaving him. Ironically, Nowaki has these exact same fears about Hiroki as well.
- In-Series Nickname: He has two.
- "Hiro-san" which is Nowaki's nickname for him.
- "The Demon Kamijou/Kamijou the Devil", courtesy of his students.
- Perpetual Frowner: One of the many things Miyagi teases him about.
- Poor Communication Kills: If only he had paid a bit more attention to what Nowaki was saying. In general his tsundereness leads to communication troubles regarding his feelings.
- Pride: There is a reason his story is called "Egoist".
- Sadist Teacher: He walks the line between a humorous version of this and the Stern Teacher. He genuinely believes he is being fair and simply has high expectations of the students. On the other hand, he throws chalk and books at them for texting or talking during class, which would probably get him assault charges in real life. They call him "the demon" for a reason.
- Sex Equals Love: He failed out on this one harshly when he slept with Akihiko hoping it would convey his feelings and that Akihiko would love him back. It really didn't. Further zigzagged in regards to his argument that he only sleeps with people he loves, as there are implications that he didn't in the past, and Akihiko and Nowaki are more the exceptions than the rule.
- Snark Knight: He has quite snappy conversations with Akihiko and Miyagi.
- Throw the Book at Them: Nowaki being his most frequent victim, at least in the beginning of their relationship.
Kusama Nowaki
Voiced by: Nobutoshi Canna
"Right now, 'I want to be held' is written on Hiro-san's back."
Nowaki, found orphaned on the day of a typhoon, started working out of junior high but is determined to enter university. He falls in with Hiroki upon their first meeting and begs him to be his tutor in order to spend time with him. Eventually he realizes both his goals and becomes a pediatrician.
- Beware the Nice Ones: When he thought Miyagi was putting the moves on Hiroki.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: If he thinks that someone is hitting on Hiroki, he suddenly becomes defensive. Akihiko just gets scorned but Miyagi nearly gets punched that one time. Just have a look
◊. - Forgotten First Meeting: One of the Junjou Minimum chapters reveals that he had this with Hiroki, as they met as children on a playground after Nowaki ran away from his foster home. Hiroki gives Nowaki blunt advice, and then outs Nowaki as a runaway to a passing police officer before running off. The trope is slightly adverted however, Nowaki doesn’t know that the other child was Hiroki. More so, Hiroki himself doesn’t remember the event and even calls the other child (i.e. himself) a jerk when Nowaki tells the story to him.
- Friend to All Children: His career choice is to be a pediatrician.
- Insecure Love Interest: Like Hiroki he shows insecurities with their relationship and is also concerned that Hiroki may someday leave him. He is also mindful of their four-year age gap.
- Love at First Sight: He says that he falls in love with Hiroki this way.
- Luminescent Blush: The only seme in the series to gain this.
- The Pollyanna: Played with. Despite being an orphan, supporting himself and dealing with the constant beatdowns he gets from Hiroki, he's always smiling and thinking positive.
- Poor Communication Kills: If only he had told Hiroki more clearly about his plan to study abroad. Or when he was leaving. Or that he was coming back. In general this is a problem for .
- Second Love: For Hiroki.
- Self-Made Man: He is an orphan and has to juggle various jobs to support himself, yet this doesn't prevent him from pursuing his dream of being a pediatric doctor.
- Through His Stomach: He successfully persuaded Hiroki to tutor him partly thanks to his cooking skills.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: So tall, dark and handsome that a chance encounter on the train inspires Misaki to go home and begin training to become taller in one of the extras.
Supporting Characters
Tsumori
Nowaki's senpai and friend in the same hospital he works in. Hiroki doesn't like him very much.
- The Gadfly: His clingy antics on Nowaki always irks Hiroki.
Junjou Terrorist
Main Characters
Miyagi You
Voiced by: Kazuhiko Inoue
"To the terrorist... I admit defeat."
An accomplished but somewhat listless literature professor at M. university who is Hiroki's senior. Some time after his wife leaves him following her affair with another man, her little brother shows up in his life demanding that he "take responsibility" because he loves him.
- Absent-Minded Professor: If you enter his office, you will never find your way out. Not without a map.
- Ascended Extra: He was originally meant to be a minor character in the Egoist story, but eventually got his own story because he became so popular with fans.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: It's hard to believe that he is a prominent figure among literary researchers at first since he hardly works on screen. Hiroki has commented on this.
- But Not Too Bi: Downplayed, but Miyagi is the only one of the six central characters to be confirmed to be interested in the opposite sex. He was previously married before his wife left him and his first love was his teacher (who was female and he deeply grieved her when she died). However, his relationship with Shinobu (his ex-wife's brother) takes the centre stage throughout the series and there's no real indication of him being interested in anyone else but him, man or woman. Miyagi has also shown clear interest in other male characters, befitting a yaoi-themed series.
- His Story Repeats Itself: Miyagi's situation with Shinobu mirrors his story with his teacher in the past, with him switching roles. He is interested in literature because of his teacher, thus becoming her Spear Counterpart.
- Hot for Teacher: His first romance was this.
- Karma Houdini: During the time when Hiroki and Nowaki were having serious problems, Miyagi intercepts a message Nowaki wants to leave for Hiroki to tell him he's going to be late meeting him. Miyagi never passes along this message, and by doing this Hiroki suffers a massive Heroic BSoD and his relationship with Nowaki is almost fractured beyond repair. Yet this isn't ever brought up again, and Hiroki and Nowaki have no idea he did this.
- Love Epiphany: While the feelings were already there and they were in a relationship, Miyagi realized the depths of his love for Shinobu when he was so caught up in trying to resolve a relationship conflict between them to the point that he forgot the anniversary of his beloved sensei’s death.
- May–December Romance: On both sides of the trope with his two love interests.
- Stepford Smiler: A mild version. He acts happy-go-lucky and teasing, especially around his junior co-worker Hiroki, but he has been unable to move on since his teacher died.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome
Takatsuki Shinobu
Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio
"I want you to take responsibility."
On his way to his sister's wedding, he is attacked by punks until Miyagi comes to his rescue. Shinobu thinks it's destiny and they are meant to be together until he finds out that Miyagi is his sister's fiance. When they get divorced he comes back to Japan because that must be destiny.
- Catchphrase: "It's fate."
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Compared to Akihiko and Nowaki, it's mainly played for laughs.
- Dogged Nice Guy: It verges on Stalker with a Crush in places when he's trying to get Miyagi to go out with him.
- Expy: He looks like Hisoka from Descendants of Darkness.
- Gratuitous English: YEAH, I WAS ROLLING ON THE FLOOR LAUGHING.
- Hot-Blooded: When he isn't snarking at everything, he's usually yelling.
- Insane Troll Logic: He borders on this when it comes to why Miyagi should be in a relationship with him. One of the initial hurdles in their relationship is that age gap aside, Miyagi has a hard time comprehending exactly why Shinobu is extremely head-over-heels for him in the first place.
- Insufferable Genius: He is supremely confident that he will get into the best university in Japan... And he's right, even acing every subject in the entrance examinations. That said, though, he seems to continuously hold the Idiot Ball when it comes to relationships. So, in other words, he's very similar to Akihiko: extremely book smart, but at the cost of having an emotional IQ of nearly zero.
- Just Ignore It: He thinks that the problem of their seventeen-year age gap is basically nonexistent, and he doesn't care one bit that he's the son of Miyagi's boss! He also thinks that the fact that Miyagi is concerned about any of this is stupid. Understandably, Miyagi has a very different opinion.
- Lethal Chef: Besides making cabbages, he can't cook anything else. And he is still working on cooking those competently.
- Meaningful Name: One of his name meaning is "to endure". And now we remember why he's such a Woobie.
- Perpetual Frowner: He always has a cross and stiff expression on his face, even in his calmer moments. It doesn't help that he's outspoken and quick to anger.
- Rescue Romance: He fell for Miyagi after the latter rescued him from some street punks on the day of Miyagi and his sister's wedding.
- Second Love: For Miyagi.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Unless it concerns Miyagi, he will not go into deredere mode.
- Teen Genius: He got nothing but perfect scores on his entrance exams... and he was applying in the same university Misaki was struggling to get into.
- Through His Stomach: He tried this tactics to win Miyagi over. However...
Supporting Characters
Takatsuki Risako
Shinobu's older sister and the former wife of Miyagi.
- Amicable Exes: Though she and Miyagi are divorced, they're not on bad terms with the other, and mutually agree that their marriage wasn't bound to work out in the first place.
- Feminine Women Can Cook: Unlike Shinobu, she took cooking classes.
- Old Flame Fizzle: After divorced with Miyagi and went out with many other men, Risako discovers that Miyagi is indeed a very good man. Too bad that Shinobu is now the holder of Miyagi's heart.
Junjou Mistake
Main Characters
Isaka Ryuuichiro
Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa
"My love is futile."
The son of a wealthy family that runs a publishing business, which he only entered because he had a knack for it and couldn't hack it as a writer. Crosses into the Romantica storyline as another editor of Akihiko's, and was the person who convinced him to publish as a teenager.
- Beleaguered Assistant: Like Aikawa, he has to deal with Akihiko's idiosyncracies on a regular basis.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: He still gets his work done, but very few people alive have ever seen that process occur.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's seen more often in Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi than Junjou;;, but he has some really strange and frustrating... er, "quirks" that constantly leave his staff in a state of heightened irritability. Unfortunately he is'' just that good at his job, so he's not going anywhere.
- Character Overlap: He appears in Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi as the director of the publishing company the protagonists work for.
- Hidden Depths: He acts goofy and is generally a pain to people around him. But he is smart, very perceptive and can be manipulative when necessary.
- Imaginary Love Triangle: He irrationally assumes Asahina is in love with his father instead of himself. Asahina has to clarify that while he's forever grateful and loyal to Isaka's father for rescuing his family, he has no attraction to the man whatsoever.
- Living Emotional Crutch: Towards the end of the Mistake storyline, he proves the reason he keeps Asahina around isn't because he can't take care of himself, but because he's emotionally dependent on him.
- Manipulative Bastard: He didn't get to where he is just by being a great editor, and he borders often on Magnificent Bastard territory when it comes to manipulating other people's lives, as well as screwing with Ritsu's sense of self-worth.
- The Obstructive Love Interest: One of the reasons why their story is called "Mistake".
- Pet the Dog:
- Although he doesn't hold back with the questions in Misaki's interview despite the fact that Misaki is clearly becoming more and more nervous by the minute, it's still telling that Misaki got the job in the end.
- Once in a while, he gives Misaki some helpful advice with regards to either his job or his relationship with Ijuuin and Akihiko.
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: With Asahina... even more than ten years after they get together.
- Smug Smiler: This, combined with his confrontational personality when people complain about his success at work, means he makes a lot more enemies than friends. Even he's aware of this part of his personality.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Downplayed. Crafty and manipulative he may be, but even he never would have anticipated the drama that would ensue in the future when he urged Misaki to cheer up Ijuuin after the latter fell into a really bad slump.
Asahina Kaoru
Voiced by: Ryōtarō Okiayu
"Why are you always doing things to trouble me?! Is it that much fun?"
As his family was about to commit suicide together due to bankruptcy, Isaka's father found them and hired them, leading to Asahina becoming Isaka's playmate and eventually a sort of caretaker. His gratefulness to Isaka's father leads to Isaka misunderstanding just who he has feelings for.
- The Comically Serious: He is so poker-faced that at times it makes for a few hilarious moments.
- Gender-Blender Name: Like Misaki and Shinobu, Kaoru is a unisex name.
- Not So Stoic: In spite of his calmness and maturity, Kaoru completely lost his cool when he heard that Isaka accepted a matchmaking dinner with another company president's daughter.
- The Obstructive Love Interest: The other reason why their story is called "Mistake".
- Only Sane Man: Alongside Misaki, he's one of the more well-adjusted characters of the main cast.
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: Extensively with Isaka.
- Subordinate Excuse: He became Isaka's assistant because he was in love with him for years but didn't feel like he could tell him.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: He's very stoic and not one to show emotion, but his façade softens a little around Isaka's presence, especially when it's just the two of them together.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Again, only with Isaka. He's often present to clean up after whatever mess his boss makes when he's in Manipulative Bastard mode.
- When He Smiles: When Isaka urges him to smile a little more, the very sight of Kaoru smiling immediately flusters Isaka and makes his heart skip a beat.
Junjou Sentiment
Ijuuin Kyou
Voiced by: Hozumi Gouda
Creator of The Kan, Misaki's favorite manga.
- The Cameo: He makes a wordless appearance during the New Year's Eve party in Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi.
- Character Development: He seems to have taken notes from his futile pursuit of Misaki, as he displays none of the negative aspects of said pursuit when he begins to court Yuu.
- Determinator: The man just does not know when to quit as soon as he makes up his mind in winning Misaki's affections, despite being firmly rejected by the latter multiple times. If anything, the only reason he backs down is because he's warned that if he keeps at his pursuit, he may end up losing Misaki's respect for him.
- Did Not Get The Guy: Misaki's answer to Ijuuin when they meet at Kamakura leads to tropes further below.
- Erotic Dream: The extra chapters centered around Ijuuin reveal that he occasionally has these, with Misaki in the dream of course.
- Foil:
- To Akihiko.
- Akihiko has light hair and eyes, and typically wears suits while Ijuuin has dark hair and eyes, and dresses casually (the times we do see him in one, there's even a contrast in their suits).
- Their work ethics and attitudes toward their work also sharply differ: Ijuuin tries to keep to his schedule in order to not to disappoint his fans with delays even if he himself isn't satisfied with the quality, while Akihiko will constantly procrastinate in order to get over a writer's block, even if it means pushing his deadlines back. And while Ijuuin has become slightly disillusioned some of his fans like him rather than his works, he still likes meeting them. On the other hand, there's no doubt readers enjoy Akihiko's books due to winning awards, while he himself will try to escape congratulatory ceremonies as soon as possible.
- Unlike with Akihiko, Misaki reads Ijuuin's works religiously and has no problem openly declaring his "love" for him.
- While it may not have been the same person, both men had fallen in unrequited love with a Takahashi; Akihiko with Takahiro and Ijuuin with Misaki. Likewise, the two have also moved on with someone else.
- He also acts as a foil to Haruhiko as well.
- Their run-ins with Misaki seem to happen at the randomest moments, they shower him with gifts (quite literally in Haruhiko's case) and Misaki cheered them on into continuing their creative paths, Haruhiko with his architecture and Ijuuin during his slumps.
- Both men are in love with Misaki, stating before that they wanted to steal him away from Akihiko, and eventually were clearly rejected by Misaki. What contrasts is how they handled it— while Haruhiko still couldn't give up his feelings, what was most important to him was Misaki's happiness. Later in the manga, he told Akihiko not to worry about him trying to go after Misaki, and even warned of their father possibly trying to tear them apart. With Ijuuin, it wasn't until others had to warn him of the consequences of continuing to pursue Misaki even after being rejected that he finally stopped; though unlike Haruhiko, it's obvious that Ijuuin doesn't want their relationship to last. Although later on, he gradually makes peace with the matter as he finds a second chance with Yuu.
- To Akihiko.
- He Cleans Up Nicely: He looks like an absolute wreck whenever the deadlines for his manga are near (think of the Emerald guys from Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi during the last days of their cycle), but is actually very, very handsome.
- Hopeless Suitor: Though Misaki very clearly rejected his confession, Ijuuin told Akihiko to his face he wouldn't give up the feelings he has and if he ever saw Akihiko had upset Misaki, he'd steal Misaki away. Although in time, Ijuuin eventually does start to move on and fall in love with someone else, namely Yuu.
- Hyper-Awareness: As seen in Sentiment, he could already tell that Misaki and Akihiko were a couple and in Mix 5: Mizuki, he reassures a jealous Mizuki there's nothing to worry over his visit to Kaoruko in France; Kaoruko returns Mizuki's feelings. He's also able to immediately figure out that the person Yuu has unrequited feelings for is Chiaki after meeting the latter for the first time.
- Innocently Insensitive: He comes on really strong to Misaki one time too many that it comes off as creepy. He doesn't seem to be aware that he's actually making Misaki more and more uncomfortable however, and when Mizuki and Akihiko bluntly point it out to him, he stops his pursuit. Ijuuin later apologizes to Misaki that he didn't mean to cause any trouble for him. Afterwards, Ijuuin contemplates it may be best for them to not see each other since he hasn't let go yet.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: In order to maintain a normal relationship with Misaki despite the feelings he still has, Ijuuin follows Mizuki's warning. When he invites Misaki to drinks, it's simply to hear his comments on the newest The Kan movie. Akihiko is the one to accept the invitation, only for another Snark Fight to break out between them.
- Love at First Sight: What he claims his first meeting with Misaki at Marukawa Publishing was.
- Love Confession: He gives one to Misaki in Chapter 31.
- Men Can't Keep House: When Misaki goes to drop off some gifts to Ijuuin's apartment, he's warned about how messy it will be. While it is indeed messy, Misaki's seen far worse to the point that Ijuuin's share of clutter barely bothers him.
- Nice to the Waiter: He's kind to every one of his fans and genuinely appreciates their support, even keeping fan letters that are already years old.
- No Sense of Personal Space: Towards Misaki, to the point that even he can tell something's off.
- Odd Friendship: He develops one with Kaoruko. Although their first meeting didn't end on a positive note, both of them end up developing a mutual respect for one another, with Kaoruko even inviting him to accompany her in France.
- Older Than They Look: It hasn't been established exactly what Ijuuin's age is, but according to a flashback in Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi, Yuu Yanase and Chiaki Yoshino were reading The Kan back in middle school, which was 15-16 years ago. The youngest professionally published mangaka was in high school at the age 15, so he's around his mid 30's at least when he meets up with Misaki again 3 years later.
- Red String of Fate: They first encountered each other when he was in a slump and Misaki gave him a pep talk, then they meet again three years later at the autographing session. He believes it to be fate, at least.
- Ship Tease: There seems to be a bit of this between him and Yuu Yanase from Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi. Then in a chapter dedicated to Yuu, it's become official. Ijuuin even asks if he'd like to start going out with him the morning after they had some drunken Sex for Solace.
- Snark-to-Snark Combat: Almost every time he and Akihiko meet. This shows especially during their interview where they're asked about their thoughts on each other's works.
- Stalker with a Crush: His first few run-ins with Misaki really could have been coincidence, but the increasing frequency of which he just so happens to now is a bit... suspect.
- Suddenly Shouting: Misaki's warned that deadline-related stress can cause Ijuuin to lose control and snap at anyone without prior warning. By that point though, Misaki is already familiar with that side of him.
Ijuuin's Love Interest
For more information about who Ijuuin ends up with in Junjou Sentiment, see Yuu Yanase's tropes in this character page.
