A list of characters that appear in Kitchen Princess and the various tropes associated with each.
open/close all folders
Najika Kazami
Najika is a teenager from the Lavender House orphanage in Hokkaido. When she was a little girl, her parents died in a car crash. One day, when she was by a pond, she fell in and was saved by a mysterious boy. Ever since that day, she vowed to find the "Flan Prince" and repay him for his kindness. Years later, she applied for Seika Academy and left home to both find the boy and perfect her culinary talent.
- All-Loving Heroine: She tends to drift into this territory. A primary example would be her relationship with Akane, a girl who seems to be her friend, but is only pretending because she wants to get rid of her. When Najika discovers that Akane has developed some anorexic tendencies, she tries to help her even when she throws harsh words at her.
- All of the Other Reindeer: She was initially ostracized by her classmates because they didn't think she had a special talent. After the cooking battle against Akane and a chef from a fancy restaurant, a majority of them recognized her skills and a couple apologized for their behavior towards her.
- Berserk Button: She can't stand it when someone wastes food. Seeing Fuuta intentionally break some eggs made her chase after him in a comedic rage.
- Big Eater: She tends to eat large quantities of food and never gains a single pound.
- Big Sister Instinct: She cares about the orphans at the Lavender House. When she meets a new boy named Fuuta and learns of his tragic backstory, she tries to get him to open up and chases after him when he runs away from the house.
- Curtains Match the Window: Her blonde hair matches her gold eyes.
- Dude Magnet: Over the course of the series, she becomes the object of affection for three boys.
- Genki Girl: She's very energetic and can barely contain her excitement for certain things. For example, when she first arrived at the academy, she couldn't resist the urge to leave her dorm, even though she was instructed not to.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She's a blonde with a huge heart, even towards those who've wronged her.
- Her Heart Will Go On: Some time after getting over Sora's death, she and Daichi visit his grave. When Daichi is away, she announces that she has feelings for Daichi, but won't forget the love she had for Sora.
- Heroic BSoD: She falls into a deep depression after Sora dies, losing her sense of taste for a while along with it.
- I Just Want to Be Special: She desperately wants to fit into Seika Academy's Class A, which is filled with talented students.
- Supreme Chef: She's an excellent chef, which she inherited from her parents.
- Stepford Smiler: When she starts getting picked on by her classmates, Najika pretends to act like she's alright when she desperately wants to fit in and is hurt by their words.
- Technician Versus Performer: Najika prioritizes catering her dishes to the individual even if it means cooking something "wrong".
- Tsundere: Akane's nice to everyone, including Sora. However, Daichi and other characters bring out her more abrasive side.
Daichi Kitazawa
Daichi is Sora's younger brother and a fellow classmate of Najika's. He has a strained relationship with Sora and his father.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Daichi is as brilliant as Sora, he just refuses to apply himself.
- Childhood Friend: Daichi has known Akane since the two of them were really young.
- First Guy Wins: Daichi is the first love interest introduced. He ends up being the Flan Prince and becoming Najika's boyfriend.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Daichi teases Najika and is annoyed by his brother's presence, but he shows concern for Najika whenever someone harasses her.
- Lethal Chef: When he and Sora made a burnt breakfast sandwich for Najika, he had apparently mixed up the mustard and mayonnaise.
- Oblivious to Love: He doesn't seem aware of Akane's feelings for him until she goes into Clingy Jealous Girl territory.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: After Sora's death, Daichi is shown being more studious and serious, has moved in with his father, and is now student body president.
- Official Couple: At the end of the series, he and Najika become a couple.
- The Reveal: Daichi is Najika's Flan Prince. He apparently suppressed his memories of Hokkaido due to the traumatic events surrounding his mother's death.
- Silent Treatment: After Akane steals the watch that Daichi bought for Najika and lied about how she got it, Daichi starts ignoring Najika.
- Sweet Tooth: Sora fondly remembers that Daichi used to love sweet things when he was younger.
- Trauma-Induced Amnesia: Daichi forgot that his mother sacrificed herself to save him, even forgetting about what happened on the Hokkaido trip entirely.
- Tsundere: He's gruff, sarcastic and aloof towards everyone except for a select few people. When he's around either Sora, Akane, or Najika, his softer, more kinder side comes out. Especially Najika as he delevops a crush on her.
Sora Kitazawa
Sora is Daichi's older brother and the student body president. He's filling in for his father, the director, while he's away.
- Big Brother Instinct: He tries to be there for his younger brother despite their strained relationship. He fondly said that Daichi was cute when he was asleep, causing his brother to blush furiously.
- Curtains Match the Window: Sora has blond hair and gold eyes.
- Elegant Classical Musician: Sora is a world class piano player and is considered something of a gentleman.
- Lethal Chef: When he and Daichi made a burnt breakfast sandwich for Najika, he had apparently mixed up the salt and sugar. He also tried to place all of the blame on his brother, afraid that it would taste horrible.
- Perpetual Smiler: Sora is rarely seen without a smile on his face.
- Romantic False Lead: He turns into one for Najika. Although he did develop feelings for her, he dies midway through the series.
Akane Kishida
Akane is Sora and Daichi's childhood friend and a famous teenage model. She initially pretended to be Najika's friend in an attempt to drive her away, but after some time, the friendship turns genuine.
- Alpha Bitch: She acts superior to Najika, treating her like she's beneath her. This aspect of her character begins to change after Najika helps her with an eating disorder.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She pretends to be Najika's friend, acting like she's supportive and willing to give her chances to fit in. However, she's trying to sabotage Najika's attempts to fit in and easily makes Najika look bad through manipulation. She grows out of this later on.
- Birds of a Feather: Both her and Seiya are arrogant Tsundere aces who are/were Bitch in Sheep's Clothing but were forced to grow out of it after multiple Break the Haughty.
- Character Development: She starts as a bully to Najika, acting out of jealousy thanks to believing that Najika was trying to steal all of Daichi's affections. This begins to change when Najika helps her with an eating disorder despite having been nothing but mean to her until then. Once she admits to Najika why she acted out, they become close friends, Akane helping Najika out and even coming to terms with Daichi's rejection.
- Childhood Friend: She's known Sora and Daichi since they were young kids. They all grew up together and know just about everything about each other.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: She wants to become a couple with Daichi, but he doesn't return her feelings. When Daichi seems to be forming a relationship with Najika, Akane pulls all sorts of stunts to get rid of her "rival". This feeling diminishes over time and she lets the relationship happen once she comes clean with Daichi about her crush and is officially rejected.
- Easily Forgiven: Even though she did things to hurt Najika and attempted to ruin her relationship with Daichi, she's forgiven for everything she did.
- Entitled to Have You: She believes she's entitled to Daichi's affections because she's known him far longer than Najika has and even thinks herself superior to Najika.
- False Friend: She initially pretends to be Najika's friend while hating her secretly and arranging humiliating situations. This utlitmately becomes subverted when she becomes a genuine friend to Najika after the two have a heart-to-heart.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Despite knowing her chances are slim to none, she confesses her feelings to Daichi who gently rejects her. She doesn't let her heartbreak get in the way of wanting Daichi to be happy with Najika.
- Raised by Grandparents: Her parents weren't often home thanks to their jobs, so her maternal grandmother took care of her while they were away.
- The Rival: She considers Najika her rival for Daichi's affections at first.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Her favorite dessert is peach pie, more specifically the one her grandmother made whenever she was feeling down.
- Tsundere: She's normally a sweet girl towards those she likes, but she's super harsh towards Najika (at first).
- Unlucky Childhood Friend: Akane is Daichi and Sora's childhood friend, though she only has eyes for Daichi. She doesn't end up with Daichi, for he falls in love Najika.
- Weight Woe: She goes through an arc where she turns down opportunities to eat, even something as simple as bread. She even refused to eat some ice cream that she was doing a commercial for, which led to her appearance being cancelled.
Fujita
Fujita is the owner of Fujita Diner, the on-site restaurant at Seika Academy. He was a chef at a three-star Parisian restaurant before setting up shop at the academy.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: He can be a great cook when he's willing to put effort into it, but he prefers lazing about the diner than actually cooking anything.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Fujita was initially a bright and optimistic chef in the Parisian restaurant he once worked for. However, one day, one of Fujita's colleagues in the restaurant framed him for a food poisoning incident he was not involved in so she could keep her job. The incident destroyed his initial enthusiasm for cooking in general.
- He Cleans Up Nicely: When he shows up at the PTA luncheon, he has shaved off his stubble and is wearing a chef's uniform instead of his usual bandana and t-shirt combo.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: Even though he seems to enjoy placing work on Najika, he does appreciate all that she does and will help her when she needs it.
- Lazy Bum: More often than not, he's seen lazing about while Najika is busy doing all the hard work.
Hagio
Hagio is the owner of Lavender House.
- Miniature Senior Citizens: Hagio is much short than Najika despite being several decades older than her.
- Opaque Lenses: Her eyes are never drawn behind her glasses. The only time that her eyes are shown is when she's not wearing the glasses.
- Parental Substitute: She acts like a mother figure for all of the orphans, especially to Najika.
- Supreme Chef: When Najika talks about Hagio, she talks about how great her cooking is.
- Team Mom: She's the primary caregiver of Lavander House. When Najika leaves for Seika Academy, Hagio sends her off with love and hope, encouraging her to return to Lavender House anytime.
