Characters / My Little Monster

Here is a list of characters who appear in My Little Monster.

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Shizuku Mizutani

Voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu

The female protagonist of My Little Monster. As far as Shizuku is concerned, grades and studying are the only things that warrant her attention. She finds friends to be unnecessary and cannot find meaning in making connections with others. As a result, she acts indifferent and dismissive, earning her the nickname "dry ice" among her peers from an early age and prefers to remain uninvolved in anything would have her interact with others.

After meeting the class delinquent Haru to deliver some class handouts, she is often put-off and at times horrified by his monstrous behavior. However, after seeing that he is actually well-meaning and kind under his extremely coarse behavior, she shows him kindness, and he responds by saying he is attracted to her. Despite herself, Shizuku finds that her perspective in life starts changing as she interacts with Haru, and she eventually becomes attracted to him as well. However, Shizuku and Haru never seem to be on the same page when it comes to their feelings, leading to an unbalanced romance between the two.

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• Berserk Button: Shizuku's studies are always her top priority, so she doesn't take kindly to them being interrupted or made light of.
• Birds of a Feather: With Yamaken.
• Brainy Brunette: She typically scores within the top two of her class, and often takes first.
• Brutal Honesty: Shizuku can be extremely blunt, so sometimes her honesty comes off as insensitive.
• Career Versus Man: A High School version of the trope. Shizuku's primary source of moral conflict since she' can't seem to find balance between her love life and her studies.
• Character Development: Shizuku becomes more sensitive to people's feelings and open with herself.
• The Comically Serious: Usually, Shizuku remains composed and placid, even in the most wacky situations.
• Control Freak: A big part of Shizuku's character is her need for stability and control. As Shizuku's growing feelings for Haru start affecting her concentration in school, she starts avoiding him as she can't quite deal with her feelings and her schoolwork at the same time.
• Conveniently Seated: She sits in the ever-popular back seat next to the window with Haru sitting next to her.
• Cool Big Sis: Takaya views his sister in a favorable light and admires her, and for Shizuku's part, she tends to dote on him more than one would expect from her.
• Deadpan Snarker: "Lately, Haru has been acting strange. Well, I guess that's nothing new."
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Over the course of the story, Shizuku gradually finds that she enjoys hanging out with friends, and falls in love with Haru.
• Emotionless Girl: Not being used to having friends to interact with, Shizuku is very emotionally withdrawn, and typically refrains from revealing her personal feelings or worries.
• Expressive Hair: Her pigtails often stand up on themselves when she gets surprised, startled or upset. All while keeping her usual unfazed expression. Or at least trying to.
• Friendless Background: Not that Shizuku herself actively sought out any friends. She felt more fulfillment from earning high marks than she did from spending time with her classmates.
• Girlish Pigtails: Which is somewhat ironic for a character often noted as being "unfashionable" by almost everyone in the series. Yamaken's sister even goes as far as to say that it adds to her frumpy style.
• Good with Numbers: Often helps out her father with pricing in their store because she's good at it, and because it's good practice for her.
• Green-Eyed Epiphany: Iyo's flirtatiousness around Haru made Shizuku realize that she's indeed REALLY in love with Haru.
• Important Haircut: In the last chapter she trots a womanly but adult bob in sharp contrast to her usual pigtails, along with a suit that mirrors her mother's business suit.
• In-Series Nickname: "Mitty" from Natsume. "Studybug" from Yamaken's crew.
• Intelligence Equals Isolation: Shizuku indeed is isolated from others, but she actually prefers this because she views her studies as a top priority and would rather not be distracted.
• Iron Butt Monkey: Whenever Haru goes on one of his rampages, Shizuku has a tendency of getting caught in the crossfire.
• Kid with the Leash: To Haru. It's also invoked on every volume cover.
• Lack of Empathy: What earned her the nickname, "Dry Ice". When she was little, she didn't care about the class pet dying. Instead, she asked about the next assignment. Now she's learning to be more careful with other people's emotions.
• Loner-Turned-Friend: Shizuku starts off seeing others as mere interactions that mean nothing, to eventually acknowledging she has friends.
• Loony Friends Improve Your Personality: It can be argued that Haru's (and Natsume's) influence helped her to open up to others, and when she steps back to observe this, she does seem to think that she is changing for the better.
• Lust Object: Reconstructed. Haru often admits that his love for Shizuku, while genuine, also involves sexual desire (which isn't that shocking coming from a teenage boy). And while he may go as far as licking Shizuku's hand, it's heavily hinted that he does so because he doesn't really know what to do with his desire nor how to express it appropriately. As he matures and as his feelings grow stronger, he controls it better.
• Morality Chain: Shizuku's very presence is enough to get Haru to calm down and behave. If she's not around, Haru can relapse into his old, violent ways. The chain Haru is often see wearing in official media is a representation of this relationship.
• Nerds Love Tough School Work: The one thing the moves her heart? Earning high marks in her classes.
• Odd Friendship: Mostly with Haru and Natsume.
• Official Couple: With Haru. They have officially started going out in Chapter 31. They get married in the final chapter.
• Opposites Attract: With Haru. Haru is a brutish, loner who wants to make friends, Shizuku is a self-isolated loner who has no interest in friends.
• Perpetual Frowner: If she ever smiles, it is at most a slight curve of the lips.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Natsume's and Haru's reds, remaining calm, detached and indifferent to the surrounding events.
• Serious Business: No, she's not messing around. For Shizuku, love is of debatable importance compared to studying.
• The Stoic: Downplayed as the story goes on, but she generally is well in-control of her reactions and emotions. This is why interacting with Haru ends up shaking her as much as it does; as she grows closer to him, her feelings are not as easily kept in check.
• Straight Man: Shizuku plays this to nearly every other character due to them all having varying quirks. The only ones who are probably just as or perhaps even more level than she is are Sasayan and Micchan.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Shizuku is cold, aloof and generally does not enjoy interacting with others, but she shows glimpses of her sweet side to Haru.
• Tranquil Fury: When she's at her angriest, she tends to just be silent and glare at the target of her anger. The angriest she's been described is when Iyo challenged her for Haru's affections by outright saying that Shizuku was too ugly for Haru, which is extremely rude and aggressive behaviour by Japanese standards. Shizuku's reply was a frostbitten but very clear warning that Iyo had just crossed the line:
  Iyo: Iyo is waaay more attractive than her!
  Shizuku: *slams workbook on desk* Do you need something from me?
• Tsurime Eyes: Her eyes are almost always serious and focused.
• Uptight Loves Wild: Shizuku is serious, disciplined and obsessed with studying and good grades, while the guy she falls in love with is a wild, crazy and untamed "monster".
• "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: A case can be made that she is this to her mother. While her mother is proud of Shizuku and happy that she works hard, she is also distant from Shizuku and places her work as a top priority, leaving Shizuku disappointed when her mother is unable to show up for family events. Since Shizuku modeled herself and her work ethic after her mother, it may be that her mother's distance from her family also led Shizuku to create a similar dissociation from her peers.
• When She Smiles: These moments are worth cherishing.

Haru Yoshida

Voiced by: Tatsuhisa Suzuki

The male protagonist. Stubborn, violent, temperamental and impulsive, Haru is the titular "monster" of My Little Monster. Being suspended at the beginning of the school year, Shizuku delivers his class handouts and though he faces expulsion, he refuses to return to school up until he makes an emotional connection with Shizuku, at which point he declares that he likes her and begins attending school just so that he can spend more time with her.

Going from one extreme to the next, often finding interest in what most people would find "weird" or "childish", he can be very troublesome and frightening to deal with, usually making threats and getting into fist fights with others. However, he has good intentions and wishes to connect with others, though he can be possessive of those he is close with, especially Shizuku, due to a lack of stability in his own personal life.

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• Almost Kiss: He goes in to kiss Shizuku in episode 7, but stops when he remembers what Natsume said about being touched by someone you don't like.
• Ambiguous Disorder: Haru is anti-social, has the emotional maturity of a child, and is prone to violent moodswings. Despite all of this, he is all incredibly book-smart.
• Ambiguous Innocence: Haru's extreme innocence can occasionally cross over from adorable into disturbing.
• Anti-Hero: He's a good guy, at heart, but has a violent temper that occasionally gets him in trouble with people he doesn't mean or want to hurt.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: Haru initially grows attached Shizuku because she stood up for him when his friends were treating him poorly and encouraged him to look forward to the time when he'd be surrounded by true friends. However, his situation actually leads to an obsession with Shizuku rather than truly liking her, and it takes time for him to develop real romantic feelings towards her.
• Big Brother Instinct: Haru displays this toward his best friend and classmate, Natsume Asako. He even goes so far as to beat Micchan up for making her cry.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Shizuku has stated several times that Haru is actually far smarter than she is, but he doesn't apply himself.
• Chick Magnet: After he stops glaring at everyone all the time once Shizuku tells him that he should try smiling more. He ruins it though by going on an assault against a few bullies, leading the majority of the school to go back to fearing him, though this fear dies down after a while as he starts mellowing out.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Haru tends to come off as this, because of his lack of experience in normal social interaction.
• Crazy Jealous Guy: For Shizuku, especially when it comes to Yamaken. He will often punch him or other guys who hit on Shizuku.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Haru is a product of his family history, so at the beginning of the story, he is very socially awkward and emotionally stunted, putting it lightly. It's pretty understandable why he would tell Shizuku not to pry into his personal life.
• Delinquent: His admittedly justified violent behavior and refusing to attend school has firmly planted Haru in delinquent territory.
• Ditzy Genius: Haru has No Social Skills but he is smarter than Shizuku grade-wise.
• Dogged Nice Guy: To Shizuku.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Well, not quite "bad", but the same principle. The only person who gave him a somewhat normal childhood was his paternal aunt.
• Forceful Kiss: On Shizuku. To be fair, though, he didn't know how to properly respond to his feelings for her. He's getting better at it, though.
• Friendless Background: Thus, Haru desires friends and deep connections with others.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: A serious problem for Haru starting out. As the story goes on, he has to work on controlling his anger and not acting completely on his emotions.
• Hidden Depths: He seems to be a crude thug with an attitude problem, but he's also capable of being very noble, and is actually academically gifted.
• Hot-Blooded: Although he usually seems detached and aloof, he can quickly become riled up if something ticks him off.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: Haru's lonely 3 years of middle school taught him that life is an empty experience unless you have people to share it with.
• Intelligence Equals Isolation: A strangely averted case; Haru is intelligent because of his isolation. While Haru didn't attend any of his classes in middle school, he read about a lot of advanced subjects in his spare time and is thus far ahead of the rest of his classmates. This is in part due to the fact that he lived with his aunt, who was a professor at a university.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Haru is extremely rough around the edges and acts like a delinquent, but really has a Hidden Heart of Gold.
• Missing Mom: We later learn that Haru and Yuuzan's mother is a beautiful but extremely shallow and selfish Socialite who really isn't cut out for anything demanding responsibility or discipline, hence the reason why she let her sister-in-law take care of Haru and her former husband take care of Yuuzan without the slightest bit of regret.
• No Social Skills: This really cannot be understated.
• Official Couple: With Shizuku. They have officially started going out in Chapter 31. They get married in the final chapter.
• One Head Taller: He's a head taller than Shizuku.
• Opposites Attract: With Shizuku. Haru is a brutish loner who wants to make friends, Shizuku is a self-isolated loner who has no interest in friends.
• Parental Abandonment: His father usually ignores him and both actually never interact in the series. His mother was just his father's mistress du jour and is hardly a better parent herself since she completely relinquished him to her sister-in-law.
• Pet the Dog: While he is socially awkward, Haru loves animals, including his rooster, Nagoya.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Shizuku's blue.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Has a tendency to sneak on people to greet them, Ooshima being the primary receiver of this treatment.
• Teen Genius: He's actually a brilliant student, able to get perfect scores without having to even study.
• Troubled, but Cute: Very good looking, but also crude and brooding.
• What Is This Feeling?: He was unable to label what he was initially feeling for Shizuku. He wasn't sure if he was attracted to her or if he was grateful that she helped him out.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: Gender-flipped. If you do anything to hurt Shizuku or his friends, he will kill you.
• Yandere: In Haru's scariest moments, he shows flashes of this. He loves Shizuku, but he fears her leaving him one day. He even mentions in passing that while he can't break Shizuku's legs to keep her from running away from him, he would gladly do so to Yamaken, his rival for Shizuku’s affections.

Asako Natsume

Voiced by: Atsumi Tanezaki

A girl who is in the same class as Haru and Shizuku. Self-proclaimed to be "hopelessly stupid" at her schoolwork, she begs Haru and Shizuku to tutor her for her retest, luring Haru with an invitation to a social meetup with her online friends. Though Haru's attempts at tutoring her fall short, Shizuku's more direct explanations and concise outlines help her pass, and she remains friends with the both of them from then afterward.As she is very attractive and receives many love confessions that she always rejects, she was bullied and ostracized by both her male and female classmates. Thus Asako wants nothing more than to make lots of female friends while having nothing to do with the opposite sex. As she had trouble making friends in real life, Asako turned to online blogging and often retreats to her site as a means to be popular and escape her real life troubles.

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• A Taste of Their Own Medicine: Her getting rejected by Micchan counts as this, especially when Micchan himself pointed out her coldness towards her suitors and boys who talk to her in general.
• All of the Other Reindeer: She was bullied and ostracized by her classmates in the past, due to her popularity with the boys.
• Book Dumb: Her grades are absolutely awful, but she really does try her best.
• Brainless Beauty: A surprisingly positively portrayed example. Asako is definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed, and she's constantly shown to have to take retests, but she dislikes her popularity with males and in spite of being Book Dumb, she cares very much for her relationships with her friends.
• Cloud Cuckoolander: Though probably milder than most cases and definitely not as strange as Haru, Asako is still weird and can get a bit creepy sometimes. Shizuku once caught a glimpse of her typing a message on her blog that she still needed a couple of strands of Shizuku's hair in order to perform a ritual that would ensure they'd be best friends forever.
• Does Not Like Men: Asako has an aversion to men due to countless guys asking her out. This unfortunately leads to girls disliking her because she's popular with guys, and guys disliking her because she rejects them. The only exceptions she makes is Haru, because she knows he's only interested in Shizuku and Mitsuyoshi, who she happens to have a Precocious Crush on.
• Drama Queen: At the beginning, she would often overreact at the slightest contrariety or challenge. Her growing out of this is one of the keys to her Character Development.
• Dude Magnet: She's very cute, and boys apparently flock to her constantly.
• Early-Bird Cameo: She was among the group of students when Haru stripped for gym. To be more precise, she was behind Shizuku on her right.
• Elegant Gothic Lolita: Dresses up in this fashion for the cultural festival.
• Escapism: Asako would rather blog on the internet than deal with school.
  Asako: Hmph! School is a joke! The online me is the real me! Online, I'm surrounded by friends and trusted by everyone. In that world, I'm just a normal girl who worries about things like her hair.
  Shizuku: Wouldn't that be like living a lie?
  Asako: Leave me alone.
• Fiery Redhead: Asako shows this, but only towards the people she cares about. She's cold to everybody else at school, because she hates attracting unnecessary attention from the boys.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: Asako would love nothing better that to be surrounded by female friends. It certainly explains why she clings to Shizuku after they first meet.
• Kindhearted Simpleton: Though she can be a bit invasive, Asako is very well-meaning in her meddling.
• Not Good with Rejection: When Mitsuyoshi tells her straight that he's not willing to enter a relationship with her, Natsume breaks down in tears and remains raw about the whole ordeal for quite some time. Which also counts as An Aesop for her, since she would reject the boys who hit on her with absolute coldness, something that Mitsuyoshi called her out on.
• Precocious Crush: Has one on Mitsuyoshi, who is about a decade her senior. When she does confess her feelings, he ends up politely turning her down because of the age gap.
• Proud Beauty: Yes. Asako knows she's very attractive and, while she doesn't openly brag about it all the time (like Iyo does), she often supposes that her beauty is such that no boy can resist her, which Sasayan doesn't hesitate to call her out on.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Shizuku's blue, being lively, spontaneous and often emotional.
• Shipper on Deck: For Haru and Shizuku. She gets very upset when Sasayan questions how sincere Haru's feelings for Shizuku are.
• Slut-Shaming: Downplayed. Natsume is neither sexually provocative nor is she promiscuous. But because of her beauty and the attention she gets from boys, other girls would often call her a whore, which caused her to be ostracized.
• So Beautiful, It's a Curse: She's so pretty that she has received repeated harassment from boys and girls would shun her because of their jealousy of her popularity.
• Unwanted Harem: The three guys who tend to follow Yamaken around are always ogling her, and she's never too thrilled about it.
• With Friends Like These...: Her old middle school friends. When Natsume started hanging out with one of her friends' crush, people started talking behind her back. Nothing explicit is stated, but it's possible that they thought she fooled around with other guys. When they see her years later, they continue to make comments about her, which makes her start crying.
• Wrong Guy First: She first fell in love with Mitsuyoshi but he quickly rejected her, given the age gap between them (10 years at least). When it's clear that Mitsuyoshi will never return her feelings, she gradually becomes more attracter to Sasayan who had been harbouring feelings for her for a long time and goes in for the kill when Natsume shows signs of reciprocation.

Sasayan/Souhei Sasahara

Voiced by: Ryōta Ōsaka

A classmate of Shizuku and Haru. Souhei "Sasayan" Sasahara first approaches Shizuku while she was studying alone in the library during his baseball team's practice. As he went to the same middle school as Haru, he's interested in how Shizuku somehow "tamed" him, since he never showed up for any of his classes in his old school. Sasayan eventually becomes incorporated into the main group's social circle after helping build a chicken coop for the class's pet chicken along with the others.Friendly, mischievous and laid-back, Sasayan is the most socially aware and is popular among his peers. Though not quite Wise Beyond His Years, he is much more perceptive of the others' interactions and as a result is very good at concealing his own feelings from others.

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• Alliterative Name: Souhei Sasahara.
• All-Loving Hero: More than often Sasahara tried to encourage happiness for others rather than himself.
• Animal Motifs: Often drawn with cat-like features, such as slanted pupils or a feline smile.
• Book Dumb: He only barely passes his courses.
• Brutal Honesty: Sasayan also does this if you get him angry enough.
• Dogged Nice Guy: To Natsume, a Downplayed example. Even though Asako friendzoned him, Souhei still treats Asako with kindness because he's attracted to her but always within reason and always with her consent. It's only when Asako clearly shows that Souhei's steady friendliness is starting to grow on her that Souhei becomes more assertive and eventually wins her over as shown in the extra side-story volume of the series, showing him and Asako as a couple during a ski trip, making it a rare instance where the guy actually succeeds to get the girl that way.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Like Natsume, he had a small part in the first episode.
• Forgotten First Meeting: He has known Haru since middle school. However, since Haru blocked a lot of memories, he doesn't remember Sasayan, which offends him.
• He's All Grown Up: Is described in the "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue at the end of the manga as a quite handsome, if still a little boyish, businessman.
• I Love You Because I Can't Control You: Invoked. He often remarks that Natsume isn't really the kind of girl he would be attracted otherwise in terms of personality, due to her erratic behaviour and emotional nature that make her unpredictable. Until he finds out that it's exactly what he likes about her.
• Love Confession: Tells Natsume that he likes her, until it's clear Natsume is starting to return his affections, at which point he outright asks her to hurry up and fall in love with him.
• Matchmaker Crush: He starts out actively helping Natsume in her pursuit of Mitsuyoshi, but he eventually develops feelings for her.
• Nice Guy: Manages to get along with everyone to a degree that his friends often find incredible.
• One Extra Member: He joins the main cast after talking to Shizuku about Haru. While he's not as active as the other characters, he does try to be there for his new friends.
• Only Sane Man: Shares this role with Shizuku and Micchan with his shrewd observations, something his own childhood friend Shinjou tells him is "easy" since he alway seems to look at others from a distance.
• Rejection Affection: Subverted. Asako outright tells him that she isn't interested in him, it still doesn't stop Souhei from liking her more than as a friend. And even though he never does anything out-of-line, his perseverence proves successful.
• Romantic Runner-Up: Reconstructed. Because he didn't want to be a "second choice", he gave up early on Natsume when he guessed out her feelings for Mitsuyoshi and didn't act out on his feelings out of respect for Natsume's crush. When it becomes clear that Mitsuyoshi has no intention of ever letting Asako within his life other than as an acquaintance, Sasayan comes clean about his feelings for Natsume.
• Perpetual Smiler: Is one of the most cheerful and upbeat of the group.
• Shorter Means Smarter: Is one of the most perceptive people out of all his friends and often guesses out people's intentions but would often just keep his observations to himself out of kindness. Is only a bit taller than Natsume.
• Underdogs Never Lose: Lampshaded by his brothers, out of whom he's clearly the youngest and the shortest when they notice that he's getting a fairly attractive girlfriend for such a "shrimp", as all three say.
• Victorious Childhood Friend: To Asako.

Yamaken/Kenji Yamaguchi

Voiced by: Takuma Terashima

One of Haru's former "friends". He used to go to school with Haru and picked on him for being smarter than him. By time the story gets going, he and his friends are hanging out with Haru and are taking advantage of his friendless situation. However, Shizuku calls them out on this and Haru leaves them to hang out with her.Even though he has a hard time admitting it, Yamaken quickly shows that he finds Shizuku attractive and starts seriously flirting with her when they start entering cram school. Although he often does it to provoke Haru and often denies it when he flirts with Shizuku, his feelings for her grow stronger as the series progresses. And even though it's quite clear he doesn't stand a chance, he doesn't give up on Shizuku, which infuriates Haru even more.

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• Aloof Big Brother: To his little sister, Iyo. He gets better, though.
• The Beautiful Elite: Smugly claims to be part of the happy few.
• Deadpan Snarker: His comments are typically blunt, matter-of-fact one-liners.
• The Gadfly: Yamaken seems to enjoy messing around and pushing his friends' buttons to see how they respond.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Whenever Haru shows possessiveness or outward affection to Shizuku when he's around, even though he's classy enough not to react immediately, Yamaken invariably scowls in jealousy which eventually leads him to realize tha he does want to take Shizuku for himself, not because he wants to show Haru up but because he really does love Shizuku.
• Hopeless Suitor: Much like Chizuru, by the time Yamaken comes into the picture as a "potential love rival" Shizuku has already started sorting out her feelings for Haru. Because Yamaken himself struggles with being sincere about his own feelings he keeps inexplicably finding himself giving Shizuku relationship advice instead.
• Hospital Hottie: A Rare Male Example. He ends up following his father's path as a brilliant surgeon.
• I Kiss Your Hand: How he congratulates Shizuku at her wedding with Haru.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Yamaken surprisingly turns out to be this as well, initially debuting as a gang leader but turning out to be rich, intelligent, and has a habit of looking after Shizuku.
• Let's Just Be Friends: Defied at first. When Shizuku clearly states to him that she can't reciprocate his feelings because she's already in love with Haru, Yamaken politely but firmly rejects the perspective of remaining friends with her, since he won't accept a second choice position. But by the end of the series, he has finally made peace with the fact that Shizuku will never be his and is okay with remaining friends with Haru, Shizuku and their gang.
• Longing Look: Whenever he's around Shizuku, he will always gaze at her with enamored eyes, especially if there is no one they know around. He actually starts doing this soon after he first meets her.
• Love Confession: He attempts this for Shizuku in the OVA. However, Shizuku headbutts him before he completes it. In the manga, even though it took him months to say it clearly, he eventually gets to propositioning Shizuku very directly, up to outright telling her that he wants her and that he would treat her much better than Haru ever could.
• A Man of Wealth and Taste: What he likes to see himself as, see The Beautiful Elite above.
• No Sense of Direction: He regularly gets lost, something his sister won't hesitate to exploit or mock him about.
• Pretty Boy: Lampshaded by Shizuku herself when she informs him that the real reason why Haru always wants to fight him whenever he tries to make a move on Shizuku is mainly because Yamaken is indeed just as attractive as Haru himself, if not more so.
• Rich Suitor, Poor Suitor: The rich one. Subverted however since he almost never flashes his money to woo Shizuku since he knows she's not a Gold Digger and just might takes offers of provision and luxury as an insult.
• Romantic False Lead: Ends up firmly in this position as the story progresses and as his feelings grow stronger. And apparently his rivality with Haru keeps going on until Haru and Shizuku get officially married as the artwork of the 13th volume would tell us.
• Spoiled Brat: Has shades of this wiht his taste for luxury and comfort.
• Surrounded by Idiots: Apparently, it's done on purpose on his part as he confesses to Shizuku that he enjoys sneering at other people's stupidity, including his group of friends.
• The Rival: Surprisingly, in both the romantic and the intelligent department. He is incredibly smart, but not as smart as Haru, though. He has feelings for Shizuku, initially for the wrong reason, but Shizuku has feelings for Haru instead. In one episode, they get in a fight because of their jealousy of the other person.
• Teen Genius: Is second only to Shizuku and third to Haru when it comes to academic brilliance.
• Tsundere: He has a horrible time managing his feelings once he realizes he's developed a crush on Shizuku and will often denies immediately when he starts getting flirtatious.
• Unrequited Love Lasts Forever: If the "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue is anything to go by, he seems to have remained around Shizuku and Haru as a friend of sorts and still squabbles with Haru who still doesn't trust him around Shizuku, probably because he knows Yamaken still loves Shizuku and will take any chance to take her from him.

Chizuru "Oojima" Ooshima

Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa

A schoolmate of Haru and Shizuku's and the class president of her own class. Shy, sweet-tempered, very feminine and delicate, she rarely interacts with other people outside of the main cast. She does have one friend affectionately called "Yuu-chan" who she regularly talks to.

She meets Haru when he defends her from a group of bullying upperclassmen (and upperclass girls) and accidentally takes her along while fleeing Yuuzan. She gradually becomes a regular friend of Haru and Shizuku's gang, getting along especially well with Natsume who is thrilled to have another girl she can talk to aside from Shizuku.

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• Because You Were Nice to Me: Her romantic interest in Haru began after he rescued her from bullies.
• Brainy Brunette: Is a rather successful student herself.
• Dogged Nice Girl: To Haru but downplayed since she's too classy to beyond what is reasonable.. Even when she has the chance to confess to him, she still encourages him to pursue his relationship with Shizuku.
• Extreme Doormat: She deliberately makes herself one out of desperate need for interaction.
• Graceful Loser: Unlike Iyo, Chizuru respectfully accepts the fact that Haru is only interested in Shizuku. And even though she does confess to him at one point, she doesn't take his polite rejection with bitterness but rather as an inevitability. And she never shows any ill-will towards Haru or Shizuku afterwards as she gets over her crush.
• Hime Cut: Her usual hairstyle to hint at her delicate nature.
• Hopeless Suitor: Lampshaded by Asako, who (very correctly) states that Ooshima knows her place, which is why her crush is tolerated.
• Huge School Girl: Downplayed. Ooshima is taller than average for a female but is still smaller than Haru.
• Nice Girl: Despite being shy, Chizuru is a friendly girl.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: See below. She's usually poised and quiet, so her unusually loud reaction to Haru's unwillingness to confess his feelings for Shizuku demonstrates just how serious she is about the whole thing.
• Pair the Spares: With Shizuku's brother, Takaya, even though he did start showing interest for her quite often in the middle of the manga.
• Precision F-Strike: She does this when asking why Haru won't confess to Shizuku. She really regrets saying this.
  "Don't you have any balls?!"
• Rescue Romance: She develops a crush on Haru after he rescues her from bullies.
• Shrinking Violet: She's quite shy and easily browbeaten into doing things for others.
• Unwanted Harem: Much like Asako, she is chased after by Yamaken's gang who find her very attractive.
• Worthy Opponent: Because of her gentle nature and her respectful ways, Shizuku doesn't mind her vying for Haru's affection.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Embodies many tropes of the archetype with her prim behavior, her delicate beauty and her kindness.

Micchan/Mitsuyoshi Misawa

Voiced by: Tomoyuki Higuchi

Haru's first cousin and current guardian. After his mother passed away, he has been taking care of Haru in her place.He owns an arcade, which serves as a primary location in the story. Despite his benevolent behaviour, he still remains quite aloof towards Haru's friends but always shows up when they need help. The object of Natsume's affections, an attraction that he accepts but doesn't return, mostly due to their age difference.

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• Alliterative Name: Mitsuyoshi Misawa.
• Berserk Button: In his youth, he was not pleased with Haru when he called Micchan's mother "old lady".
• Better as Friends: How he eventually rejects Natsume's crush, invoking their age gap and making it clear that there's not a smattering of a chance for her to ever be with him, not even in the future.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He's rather peaceful and well-meaning but this is a man that can take on Haru and win.
• Cool Big Bro: Often gives helpful advice to Haru and Natsume.
• Cool Shades: It's revealed that since his eyes are similar to his uncle's (Haru and Yuuzan's father), he wears them as a cover.
• Hidden Heart of Gold: Despite his past as a Delinquent and apparent toughness, Yuuzan often remarks that he's actually the one who is most capable of genuine love within their family.
• In-Series Nickname: Micchan and sometimes Sansawa in the manga.
• Intergenerational Friendship: With Haru's friends. He's at least ten years older than Haru.
• Japanese Delinquent: The first time he and Haru meet, Haru immediately identifies him as a "yankee" (usual term reserved for that type of person) due to his bleached blond hair and his devil-may-care attitude.
• Local Hangout: His arcade is the primary place where Haru and his gang hangout and the usual venue for birthdays, Christmas and other celebrations.
• Nice Guy: Micchan is a quite thoughtful and friendly individual.
• Oblivious to Love: Up until her confession, Mitsuyoshi had no idea that Natsume had feelings for him.
• Parental Substitute: He seems to act as both a father and a brother for Haru.
• The Reliable One: Is one of the most responsible persons of the show, mostly due to being in charge of Haru and being in heaps of debt, as he says himself.
• Sunglasses at Night: Wears his dark-colored Cool Shades even at night.
• Token Adult: Is about a decade older than most of the main characters, but is generally treated as a friend and peer.
• Uncanny Family Resemblance: If he removes his sunglasses, he looks similar to Haru and Yūzan’s father, hence his reliance on his glasses to hide his sharp eyes.

Yuuzan Yoshida

Voiced by: Yūichi Nakamura

Haru's estranged older brother. He often comes by Mitsuyoshi's apartment to visit Haru, but he's unable to talk to him since Haru is terrified of him. Occasionally, he runs into Shizuku, either by sheer coincidence or pure intent, and uses her as a means to talk to Haru.

Often described as "slimy" and "malevolent" by Haru, and apparently not well-liked by Micchan, he gets better as the series progresses, seeing that his attitude is mostly due to parental pressure from his dad.

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• Alliterative Name: Yuuzan Yoshida.
• Aloof Big Brother: Was quite cold to Haru during their youth.
• Big Brother Bully: To Haru as a child.
• Big Brother Instinct: He tries to be better as the story goes along. Too bad Haru is afraid of him and runs whenever he sees him.
• Chick Magnet: He dazzles a lot of women in his presence because of his good looks, notably Iyo who actively pursues him.
• Freudian Excuse: Implied. His dislike for women may be due to how his father's bad habits with women and his mother's coldness.
• He-Man Woman Hater: Openly calls women manipulative "snakes" and usually avoids them.
• Heir to the Dojo: Is supposed to take over the family's business after his father which puts a tremendous amount of pressure on his shoulders and explains his coldness towards Haru as a child when everyone found out Haru was actually the smarter sibling.
• Important Haircut: By the story's end, he cuts his unkempt wavy hair into a more professional and manlier haircut, showing that he has indeed decided to live up to his family's expectations.
• My Greatest Failure: His previous behavior towards Haru. He's really trying to make up for it.
• Noodle Incident: It's never stated what Yuuzan did to Kenji in middle school, but whatever it was, he has earned his fear as a result.
• Second Love: Or rather Second Crush. After coming to the conclusion that pining for Haru is a waste of time, Iyo switches her attention onto his brother who doesn't seem to know how to deal with her.
• Shipper on Deck: Like Natsume, he whole-heartedly approves of Shizuku and Haru's relationship.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Whereas Haru is quiet, short-tempered and brutish, Yuuzan is outgoing, playful and mischievous.
• Stepford Smiler: Type A. Hides a rather sullen side of himself, what with his estranged brother, his dismissive father and his unloving mother.
• Strong Family Resemblance: He looks just like Haru, but with long hair.
• Sweet Tooth: He is seldom seen without some kind of confection or sugary treat in his hand.
• The Unfavorite: Became this when the adults realized how intelligent Haru was. He ignored Haru as a result.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: In order to get Haru to talk to him, he takes Shizuku with him and holds her as "ransom". Thankfully for Haru, that was all Yuuzan wanted from him.

Mabo, Tomio and George/ Yamaken's Gang

George, Mabo and Tomio

Voiced by: Atsushi Abe (Mabo) - Yuki Ono (Tomio) - None (George)

Yamaken's hangers-ons who attend the same school as he does and follow him around, defering to him as the group's leader. They're all infatuated with Natsume.

By name: Masahiro "Mabo" Ayanokouji, the short one with a Cute Little Fang who is the most upbeat and petulant of the group; Ryuuji "Tomio" Tomioka, the tallest one who often squabbles with Mabo; and Issei "George" Joujima, a bespectacled dark-haired youth who never speaks and is almost always seen playing on his mobile phone.

All three of them are renowned troublemakers and Delinquents and were once Haru's only friends, up until Shizuku exposes them as moochers. Even though Haru no longer hangs out with them so much after he forms his own group of friends and starts becoming more popular in his school, they still remain acquaintances and sometimes come along with the main group for holidays or special occasions.

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• Casanova Wannabe: All three of them are constantly trying to pick up girls but fail at every turn due to their somewhat boorish ways.
• Cute Little Fang: Mabo has a pair of fang-like canine teeth for some reason.
• A Day in the Limelight: Anime only. They're given a bit more screen time when George enters the hospital to be operated.
• Gang of Bullies: They're all known for bullying other students or beating them up. A rare case where they're not the antagonists - they quickly become acquainted with the main cast - and are on good terms with the main protagonists.
• He's All Grown Up: All three of them are seen as adults in the "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue with Mabo as an entertainer, George as his aide of sorts and Tomio as a Fair Cop.
• Hidden Depths: Mabo is actually the richest among the group and a famous entertainer in-universe.
• Hormone-Addled Teenager: They immediately jump on any pretty girl they meet, be it Asako or Chizuru or even Yuu and ask them to hang out with them.
• Informed Attribute: Tomio is said to be the most popular of the whole group (barring Yamaken) but he's never seen with a girl throughout the story.
• Japanese Delinquents: They all refer to themselves as such, even though they're more a group of bullies than anything else.
• The Speechless: George never speaks on screen or on panel. We only know that he does speak because the gang mentions that he sometimes talks with them about various subjects.
• Satellite Character: All 3 of them are entirely linked to Yamaken and are seldom seen without him.
• Surfer Dude: Mabo especially but Tomio counts as well.
• Those Two Guys: Tomio and Mabo, who most often squabble and interact, since George almost always keeps to himself.
• Three Plus Two: The "two" being Yamaken and Iyo.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Mabo and Tomio. Even though they never stop squabbling, they're always seen having fun together, with George as an addendum.

Yuu Miyama

Voiced by: Sayuri Yahagi

Chizuru's diminutive and easy-going best friend, noticeable for her habit of staring blankly at people and blurting out uncomfortable truths that nobody dares say. Despite her apparent ditziness, she's actually very perceptive, humorous and a reliable friend to Chizuru.

She's also the only one in the series to be officially engaged in a long-distance relationship with her grade-school sweetheart Tokida and apparently being able to keep it going.

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• Babies Ever After: In the ending, she's shown being happily married and a young mother.
• Beta Couple: A not very present one but she's apparently in a steady long-distance relationship with Tokida-kun, her boyfriend with whom she doesn't seem to have all the problems Haru and Shizuku have and the ending shows that she married him indeed and gave birth to their child.
• Blank Stare: Yamaken is usually the primary candidate for this treatment but she can do this to almost anyone.
• Brutal Honesty: A firm practicioner of this, but not to make anyone uncomfortable, mostly because she's quite oblivious to other people's feelings and situations, herself being so easy-going that not much seems to phase her.
• A Day in the Limelight: In the later chapters of the manga, she's given this treatment when she mentions that she's not single and her backstory is explored at that time, along with her friendship with Chizuru.
• Deadpan Snarker: Often likes to snark at others, but in a more humorous way than Shizuku.
• Did You Just Have Sex?: Later in the manga Yuu says to Chizuru that Tokida-kun and her would be hanging out so she can become "an adult". All four girls (Shizuku, Chizuru, Iyo and Asako) immediately assume that she was going to do the nasty for the first time. When she gets back, Yuu talks as if it was indeed the case. Turns out she simply had her widom teeth removed!]
• Innocently Insensitive: Has a tendency to never check what comes out of her mouth and can sometimes say things out loud that would be better left unsaid.
• In-Series Nickname: "Yuu-chan" from Chizuru. "Shortie" from Yamaken's gang.
• Motherly Side Plait: Her eventual hairstyle as an adult, hinting that she's probably a happy housewife.
• Satellite Character: Her importance to the plot is entirely linked to Chizuru's presence, even though she gets along quite well with everyone due to her easy-going personality.

Iyo Yamaguchi

Yamaken's vain, superficial and immature younger sister.

She appears late in the story and immediately challenges Shizuku for Haru's affection, which Shizuku only begrudgingly tolerates because of Natsume's requests. When she realizes that she's outmatched from the get-go, she shifts her interest towards a quite uneasy Yuuzan.

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• Annoying Younger Sibling: Yamaken sees her that way, what with her constant shallowness and constant need for attention.
• Attention Whore: Downplayed. She's much less dramatic than most examples but it's still there as she desperately tries to get recognized by her brother and almost always calls attention to herself.
• A Day in the Limelight: Much like Yuu, Iyo gets this treatment but only in the last volume of the manga as a side-story.
• Foil: She is this to Shizuku, much like Yamaken is towards Haru, being much better looking and more glamorous than Shizuku but also extremely shallow and immature in contrat to business-like and down-to-earth Shizuku.
• It Runs in the Family: She's as pretentious as her brother.
• Lovable Alpha Bitch: Implied and defied at the same time. As a freshman in Syoyo High School, she can't really bully Shizuku or Asako or even Sasayan who are sophomores and refers to them as "senpai" as she should. However, seeing that she's indeed very attractive and comes from an affluent family, she's seen twice as the beauty queen of the School's Festival and seems to be quite revered by her peers and isn't seen looking for trouble or causing much misery at all.
• Proud Beauty: Iyo takes great pride in her beauty and therefore only looks for a man who is a as good-looking as she is.
• Romantic Runner-Up: Subverted. She tries to be Shizuku's rival but she never stood a chance in the first place, something she has to come to terms quick, given Haru's lack of interest in her.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Iyo wouldn't be that important to the plot, except she's the catalyst for Haru and Shizuku's relationship becoming deeper and more mature.
• Smitten Teenage Girl: For Haru at first and then for his brother when Haru clearly states that Shizuku is the one he wants, not her.
• Spoiled Brat: Much less so than Yamaken but has shades of this to her behaviour.
• Strong Family Resemblance: It's not quite difficult to guess whose sibling she is.
• Third-Person Person: Almost always refers to herself in the third person, which is a childish way of sounding cute in Japanese culture.
• Vanity Is Feminine: Extremely vain and obsessed with the looks of people, which is why she immediately questions Shizuku's legitimacy as Haru's girlfriend due to her being "unfashionable". Later on, Yamaken also said that this trait of her personality is what makes her unlikeable since no one wants to be with someone incapable of seeing beyond looks.

Takaya Mizutani

Shizuku's younger brother who seems to be a male version of his sister, whom he's actually quite fond of.

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• Brutal Honesty: Just like his sister, Takaya doesn't do the "sugar-coating" thing. At all. Something Ooshima is quite uneasy with at first since Takaya doesn't seem to care that propositioning his own teacher would be inappropriate.
• Can't Catch Up: His main concern regarding his relationship with Chizuru is that she may never see him as anything other than a sweet kid with a crush on her, given that she's been knowing him since his grade-school days and is now his teacher in high school.
• A Day in the Limelight: At the end of the manga, he gets a bit more development, especially regarding his relationship with Ooshima.
• Dirty Kid: Very early in the various omakes where he appears, Takaya makes little effort to conceal that he's actually quite the perv. However, given his appearance and his taciturnity, you would never guess just by looking at him.
• He's All Grown Up: He's unexpectedly tall as a teenager and seems like he's onto being as tall as Haru, possibly even taller.
• Hormone-Addled Teenager: Shows clear shades of this - as he would back when he was just a grade-schooler - and doesn't hide it at all, being just as brutally honest as his sister, and states outright that Ooshima has a "nice butt".
• Likes Older Women: Ooshima is about 5 years older than him.
• Not So Stoic: The rare times we see him speak, he indeed shows that he's a bit more expressive than Shizuku and more perceptive of other people's emotions. Not to mention his Anguished Declaration of Love at the end of the manga.
• One Head Taller: Something that stuns Ooshima herself when he stands next to her, since she never expected him to grow that tall. And it looks like Takaya isn't done growing.
• Pair the Spares: Him and Ooshima. Their budding romance is explored in the very last chapter of the manga.
• Precocious Crush: He manifests his interest for Ooshima very soon after his first appearance in the manga and eventually starts dating her as a young adult.
• Running Gag: Before knowing him better, Haru would often mistake him for a house spirit, given his small stature as a kid and his deadpan expression. Takaya, in true Mizutani fashion, simply takes the misunderstanding with indifference.
• Spear Counterpart: He's pretty much Shizuku if she were male, except he does seem more interested in the outside world than she is.
• Staring Kid: Did it once on a sleeping Haru the first time he came to sleep over at Shizuku's house.
• Teacher/Student Romance: Chizuru is his homeroom teacher.
• The Stoic: Much like his sister, complete with the drab speech and the deadpan expression.
• Sweet Tooth. That's how him and Yuuzan bonded at the end of the manga.

Takuma Andou

Voiced by: Kenji Akabane

Yuuzan's snarky driver who often chases after schoolgirls for whom he has a fetish.

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• Almighty Janitor: Invoked. He's actually very knowledgeable and a very reliable sidekick for Yuuzan and even Haru sometimes.
• Battle Butler: Never seen fighting but that's indeed his side-job for the Yoshida family.
• Big Eater: He's often seen eating, especially since Yuuzan orders him to sit with him as he eats sweets which Andou finds horribly awkward.
• Deadpan Snarker: His defining trait is his incredibly dry wit and his constant quips at everyone which grants him at best irritated comebacks from his targets, at worst a Dope Slap from either Micchan or Haru.
• Handsome Lech: He's quite attractive but a huge perv with a constant smug expression, which tends to freak out the girls he tries to woo.
• Servile Snarker: Extremely sarcastic despite being an underling of the Yoshida family.
• Tall, Dark, and Snarky: His constant smirk attests to this, along with his sharp tongue and cutting wit.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: It is hinted a lot of time that, even though he is mostly assigned to help Yuuzan, him and Yuuzan don't really get along. They just tolerate each other out of courtesy.

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