Characters / Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai

Main Characters

All the main cast from left to right: Kaede Azusagawa, Rio Futaba, Mai Sakurajima, Sakuta Azusagawa, baby Mai a.k.a. the knapsack kid, Shoko Makinohara, Tomoe Koga, Nodoka Toyohama.

Overall

• Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: Of the three main girls Sakuta is friends with, Mai is the beauty, being an attractive and popular model and actress; Rio is the brains, being The Smart Girl passionate about science, and Tomoe is the brawn, being a cheerful Genki Girl (who even kicks Sakuta in his ass, assuming he's a pedophile!).
• Brutal Honesty: Sakuta and Rio are prime examples. Mai sometimes has her moments towards Sakuta, though it's downplayed, and at the beginning he even tells her she's not really honest about her feelings.
• Deadpan Snarker:
  • Sakuta is a prime example. He's even Brutally Honest but still remains calm and with a deadpan face.
  • Rio Futaba counts as well, and sometimes she's even sharper than Sakuta. And yes, she's very deadpan.
  • Mai is a more visibly emotional and less deadpan case, since she usually ends up freaking out, but she still counts, and her interactions with Sakuta are always fun and entertaining. Still, she often loses against The Snark Knight.
• Four-Philosophy Ensemble:
  • Sakuta is the realist, being an objective, decisive and well-balanced mediator, who is calm and quiet most of the time and greatly values kindness and compassion, though he definitely has his personal code and is willing to bend social norms. He's not exceedingly optimistic, yet he always does what's right.
  • Mai is the conflicted, idealistic but also a bit pessimistic and initially indecisive about what to do, and although she's well-balanced and always does the right thing just like Sakuta, she also has more emotional issues overall.
  • Shoko is the optimist, who has a brighter outlook on life despite her illness and always sees the best in situations and people. Also, her goal is being a little bit kinder every day.
  • Rio is a bit of a cynic, being a massive Deadpan Snarker and having a somewhat nihilistic outlook on life, thinking she will never be liked.
  • Kaede as a hikikomori is the apathetic, living in her own world and attached to her brother.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble:
  • Sakuta: phlegmatic^note with some minor melancholic traits at first (rather stoic, reserved, quiet, and snarky, yet very kind and caring).
  • Mai: eclectic (has both introverted and extroverted traits and is kind, caring, playful, teasing, a bit pessimistic at first, and while she's serious and strong-willed she's also emotional).
  • Shoko: younger Shoko is phlegmatic (kind, a bit shy, friendly and compassionate), and blended with sanguine when she grows up and becomes more extroverted and has overcome her illness.
  • Tomoe: sanguine (quite outgoing, friendly but also overly people-oriented and has yet to mature emotionally).
  • Rio: melancholic (a passionate scientist, rational, The Stoic, blunt but kind-hearted kuudere and secretly has her D-Cup Distress issues).
  • While not one of the main characters, Saki Kamisato fits the choleric temperament (she's always mad at Sakuta and is pretty domineering, jealous and possessive, although in the end she turns out to be a Jerk with a Heart of Gold). Her boyfriend and Sakuta's best friend Yuuma is a blend of sanguine and phlegmatic (very kind, friendly, helpful, and while he's quite extroverted and loves sports, he's rather quiet otherwise).
• Freudian Trio: Sakuta's main female friends form one. The Id is Tomoe - the emotionally open and outgoing Smitten Teenage Girl; the Superego is Rio - The Stoic and rational girl who explains phenomena through science, and the Ego is Mai - well-balanced between logic and emotion, serious and professional, yet emotional and openly compassionate at the same time.
• Friendless Background: Sakuta is a downplayed example, as he had only two friends at the beginning, namely Yuuma and Rio. Mai plays it straight as she was actually completely friendless before meeting Sakuta.
• Nice Guy: Pretty much all the main cast fits. All of them are overall kind-hearted and pleasant people.
  • Protagonists Sakuta and Mai may have more sides to their personalities, whether they're serious or playful, but their most defining and admirable trait is their kind, selfless and good-hearted nature. The same counts for the movie's tritagonist Shoko; in the series, she was always shown to be kind, compassionate and supportive as shown in the series, comforting Sakuta and teaching him about her goal to be every day a little bit kinder. If the characters' kindness is consistently shown in the series, it's even more present in the movie (with Mai sacrificing her life to save both Sakuta and Shoko, who were both willing to make the sacrifice as well).
  • Rio Futaba may have an aloof exterior, but is nevertheless shown to be a very kind, loyal and supportive friend. She consistently helps solving the Syndrome cases in the series, and in the movie she ultimately makes sure the others will survive and be safe thanks to the new timeline, where Shoko is healthy, and Sakuta and Mai decide to travel there at the cost of sacrificing the memories of each other - which fortunately doesn't happen).
  • Individuals who don't have a role in the aforementioned deeds (Kaede, Tomoe, Yuuma, Nodoka) are still shown to have kind personalities as well.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: While they aren't by any means unpleasant or mentally ill, the story is about individuals affected by some kind of trouble. We have: a misunderstood Nice Guy seen as a violent delinquent, who starts off as almost a loner - with literally only two friends; his little sister, who is cyberbullied by her schoolmates and becomes a hikikomori; the main girl, who used to be a popular actress, but then was betrayed by her greedy mother and becomes an unperson, besides having a completely Friendless Background; a young first year student who falls in love with the main guy - who is already in love with the main girl - and seeks at every cost to be popular and recognized by her peers - ultimately creating a time loop where she tries to win the protagonist's love at any cost; a beautiful and intelligent female friend of the male protagonist who has prematurely developed female attributes and gets split into two different forms of herself; a school idol who wants to be at every cost as good as her older sister - which is to say, the main girl - and has a body exchange with her for it; and then, a young schoolgirl who appears also in her older form from the future, has a heart disease in the present, and must be saved in some way in the movie.
• Snark-to-Snark Combat: Naturally, there are snark fights between the listed deadpan snarkers. The banters are between Sakuta and Mai, or Sakuta and Rio arguably even more.
• Troubled, but Cute: Pretty much everyone in the series has issues: Sakuta, Kaede, Mai, Tomoe, Rio, Nodoka, Shouko... But they all have charming qualities to them, are indeed at least reasonably cute and attractive, and, most of all, they're very kind souls who will always be there for each other no matter what.
• Unexpected Virgin:
  • A Jerk Jock trying to ask out Tomoe catches her in what looks like foreplay with Sakuta, and starts spreading rumors branding her as a slut who's screwing Sakuta like a rabbit. Sakuta confronts the Jerk Jock, humiliates him by fighting dirty, then defuses the rumor by announcing to him and anybody within earshot that not only are he and Tomoe not sleeping together, he's a virgin. Tomoe is a virgin as well, and never had a boyfriend.
  • Mai qualifies as well. Despite her popularity, her teasing attitude targets only her loved one, Sakuta, and she never had a boyfriend before him, neither has she kissed anyone.

Sakuta Azusagawa

Voiced By: Kaito Ishikawa (Japanese), Stephen Fu (English)

"I don't mind if I only had one person. Even if the whole world hated me, I could keep living if that person needed me."

An isolated and calm young man who became interested in cases of "Adolescence Syndrome" after his sister started getting injuries and cuts on her body as a result of cyberbullying. A real Deadpan Snarker, he has a habit of being blunt and doesn't seem to care if others look down on him for being outspoken or disruptive, but is a Nice Guy nonetheless. He has a good heart, is selfless and wants to help others, and besides Mai he usually hangs around with his best friends Yuuma Kunimi and Rio Futaba.

He gets his sole central focus in the ninth volume, Knapsack Kid.

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• All-Loving Hero: As to be expected by a LN hero, despite being quite isolated, he's always helpful, kind and compassionate towards others. Even if he doesn't mind if all the others hate him, as long as he only has one person on his side.
• Always Save the Girl: Every arc is based on this: he meets the focal girl who has Adolescence Syndrome, and whose specific issue must be solved. Of course, Sakuta can't say no.
• The Atoner: Downplayed, but he regrets he wasn't able to stop cyberbullying towards Kaede. It naturally wasn't his fault, it was just too late when he discovered what happened.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: Sakuta is good at thinking outside the box, and his intuition, quick wits and both logical and emotional intelligence make him very effective at analyzing the issues other characters are going through.
• Better as Friends: Towards Tomoe. He has no romantic interest in the girl, but nonetheless considers her as a good friend, and promises he'll be there for her no matter what.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Unquestionably a very good-natured and kind-hearted guy, but to remember Good Is Not Soft you just have to watch how he kicks Tomoe's suitor, who - after being rejected - was spreading rumors about her being a slut in the fourth episode. He also gave him a "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
• Big Brother Instinct: Is very protective of Kaede's well-being, even going to the extent to throwing away his cell phone for her sake.
• Birds of a Feather: With Mai. Both are rather quiet and fundamentally loners, with a realistic, sometimes melancholic outlook on life due to their past, and they are also fairly sarcastic and playful at times. They are also very kind-hearted, caring and also ready to help others. Then, along with having an incredibly good heart, both are also very intelligent individuals with a quick wit.
• Book Dumb: While his grades are not necessarily bad overall, he's shown to fail a test. Also the fact that Mai helps him studying implies he's not a particularly brilliant student and that his grades are likely average. As smart as he is, he could do better academically.
  • That said, he's shown to work as a part-time teacher later on, so he easily might have subverted this.
• Boyfriend Bluff: He pretends to be Tomoe’s boyfriend for a month so that she’ll be accepted at school with her new friends. Unfortunately for him, she starts to develop genuine feelings for him.
• Brutal Honesty: Sakuta is very blunt and rarely keeps things to himself. Nevertheless, he's still a very kind guy, despite his sharp sense of humor.
• Byronic Hero: Downplayed, as he's a really good-hearted Nice Guy, but has some traits: a loner (mostly) who rejects social conventions, very intelligent, perceptive, introspective, has his brooding moments and a somewhat Dark and Troubled Past. He also regrets very much it was too late when he discovered his little sister was cyberbullied - Dear God, he even threw his mobile phone away because of this. Not to mention he's a Hero with Bad Publicity and a Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold.
• Chick Magnet: Thanks to his kind-hearted nature, halfway through the series, Sakuta's attracted a fair amount of female companions - Mai, Tomoe and possibly even Shoko - although they never border on being a traditional harem. The main reason for is that he is totally committed to Mai.
• Chivalrous Pervert: Although he isn't exactly as perverted as he looks - as the reason for making lewd jokes is ultimately him being The Gadfly - Sakuta is kind of a lech, who shamelessly admits he finds Mai sexually attractive several times, even when she is right in front of him; that said, he respects her and never tries to actually do anything lewd. In general, pretty much any girl who isn't his sister can become the target of Sakuta's lewd attention if they are around him, but he never goes beyond comically harassing them with words. This is why Rio calls him a "rascal".
  Rio: He won't fight the atmosphere for himself, but he won't hesitate to do it for a beautiful senpai. What else would you call such a person but a 'rascal'?"
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: As a Stock Light-Novel Everyman, Sakuta has to help anyone he sees in trouble. It's mainly a consequence of the Adolescence Syndrome events that happened to Kaede. He thought Mai had Adolescence Syndrome because of his experience with Kaede, and went along with Tomoe's plan because she reminded him of Kaede. And then, who was there? Rio, Nodoka, Kaede again, Shoko... And himself.
• Combat Pragmatist: Resorts to this when he ends up fighting Tomoe's suitor, a guy from the basketball club (and thus much physically stronger than Sakuta), first feigning a punch and surprising him with a low kick instead, then kicking him in the face while he's stunned.
• The Comically Serious: Sakuta has a very deadpan manner about him, even when saying inappropriate things about his female classmates. This is mostly his way of joking around, however.
• Deadpan Snarker: A textbook example, being very sarcastic and teasing and in a very deadpan manner. He makes sarcastic remarks from time to time, and almost always with his characteristic deadpan face, making him engaging in Snark-to-Snark Combat with Mai, which is very entertaining.
• Endearingly Dorky: A Deadpan Snarker loner with a huge sense of humor and an endearingly stoic way of interacting, but still a very Nice Guy.
• Face of a Thug: Downplayed; he doesn't exactly look thuggish as he looks instead deadpan and annoyed by default, but he's actually a Nice Guy. Played straight however in the second movie, where he gives this◊ menacing glance when someone's arriving while he's comforting Kaede, though he doesn't mean anything bad and he was just scared.
• Fate Worse than Death: He really would have preferred to die in the accident to save Shoko from her illness, when Mai instead sacrifices herself to save both him from the accident and Shoko from the illness, leaving the poor guy desperate and saying he should have died instead. It all works out in the end as he manages to save Mai, though.
• First Love: He's actually Mai's first boyfriend, and she even mentions it in an interview.
• First-Person Smartass: The main focal character, and definitely clever and sarcastic.
• Four-Philosophy Ensemble: The realist, as he's overall well balanced, calm, and with a not too optimistic outlook on life, but always does the right thing nonetheless.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: An overall Phlegmatic individual, as he's very kind, compassionate, helpful and pretty quiet, yet has also a sarcastic and playful streak. Especially at first, he can tend slightly towards Melancholic sometimes, given the events of the story, but he overcomes this as he finds happiness in the end.
• The Gadfly: He always says what's in his mind and likes teasing others. Still, he isn't nasty, not even that mischievous, and never means bad.
  • However, he definitely seems to have some fun while provoking Saki (who hated him at the time), telling her she's sure on a period.
• Gentleman Snarker: Fits this trope to a T. He quietly snarks and makes playful, sardonic remarks whenever he can, and yet he's undeniably a gentleman, true to his selfless Nice Guy nature.
• Good Is Not Dumb: He's a gorgeous person at heart, yet anything but stupid; instead, he's very quick-witted and intuitive.
• Good Is Not Soft: He's a really good person, yet absolutely able to use harsh methods, as seen when he kicks Tomoe's jerk suitor. Given his Brutally Honest nature, he's also very blunt; while he actually is a Nice Guy and has a heart of gold, in some situations he can be harsh when wanting others to front the truth, though he means well of course. For example, he's blunt at first when telling Tomoe she'll never win his heart, which belongs to Mai, but still he comforts her, telling her he'll always be there for her as a friend, no matter what.
• Has a Type: Seems to be his case. The fact his Love Interest was (older) once Shoko, and later Mai, heavily suggests that he's fond of slightly older inside-out beauties with a graceful and gentle disposition yet a strong personality, possibly with blue eyes and dark hair. Given his kindness, it's not surprising he's interested in girls who are kind as well.
• The Hero: The main focal character, who helps several girls overcome their Adolescence Syndrome for various reasons (he's the older sibling, he's the only one who can see her, he's stuck in a time loop with her, she's his friend, she's his girlfriend's sister) but also because he is definitely heroic.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Is believed to have a violent past and to be responsible of the "hospitalization accident".
• Hidden Depths: A seemingly Ordinary High-School Student but actually very intelligent, analytical and overall a very interesting character with many facets. Typical for a Stock Light-Novel Everyman.
  • He may also look, at first glance, like a typically lazy, mischievous and antisocial boy, but he's actually a very kind, selfless and heroic Nice Guy, who doesn't want to irritate others by any means despite his sarcasm. Even though he doesn't mind being hated by people, he isn't by any means apathetic towards others and is always helpful and compassionate.
• Horrible Judge of Character: May be Played for Laughs, as he was likely joking when he was saying that in his thoughts, but when she started teasing him and he actually had to get to know her better, Sakuta apparently thought of Mai as a bit of a selfish and whimsical ojou. He was definitely wrong, despite her sometimes snarky and coquettish behaviour towards him.
• Ideal Hero: While this may not be an action series, he's still a true hero. He most definitely isn't a flawed human being, is genuinely kind and compassionate and ready to help everyone.
• I'll Be in My Bunk: He playfully invokes this while at the hotel room with Mai, he claims that just the sound of a girl showering is enough for him.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: He may be somewhat sharp-tongued, but he's incredibly kind-hearted and selfless, with a Chronic Hero Syndrome, and always wants to help others in the best way he can. You can count on him to never be morally ambiguous and always do the right thing.
• Japanese Delinquents: Subverted as he's not one, but due to an incident at school he has the reputation of being a violent guy who beats up people.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: He already has a cat, and also pets the other one found by Shoko.
• Knight in Sour Armour: Downplayed. Sakuta isn't particularly cynical, though has a bad reputation at the beginning and can be somewhat melancholic due to what happened to his sister (and him as well), yet he's still, undoubtedly, a noble and heroic guy.
• Large Ham: While he's pretty stoic and quiet most of the time, he's definitely loud and hammy during his Love Confession.
• Likes Older Women: Downplayed actually; he is in a relationship with Mai and older Shoko used to be his Love Interest before, but they are barely one year older than him.
  • Played for Laughs when Sakuta tells Yuuma he has a date with a person who's not Mai. When he sees Sakuta with Miwako, the middle-school member who helps Kaede, Yuuma tells to himself that Sakuta really likes older women.
• Lovable Sex Maniac: Subverted. He's a Nice Guy who, despite his lewd remarks towards Mai, Rio and Tomoe, and occasionally causing some mischief, has true feelings only for Mai, and isn't as perverted as he looks.
• Love Confession: Reveals his feelings for Mai screaming that she loves her in the school courtyard.
• Messy Hair: Almost constantly has unkempt hair.
• Mistaken for Pedophile: Tomoe and Sakuta's first meeting occurs when she mistakes him for a lolicon for trying to help a lost little girl. They later agree to literally kick each others' asses in broad daylight.
• Manly Tears: Understandably, when Kaede's Adolescence Syndrome is healed and she returns to normality, and when Mai dies to save him, he sheds genuine manly tears.
• Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: At the beginning. He's very kind and selfless, but is a Hero with Bad Publicity because of his big scars and because he was involved in a violent event.
• Monster Brother, Cutie Sister: Subverted actually, but given his Hero with Bad Publicity status and slight Face of a Thug many might think so at first.
• Nice Guy: He's the type of guy who is kind by nature and can't say no if there's someone in need. While he's rather blunt and snarky, he's still a polite and kind-hearted guy, who is definitely selfless and helpful. He's The Hero, after all.
• Noodle Incident: Sakuta is allegedly responsible for hospitalizing three people. He claims this is untrue but doesn't bother fighting the rumors at school.
• Not So Stoic: Just see him when Kaede's Adolescence Syndrome is healed and when Mai dies.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The guy emotes very little beyond smiles and mild surprise, even at his happiest , which makes it all the more shocking when the events of the final episodes leave him a screaming, crying mess.
• The Prankster: Sakuta has a huge sense of humor, and likes playing lewd jokes. This is downplayed, as he remains a good hearted Nice Guy, and his jokes are never ill-intented.
• The Quiet One: Normally maintains a very calm and quiet demeanor, fitting his Deadpan Snarker nature.
• Rebellious Spirit: Downplayed. He isn't edgy or rude, but he doesn't exactly like social conventions and is definitely individualistic.
  Sakuta: Because everyone is doing it... Because everyone says so... Who's this everyone anyway?
• The Reliable One: Sakuta is a genuinely good guy who is dedicated to helping others affected by Adolescence Syndrome and comes up with clever ways of doing so. That said, he also experiences the bad end of this trope as he experiences some pretty dark things like an alternate timeline where Mai dies in a car accident and has to deal with a lot for his age like taking care of his traumatized sister.
• Scars Are Forever: He has three giant, claw-like scars on his chest. The wound appeared out of nowhere during Kaede's original case of the Syndrome and landed him in the hospital. Doctors couldn't figure it out beyond probable self-harm, starting the rumors about "the hospitalization incident". For something he got two years ago, it's still very pronounced. It came from his heart having a bad case of Never the Selves Shall Meet with the adult Shoko's transplant, and reopens when she's around. Naturally, it gets subverted when the issue with Shoko is resolved: the first time when Mai is hit by a car, dying instead of Sakuta and becoming Shoko's heart donor, and the second time when in the new timeline Shoko is healthy. In both cases, Sakuta's scars on his chest disappear.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Played With in his dynamic with his best friend Yuuma. Appearance-wise, he's the sensitive guy, but personality-wise, they're both balanced between the types.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Despite meeting a new girl every month with a new Adolescence Syndrome, Sakuta has only expressed interest in Mai during the series. This is downplayed when he reveals that he definitely did have feelings for high school Shoko, but since he met Mai that moved on. Yuuma even lampshades this, saying he's surprised that Sakuta finally expressed interest in a girl that wasn't Shoko.
• The Snark Knight: Oh yes. Only Rio can beat him in a snark fight.
• Stock Light-Novel Everyman: A seemingly Ordinary High-School Student with Hidden Depths? Check. Calm, introspective and thoughtful? Check. An overall Nice Guy, selfless and with traits of a Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold? Yes. Quite stoic and a Deadpan Snarker? Definitely.
• Stock Light-Novel Hero: While this is not primarily an action series, Sakuta still has his action moments. The fight against Jerk Jock Tomoe's suitor, anyone? Oh, and overall, the moments he must help others who are affected by Adolescence Syndrome, well... He does go into action.
• The Stoic: His general behaviour is pretty tranquil. Normally calm and definitely a Deadpan Snarker, but he's sure not emotionless.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: An odd example and arguably a subversion. Sakuta is not a cold person by any means, but his way of interacting is very deadpan and stoic. And yet, he's an immensely kind, empathetic and compassionate guy at heart.
• Survivor Guilt: The poor guy develops quite a severe case of this in the movie after Mai dies saving his life, wandering around in a haze while repeatedly declaring that he should've died instead. He's too broken to even attend her funeral in-person.
• Team Dad: Caring and kind, Sakuta is a selfless guy who does his best to provide for his little sister and for his friends.
• Too Kinky to Torture: Played for Laughs. It is running gag about how he supposedly enjoys it when Mai steps on his foot, pinches his cheek, etc. During Tomoe's arc, he has a dreamy look when he thinks about being punched by Mai. During Nodoka's arc, he confirms that Mai has been bodyswapped with Nodoka by Mai stepping on his foot, and Nodoka calls him a pervert. Then during Kaede's arc, Sakuta has this exchange with Rio.
  Sakuta: What kind of person do you think I am?
  Rio: A rascal who feels ecstasy from physical abuse.
• Tragic Hero: Well, where to begin with? Due to an accident where he was hospitalized he was scapegoated as the school's bad guy who beats up others. Then, his younger sister got ill because of cyberbullying, becoming a hikikomori, with their parents unable to overcome it and leaving her to Sakuta's care. Oh boy, then he loses his girlfriend who sacrifices herself, though he's able to save her again thank goodness. And... Let's say life just wasn't too fair to him overall...
• Undying Loyalty: To Mai. The so-called rascal is actually fiercely devoted to her, and the feeling is mutual.
• Un-person: One of timelines he end up in through his Adolescence Syndrome is him being erased out of existence entirely similar to Mai in first volume.
• Weirdness Magnet: Somehow he keeps winding up involved in cases of Adolescence Syndrome.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Has this relationship with Rio, to an extent. They always engage in Snark-to-Snark Combat, with Sakuta teasing her, and she often calls the guy a rascal and a pervert, but, along with Yuuma, they're genuine True Companions.
• Your Television Hates You: After Mai's Heroic Sacrifice in The Movie, Sakuta turns the TV on and they talk about this accident on every channel.

Mai Sakurajima

Voiced By: Asami Seto (Japanese), Erica Mendez (English)

"Forget what you saw today. Also, don't have anything to do with me under any circumstances. If you understand, then say yes."

The main female character in the series, Mai is an attractive third-year who attends the same high school as Sakuta and a notable child actress. By the start of the series she's on an indefinite hiatus from her work and despite her celebrity status, doesn't try to stand out at school much. She's sensitive and polite, but also fond of teasing Sakuta. While she may appear a little bitter and cold at the beginning, she's actually a really kind-hearted and good person, with a strong sense of justice, and has a Character Development which shows how immensely selfless she is.

She is the eponymous and focal character in the first volume, Bunny Girl Senpai.

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• Abusive Parents: Downplayed. Her mom wasn't actively and physically abusive, but she used to be her manager and had no qualms about using her very young daughter for money, the final straw being a swimsuit photoshoot that made the naturally modest Mai very uncomfortable, making this some sort of emotional abusiveness.
• The Ace: Very intelligent, great grades at school, good at her job and a Supreme Chef.
• Act of True Love: Her Heroic Sacrifice in the movie shows how deeply capable of loving Sakuta she is. Her statement that she loves Sakuta more than he thinks turns out to be true.
• All-Loving Hero: Despite her distrustful tendencies during her hiatus after having been forgotten by everyone, deep down she's still very compassionate and helpful towards others. Her interactions with Kaede are just the first thing that shows how much of a sweetheart she is.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Her Character Development ultimately makes this a Subverted Trope. She has long dark hair and, while not aloof by nature, she's still composed, serious and polite, and a very attractive, quite tall girl. She has some shades of being aloof early on, losing trust in people as she became invisible, and therefore warning Sakuta not to get involved into her personal affairs; however, this changes very soon as she starts having faith into the boy, and she turns out to be a very friendly, approachable person, and also quite witty.
• Animal Motifs: Mai occasionally wears a Playboy Bunny costume and has a rabbit hair tie. She also wears a rabbit ear headband, and her phone has a rabbit case. Given the mythological meaning of the new beginning often attributed to the rabbit, it's very likely the case; after all, exactly while wearing the costume, she meets Sakuta for the first time and her new life starts.
• The Atoner: In a sense. It wasn't exactly Mai's fault as she was very busy, but she really got mad at herself for not being physically there in some of Sakuta's harder moments.
• Anyone Can Die: Subverted, thank goodness. She's the main female character, and dies to save Sakuta, but Shoko helps Sakuta time traveling, and the guy manages to stop her as she had planned to sacrifice herself.
• The Beautiful Elite: She's a popular and fairly wealthy actress, recognized as a celeb at school, and she's a very beautiful, sweet girl as well.
• Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: The beauty of Sakuta's main female friends (well, in this case, his girlfriend). She's very attractive, graceful and gentle.
• Beauty Equals Goodness: She's definitely attractive and very kind-hearted, selfless and forgiving. Kaede herself (who is fond of her just as Mai herself is fond of Kaede) says she wishes she could be just like her for her beauty and kindness.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: She wanted to leave her job because she felt betrayed by her mother, and wanted to be left alone. Sadly, Mai became completely invisible and nobody recognized her existence because of this.
• Bespectacled Cutie: Kind, sweet and attractive, and is shown to wear glasses in the second movie.
• Beware the Nice Ones: She's a very good person, and is also genuinely sweet and friendly, but she may be slightly snappy and slap you if you're insensitive towards her and make her feel embarrassed angry.
• Birds of a Feather: With Sakuta. Both are fundamentally loners with a sarcastic and playful streak and a realistic, somewhat melancholic outlook on life. And yet, they also very caring and kind, with an immensely good heart, and constantly ready to help others.
• Brainy Brunette: She's a beautiful brunette, and is also very intelligent, strong-willed and it's implied she also gets very good grades at school. She also decides to study at university, despite already working as an actress. She's talented at several other things as well, such as singing and cooking.
• Break the Cutie: When she was an adorable very young girl, her mother betrayed her to earn money easily, forcing her to pose in a swimsuit.
• Broken Ace: Very beautiful, a popular and talented actress, academically excellent and a very nice person. Also a Supreme Chef. What happened to her? Her mother betrayed her for money, she lost trust in others, withdrew from the spotlight and was then forgotten by everyone.
• Broken Bird: The reason why she's become somewhat bitter, cynical and distrustful is understandable. Her mother literally used her as a tool, and she was forgotten by everyone, even her family. Despite this, she still remained a nice and kind-hearted person, and thanks to Sakuta she's able to find happiness again.
• Byronic Heroine: Downplayed, and just like Sakuta, a heroic Nice Girl example. Mai is extremely intelligent and multitalented, likely the most conflicted character in the series, and the one who has more of a Dark and Troubled Past, living on her own, neither having her family on her side, nor having any friends before meeting Sakuta, and when finally with him on her side, she ends up dying to save Sakuta - and Shoko as well - until he gets back in time to save her. She's still an incredibly good and selfless person at heart and never loses her morals, always doing the right thing.
• Cheerful Child: Shown to be cheerful, curious and happy about acting during her childhood flashbacks.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Sakuta dreamed of a little girl who looked like Mai at the beginning of volume 8 but the story focused to Kaede afterwards, though he brought this little girl up again at volume 9 when he met her in person at the end of previous volume who turns out to be actually Mai appearing akin to older Shoko when he suffers his own Adolescence Syndrome.
• Cherry Blossom Girl: Mai's surname literally means "cherry blossom island", and personality wise, while she can be sarcastic, she genuinely is a kind and sweet girl with Yamato Nadeshiko qualities, who takes care of others. Sometimes she also wears pink, though she's rather eclectic with her outfits.
• Class Princess: She may be popular and come across as a bit of a Lovable Alpha Bitch in the first episodes, but indeed she's definitely a Nice Girl. Downplayed as her popularity was indeed one of the factors that caused her stress and Adolescence Syndrome, and therefore her isolation.
• Classical Anti-Hero: Though Mai is a very noble and generally pretty confident person, she's still a sensitive girl at heart, and it's clear that she has to overcome several emotional issues from the start, which she's reluctant to face at first. That said, Sakuta helps her with this and she progressively becomes stronger and more cheerful, with both of them learning how to be happy together.
• Clingy Jealous Girl:
  • She gets jealous rather easily, and worries when Sakuta invites female friends at home, but then this is subverted; as an Understanding Girlfriend, she always gives him a chance to explain himself.
  • This is especially the case when she meets Shoko in person, comically coming to greet her at the door while holding a kitchen knife, and getting irritated at Shoko openly showing her affection for Sukata and teasing her over her feelings, but she grows out of it after growing to know Shoko better and after learning of Shoko's illness.
• Cool Big Sis: To both Kaede and Nodoka.
  • She becomes the second person Kaede is comfortable talking to since developing Adolescence Syndrome, and attempts to help her with said A.S. by gifting her a cute dress. They are quickly on a First-Name Basis.
  • She and Nodoka are initially a bit hostile towards each other, being actually half-sisters whose mothers used them as pieces in a proxy war. Even so, Nodoka looked up to Mai when she was younger, and it only turned to resentment when she could never measure up to Mai in her mother's eyes (or her own, for that matter). When they get to know each other, they become very close. They're living together in Mai's apartment by the end of Nodoka's arc.
• Cry into Chest: Does this to Sakuta as she has planned her sacrifice.
• Deadpan Snarker: Leaning more towards the snarky side of the trope, but still her and Sakuta's tendency to engage in Snark-to-Snark Combat make them a very entertaining pair to watch. She hardly ever beats him, though, as she tends to get flustered.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Justified Trope and also very downplayed - again, Mai is not a cold and aloof person by nature, but after her mother betrayed her and her willingness to distance herself from showbusiness, at the time of her hiatus she comes across as a little bitter. Though, said bitterness is pretty much immediately subverted as Sakuta shows genuine interest in helping her.
• Distaff Counterpart: Mai is, in many ways, a female Sakuta.
  • She's a loner, and in her case she is a complete one who doesn't even have a single friend, unlike Sakuta who namely has Yuuma and Rio, at the beginning.
  • She's quick as a whip, sassy and witty, and teases the guy she loves just like he teases her as well.
  • She has a somewhat melancholic outlook on life, but is still very kind, self-sacrificing and compassionate.
  • She never kissed a boy or had a boyfriend before Sakuta.
  • She also has a younger sister (Nodoka), who later lives with her; they're very close, despite their initial hostility towards each other, being actually half-sisters. Nodoka is indeed the daughter of Mai's father (who left his family) and another woman.
• Deuteragonist: The most important character in the story after Sakuta. As the title character for the anime (and the first volume of the light novel), she's the literal face of the franchise, the very first character to speak (in the anime), and the central character of the first arc, quickly forming the other half of the series' Official Couple. Even when other characters get their own story arcs, Mai is always involved in the story in some way.^note Tomoe becomes jealous of Mai, Rio's doppleganger was stopped by Mai, Nodoka both admires and resents her, Kaede sees Mai as a Cool Big Sis, and Shoko is the closest thing she has to a love rival for Sakuta.
• Endearingly Dorky: Essentially, she's a pure-hearted girl who acts sexy and coquettish towards the person she loves. She teases Sakuta with a bit of a Tsundere manner; on the other hand, the guy is always prone to his typical Deadpan Snarker comments, which catches her off guard and flusters her.
• Foil: To Tomoe, both physically and personality wise. Mai is a tall brunette, Tomoe is short and has light brown hair. Mai felt betrayed by her mother and got tired of her popularity as a child actress and model, while Tomoe wasn't popular at all as a child. While Tomoe is highly concerned with popularity and fitting in, and has her group of friends, Mai is still friendless and doesn't mind being a loner as she's actually always been.
• Foreshadowing: In Episode 11, Mai told Sakuta that she loves him more than he thinks. This foreshadowing takes a dark turn in the movie when Mai sacrificed herself to save Sakuta.
• Forgiveness: Despite the horrible way she was treated by her mother, she forgives her, is absolutely ready to talk to her again, and also invites her at her graduation.
• Former Child Star: A very grounded example, she misses acting in dramas, but distances herself from her work because she felt her mother was only using her for money.
• Four-Philosophy Ensemble: She's quite the conflicted. She always does the right thing despite her not very optimistic outlook on life, just like Sakuta, but she also has more emotional issues overall.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: An overall well-balanced Eclectic. Has both extroverted and introverted traits, is kind, caring, selfless, but also rather methodical, and used to be somewhat cynical because of her past and what happened to her. That said, she also has become more cheerful and playful, and has a genuine witty and teasing streak. While she's generally very well-balanced between the temperaments, at first she can be described as having melancholic and sanguine traits, and later on more phlegmatic and sanguine.
• Freudian Excuse: Perfectly averted. Despite having literally been used as a tool for easy money by her mother, she did not become a bad or unpleasant person by any means, being the opposite instead. Sure, it may have caused her to be bitter, but she completely remained the genuine, good-hearted Nice Girl she's always been by nature.
• Friendless Background: While Sakuta already had exactly two friends before the beginning of the story, Mai actually was completely friendless.
• The Gadfly: Subverted: she loves teasing Sakuta (as he does as well), but she can just as easily fail at acting tsundere and is even somewhat shy around the guy's jokes.
• Gentlewoman Snarker: Being pretty much Sakuta's Distaff Counterpart, and often engaging with him in Snark-to-Snark Combat, she's also, predictably, a gentle, polite and selfless Nice Girl with a witty, sarcastic sense of humor, which makes her much funnier than she looks at first glance.
• Glasses Are Sexy: In the second movie, the glasses don't make her any less attractive and add lure to her already charming appearance.
• Good Is Not Dumb: Kind, and actually innocent and pure-hearted, but definitely not dumb: she's very quick-witted and anything but a pushover.
• Good Is Not Soft: Like Sakuta, she's a gorgeous person, but when she feels emotionally hurt, it's shown that she definitely stands up for herself.
• Hates the Job, Loves the Limelight: Inverted. She genuinely loves acting and modeling but she grew to disliking the attention it brought her and ended up taking a hiatus after her mother forced her into a modeling job that made Mai very uncomfortable. She eventually goes back into show business under a much more considerate agency. She also extends the same courtesy to Sakuta: after a paparazzo gets a photo of them together, she admits to the relationship in an interview (a potentially dicey proposition in Japan, where Contractual Purity standards can be a bit nuts) and asks the press to please leave him alone.
• The Hero: Not in the series, where Sakuta is the one who plays the role, but in the movie she counts as this, performing a very heroic deed.
• Head-Turning Beauty: She may not provide fanservice very often, but she turns heads where-ever she goes, being a beautiful and famous actress. The only time people don't notice her, is because they literally can't due to her A.S.
• Heroes Love Dogs: Happily runs towards a dog on the street to pet it. Unfortunately, even the dog didn't see her.
• Heroic Sacrifice: In the movie, she saved Sakuta from being hit by a car (which was becoming very likely his own attempted sacrifice, as he knew about the accident thanks to Shoko) at the cost of her life. She eventually got better as Sakuta later went back in time to save her.
• Heroic Seductress: Subverted; Mai doesn't actually want to seduce others with the bunny girl outfit. She just wants to verify her invisibility.
• Hidden Depths: Heavily downplayed, as it just counts a little if you consider her first, immediate appearance. She may have been mistaken for being a bit self-centered and arrogant at the beginning, as she did not trust others and was a complete loner, but very soon you see she's a very Nice Girl who is not at all like that, and she's extremely kind towards others, though of course she teases Sakuta as he does with her as well. She's actually very emotional, kind, compassionate and selfless, much more than she looks in the first episodes.
• Honor Before Reason: Rather than maintaining her popularity and continue acting and modeling after her mother forced her posing in a bikini, she decides to stop, and later chooses another agency.
• Hot-Blooded: Normally she's rather calm, but she's still emotional and her reactions can be a bit exaggerated, especially when dealing with topics she's sensitive and feels uncomfortable about.
• Iconic Outfit: The Playboy Bunny costume she's seen wearing in the first chapter/episode, and only once afterwards, is still associated with her because Sakuta brings it up (and it is part of the title).
• Ideal Hero: Just like Sakuta. Sure, she may not be an Action Hero, but she's heroic, purehearted, selfless, brave, kind and forgiving, with very few flaws. Makes sense in a series that is rather idealistic overall.
• Idol Singer: Although it's not her job, she turns out to be a surprisingly good one. To the point that when she briefly lives in Nodoka's body, and she clearly must do her sister's job, the members of her group let her be the solo singer at the concert.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Mai takes a hiatus from acting for this reason. Unfortunately, this triggers her Adolescence Syndrome, causing her to be invisible to an unspecified amount of people that seemingly keeps rising. Sakuta and at least some other students at school still see her just fine though, until even that starts to fade.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Sakuta even describes her as surprisingly pure and innocent, despite, at first, coming across as sharp and teasing towards him. Sure, she can be a Deadpan Snarker like him, but she's an immensely kind-hearted and selfless as well, never morally ambiguous, has good intentions towards others, strong morals and sense of justice. After all, she hadn't been corrupted, and left her job. And if you consider she could have stolen anything she wanted when she was invisible, but she didn't, and that she even forgives her mother later on...
  • What does she do when she hears about Sakuta who will die in a car accident, with Shoko earning his heart due to her terminal illness? She doesn't think twice and saves Sakuta from the accident and Shoko from the illness by having her heart transplanted into her.
  • Even when she throws pills in Sakuta's glass, she does it out of pure altruism, as she doesn't want him to lose his sleep for her, saying she's ultimately always been a loner.
• Ineffectual Loner: Capable and talented, but the only character in the series with a completely Friendless Background. And since her mother's betrayal of her, she wanted to stay away from showbusiness, resulting in her existence being completely absent from the world. Having Sakuta - and later on his sister and friends by her side - undoubtedly helped her.
• Innocent Blue Eyes: Her big, beautiful eyes perfectly fit her kindness and her beauty inside and out. Of course, they are also expressive and still don't hide if she's angry, or even playful.
• Intergenerational Friendship: With Kaede. They are very close, and Mai, who is fond of her from the start, is often seen providing for her and helping her.
• Invisible Introvert: While she isn't too much of an introvert, she definitely gets fed up with the demands of her career and takes a hiatus from acting and modelling, only to discover that because she is no longer in the public spotlight, people are forgetting she exists, her Adolescence Syndrome case causing her to become invisible. She meets Sakuta while running around in public wearing a Playboy Bunny costume, just to see if anyone still notices her.
• I Will Wait for You: When Sakuta gets back in time, to save her from the Heroic Sacrifice she made to save him, he gets to her while she's working. He warns her she must stay at home, but she knows how things are going to work, and planned to sacrifice herself from the beginning, so she initially tells him she can't do this. However, after telling her that his mission is to save the Sakuta from her timeline, she accepts, and so they agree to meet in front of her home, where she eventually waits for him after he's accomplished his mission.
• Japanese Politeness: Especially when dealing with her business, she's shown to be faultlessly polite and professional, while also friendly and affable towards interviewers and fans on stage and during interviews.
• The Kirk: Of Sakuta's three main female friends, she fits this position in the Freudian Trio. She's well-balanced, logical, serious and professional, yet, while being somewhat on the reserved side, by nature she's not emotionally closed-off, doesn't deny her feelings and has no problems in showing that she is a genuinely soft-hearted, compassionate and helpful person. She's right in the middle between Tomoe, the Smitten Teenage Girl who wears her heart on the sleeve, and Rio, who is ultimately a Nice Girl but also reserved, stoic and somewhat aloof.
• Knight in Sour Armour: Was kind of this until Sakuta revealed his feelings. That's a Justified Trope: Mai felt heavily betrayed by her mother, thought everyone would forget her and she couldn't trust anyone, but when she met Sakuta, who revealed his feelings for her, everything changed. Still, even if she was kinda pessimistic, she never lost her moral values.
  • Played more straight later on, around her Heroic Sacrifice arc, where she's very sad and depressed but does the most selfless deed she could do.
• The Last DJ: She values her integrity over advancing her career when betrayed by her mother for money, and so she takes a hiatus.
• Leg Focus: Has long and nicely shaped legs, which the camera focuses on sometimes. Sakuta shamelessly admits he's fond of them.
• Like Mother, Unlike Daughter: Definitely. Where her mother is amoral, selfish and only cares about her personal benefits, Mai has an immensely good heart, strong morals and honor, and is definitely selfless and self-sacrificing.
• Loved by All: Pretty much everyone who interacts with her will love Mai for her kind nature, and especially Kaede is shown to be a true Hero-Worshipper towards her.
• Memento MacGuffin: She tells Sakuta not to open the Japanese style drawers in her home for any reason, but refuses to tell him what is inside. That's because what is inside is a tin box containing her personal treasure, every single letter that Nodoka ever sent her. Sakuta immediately recognizes this as the key to resolving the sisters' relationship dispute.
• Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: Downplayed but present. It's not that Mai was feared by others or seen as a bad person, but during her hiatus and her period of disappearance, at the moment few people could still see her, they mistook her for being cold and unapproachable. Which is wrong, but understandable given her bitterness at said time.
• Morality Pet: To her mother. It's Double Subverted, since her mother has no qualms betraying her for easy money, but then we can see the woman's more human side when Mai dies in the hospital due to the accident in which she saved Sakuta, and she desperately cries saying she wants Mai back.
• Ms. Fanservice: Downplayed Trope. Despite its name, the series isn't exactly centered on fanservice, and Mai is just a subtle example with a few moments, e.g. the "bunny girl" scene and some Leg Focus moments.
• My Girl Is Not a Slut: While she may be teasing and flirty towards her boyfriend Sakuta, she never had a boyfriend - neither kissed a boy - before him, either. She does tease him about the roles she's played as an actress, but again, that's just Mai being Mai towards her beloved one...
• Nice Girl: Mai's genuine and immense kindness is, in spades, her most noble and admirable trait. Despite what appearances without knowing her might suggest, Mai is not only very gentle, polite and friendly, but also definitely caring for others, kind-hearted, selfless and a levelheaded, serious and mature person as well. She can be somewhat snarky and coquettish towards Sakuta when they are together, and they tease each other, but she deeply loves him and doesn't hide it, and she is really ready to do anything for him. Yes, even to die; just see her in the movie.
  • Even after she's rescued from her Heroic Sacrifice indeed, the movie keeps showing the full extent of her kindness. When both Mai and Sakuta's deaths are averted in the movie, and they finally have a chance to live peacefully, that meant they would have to accept a timeline where a child (Shoko) dies from an illness she never asked for. Mai's tear-stained face at the hospital with Shoko near the end of the film shows she refuses to accept happiness with Sakuta if it means a child has to die for it. Both her and Sakuta know they run the risk of changing time such that they may never even meet ever again, but they still take that risk anyway. Very few people in this series would make that choice, but she did.
• Nice to the Waiter: As expected from her being a Nice Girl by nature, she's shown to be friendly and kind to fans and interviewers, while maintaining her polite and professional attitude.
• Not So Stoic: She seems to be somewhat cold at first glance, though it turns out that she's actually not like that when her real interactions with Sakuta and other characters start. And though she's professional, and normally comes across as fairly calm and collected, she's shown to have a bit of a temper when dealing with topics she's sensitive about.
• Obfuscating Insanity: At first glance, you'd think Mai was wearing a Playboy Bunny suit for fanservice but it's revealed that she wears it so she can recognize when she is and isn't invisible.
• Ojou: She's quite well-off and dresses gracefully. That said, while she kinda likes to tease Sakuta in a somewhat queen-like behaviour, especially at first, she's still very kind, is not arrogant and doesn't flaut her wealth at all. Instead, she remains humble and is a very giving person.
• Playboy Bunny: Mai dresses like this in order to identify areas where she is invisible, and also to encourage Sakuta to study harder.
• Proper Lady: Oh, where to start with? Elegant and ladylike? Check. Smart? Check. Self-sacrificing? Definitely. Incorruptible? Check. Loyal? Very much so. Chaste? Check. Gentle yet strong? Oh yes. She's a perfect representation of the trope, fitting to a T.
• Reluctant Fanservice Girl: She felt very uncomfortable about showing her body posing in a swimsuit. While not opposed to guys finding her attractive, it's still pretty clear she's not a showoff. She's occasionally amenable to breaking out her Playboy Bunny outfit for Sakuta's benefit, but that's about as far as it goes.
• Renaissance Man: She's incredibly skilled and multi-talented: school, cooking, her job... And, while in Nodoka's body, it is even shown she's a surprisingly good singer and perfectly fits in her sister's idol group.
• Rescue Romance: Sakuta saves Mai from becoming an Unperson by shouting out his feelings for her. Mai accepts Sakuta's feelings and they start dating each other.
• Ret-Gone: Due to her hiatus as she got tired of being under the spotlight, she gets erased from existence.
• Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: She became a notable child actress, but after her trauma fame and money didn't matter anymore to Mai. She made it clear that she was not willing to do any commercials that put her in swimsuit type clothing. When her mom did so anyway, she felt betrayed, used by her only for easy money, and quit immediately afterward. She felt extremely uncomfortable about showing off her body when she was just a middle schooler, yet her mother went over her head and forced her to do it for the money anyway.
• Second Love: While Mai is the first love interest introduced in the series, she is chronologically the second girl Sakuta actually fell in love with, albeit the only one who Sakuta actually ends up becoming a couple with.
• Self-Sacrifice Scheme: It was later revealed that she had already planned to sacrifice herself to save Sakuta ever since the day future Shoko told her of his upcoming death.
  Future Sakuta: Mai-san, you intended on saving me from the beginning?
  Mai: Didn't I tell you before? I love you way more than you think.
• Shrinking Violet: It's subtle, but Mai can be rather shy and awkward at times, especially around Sakuta's jokes.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Downplayed Trope. She has said she's definitely not opposed to guys finding her sexy, but her first and only boyfriend ever is Sakuta, and she never kissed another guy, or showed romantic interest in anyone, for that matter, before him.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: There is no doubt she fell in love with Sakuta for his kindness.
• Snow Means Death: The movie sequel took place during winter and has a major arc revolving around Mai's Heroic Sacrifice. There's also her death on the day before Christmas. Even showing her blood pouring out amidst the snow.
• Spoiled Sweet: She's more wealthy than actually spoiled by anyone, or at least she likely was spoiled until she broke up with her mother, who betrayed her. Anyways, she's a very kind and sweet person.
• Supreme Chef: She's an excellent cook. This is revealed when she's at Sakuta's home with Kaede, Rio and Shouko, and cooks for all of them.
• Sustained Misunderstanding: Notably averts it both times it would've happened in any other story, be it hearing Sakuta out and accepting his explanation when she sees Tomoe on top of him, and then, a few episodes later, holding a press conference confirming her relationship with him when a paparazzi photo of them together makes the rounds.
• Taking the Bullet: She makes a Heroic Sacrifice to save Sakuta from being hit by a car, dying instead of him.
• Tareme Eyes / Tsurime Eyes: If anyone noticed, Mai's eyes play with the tropes and are carefully drawn in both ways. Emphasizing her kindness and her more cheerful, quiet and soft moments, they're drawn as tareme, but they switch to tsurime in her more serious moments and when she gets angry. Just look, for example, at the difference between pic 3 and pic 6 here. Or here, at this meme◊ also featuring Shouko Komi and... well, a Mazda MX-5.
• Team Mom: Gentle and caring, usually does housework, and has helped a lot Kaede with her studies.
• Teen Genius: Definitely intelligent and skilled, and has no problem working hard.
• Tender Tears: Happens many times. In the movie, when she had learned the truth about older Shoko, she planned to sacrifice herself and save Sakuta, so she told him work and school didn't matter anymore to her, and that she wanted to stay with him until Christmas.
• The Tease: Downplayed, she naturally only does it with the guy she loves. She's kinda coquettish towards Sakuta when they are dating, although it is clear that she loves him. On the other hand, Sakuta can intimidate her with his lewd remarks, and her act fails, turning her into a type B tsundere.
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Played straight at first, as she's one of the kindest, most honorable and most selfless characters in the series, and sacrifices herself to save Sakuta and become Shoko's heart donor. Subverted then, as Sakuta gets back in time to save her.
• Took a Level in Cheerfulness: Was somewhat cynical because of how she was treated by her mother and became a total loner. She still was very kind, but thanks to Sakuta she became more playful, witty, and naturally happy.
• Totally Trusting Love Interest: Sakuta and Mai become the Official Couple at the end of the first story arc, and she explicitly trusts him not to cheat on her when he goes haring off to help the next several girls suffering Adolescence Syndrome phenomena, even when one such gambit involves actively dating a girl trapped in a "Groundhog Day" Loop. He proves himself completely worthy of her trust throughout the series.
• Trademark Favourite Food: Or at least trademark favourite snack. She's fond of Pocky sticks.
• Tragic Heroine: Well, used as a tool to make money by her mother... Then, she's friendless, and her existence is forgotten by everyone, until Sakuta solves her problem. And later, when things seem to get better, it's revealed by future Shoko that Sakuta will die in an accident and be younger Shoko's heart donor, so Mai makes a Heroic Sacrifice to save Sakuta's life and become Shoko's heart donor. This is subverted in the end, as Sakuta gets back in time to save her, and they finally find happiness together.
• Tsundere: Downplayed actually - except for her bitterness during her hiatus, Mai is a genuinely open-hearted person and doesn't hide her kind intentions and feelings for others. She just has some shades of the trope towards Sakuta, but is not at all harsh by default - it's just part of her teasing, such as insisting that he must confess his love to her every day for a month before she believes him, and then, at the end of the month, says that the confessions no longer set her heart racing. If you want to apply the trope to her, then she would count as a bit of a type B tsundere overall, as she's sensitive and easily gets jealous at times despite being very trusting towards Sakuta, and when she gets embarrassed and annoyed because of Sakuta's lewd jokes she can be a bit snappy and slap him. Though, again, in the end she doesn't deny her feelings and often tells Sakuta she loves him more than he thinks.
  • She also plays a bit with Sugar-and-Ice Personality, making it an Averted Trope overall in her interactions with others, but an interesting subversion in regards to Sakuta. It's not that she's cold or aloof, it's just that she teases him and sometimes acts coquettish, though at the end of the day she's sweet and affectionate towards him, especially as they go on.
• Understanding Girlfriend: Having been on the receiving end of his help at the start of the story, Mai is understanding when Sakuta hares off to the rescue of the next girl with Adolescence Syndrome. He gets caught up in a few harem protagonist shenanigans like Suggestive Collision, but she only needs proper explanation from her boyfriend to understand what's going on and, in the case of the latter, proceeds to live with them for the duration of the problem to prevent misunderstandings. It even gets lampshaded in the final episode, when Nodoka points out that Mai trusts Sakuta way too much to get angry at him for meeting Shouko again without telling her, and that she's clearly mad at herself for not being there, at least physically, in his time of need to the point another girl had to pick up the slack. On a lighter note, she also finds Sakuta's occasional lewd remarks towards her amusing rather than insulting.
• Undying Loyalty: Of course. Sakuta is her first boyfriend, and the first person she ever trusted. Needless to say, the feeling is mutual.
• Unperson: Mai worries she's becoming this until only Sakuta will be able to see her, or worse. Heck, even her written name becomes blurry when seen by those who have forgotten her.
• What Does She See in Him?: Her sister Nodoka wonders how she's ever in love with a pervert like Sakuta. Likely because she wasn't aware of his kindness yet - and of the fact he just jokes around as well.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Kind, polite, selfless, beautiful with long black hair, loyal, devoted to the guy she loves and also very good at cooking, as well as possessing a delicate yet strong personality and being capable of being tough when needed. She may be a somewhat snarkier version of the trope, but still she perfectly fits.
• Yandere: Played for Laughs and parodied in the scene where Shoko rings and, while asking Sakuta what happened and while opening the door to her, she has a knife in her hand. Of course, she was just cooking so she was cutting vegetables, but the scene looked somewhat creepy.
• You Are Not Alone: While giving pills to Sakuta to finally allow him to sleep, Mai states she would have no problem with him forgetting her, as she's always been a loner at the end of the day. While Sakuta remembers her the day after, he confesses his love for her in front of the school, with this being the demonstration that the girl is really not alone now.

Tomoe Koga

Voiced By: Nao Tōyama (Japanese), Lizzie Freeman (English)

"I want everyone to like me. Or rather, I don't want them to hate me."

A first-year girl with a strong desire to fit in with her classmates.

She is the focal character in the second volume, Petit Devil Kouhai.

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• A-Cup Angst: Rather resentful of how the food she eats tends to go to her stomach and hips instead of her chest.
• Action Girl: When she kicks Sakuta in his butt assuming he's a pedophile (while he was just trying to help a little girl who got lost), and helping the child escape.
• Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: Among Sakuta's three main female friends she's the brawn, being a Genki Girl who is rather Hot-Blooded and kicks Sakuta in his ass assuming he's a pedophile harassing a child.
• Becoming the Mask: Sakuta agrees to her request of pretending to be her boyfriend at least till the end of the school year but she ends up developing feelings for him. Both Sakuta and Tomoe realize this, as time keeps repeating itself because Tomoe has not come to terms with her own feelings. It's only when Sakuta confronts her about it that she lets Sakuta go.
• Beware the Nice Ones: She's a Nice Girl, but still yells at Sakuta when he makes jokes about her butt that make her angry, and the first time she meets him she kicks him in his ass, assuming he's a lolicon.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Heavily downplayed. She's a genuinely nice person overall, but her role as Laplace's demon implies her feelings for Sakuta are rather selfish and that she would do anything to make him change his mind about her and make him feel something for her. Subverted at the end of the day, as Tomoe grows out of her being In Love with Love and her feelings for Sakuta turn out to be genuine - yet, the guy has feelings only for Mai, and sees Tomoe as just a friend.
• Book Dumb: Seems to be her case since fails an exam in an episode just like Sakuta.
• Dumb Blonde: She's not exactly stupid, but very insecure and concerned with popularity. She always feels she has to fit in and avoid at every cost to be an outcast.
• Foil:
  • To Mai, both physically and personality wise. Mai is a tall brunette, Tomoe is short and has blonde hair. Mai felt betrayed by her mother and got tired of her popularity as a child actress and model, while Tomoe wasn't popular at all as a child. While Tomoe is highly concerned with popularity and fitting in, and has her group of friends, Mai is still friendless and doesn't mind being a loner as she's actually always been.
  • Of course, she's also a foil to Sakuta. Especially, she's a collectivist, whose main worry is to fit in and be liked by people. Sakuta is an individualist who couldn't care the less about social norms and fitting in. Curiously, despite this, Sakuta constantly helps others, while Tomoe appears to be a little bit selfish during her arc (understandable, given her age and emotional maturity).
• Genki Girl: She gets excited quite easily, and overall she's pretty happy-go-lucky and bubbly.
• Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: She's overall cute and girly, yet she has a bit of a wilder streak and has no problems kicking Sakuta in his ass when she assumes he's a pedophile harassing a little girl. That, and she also has Boyish Short Hair.
• "Groundhog Day" Loop: Koga's case of Adolescence Syndrome lets her play out a hyper-detailed simulation of the future, which repeats itself until she's satisfied with the results. Sakuta is the only other person aware of it, apparently thanks to the butt-kicking incident. Futaba dubs Koga as the Laplace Demon, given that the situation is like Koga keeps on rolling the dice to get the future she desires. This eventually transforms into The Story That Never Was when Koga is cured of the Adolescence Syndrome; as a simulation, no time had actually passed in the real world, though events play out similarly anyway.
• Hartman Hips: According to Sakuta, Tomoe has wide hips. She's not too pleased when he points that out. For example, when they both went to the beach and had a sand castle competition, Tomoe's castle survived the tide because her butt had left massive indentations in the sand that stopped the water.
• Hopeless Suitor: Even though in the beginning Sakuta had made it clear to Koga that he loves only Mai, Koga cannot help herself falling in love with Sakuta. This triggers another "Groundhog Day" Loop. Sakuta forces Koga to be honest with herself, and that is the key to escape the loop.
• The Idiot from Osaka: A bit of a touchy subject for her. She moved to Tokyo in high school and reinvented herself upon arrival into a 'fashionable' girl that could thrive in a big city.
• In Love with Love: Played With. She essentially wants to have a boyfriend to appear popular and be recognized by others. Still, her feelings for Sakuta ultimately turn out to be genuine.
• I Just Want to Be Special: Tomoe serves as Mai's inverse. Once a self-proclaimed bumpkin, her move from the countryside to the city saw her change how she looked and acted so that she could be popular and have friends. However, this is portrayed in a more negative light, as she pushes herself to stay involved no matter what because of her fear that even a day away from them could cost her social life. That desire to maintain those relationships and status is what triggers her Adolescence Syndrome, which Sakuta is well-equipped to help her with due to his inability to care about how the world thinks of him.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: This crops up as her main motivation to keep up a 'perfect' image of herself in front of her peers.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: To end the time-loop, she convinces Sakuta to go along with her scheme to pretend they're a couple, but she ends up developing romatic feelings for him after, especially after he beats up Yosuke for spreading the rumor Tomoe was a slut. Their supposed break up ends up creating another time loop, and after conversing with Rio, Sakuta confronts Tomoe and tells her that despite how she feels about him, he's still in love with Mai, and thus can't reciprocate her feelings, which causes Tomoe to break down crying. After Tomoe causes them to go back about a month in time, to when Tomoe asked Sakuta to be her fake boyfriend, they patch things up and Tomoe accepts just being his friend.
• The McCoy: In the Freudian Trio of Sakuta's main female friends, she's this. Tomoe tends to wear her heart on the sleeve and be very open about her feelings; understandable, also due to her younger age and having yet to develop emotional maturity.
• Nice Girl: A very nice and outgoing individual, though she's a less idealized and more realistic take on the trope, with both positive and negative traits. Tomoe is a cute girl who is kind, cheerful, friendly and optimistic, but she's also overly people-oriented, dependent and somewhat self-entitled, with a tendency to be In Love with Love - which is, nevertheless, pretty typical after all for a girl in her age.
• Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: When she gets flustered or excited, she'll reverted to her natural accent.
• Once Done, Never Forgotten: Sakuta will never let her forget that they met when she kicked his butt from a misunderstanding, and then let him kick hers as an apology. He even makes butt-related jokes just to get a rise out of her.
• Phoneaholic Teenager: She is inseparable from her smartphone and will be texting even mid conversation.
• Popular Is Dumb: She's not really stupid, but since her transfer student status made her gain a bit of popularity, she is exaggeratedly concerned with fitting in and is shown to have typical teenage girls' insecurities, always thinking she must do exactly what her friends do, and living with her smartphone - heaven help you if she misses some kind of text message by her friends.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: The reason why she was interested in Sakuta. After all, this perfectly explains why she rejected Yosuke, despite him being quite the hunk, and fell in love with Sakuta, thanks to the guy's natural kindness and selflessness.
• Smitten Teenage Girl: She's genuinely open about her feelings for Sakuta, even causing a time loop trying to make him fall for her.
• Tender Tears: When she realizes Sakuta's feelings for Mai will never change, she cries her heart out in front of him. He comforts her and in the end they agree to remain friends.
• Tsundere: Type B: she can get annoyed and yell at Sakuta despite being a Nice Girl, especially when he makes jokes about her butt.
• You Can't Fight Fate: Tomoe simply must accept that Sakuta has feelings only for Mai, no matter how many times she tries to live the same day again and again.

Rio Futaba

Voiced By: Atsumi Tanezaki (Japanese), Jenny Yokobori (English)

"Nothing less from you, Azusagawa. Such a rascal."

One of Sakuta's only longtime friends and the sole member of the Science Club.

She is the central focus of the third volume, Logical Witch.

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• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Serious, apparently very stoic, and beautiful with dark grey hair. She's shorter than Mai and a girl of average height for Japanese standards, but this doesn't make her any less attractive.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: A dark version of this. Rio is usually constantly snarky towards Sakuta and half of the time she is not explaining her stuff, she will be insulting him but in The Movie, once she finds out Sakuta will have to die in a car accident to save Shoko, she throws away her usual behaviour and tells him she doesn't want this and cries Tears of Joy once she sees the next day that he survived.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: The reason she fell in love with Yuuma was him treating her with kindness and buying her favorite bread when she couldn't.
• Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: The brains of Sakuta's main three female friends, being a science geek who always explains logically and helps solving Puberty Syndrome cases. She's The Spock, after all.
• Bespectacled Cutie: A more stoic example, but still very pretty to say the least, and wears glasses highlighting her intelligence and her being passionate about science.
• Brainy Brunette: She's very smart and cultured and provides information to solve Adolescence Syndrome cases.
• Brutal Honesty: Rio is quite blunt when addressing Sakuta, usually calling him a rascal, and has the sharpest sense of humor among the main cast.
• Clone Angst: Rio's Adolescence Syndrome manifests in the form of a second version of herself, identifiable by her hair being in a ponytail and using contacts instead of glasses. The one with glasses is very melancholic and consistently refers to the one with contacts as a "fake", when she herself is referred to as "my other self". Interestingly enough, the supposed "real" Rio whose appearance closely mirrored her original look is the one that ends up disappearing when they merge.
• D-Cup Distress: Rio has some body issues because she started developing early, and was harassed because of it. The sexy selfies she took were done as a coping mechanism.
• Deadpan Snarker: Her sarcasm is actually sharper than Sakuta's, and she's even more deadpan and stoic.
• Emotionless Girl: She's very much The Stoic and hardly ever emotes much, leaving a rather cold impression as a result. We see more of her inner feelings and what makes her tick halfway through the season.
• Glasses Are Sexy: For sure, they don't make her any less attractive and give her a charmingly smart look.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: She has crush on Yuuma, and her unresolved feelings cause her personality to split apart as the meek, unsociable nerd who's embarrased of her body, and one who is more accepting of her looks. When the two personalities talk to each other, the more meek one disapears and the one who accepts her body go the fireworks displayw with Sakuta and Yuuma, and during the show, Rio decides not to swoop in as a rebound love, and advices Yuuma to make up with his girlfriend, and after shedding a tear, decides to enjoy the show and move on.
• Insult of Endearment: "Azusagawa, you really are a rascal." This is endearing because they are long-time friends.
• Kuudere: Rio appears blunt and cold but has a kind heart deep down.
• Labcoat of Science and Medicine: She wears a labcoat over her school uniform, and she's an intelligent girl who's the only member of the Science Club.
• Literal Split Personality: Her Adolescence Syndrome separates her into two people. Unusually, the two halves differ very little from each other, and Sakuta states that both of them seem to be "real".
• Lonely Rich Kid: Implied by Sakuta when he describes her life as similar to a TV drama. She's the only child of a well-off family, but states her parents are hardly ever at home.
• Meaningful Name: The first kanji in her given name means "reason", which is fitting for a scientifically-minded person like her.
• Ms. Fanservice: Downplayed; just like Mai, she's a very subtle example, but in some moments the camera focuses on her big bust (which plays its part in her Puberty Syndrome development).
• Nerds Are Sexy: She's beautiful and well-endowed, as well as being quite the geek, being an intelligent and passionate scientist. Sakuta remarks that there is no way Yuuma (her friend as well as her crush) has not noticed this by now.
• Nice Girl: She may appear stoic, aloof and is very blunt and snarky, but she is a genuinely nice and caring person, who is caring towards her friends and supportive to Sakuta while solving the Syndrome cases.
• The Not-Love Interest: Breaking the trend from Mai and Tomoe, Rio's case of Adolescence Syndrome is initiated by unrequited feelings not for Sakuta, but their mutual friend Yuuma. Rio's relationship with Sakuta is strictly in the Vitriolic Best Buds territory, but she later admits that she's just as afraid of their friendship vanishing as well now that he has a girlfriend.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In The Movie she throws away her usual snarky behaviour out of worry Sakuta will pull a Heroic Sacrifice to save Shoko and is visibly relieved once he sees him alive in the day after Christmas.
• Rei Ayanami Expy: Has several traits of the trope: unusual, grey-colored hair and pale skin, has her episode where there's actually a clone of her, and above all she's characterized by a stoic, emotionless and slightly weird disposition, with a Spock Speak... And yes, as typical for the trope, she turns out to be more emotional than she appears.
• Rule of Three: As the third female classmate of Sakuta's who's going through a complex, when Futaba confesses that it is related to her unrequited love life, Sakuta immediately assumes that she must be referring to him since both Mai and Tomoe had developed feelings for him. Futaba flatly denies it, revealing that she was talking about Yuuma instead.
• Science Hero: Her knowledge of science helps a lot in solving Adolescence Syndrome cases, which she constantly comes to explain.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: She, Sakuta and Yuma go to a fireworks festival as a trio of friends and all of them wear a yukata for the occasion. They complement her when she arrives.
• Shrinking Violet: Underneath her stoicism and her sarcastic, sharp sense of humor, she's actually an insecure, fragile and shy girl with quite the fear of being left alone.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Her interest in Yuuma - who is also a hunk and a Lovable Jock - is due to the fact he was nice to her from the start, and overall for his kind nature. The guy may not have any romantic interest in her, but there's no doubt that, just like Sakuta, he's a Nice Guy and a friend to count on no matter what.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Ultimately a sweet-hearted person but comes across as cold and blunt at times. It's part of her Snark-to-Snark Combat and Vitriolic Best Buds relationship with Sakuta, so it's ultimately Played for Laughs.
• Teen Genius: Very intelligent and has a vast knowledge about science.
• Third Wheel: Subverted Trope. Rio's Adolescence Syndrome is triggered on her insecurity of her two best friends getting girlfriends of their own, leaving her feeling isolated. However, it's shown that, while they are not romantically involved with her, they definitely treasure her as a friend.
• The Smart Girl: She constantly provides Sakuta with information in order to solve a case of Adolescence Syndrome.
• The Snark Knight: Even more than Sakuta. She has the sharpest sense of humor amongst the cast.
• The Spock: Compared to the other members of the cast, and also in the Freudian Trio of Sakuta's main female friends, she fits the trope because she is calm, stoic, snarky, and has the role of the rational and logical scientist.
• Spock Speak: Has a very quiet, almost monotone voice, which perfectly fits her Deadpan Snarker nature (especially towards Sakuta), as well as her stoic Smart Girl status.
• Tender Tears: The normally stoic Futaba cries when realizing how much her friends care about her, and Sakuta even comments how her crying is cute.
• The Stoic: Rarely shows any emotion, and speaks at nearly all times with a calm, quiet, almost monotone voice. The only time she ever raises her tone is when Sakuta comments on her chest size, which is a touchy subject for her, but again... that's Played for Laughs, it's just Sakuta being Sakuta.
• Tomboy Ponytail: Though it's rather stylish than tomboyish, since she's not a tomboy actually, but when Rio's Adolescence Syndrome kicks in and a second version of herself is split off, she has one of these by default while switching out her glasses with contacts. Upon reuniting both halves, she occasionally keeps the ponytail but returns to wearing glasses instead.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Has this relationship with Sakuta to an extent. They always engage in Snark-to-Snark Combat, with Sakuta teasing her, and she often calls the guy a rascal and a pervert, but, along with Yuuma, they're genuine True Companions.
• You Are Not Alone: She realizes this thanks to Sakuta and Yuuma, who show her that, despite both having a girlfriend, they'll always be by her side no matter what.

Kaede Azusagawa

Voiced By: Yurika Kubo (Japanese), Kayli Mills (English)

"Big Brother has given Kaede so much happiness. She loves him now, has always loved him, and will always love him."

Sakuta's homebound little sister who hasn't attended school since her case of Adolescence Syndrome resolved. Often seen sitting around the apartment in her panda pajamas.

Kaede is the focus of the fifth volume, Sister Home Alone, and again in the eighth volume Sister Venturing Out.

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• Amnesiac Dissonance: It's even treated as full-blown dissociative identity disorder. Kaede post-amnesia has a different personality, tastes, habits, speech patterns, dominant hand, everything. She doesn't even consider her old self as the same person, calling her past by a polite "Kaede-san" like a stranger she's never met.
• Animal Motifs: Kaede seems to be closely tied to pandas. Around the apartment, she wears a panda onesie.
• Book Dumb: She somewhat low grades due to the issues which turned her into a hikikomori. She manages to be admitted to Minegahara High School, though.
• Break the Cutie: Kaede dropped out of school because of cyberbullying.
• Character Development: The 8th volume fills in the audience on who Kaede originally is before and after the amnesiac Kaede they had known in earlier volumes.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Played for Laughs with Kaede, who always puts on a defensive front any time she sees Sakuta bringing home a new girl, and also calls him a gigolo. Additionally, she does not feel threatened by any of them and quickly comes to see Mai as a Cool Big Sis, but immediately becomes worried when she thinks her role as "little sister" is being challenged.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Downplayed, but as the hikikomori version of Kaede she can be a little eccentric at times and get to wrong conclusions - such as fearing Sakuta has become a gigolo.
• The Cutie: She's Sakuta's sweet and lovable little sister, after all.
• Death of Personality: At the end of episode 12, Kaede recovers her childhood memories while losing the last two years, essentially ending the Kaede the audience has known.
• Deliberately Cute Child: Downplayed as she's actually a teenage girl; Kaede intentionally acts like a Little Sister Heroine to show her love and gratitude to Sakuta for accepting her as herself, rather than a broken version of the original Kaede. As he was willing to act like her big brother, she would act like his little sister. The original Kaede is much less shy, but also less lively and not as adorably affectionate, and is overall more like a normal teenage girl.
• Genki Girl: Despite her shyness, she's very lively and excitable, especially when Sakuta is around (and later also with Mai, who helps her getting back to the outside world).
• Hero-Worshipper: Towards Sakuta (justified as he's her older brother who's always been there for her) and later towards Mai (justified again, as Mai is the first person besides Sakuta who shows kindness towards Kaede after her issue with cyberbullying).
• Hikikomori: Kaede has dropped out of school, never leaves home and even avoids technology. She is also painfully shy and can barely talk to strangers. She decides to go back to school at the end of episode 13.
• Intergenerational Friendship: With Mai. She worships her brother's girlfriend from the start, which is not surprising given her kind nature and frequently helping her.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: Possibly part of her Adolescence Syndrome, Kaede can't remember anything of her life at school.
• Little Sister Heroine: Gives a few teasing nods to being this, but Sakuta doesn't indulge her. It's revealed that she deliberately fashioned herself to be the best little sister ever as thanks for Sakuta acknowledging her as her own person rather than a broken version of the old Kaede and might have gone a bit overboard on the affective side.
• Nice Girl: Prior to her history with her cyberbullying from her classmates, she is described as having a kind personality. Even after shutting herself from the outside world, she maintains some of her polite mannerisms.
• Shrinking Violet: Because of her history with bullying, Kaede becomes very meek around strangers, and her voice barely rises above a whisper.
• Tender Tears: She cries when finally stepping out of the apartment. It was a big moment for her, and so she became very emotional over it.
• Third-Person Person: Always refers to herself by her own name. This is how she copes with her identity after getting Adolescence Syndrome-induced amnesia. Once she regains her memories, she drops this habit.
• Token Mini-Moe: Downplayed. There's no doubt she's extremely cute and adorable, but she doesn't really have a childlike appearance, and she's taller than all the other heroines except Mai.
• Trauma Button: It's mild, but after her troubles with cyberbullying, she visibly gets triggered when phones ring around her. It takes a lot of work and cheering for her to even answer the landline for the first time, and she knew Mai was on the other side.

Shoko Makinohara

Voiced By: Inori Minase (Japanese), Risa Mei (English)

"What I think, Sakuta-kun, is that life is here for us to become kinder. I live life every day hoping I was a slightly kinder person than I was the day before."

A mysterious girl from Sakuta's past who comforted him during his sister's case of Adolescence Syndrome. Also, the name of a middle-schooler who adopted a stray cat that stays with Sakuta and Kaede.

She is the central character in the sixth and seventh volumes Dreaming Girl and First Love.

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• Beauty Equals Goodness: Definitely so. Just like the main characters she is a paragon of kindness and altruism, and her way of living, which she teaches to Sakuta to begin with, is to be a little bit kinder every day. And yes, she goes from a cute kid to a very beautiful teenage girl.
• Delicate and Sickly: She was born with poor health and has a heart disease that has to be resolved (which ultimately happens in the Big Damn Movie).
• First Love: Shoko was Sakuta's first crush, giving the push he needed when he was in middle school and going through his Darkest Hour. By the time Shoko finally reappears in the story in the present, Sakuta has already moved on and entered a serious relationship with Mai.
• The Gadfly: While she's extremely sweet and meek, she has a surprisingly teasing side. In the sixth volume and the Big Damn Movie, Shoko picks up on how uncomfortable Mai is over how much Sakuta admires Shoko. During her time crashing with Sakuta, Shoko ends up throwing several advances at him just to get a rise out of Mai.
• Imaginary Friend: This theory is advanced by Futaba for the older version. There are strong arguments either way. The truth is a tad more complicated: she's something akin to a time traveler.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: She's practically kindness and pureness personified, as she even taught Sakuta to try to be as gentle as possible, every day a little bit more. It is no surprise that kind and pure characters such as Sakuta, Mai and Kaede are her friends (although Mai used to be a bit jealous as Shoko was Sakuta's first crush).
• Innocent Blue Eyes: As in Mai's case, her big blue eyes fit her kind nature and beauty inside and out.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: Undoubtedly one of the most kind-hearted characters in the series and loves cats.
• Littlest Cancer Patient: It's actually a heart condition, but it pretty much plays the exact same role.
• Mysterious Protector: The older Shoko only seems to appear to Sakuta when he's at his absolute lowest, does her best to cheer him up, and then disappears again when he feels better. Rio even theorizes that she's some Adolescence Syndrome created guardian angel because she only appears to protect Sakuta.
• Nice Girl: Shoko is definitely kind, caring and compassionate. She always wants to be as gentle as possibile and teaches Sakuta to be every day a little bit kinder. Until the end, she's helpful and supportive towards Sakuta and Mai.
• One-Steve Limit: Shoko seemingly disappears from the high school Sakuta later attends. Later, he meets a middle schooler who has the same name and bears a striking resemblance to her. At first, he assumes they are sisters, but the middle schooler says she doesn't have an older sister.
• Proper Lady: Much like Mai, she perfectly fits as she's elegant, ladylike, smart, very self-sacrificing, incorruptible, loyal, chaste, and both gentle and strong.
• Put on a Bus: After having a successful heart surgery without having either Sakuta or Mai to die, Shoko has been moved away for adjusting of her new heart. At volume 8, she sent a photo to Sakuta from Okinawa.
• Set Right What Once Went Wrong AND Make Wrong What Once Went Right: The older Shoko is on a quest to save Sakuta from getting killed by a car on Christmas Eve, even though that means the heart transplant that saved her life would never happen. The entire conflict of the Dreaming Girl revolves around that knowledge leaving Sakuta with a Sadistic Choice: either live and condemn her to an early death or die and leave his loved ones broken. He chooses a life with Mai. However, Sakuta and Mai try to find a way to save Shoko, risking forgetting all the moments they spent together, and get back in the past, when Shoko was in the fourth grade, and meet her again. Now Shoko is a healthy child, and Sakuta and Mai meet her on the beach. They recognize each other.
• Tritagonist: In the movie, this girl who exists in two different forms, one from the future and one living in the present is the main character alongside Sakuta and Mai.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Very kind, polite, selfless and compassionate, a beautiful girl inside and out.

Nodoka Toyohama

Voiced By: Maaya Uchida (Japanese), Cristina Valenzuela (English)

Mai's half-sister, and part of the idol group Sweet Bullet.

She is the focus of the fourth volume, Siscon Idolf.

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• Always Someone Better: She views her sister Mai as this, especially as her mother often complains about how she isn't measuring up to Mai at all. It's driven home particularly fiercely when she sees Mai performing on stage as her and doing far better on her first try, even covering for the main singer's mistakes and getting praised by Nodoka's mother afterward.
• Ambiguously Bi: In Volume 4, Chapter 4, after Sakuta casually admits to her that he and Mai have already kissed, she gets quite flustered and frantically says she's never had a kiss, but then immediately retracts that by admitting she's kissed her fellow idol group members before. When Sakuta then jabs at how that's not really a surprise considering her massive sister complex for Mai, Nodoka blurts out that she still prefers guys, at which point Sakuta changes the subject considering how hilariously rattled she's become.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: A lot of her arc is about how frustrating it was to grow up in Mai's shadow, and how she came to resent Mai. What ultimately helps her switch back is learning that Mai kept a secret box full of all her correspondence to her sister.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Futaba theorizes that Nodoka subconsciously wished to become her big sister, both out of admiring her sincerely and because she was envious of Mai's talents. Then she feels the pressure that comes with being Mai and has a panic attack during a commercial shoot. She confides in Sakuta that she doesn't think she could manage this pressure long term.
• Big Sister Worship: When she was younger, she was amazed by her big sister, thought she was "awesome" and wrote Mai many letters telling her just that. As she grew up, she became frustrated trying to compete with such an amazing older sister. As it turns out, Mai treasured those letters because praise from her little sister mattered more to her than from anyone else.
• "Freaky Friday" Flip: She switches places with Mai as part of her Adolescence Syndrome, in part due to her desire to be her.
• Hard Work Hardly Works: Played With. Her feelings of inferiority seem to be based at least in part in the idea of 'no matter how hard I work, my sister does better effortlessly.' After seeing Mai's work schedule and performances, however, she realizes that it's the opposite: Mai works ridiculously hard at her acting career, and Nodoka just doesn't have the same work commitment and probably never will.
• Idol Singer: She's part of the idol group Sweet Bullet.
• If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: If Sakuta ever makes Mai cry, Nodoka would be mad, as she threats him in The Movie. Mai does cry (as she already has the goal to sacrifice herself to save Sakuta in her mind), with Nodoka getting mad at him for that, and then, after she did sacrifice herself, Nodoka yells at Sakuta desperately asking him why he didn't protect her.
• Implausible Hair Color: Subverted. Flashbacks show her with brown hair and eyes, meaning it's probably dye, and contacts worn for the sake of standing out more. She changed it back to brown at the end of volume 9 but she dyed it blonde again at next volume.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Downplayed, but somewhat starts out as this, with her hostility towards her sister (which was actually mutual) and annoyance at Sakuta's jokes. By the end she ultimately has become a Nice Girl.
• My Sister Is Off-Limits: The first time she met Sakuta, she expressed skepticism that some dead-eyed guy like him could be her big sister's boyfriend. Then she tells him not to stare at "big sister's legs." By the end of her arc, she understands why Mai chose him.
• Nice Girl: Except for her initial hostility, she's a genuinely kind and good-hearted girl, and becomes a good friend to Kaede from the moment she helps her, along with Sakuta and Mai, to get back to the outside world.
• Sibling Triangle: Averted - at no point does she ever express interest in Sakuta or make a move on him. The emotional thrust of her arc is entirely focused on her big sister.
• Suicide by Sea: She runs into the sea intending to drown herself, supposedly. Sakuta calls her out on it being a dick move because she obviously wanted him to stop her.
• Tsundere: Nodoka is very much presented as one, being very competitive, slightly hostile towards both her sister and Sakuta, and clearly hiding a softer side behind that. Indeed, while somewhat hostile at first towards Sakuta and Mai (with the latter who used to be a bit hostile towards her as well), she still admires her sister and wrote her letters. Turns out the reason behind that is the nasty Stage Mom rivalry between Mai and Nodoka's mothers. Nodoka is actually a pretty Nice Girl and becomes friends with Kaede, losing the hostility and pretty much forming a family with the trio.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: The fundamental difference between her and sister is implied to be that Mai is an actress because she loves the job, and Nodoka just wants her mom's approval and thus can't muster up the same passion. Fortunately for her, it's implied that unlike Mai's mother, Nodoka's really does care about her and worries whether she's doing the right thing.

Uzuki Hirokawa

Voiced By: Sora Amamiya (Japanese), Lisa Reimold (English)

The leader of Nodoka's idol group Sweet Bullet.

She is the focus of the tenth volume, Lost Singer.

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• Chekhov's Gunman: She was a minor character in earlier volumes who led Nodoka's idol group. After the Time Skip, she turns out to become friends with Kaede and sees Sakuta like a big brother. However, her recent odd behavior piqued Sakuta's interest on Adolescence Syndrome again which he had not encountered for a long time.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Downplayed as she's fairly down-to-earth and levelheaded, but she's also somewhat perky and very cheerful and talkative. By her own admission, she's not very much in touch with the atmosphere, and is quite the type of person who moves at her own pace, also being a little eccentric and at times surprising in words and actions.
• Genki Girl: A very bright and cheerful individual.
• Motor Mouth: Not an annoying example but she's fairly talkative, fitting her energetic and cheerful personality.
• Nice Girl: She's a kind, friendly and positive girl who is very pleased to meet Kaede and help her with her school choice.

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Secondary Characters

Yuuma Kunimi

Voiced By: Yūma Uchida

Sakuta's best friend. A very Nice Guy who is also handsome and popular. His girlfriend is Saki Kamisato.

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• A Friend in Need: He honestly does not like Rio romantically, but she is still a precious friend to him, and so he will drop everything and rush over if Sakuta says she is in trouble.
• Friend Versus Lover: He had an off-screen fight with Saki during Rio's arc because of his friendship with Rio, and it is Rio who encourages him to make up with her.
• Hunk: He's muscular, tall, handsome and manly. Sakuta also tells him he has an impressing physique, though indeed he's no slouch himself.
• Lovable Jock: He's popular with girls, handsome, athletic, and also very kind-hearted and a good friend to have.
  • In the second movie, Rascal Does not Dream of a Sister Venturing Out, Yuuma lets Sakuta know of his intention to become a Fire Fighter after finishing High School.
• Nice Guy: Yuuma is ready to do anything for his friends and is also very kind and polite.
• Odd Couple: Saki, his girlfriend, is self-centered, insanely concerned with popularity, and always hostile towards Sakuta. Yuuma instead is laid-back, nice and friendly.
• Only Sane Man: The only one of Sakuta's friends who wasn't affected by the Syndrome.
• Opposites Attract: Apparently. Pretty much everyone would wonder why a sweetheart like him is attracted to a rude girl like Saki. Maybe he just thinks deep down she's a good person.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Played With in his dynamic with Sakuta. Appearance-wise, he's the manly man, but personality-wise, they're both balanced between the types.

Saki Kamisato

Voiced By: Himika Akaneya

Yuuma's girlfriend. She's always hostile towards Sakuta and doesn't want him to be Yuuma's friend, because his loner status would infect her boyfriend's popularity (and hers first of all).

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• Fiery Redhead: Has reddish hair and a very prickly personality.
• Foil: To her boyfriend - who, unlike her, is a laid-back and friendly Nice Guy - but also to Sakuta and Mai. Saki is constantly in search of popularity and approval, while Sakuta couldn't care the less about it, and Mai was formerly popular, then forgotten by everyone and later returns acting, but still, she remains humble and kind.
• Freudian Excuse: Seems to have an inferiority complex towards her older sister, and that may very probably be the reason for her hostile and arrogant demeanor and her desire to be popular.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's brash, loud, overly concerned with personal social status, and constantly insults Sakuta because she's unable to understand how her boyfriend's best friend is an unpopular guy with a reputation as a delinquent. That said, in the end, she helps Sakuta, showing him what Rio did with her Twitter account, and they end up being on better terms with each other. She also helps him with Nodoka's arc by telling him what it is like to be a girl living in the shadow of her older sister.
• Lovable Alpha Bitch: While she's initially shown to be hostile towards loners like Sakuta, largely concerned with popularity (especially her own one) and self-centered, she's indeed not a bad person, and ends up helping Sakuta in Rio and Nodoka's arcs.
• Odd Couple: Her boyfriend is a kind and selfless boy, while Saki is self-centered and insanely concerned with popularity. However, Saki isn't bad as she looks, after all.
• Popular Is Dumb: Not exactly dumb, but still, she's a popular girl who follows rumors at school, including Sakuta's reputation as a violent delinquent.

Mai's mother

Voiced By: Airi Ootsu

Mai's unnamed mother, who used her daughter as a tool to make money.

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• Abusive Parents: Of the emotional variety. Had no qualms using Mai to make money, making the poor girl feel very embarrassed and stop working as an actress.
• Affably Evil: She's rather graceful and polite in her mannerisms despite her outright selfish and greedy nature.
• Anti-Villain: She's rather amoral and greedy instead of straight evil, and only interested in doing what fits her desires.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She's very beautiful and appears to be very polite, but in truth she's a selfish, amoral Gold Digger, who has no qualms betraying her family.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Evil may be a stretch, as she ultimately isn't genuinely malevolent, but as amoral and materialistic as she is, and despite having betrayed her, she cries a lot when Mai dies in the hospital after she sacrificed herself to save Sakuta, hit by a car.
• Gold Digger: To the point that she used her daughter as a tool to make money.
• Humanizing Tears: The moment in which she is most sympathetically portrayed is when she breaks down in tears in Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl, after being informed that her daughter was killed in a traffic accident.
• Like Mother, Unlike Daughter: Contrarily to her mother, Mai is a very altruistic and morally upstanding person.
• Outliving One's Offspring: Predeceases her daughter in the movie after Mai is run over and killed by a car. Even after financially exploiting her daughter, actually losing Mai is too much to bear for her and she collapses in tears.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Mai develops Adolescence Syndrome because of her mother, who briefly appears only once in an episode and after Mai's death in the movie.
• Stage Mom: After Mai's father divorced her mother for Nodoka's, the two women have been having a nasty proxy war with each other, using their daughters' careers as the battlefield. No one is happy about this: Mai went on hiatus despite loving the job after her mother tricked her into doing a swimsuit photoshoot that she absolutely refused to do, and the forced competition heavily strained Nodoka's relationship with not only her mother, but also with Mai. Though at the very least, Nodoka's mother is shown to have major regrets over what she did to her daughter.

Yosuke Maezawa

Voiced By: Masaaki Mizunaka

A Jerk Jock who plays basketball with Yuuma. He was Tomoe's suitor until Sakuta taught him a lesson.

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• Anti-Villain: He's not an evil guy, just a petty jerk who has an antagonistic role.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: While he's quite popular as a guy and has an attractive and charming demeanor at first glance, he's not above slandering others, especially all of his past girlfriends. Yuuma tells Sakuta about the guy and is proved to be right.
• Evil Is Petty: Evil is a stretch, but he's a jerk with a bad habit of badmouthing others.
• Evil Redhead: Again, not exactly evil, but he's quite the jerk and has red hair.
• Hunk: He's reasonably attractive, tall, athletic and leanly muscular.
• Jerk Jock: He's an athletic, attractive and hunky guy, but also quite a jerkass who slanders others and attacks Sakuta, who was defending Tomoe from the rumors spread by him.
• Not Good with Rejection: Definitely not; since Tomoe rejected him, he started slandering the poor girl telling everyone she's a slutty, promiscuous little bitch.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: When Sakuta hears him spreading rumors about Tomoe, he defends the girl, but Yosuke attacks him. Then, Sakuta fights back and kicks him, not only telling him that what he did was disgusting, but also that he's a virgin and he did nothing with Tomoe.
• Slut-Shaming: Does this to Tomoe, spreading rumors about her being promiscuous after she rejected him since she was interested in Sakuta.