A list of tropes associated with the cast of Shi ni Aruki. Be warned — all spoilers are unmarked.
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The Kurosu Family
Tokiko Kurosu
Tokiko Kurosu
The adopted daughter of family patriarch Tokimune Kurosu, Tokiko is a high schooler at the start of the series- Blue-and-Orange Morality: It becomes quite clear as the story goes on that while Tokiko does have something resembling a moral code and an internal logic to her behavior, it's not one that makes sense to anyone but herself. This is a major part in Kaoru's theory that she's Dead All Along.
- Daddy's Girl: She loves her adoptive father, and feels indebted to him to taking him in. Even though she causes Tokimune's death by asking him to get out the books, that doesn't change how she feels.
- Driven to Suicide: She steps in front of an oncoming train after confessing to her crimes.
- Establishing Character Moment: She tells Natsuki to be grateful to her mother and focus on her studies, since her mother could die at any time. She then gets home, finds her father dead, and reads a book she discovered at his side.
- For Happiness: A rather disturbing variant. She takes her father's advice to prioritize her own happiness to heart, which leads to her murdering him.
- The Hero Dies: While "hero" is not exactly the right word for her, she's the protagonist and she dies three chapters from the end of the manga.
- It's All About Me: Played with. Her father told her to value her own happiness over consideration for him. But, due to being indebted to him, she valued his happiness above her own. So she rationalizes his request by deciding to ensure she'd only ever care about herself by causing his death. With him gone she figures she no longer has to consider his happiness and can focus on her own. Kaoru's theory in the final chapter even puts forward the idea that every time Tokiko made a choice prioritizing herself over others somebody died.
- Jerkass Realization: After she becomes aware of how twisted Aoya is, she realizes that she seemed that twisted and callous to the rest of her family.
- Lack of Empathy: Has an absolute disregard for grief and an inability to comprehend what her family is going through as they become hysterical losing each other one by one. Her personal philosophy is that her if the dead really cared about her then they'd want her to be happy so why disrespect them by feeling sad they're dead?
- Practically Different Generations: All her siblings are adults who are old enough to have children, while she's a high schooler who's about as old as her niece. It's explained that Tokimune was likely feeling lonely now that his kids moved out.
- Red Herring: She is initially implied to be the daughter of the murdered Shiroki couple, and she would potentially fit the bill as an orphaned girl. However, the couple's daughter is actually Ai.
- The Undead: If you subscribe to Kaoru's theory in the final chapter then Tokiko has been a version of this since her birth. The desire of the doctors and her mother for her to live during her complicated birth gave Tokiko's soul in compensation for reanimating her corpse and causing those around her to die to continue to fuel her life whenever she made a choice prioritizing herself.
- Would Hurt a Child: She threatens to kill Ai with a pencil if Aoya doesn't do as she says, then nearly drops an iron on the little girl's head.
Tokimune Kurosu
Tokimune Kurosu
An old and wealthy man who is the adoptive father of Tokiko and father to Miyuki, Hiroaki, Takahito and Haruka. He is found dead in his home at the start of the series, kicking off the plot.- Death by Falling Over: He falls and hits his head at home.
- Empty Nest: He adopts Tokiko because he's lonely now that all his biological children have grown up and moved out.
- Good Parents: He cares for his adoptive daughter and wants her to pursue her own happiness.
- Plot-Triggering Death: His death sets the plot into motion.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: His insisting that Tokiko prioritize her own happiness over his indirectly led to the curse around her claiming his life and that of everyone in his family.
Miyuki Kurosu
Miyuki Kurosu
Eldest of the Kurosu siblings.- Driven to Suicide: She hangs herself.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She can be abrasive and short-tempered, resulting in her siblings being afraid of her, but she won't stand for them mistreating Tokiko.
- Morality Pet: Tokiko is rather callous and indifferent towards most of her adoptive family members, but while still rather blase around her after their family members start dying one after the other, Tokiko is more openly affectionate (in her own way) towards her older sister Miyuki, being the only member of her adoptive family that Tokiko is shown to have a semblance of care for aside from their father and Natsuki. When Miyuki calls her out on her indifference after Rina's corpse was found, Tokiko actually apologizes. In fact, her death by suicide had an emotional effect on Tokiko, a first for the unnaturally perturbed girl.
- No, You: When those who want Tokiko dead call Tokiko a "demon," Miyuki fires back that they're the only demons she sees.
- Only Sane Man: She's one of the few Kurosus to stay rational even as the tragedies unfold.
Takahito Kurosu
Takahito Kurosu
The eldest son of the family, and the second oldest child after Miyuki. He is Ayako's husband, and they had a son, Ayato, who died when he was young.- Asshole Victim: He falls on his own knife after trying to murder Tokiko.
- Outliving One's Offspring: His son Ayato died when Tokiko was in elementary school.
- Sanity Slippage: Losing his family one-by-one causes him to fall off the deep end fast and he becomes convinced Tokiko is to blame and determined to kill her.
Hiroaki Kurosu
Hiroaki Kurosu
The second son of the family, and third child. He is Kinue's husband and Rina's father.- Cruel and Unusual Death: His head is crushed to death by an elevator.
- Flat Character: No pun intended. He gets barely any characterization to differentiate him from the other members of the family.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Dies in the first chapter.
Haruka Kurosu
Haruka Kurosu
The second daughter of the family, and the youngest of Tokimune's biological children.- Pet the Dog: While she hits Tokiko in a fit of rage, she offers her an ice pack once she's calmed down.
- Staircase Tumble: Falls down the stairs onto a pen.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Dies in the first chapter.
Ayako Kurosu
Ayako Kurosu
Takahito's wife and Ayato's mother.- Asshole Victim: Hit by a car while changing places with her husband.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Her son Ayato died while Tokiko was in elementary school.
- Women Drivers: She runs into a barrier at a train crossing when overwhelmed with anguish after Kinue dies.
Kinue Kurosu
Kinue Kurosu
Hiroaki's wife and Rina's mother.- Asshole Victim: Killed when a faulty air conditioner falls on her.
Rina Kurosu
Rina Kurosu
Hiroaki and Kinue's daughter.- Jerkass to One: She gets along with her parents and most of her aunts and uncles, but is on especially poor terms with Tokiko. Tokiko claims that Rina has never tried to make an effort to foster good relations with her.
- Killed Offscreen: Aoya kidnaps her and kills her some time between Chapter 7 and 11.
- Parental Abandonment: Both her parents die within days of each other.
Police
Shuichi Yashiro
Shuichi Yashiro
The senior of the two detectives investigating the mysterious deaths.- Friend on the Force: He's friends with Aoya, unaware that Aoya is a murderer.
- His Name Is...: He comes to an epiphany of some sort about the case before a car falls on him, killing him.
Ryouta Koga
Ryouta Koga
The junior of the two detectives investigating the mysterious deaths.- Afraid of Blood: He's rather squeamish about seeing dead bodies.
- Agent Scully: At first believes a serial killer is bumping off the family. Then in opposition to Kaoru as the Agent Mulder, Koga seeks a scientific explanation for all the deaths despite mounting evidence something supernatural might be going on. By the end he's left adamant that it must've just been a string of accidents and coincidences, using psychology to analyse Tokiko and her behaviour.
Urushima University
Mitsuki Kisaragi
Mitsuki Kisaragi
Professor of the Undetermined Research Phenomenon Lab and Akiyama's immediate superior.- Dropped a Bridge on Her: Her death by an exploding fire extinguisher is the most sudden.
- Must Have Nicotine: She's a notorious chain smoker who taped over the smoke detector in her office.
Kaoru Akiyama
Kaoru Akiyama
An assistant at the Occult Sciences Laboratory at Urushima University, and Professor Kisaragi's subordinate.
- Agent Mulder: Truly believes that there may be an occult reason behind the deaths and believes insisting it's all coincidence is denying the evidence. It puts him in opposition to Koga who is the Agent Scully and at the end puts forward his theory explaining Tokiko and her behaviour as a curse causing the deaths around her to keep her corpse alive.
- Establishing Character Moment: His initial phone conversation with the professor, in which the latter calls him out on his work ethic and he responds by saying she doesn't care about the victims, showcases his love of sweets and how poorly he gets along with others.
- Genius Sweet Tooth: He's one of the more intelligent characters and often is shown eating sweets.
- Perpetual Smiler: He has a grin almost constantly plastered on his face, save for rare moments when he gets serious.
- Summation Gathering: Played with. He holds one in the final chapter with the only two other remaining survivors. However, he's less revealing the identity of a killer and more presenting his hypothesis on how the curse worked.
The Aoya Family
Sou Aoya
A journalist who is investigating the murders. He turns out to be a murderer himself.
- Abusive Parents: His parents were verbally and physically abusive to him and his sister and strangled the latter to death before hanging themselves.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Despite all the people he's killed, his last moments are played somberly, with him hugging Ai and telling her to make it seem as though Aoya kidnapped her.
- All for Nothing: After two years of murdering people to purify himself, not only does he end up being killed by the victim he'd intended to kill last, but before he dies, he learns that Tokiko was responsible for her father's death and is no longer "pure."
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He seems affable at first glance, but in reality, he's an insane murderer.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He's killed several people, but nevertheless cares deeply for Ai.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: While Ai tries to excuse Aoya's actions as being the result of him having Abusive Parents, Tokiko refuses to accept that excuse, and tells Aoya that he is the only one responsible for his murders.
- Murder Makes You Crazy: After killing Ai's parents, he became convinced that he's a monster, and that he has to purify himself by killing and drinking the blood of "pure" people, since according to him, the body replaces all its cells with what it eats once every two years.
- Not Me This Time: Taken a bit further than usual. After his death, Ai reveals that he only killed one of the Kurosus, namely Rina. This confirms there is a curse surrounding Tokiko which has caused the other deaths.
- Survivor Guilt: It's implied that part of the reason why he's this troubled is because he feels guilty for not getting home in time to protect his sister.
- Walking Spoiler:It's hard to discuss him without revealing that he's actually a serial killer.
Ai Aoya
Ai Aoya/Shiroki
Sou Aoya's little sister, whom he took in after murdering her parents.- Abusive Parents: Her parents were rather horrible to her, which is why Aoya killed them.
- Improbable Infant Survival: Whie this is a series in which Anyone Can Die, and Tokiko takes her hostage, Ai manages to be one of three recurring characters who make it to the end of the series alive.
- Lack of Empathy: She doesn't care about anyone besides her brother. Tokiko, of all people, calls her out on it.
- Satellite Character: Her entire existence revolves around her brother.
- Walking Spoiler: It's difficult to talk about her without revealing her true relationship to Aoya or her true personality.
Other Characters
Natsuki Kitamura
Natsuki Kitamura
Tokiko's only friend at school.- Book Dumb: She gets terrible grades, and her mother believes that her martial arts practice is a distraction from her studies.
- Brutal Honesty: She told one of her friends that she liked her old hairstyle better, costing Natsuki all her friends.
- Hope Spot: Survives getting choked when her bag gets caught in an elevator... only to die minutes later when she falls in front of a truck.
- Nice Girl: She's a caring friend to Tokiko. She even refuses to give up on Tokiko once she learns that Tokiko is a murderer, and merely asks her to turn herself in and serve her time.
- Only Friend: Natsuki alienated her elementary school friends because of her Brutal Honesty, resulting in her starting middle school without any friends. After people noticed her initial conflict with Tokiko, they started avoiding her, so the two girls became each other's only friends.
- Your Head Asplode: She trips and falls into the street, resulting in a car turning her head into a bloody pulp.
Nozomi
Nozomi
A friend of Tokiko's from the orphanage. She parted with her on bad terms and fell to her death while trying to say goodbye to Tokiko.- Death of a Child: She was around Tokiko's age when she fell to her death.
- Never Got to Say Goodbye: She and Tokiko had an argument just before the latter was adopted and were about to part on bad terms.
- Posthumous Character: She's brought up when discussing the string of deaths connected to Tokiko.
Tokui
Tokui
A nurse who delivered Tokiko.- Last Episode, New Character: She debuts in the penultimate chapter.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: She unwittingly gave rise to the curse through desperately praying for Tokiko to live.
- Walking Spoiler: She appears near the end of the series and is indirectly responsible for the deaths.
Spoiler Character
Tokiko's Birth Mother
The woman who gave birth to Tokiko but was forced to give her up for adoption.- Absurdly Youthful Mother: Judging from her attire, and the fact that she looks young when she claims her daughter's remains, she was most likely very young when she got pregnant.
- Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: Not only did she get pregnant at a rather young age, but her family environment was not the ideal place to raise the child. In fact, she implies that she didn't have a choice when it came to giving Tokiko up, as her family apparently separated her from her daughter.
- Last Episode, New Character: She first appears in a flashback in the penultimate chapter, and actually appears in the present day during the final chapter.
- No Name Given: Her name is never revealed.
- Sailor Fuku: She wears one while in labor, implying that she was a student at the time.
- Teen Pregnancy: Her Sailor Fuku implies that she was in middle or high school at the time she gave birth.
- Walking Spoiler: It's impossible to talk about her without spoiling the plot, since she shows up at the very end and has a large impact on her daughter's backstory.
