Characters in The Feelings We All Must Endure.
Ruki Shishido
The nominally central heroine of the story, Ruki is a hard-working, if naive girl crushing on her oblivious (and straight) friend Sachi.- Closet Key: Ruki technically has two: Sachi is her first true love, although she doesn't understand her feelings until later, while Remi introduces her to lesbian sex (and sex in general).
- Extreme Doormat: Unfortunately, she becomes this by the end. Having her own endeavors prove to have drawn her away from the one she loves and her trust stepped on leaves her very low on self-esteem. She's willing to be subservient to Sachi if it means she can be with her.
- No Sense of Direction: Ruki tends to get lost a lot, especially when Sachi is around. On the other hand, this trait is what facilitated her first encounter with Sachi: if she weren't so hopelessly lost on her way to the entrance exam, Sachi would probably walk right past her without offering to help.
- Pride: Ruki's correspondence in the Seven Deadly Sins, according to
Word of God.
Sachi "Sacchan" Ogami
A beautiful, reserved girl striving to be the perfect girlfriend to her possessive boyfriend.- Death Glare: Sachi is infamous for these among her friends.
- Silk Hiding Steel: Once Sachi gets out of her Meek Subservient Mode, the strong personality and willpower behind her polite facade become increasingly apparent.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: She continually had sex with Remi for a month because she wanted to experience what it was like to be the cheater in a relationship, and tells this to Ruki straight. Ruki understandably breaks down crying.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: Sachi sees it as her duty to be the perfect, subservient future wife to her boyfriend—which works out as well as you can expect, especially considering her own (well-suppressed) domineering streak.
- Yandere: Downplayed with Sachi. She comes very close to snapping, but thanks to Ruki, never actually does. It is still obvious that she is not above using forceful methods to maintain her relationships.
Fueko "Fue" Kikuma
Ruki's best friend, who is perpetually tired and sleeps through most of the plot.- NEET: At their graduation, Fueko admits that she will probably end up as this.
- Sleepyhead: Fueko seems to suffer from some sort of narcolepsia, constantly falling asleep in any situation.
Remia "Remi" Mitsuhashi
The Cool Big Sis of the group, she is two years older than the rest and mentors them in the matters of love to the best of her ability.- Cool Big Sis: Played with. Remi does play this role to the rest of the girls, being two years older than them. Her favorite counseling topics include relationships and sexual education... of practical sort. However, nothing is off limits to her, and she will sleep with girls who are in relationships, or interested in other people. She's also not above playing on their vulnerabilities if it leads to sex.
- Cute Little Fangs: Remi sports one, indicating her playful personality.
- The Gadfly/The Tease: Remi seems to enjoy pushing others' buttons just to see them react.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: Remi seems to go for the bottle whenever she is bored (which is anytime she is not sleeping or having sex), but never actually seems to get drunk—unlike the ones she drinks with.
- Karma Houdini: Despite being the catalyst of Asuna and Sachi awakening to a darker side of themselves (one which cost them their relationship), and took advantage of their vulnerabilities, Ruki's, and possibly numerous other girls just to have sex with them, she suffers no consequences, and implies she will continue living this lifestyle.
- The Matchmaker: Remi happily sets up her friends with each other and counsels their relationships... right before offering a threesome.
- Really Gets Around: Remi seems to have slept with all of the girls in the university (including the entire main cast).
- Sadist: She admits to Ruki, the reason she had sex with Sachi was to see what kind of face Ruki would make after finding out.
- Serial Homewrecker: Remi is an Embodiment of Vice for Envy, so she takes a particular pleasure in seducing girls already in a relationship.
Asuna Yagi
A serious bespectacled girl in a complicated relationship with Meru and Fueko.- Extreme Libido: Played for Drama when Asuna is revealed to have an extreme case of sex addiction, craving it pretty much every waking moment (Word of God even says that she is an Embodiment of Vice for Lust). It is what ultimately ruins her relationship with her long-time girlfriend, and they break up despite still being very much in love with each other.
- Lust: Asuna is an Embodiment of Vice for this one and, atypically, she is presented as the one doing the lusting, rather than one being lusted after.
- Not So Stoic: Behind her calm facade, Asuna is a sex-starved nymphomaniac.
- Really Gets Around: Asuna seems to rival Remi in promiscuity.
- The Stoic: Asuna appears to be one.
- Stoic Spectacles: Asuna wears thin glasses that go well with her reserved public persona.
Meru Inoue
The cheerful, if simple-minded girl involved with Remi and Asuna.- Big Eater: Meru sure seems to eat a lot for such a slender figure. Ultimately Played for Drama, when it is revealed that she suffers from bulimia as a result of being naturally chubby and consequent verbal abuse by classmates in school. Remi comments that when she met Meru, the latter was a shivering pile of disorders and neuroses.
- Genki Girl: Meru seems a happy-go-lucky person, although her facade hides what is probably the most serious issues of the entire main cast.
- Girl Friday: By the epilogue, Meru seems to have decided for this career, becoming a secretary to Maasa, of all people. Maasa, in a typical Maasa fashion, considers her efforts insufficient, but laudable, nonetheless.
- I Am What I Am: Maasa's scientific breakdown of why pigs are good seems to help Meru get over her childhood trauma of being called that for her excessive weight and accept her inherent chubbiness. In the epilogue, she seems to have started putting on weight again and is perfectly at peace with that.
- Really Gets Around: Meru can't even remember who she slept with—which gets her in trouble when a chance fling ends with a compromising video of her being posted online. It's implied to be that she lets everyone have their way with her at least in part because she's, possibly subconsciously, still so worried about her weight she's terrified people won't love her otherwise/that she needs a constant affirmation she's physically attractive.
Maasa Inariba
An intelligent and reliable daughter of a super-rich family, for whom she doesn't really care. The youngest of the group.- Brutal Honesty: Don't ask for Maasa's opinions if you value your self-esteem and well-being, because she has zero regard for them.
- Insufferable Genius: Maasa knows that she is smart and resourceful and doesn't really give a crap about what anyone else thinks of her.
- Iron Lady: Maasa is an intelligent, no-nonsense young woman in charge of a large company long before her graduation.
- The Scrooge: Despite coming from a very rich family, Maasa counts every penny.
- The Team Benefactor: Maasa's riches let her sponsor her friends' more costly excursions, although she usually expects to be reimbursed later.
- Younger Than They Look: Maasa is actually the youngest of the core cast, despite appearing older and more responsible than most of them.
