Manga / Mizutama Honey Boy

Mizutama Honey Boy (meaning "Polka Dot Honey Boy") is a shoujo manga by Junko Ike, which was serialized in LaLa from 2014 to 2018 and compiled into 10 volumes.

It tells the story of Mei Sengoku, the captain of the girls' kendo team and the school's resident "samurai," and Shiro Fuji, the boy who's crushing on her and known as the school's "girly guy." When Fuji confesses to Sengoku, she deems it a distraction from her goal of becoming stronger and rejects him. But when Fuji saves her from danger, she finds herself wanting to get to know him more in hopes of understanding her weaknesses.

Thus begins their unusual friendship and zany day-to-day adventures. As the two become closer, Sengoku begins to open up to a bigger world beyond just kendo and learns that maybe, just maybe, Fuji is exactly what she needs to become stronger. The story is rife with addlebrained characters, including a Wild Child of a senpai, an over-protective childhood friend, some characters' families and then some.

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This series contains examples of:

• Accidental Pervert: This happens a few times, usually by either Nanao-senpai, or Sengoku, just for laughs.
• A-Cup Angst: Sengoku is afflicted with this from time to time, although she usually doesn’t care.
• All Men Are Perverts: Subverted by Fuji-kun who can be a bit too pure, at least according to Ichika. We do see that when he and Sengoku end up in an accidental kabe-don situation (the wall-smack thing), he breaks into a Luminescent Blush and backs off.
• Always Save the Girl: ...or guy, depending on the situation. Always expect Sengoku to jump to a girl's or Fuji's rescue. Occasionally, Fuji-kun pulls this for girls, especially Sengoku, when she needs it.
• Amazon Chaser:
  • Fuji is in love with Sengoku, who has no problems hefting him like a sack of potatoes or knocking him out with a single punch.
  • Nanao-senpai's entire family likes strong people.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: The kendo club choses their captain this way. Nanao was the kendo captain for this reason, and later, when the third years retire he’s reinstated for the same reason.
• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Nanao-senpai, his siblings are merely spontaneous.
• Badass in Distress: This happens a few times to Sengoku, usually she needed to be saved due to an injury rather than weakness.
• Bait-and-Switch: The chapter wherein the other Nanao siblings debut features the second youngest, Mai, telling Sengoku not to fall in love with Fuji. Sengoku takes this to mean Mai has a crush on him — the end of the chapter reveals that Mai likes her, thanks to the Nanao family trait of liking strong people.
• Beach Episode: For once this one is not a vacation thing but is thanks to Himeno's many part-time jobs.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: What sparked Fuji's crush on Sengoku is her taking time to help him pick up some beads after the baseball team knocked them all to the ground. It's what made him realize that she's not just the tough and intimidating samurai everyone thinks she is. There was also the time she helped him after he sprained his ankle.
• Berserk Button: Never point out Fuji Ichika's age.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Usually Sengoku Mei is kind, chivalrous, and only stern to those who act of line, but harm anyone she cares about...
• Big Brother Instinct: Although he did leave home for a whole year, Nanao-senpai is very protective of his seven younger siblings. When some jerks were harassing Sara and Rui during a cultural festival, he immediately jumped down from the second floor (while carrying three of his siblings) and glared at them to force them to stop and apologise.
  • Himeno has this for Sengoku, whom she regards as a little sister.
• Big Sister Bully: Fuji is constantly forced to do his older sisters' bidding, whether it's to be their maid, model, or errand boy. He has learned long ago to just let them push him around, lest he incurs their wrath. It turns out that they all adore him, but they have long been having them take care of the chores nonetheless, sometimes it's to distract him while they talk to Sengoku.
• Birds of a Feather: Nadeshiko has this with Fuji-kun and Nanao-senpai. Also Sengoku and Nanao-senpai share this relationship.
• Blank Stare: All over the place, usually in response to another character's hijinks.
• Book Dumb: Nanao-senpai gets passing marks using his instinct alone to get full points on multiple choice sections, over all this is yet another defining characteristic of the Nanao family, Manabu taking this up to eleven all the time (see Cloud Cuckoo Lander and Wild Child). Also, Fuji-kun, while not generally stupid, is terrible when it comes to academics.
  • Nanao Shizuku ultimately subverts this.
• Book Ends: The series has several examples, some with respect to the individual chapters (such as the amnesia chapter), and others with respect to the series as a whole (e.g. the line about Fuji-kun wearing the bridal dress, for one).
• Brick Joke: This happens a lot over the course of the series, largely in relation to Nanao-senpai in some way. Some nonsense of Nanao-senpai's in chapter twenty-two, when Nogi-senpai first (officially) appears, becomes an actual joke itself at the end of volume seven (poor Nogi-senpai).
• Bridal Carry: Sengoku's go-to way of carrying people (doubles as Effortless Amazonian Lift). Fuji-kun also does this for Sengoku a few times, although usually he gets muscle pains afterward.
• Bruiser with a Soft Center: Nadeshiko likes cute things, willingly became the Shipper on Deck for her crush, and is so kind that she is referred to as a goddess by some guys she helps in chapter twenty-one.^note  This is made clear from the first chapter she appears in, so it doesn’t qualify as Hidden Depths.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: All three of the Fuji sisters are this, as is their mother.
• The Bus Came Back: Tsuyoshi in the epilogue.
• But Not Too Foreign: Himeno is half-Japanese.
• Call-Back: There's quite a few over the course of the series, mostly courtesy of Nanao in some way. Nanao-senpai's odd nickname is brought up for the first time since chapter four in chapter twenty-eight as his means of rejecting comparison to a kappa.
  • Fuji-kun’s very narrowly avoiding receiving the Kiss of Life from Nanao-senpai in chapter twelve is brought up again in chapter thirty-two.
• Can't Hold His Liquor: Himeno, especially during the hot springs arc.
• Can't Spit It Out: Once she recognizes her feelings, Sengoku is this way for Fuji-kun.
  • Nogi-senpai becomes a bit of a mess regarding Nanao Sara (too bad she sees him as an elder brother figure). In the epilogue, despite the fact that the two are dating, Nogi can't seem to propose for similar reasons (additionally, he didn't successfully manage a Love Confession; she finally noticed his feelings on her own).
• Charles Atlas Superpower: Sengoku and Nanao-sempai; Sengoku can crush an apple in one hand to make juice, while Nanao has the strength to carry large animals on his shoulders during foraging sessions (he also carries Sengoku around on occasion).
• Chick Magnet: Sengoku is a gender-bent example.
• The Chikan: In one side chapter, Sengoku saves Fuji-kun from one (there were some good reasons he didn’t say anything, poor guy).
• Childhood Friends: Himeno has known Sengoku since she was young and thinks of her as a little sister. There's also Nogi-senpai and Nanao-senpai (poor Nogi), Nogi Akira is actually this for the older Nanao siblings (the younger ones don't really count as "childhood").
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Tsuyoshi’s last appearance was in chapter eight, although Nanao’s taking him home continues to be referenced. He sort of comes back in the epilogue... sort of.
• Cloud Cuckoo Lander: All of the characters qualify to some extent. Instances of such behaviour and of the corresponding Insane Troll Logic are frequently lampshaded.
  • Nanao-senpai is the worst case in the series. For one thing, he is utterly obsessed with getting stronger, even more so than Sengoku; the first thing he did after his last (pre-series) defeat at her hands was to runaway, live in the woods for a year, and fight bears (he took one home as a pet and named it Tsuyoshi). Although Nanao-senpai definitely is not The Ditz, the degree to which he's actually being dumb and the degree to which he's putting it on is very hard to judge (see Obfuscating Stupidity).
  • Sengoku to a degree; her primary goal is to become stronger, and so her way of thinking is sometimes unusual, too.
  • Fuji-kun often acts this way, especially with regard to femininity.
• Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Nanao always needs one, typically this role falls to Fuji-kun or Nogi-senpai, the latter lampshades this when discussing Nanao’s absence on the pervious year’s school trip:
  Nogi-senpai: I wouldn’t have had anytime to sightsee if I were dealing with Manabu. I feel for whomever his attendant is this year.
• Comforting Comforter: When either Sengoku or Fuji notices the other sleeping in a strange place they do this.
• Comically Missing the Point: All the time, especially Sengoku.
• Comical Overreacting: This happens a lot; Fuji’s dad does this the most.
• Comically Serious: Mostly Sengoku, though some other characters can pull this.
• Cuckoosnarker: As a story with some deadpan snarkers in Cloudcuckooland, a few characters qualify, such as Tatsuta.
• Deadpan Snarker: While many of the characters pull this from time to time, Sengoku is the most notable example, even when she doesn't bother actually saying it. There’s also Tatsuta, among others.
• Defiled Forever: Played for Laughs during the Kyoto arc, when Fuji-kun gets kidnapped, the kidnappers confirm his sex and identity by checking his crotch; Fuji’s response is to curl up into a ball, cover his face, and say that he can no longer be a bride.
• Disappeared Dad: See Parental Neglect.
• Distressed Dude: Fuji-kun does this from time to time, especially during the Kyoto arc.
• The Dreaded: Nanao-senpai, to some extent.
• Dude Looks Like a Lady / Bifauxnen: This happens a lot to Fuji and Sengoku respectively.
• Dumb Muscle: Nanao-senpai, see Book Dumb.
• Early-Bird Cameo: While his first official appearance is in chapter twenty-two, Nogi-senpai has this in chapters two and five.
• Easy Amnesia: Nanao-senpai gets a case of Identity Amnesia thanks to this in chapter thirteen, it doesn't last for much the same reason.
• Eccentric Millionaire: The entire Saigou family, thus the chaos that is the Kyoto arc. There’s also Nadeshiko’s school: the students were tired of going abroad, which is why their school trip was in Kyoto.
• Ethical Slut: Fuji Futuba’s main quirk is her love stripping (both herself and others) and making others play roles for her novels, sex is never mentioned.
• Even the Girls Want Her: Nadeshiko is an inversion, since she's typically unpopular among the opposite sex (although she can be popular among girls for her strength and femininity), but is popular among guys who have experienced her kindness. This is Played for Laughs in the second chapter twenty-one omake.
• Every One Can See It: ...excluding those involved, of course, when Fuji and Sengoku’s feelings became mutual, even Nanao-senpai noticed.
• Exhausted Eye Bags: Apparently this is the result of Sengoku skipping out on sleep.
• Eyes Always Shut: The Nanao twins have this all the time. Nakaya has this most of the time.
• Fairytale Wedding Dress: Fuji and other members of the home economics club make these for assorted reasons. Justified when Fuji Ichika is trying on wedding dresses for her wedding, her wedding itself, and in Sengoku and Fuji's wedding.
• The Fashionista: Fuji Ichika, her mother and sisters don’t go quite that far.
• Feminine Women Can Cook: Both Himeno (with an exception) and Nadeshiko, this is also confirmation of Sengoku's masculinity and Fuji-kun's femininity.
• Fetish: Fuji-kun is sometimes mistaken for having one regarding crossdressing, but he’s actually a Wholesome Crossdresser. And let’s not forget Futuba’s quirks...
  • Nadeshiko’s bodyguard really likes muscles; sex doesn’t matter.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Nanao Manabu is the foolish one thanks to being too much of a Nanao, while Sara ends up being the responsible one by contrast (as does Shizuku, depending on the situation; he can even be the responsible sibling to both Manabu and Sara's foolish sibling).
• Forgotten Birthday / Not-So-Forgotten Birthday: The gag of the Birthday Episode is that the person herself forgot, no one else did.
• Girls Love Stuffed Animals: As do feminine guys. Fuji-kun apparently always sleeps with a teddy bear. In chapter eight, when Nanao-senpai hears this, he offers to lend Fuji his bear...
• Girly Bruiser: Nadeshiko is this, minus her physical appearance.
• Girly Girl: This is most pronounced in Fuji’s mother and eldest sister. Himeno also shows this, as does Nadeshiko, despite also being a Tomboy.
• Good Bad Girl: Nadeshiko’s bodyguard, "Kimi-chan," is a bisexual version (but she really isn’t after just anyone).
• Green-Eyed Monster: Sengoku, no one, not even the person herself, noticed except for Nadeshiko.
• Half-Identical Twins: Nanao Ren and Ai fit this trope to a T.
• Hand Puppet: Fuji Sango wears one, handmade by Fuji-kun and named "Puppe-chan," whenever she isn’t teaching. Puppe-chan acts as a sort of "switch;" Sango herself refers to it as a charm allowing her to be herself.
• Hidden Depths: Nanao-senpai has several of these, first, minus his roaming tendencies, he’s a good elder brother; second, some of his stupidity may be feigned (see Obfuscating Stupidity); and third, he’s apparently left-handed (given his character, he might have others).
  • Himeno apparently was the ace of her high school's ping-pong club.
• Hidden Eyes: Fuji's Dad usually is either facing away or crying while covering his face. The few times his face is actually drawn are subtle and easy to miss.
• Hikikomori: Nanao Rui is actually something of a shut-in, despite definitely having inherited "the blood of the Nanao family." Nanao-senpai mentions him as something of a special case, basically he only goes out when he needs to, which is when he shows the typical Nanao family traits.
• Hot-Blooded: Sengoku sometimes has shades of this, but Nogi-senpai is the character who shows this most... except where is crush is concerned (outside of emergencies).
• Hunk: Nanao-senpai, when his being the zenith of a Nanao doesn't interfere.
• Idiot Ball: Any chapter revolving around Nanao-senpai's antics.
• Insane Troll Logic: As a story where all characters are cloud cuckoo landers, this is found a lot, although less than you would think considering. As expected, Nanao does this the most, which is how he ended up "dating" Fuji-kun.
• Instant Waking Skills: Sengoku has these, and they even impress Nanao-senpai; Sengoku actually normally can’t sleep in the same room with other people.
• In Touch with His Feminine Side: Fuji-kun unabashedly adores cute things, sews, cooks, has no problems wearing women's clothing, and would make a perfect House Husband, but is nonetheless a guy.
• It Runs in the Family: Played for Laughs with "the blood of the Nanao family" as it is often referred to In-Universe. Most of the Nanao siblings possess incredible instinct (which they often use to ace the multiple choice sections during tests) and great physical abilities which often surprise the other characters. They are also all spontaneous and have the tendency to roam (with the minor exception of Rui's typical behaviour).
  • The Fuji family has this to a lesser extent, with femininity and having their own way, among other things. This is referenced multiple times by Sengoku, including the second extra chapter after chapter twenty-eight.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Nadeshiko does this for Fuji-kun, ultimately becoming a Shipper on Deck for Fuji x Sengoku.
• I Want to Be a Real Man: Fuji’s dad suffers from this, which is also why he encourages all evidence of masculinity in boys, much to his son’s chagrin.
• Lab Coat Of Science And Medicine: Fuji Sango wears one while on the job.
• Lady Looks Like a Dude: Nadeshiko is a less-than-attractive version (visually speaking).
• Lampshade Hanging: Much of the series' humour comes from this. (E.g. Nadeshiko discusses her Tomboy Angst, so Fuji-kun and Sengoku point out the absurdity of mentioning this in front of them, a warrior girl and a girly guy.)
• Lap Pillow / Sleep Cute: Fuji-kun provides this for Sengoku in chapter six after the latter falls asleep on his shoulder. Nanao-senpai provides Fuji his shoulder at the end of chapter twenty-six.
• Last-Name Basis: As is common in manga, but the main characters largely refer to each other by their last names all the time. Sengoku prefers to enforce this when talking to males and does not want them addressing her by her given name.
• Lethal Chef: Sengoku is this, and she's aware of it (her onigiri either have random flavours, are hard-smooth balls, or disappear). It subsequently gets even worse when Sengoku attempts to make food herself, and sends Fuji-kun and even Nanao to the hospital (admittedly, the latter was largely Sango's fault).
  • Himeno is actually a Supreme Chef, except when serving the ill, thanks to a policy of serving a lot to hardy food to them (e.g. enough porridge for three people topped with pork cutlet, for breakfast).
• Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: This is the dynamic between the two eldest Fuji sisters, in that order.
• Like Brother and Sister: Sengoku jokingly plays this trope on Fuji-kun by saying he's like a sister when she and the Fuji siblings are on a shopping trip. Eventually Fuji corrects her by reinforcing that he is not related to her, is mostly definitely a guy, and is still pursuing her which leaves her with a Luminescent Blush.
  • Poor Nogi-senpai suffers with his crush feeling this way about him. Subverted in the epilogue.
• Long Hair Is Feminine: Himeno.
  • Subverted by Sengoku, for whom it's more of a Samurai Ponytail. She's copying both of her parents on this one.
• Lovable Alpha Bitch: Fuji Ichika shows this from time to time, although she isn’t particularly bitchy, she otherwise fits this trope.
• Love Confession: The manga starts with Fuji's first one. Later, Nanao-senpai does this as well, as does Nadeshiko.
  • Also Played for Laughs during the Kyoto arc, when Sengoku dramatically confesses to Japanese historical monuments (not romantically).
  • More seriously, Sengoku to Fuji in chapter forty-three.
  • Nanao Shizuku gives one to Saigou Nadeshiko in chapter forty-eight, after falling in Love at First Sight.
• Love Epiphany: Sengoku realizes that she does indeed like Fuji in chapter twenty-one, it's even coupled with a Luminescent Blush and shredding his shirt...
• Love Potion: Fuji Sango briefly tries this on her brother, and it successfully makes him fall in love with... the image of himself reflected in Sengoku’s eyes.
• Luminescent Blush: This occurs when any character other than Nanao Manabu is dealing with romance.
• Mad Scientist: Fuji Sango is a chemistry teacher who frequently ends up blowing things up (daily, it turns out), not to mention her odd inventions and potions.
• Manly Men Can Hunt: Nanao Manabu has this all the time (see Serial Escalation).
• Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: And how. (Given that this is the basis of the series, need it even be said?) Sengoku is a muscular, highly trained kendoka (complete with six-pack abs!) with barely any house-making skills, while Fuji is a scrawny guy who would have no qualms becoming a House Husband. Eventually it becomes a case of Opposites Attract.
• Massive Numbered Siblings: Nanao-senpai is the oldest of eight children.
• Master Swordsman: Sengoku, as the manga’s best kendoka. There's also her father.
• Meaningful Name: For starters, "Sengoku" also refers to a war-like period of Japanese history, which is fitting for the "samurai" girl. Nadeshiko is a reference to the trope Yamato Nadeshiko, which is what Saigou Nadeshiko is, excluding her appearance.
  • The birthdays of the characters are likewise relevant: Sengoku Mei was born on November eleventh, Samurai Day; Fuji-kun was born on May twenty-third, which is Love Letter Day. Relating to his being spirit repellant, Nanao-senpai was born on New Year's Day at dawn, the most auspicious time for the Japanese.
• Men Act, Women Are / Men Are Strong, Women Are Pretty: Inverted in the case of Sengoku and Fuji. This is strongly played with throughout the series.
• Missing Mom: Sengoku's mother is revealed to have passed away at some point in the past.
  • Himeno's mother lives abroad.
• Mistaken for Gay: With how much of a "girly guy" he is and the way he speaks, many people assume Fuji is this upon first meeting him, however, he makes it clear that he likes girls, specifically Sengoku. Fuji's habit of stoping men who are threatening girls by pretending to be a Depraved Homosexual honestly doesn't help, and he persists no matter how many times Sengoku warns him.
  • It also doesn't help that Nanao-senpai insists that they're dating, which resulted from the penalty of Nanao-senpai losing what was a kendo match with Sengoku (according to Nanao-senpai alone) to Fuji.
  • This culminates with Ichika's husband getting the king of misunderstandings about him during her wedding. It gets better... probably.
• Mr. Fanservice / Ms. Fanservice: Fuji-kun gives a lot of fanservice Played for Laughs by making it... more female fanservice than male, despite his sex.
• Muscles Are Meaningless: Zigagged, Nadeshiko is the manga’s third strongest individual, however, the two strongest are considerably more slender. While Nanao is notably more built than his other male counterparts, he is still relatively slender, and Sengoku’s only indication of muscles are her abs (which are never drawn).
• My Sister Is Off-Limits: There’s a nice variation in Himeno, who has this attitude toward any guy gunning for her childhood friend Sengoku. This is played straight with Nanao with regard to Sara (poor Nogi-senpai). In both cases, this is due to Big Brother Instinct.
  • There's also the example of Saigou's elder brother, Tsubaki, who has a serious sister complex.

• No Sense of Direction: Nadeshiko, while not as extreme as some cases found in manga and anime, she does get lost on her way home from school.
• Not So Stoic: Sengoku typically appears to be stoic, but she really isn't, especially if you anger her or there's love involved.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Discussed In-Universe by Himeno and Nogi-senpai separately (both seem to have odd insight into Nanao’s mind) as an Alternative Character Interpretation to some of Nanao-senpai’s behaviour. Nanao Manabu definitely is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, the question is more of where he is being genuinely stupid and where he’s putting this on to get in the way of Fuji x Sengoku.
• Oblivious to Love: Sengoku can be this at times, this is partially due to Fuji-kun’s typical behaviour. Sara is definitely this, seeing as her obliviousness to Nogi-senpai’s not-so-hidden crush on her.
• Odd Friendship: Sengoku and Fuji’s relationship seems like this. Sengoku has this with Himeno. Fuji is developing this with Nanao, sort of (they have by the end). Himeno and Manabu may also be seen this way.
  • In the epilogue, Fuji Ichika's son and Nanao Makoto have developed this.
• Older Than They Look: Both Fuji's Mom and Fuji Ichika (this is the latter's Berserk Button). Himeno has this and inherited this from her father, so they never seem to age.
• One of the Boys: Sengoku to some extent.
• Only Sane Man: Sengoku is a variant, being something of a Cloud Cuckoo Lander herself. Nogi-senpai is a more straight-forward example, but not entirely. Kunihiro, Fuji Ichika’s fiancé, is described as levelheaded, the example given makes it clear (although he does have a few moments).
• Overworked Sleep: Sengoku does this a few times.
• Panty Thief: While underwear isn’t mentioned, there is a guy who steals girls’ things (and Fuji’s gym shirt, to the chagrin of both) in chapter one (the second chapter).
• Parental Betrayal: There’s the toned down example where Fuji’s dad eventually becomes passive aggressive about his son’s being SO In Touch with His Feminine Side, which sometimes results in Fuji-kun emphasizing his femininity in protest.
• Parental Neglect: Downplayed with Fuji's dad, partially because he knows his wife is there, and partially because he's constantly away from home due to his job, but he does try to visit as much and as long as he can. Played Straight with Sengoku's dad (a widower), who is perpetually busy running the family kendo dojo and hardly ever around, to the point where Hime has to take care of her and the house and is referred to as Sengoku's "guardian." This is later expounded upon: like Fuji's dad, his work also takes him abroad and he knows Himeno is there; he's the one who needs more looking after, looking at his health.
  • Nanao-senpai's father seems to have run away when his eighth child was just born and Manabu was away training (and is never mentioned again).
  • Himeno also has a case of this.
• The Quiet One: Nanao Mai couples this with Shrinking Violet. Fuji Sango is quiet in comparison with the rest of her family.
• Real Men Eat Meat: Nanao’s favourite food is meat.
• Real Men Hate Sugar: Sengoku is bad with sugar, it’s one of her masculine points.
• Relationship Upgrade: Between Sengoku and Fuji-kun in chapter forty-five.
  • In the epilogue, Sara and Nogi and Nadeshiko and Shizuku have also gotten one.
• Running Gag: The basic theme of the series is one, namely the hijinks ensuing from the interactions of a warrior girl and a girly guy.
  • Fuji-kun getting muscle cramps from low amounts of physical activity. Also, any Fanservice involving Fuji-kun, especially his shirt getting shredded, is another.
  • Nanao proclaiming that Fuji-kun is his boyfriend; their entire "relationship" (if you can call it that) is one.
  • There's also Tsuyoshi, the Nanao family pet bear, the act more than the character, actually.
  • "The blood of the Nanao family," is always this. The dynamics of the Fuji family is another one of the same ilk.
  • Himeno's treatment of Fuji-kun is one. There's also her many part-time jobs.
  • Fuji's Dad's reactions to his son's (and grandson's) femininity.
• Sacrificed Basic Skill for Awesome Training: Sengoku is without a doubt the best kendoka in the story (excluding her father). However, she has little social and housemaking skills and a strange way of thinking sometimes. She feels the effects of this strongly.
• Samurai / Yamato Nadeshiko: Sengoku is a modern Samurai, only female... with the appearance of a Yamato Nadeshiko (ignoring her six-pack).
• Samurai Ponytail: Sengoku's hairstyle is of both types and doubles as a Tomboyish Ponytail, It is basically a cross between a traditional Japanese ponytail and a Hime Cut, and Sengoku feels uncomfortable in anything else.
  • Tatsuta's indicates his participation in kendo and doubles as a Sailor's Ponytail.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Fuji’s femininity stands out even more next to Nanao-senpai.
• Serial Escalation: The Nanao siblings' efforts in foraging, usually finishing with Manabu carrying living, large wild game over his shoulders (and declaring it dinner).
• Serious Business: Mizutama Honey Boy IS a comedy.
• Shipper on Deck: While Nadeshiko is a straight-forward example, there’s the inversion of Himeno, who supports anything that gets in the way of furthering Fuji x Sengoku.
  • The Fuji sisters are another straight-forward example.
• Shirtless Scene: During the hot spring arc, Nanao-senpai ends up pursuing animals while completely nude. In scenes related to bathing Fuji-kun has this and will comically cover himself as if he were female. Fuji’s shirt also gets shredded a lot.
• Shrinking Violet: Nanao Mai, she normally only speaks when spoken to and often hides behind people she is comfortable with.
• Socially Awkward Heroine: Sengoku has a habit of jumping to people's rescue and helping random strangers she meets on the street, however, she never sticks around to accept their gratitude. She admits that she has No Social Skills to properly know how to handle such things; none of this comes from shyness, though.
• Split Personality: Fuji Sango has a toned down version that is probably not so much Dissociative Identity Disorder as it is having two different exterior attitudes.
• Stalker with a Crush: During the first chapter (chapter zero), Sengoku gets one, which Fuji-kun drives away by pretending to be a Depraved Homosexual.
• Starving Student: Himeno is mentioned to be this, thus her many, many part-time jobs and her constant penny pinching. This turns out to be due to her mother.
• The Stoic: Nanao-senpai, of all people, this is commented on by his former classmates.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Fuji Shirou and Ichika look very similar, despite being different sexes, with the only difference being in their height and bust.
  • Fuji-kun feels that Nanao Manabu and Matoko will be this which is ultimately the case.
• Successful Sibling Syndrome: Fuji-kun feels this way about himself with regard to his eldest sister, Ichika, which is why he's always pointing out her age. His elder sister Sango feels this toward her entire immediate family, thus Puppe-chan. Later, it's revealed that Nanao Shizuku also suffers from this to an extent.
• Supreme Chef: See Feminine Women Can Cook.
• Textile Work Is Feminine: As Fuji-kun often illustrates, his sisters and mother are also into this.
• Those Two Guys: Nogi-senpai's friends and Nanao-senpai's former classmates, the short snarky blond with a pony-tail, Tatsuta, and the (generally) thread-eyed tall guy, Nakaya.
• Through Her Stomach: Fuji-kun does this to an extent to Sengoku, by giving her a steady stream of not-too-sweet sweets.
• Throwing Down the Gauntlet / Glove Slap: Fuji-kun does this subtly to Sengoku in chapter eleven (It Makes Sense in Context). Sengoku later uses this to confess to Fuji-kun in chapter forty-three.
• Tomboy: Sengoku, all the way, she even has a six-pack, and she lacks any Tomboy Angst.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Sengoku and Himeno or Nadeshiko, just to emphasize it even more.
• Tomboy Angst: Nadeshiko has this thanks to her physical appearance.
• Twin Telepathy: Nanao Ren and Ai have this.
• Unwillingly Girly Tomboy: Whenever one of the Fuji sisters force her to be more feminine, Sengoku feels as through she were Dragged into Drag. She gets a bit better.
• Wanted a Gender-Conforming Child: Fuji's Dad. Full stop.
• Weakness Turns Her On: A variant is seen in Nadeshiko, who loves cute things and people, but the strength is probably not as relevant.
  • This definitely does not apply to Sengoku, who’s constantly annoyed by the extent of Fuji’s weakness.
• Weirdness Magnet: Inverted: in chapter four Nanao-senpai is mentioned to be "the cockroach of the Sprit World." So guess what happens when he gets near a supposedly haunted location. This is further played with by referring to cockroaches as "the Nanao-senpai of the bug world."
• Wholesome Crossdresser: Fuji, he just likes how he looks that way and enjoys meeting other people's expectations.
  • Additionally, during the Kyoto arc, when Fuji and Sengoku are in male and female kimonos respectively (which leaves Sengoku surprised at being surprised that this is what should be normal), Sengoku is mistaken for one due to a comment by Nanao.
• Wild Child: Played for Laughs with the Nanao siblings. Nanao-senpai lived in the mountains for a whole year with nothing but the clothes on his back in order to get stronger, and upon returning to civilization, he still jumps at the first chance to climb trees, swim in rivers, and capture dangerous wild animals. His siblings are a little more subdued, but they're all capable of scaling buildings, fishing barehanded, and other physical and athletic feats. And at less than a year old, Nanao Makoto is capable of shredding Fuji-kun's shirt, among other things.
  • Manabu continues to cultivate this characteristic after coming of age.
• Wild Hair: Nanao had this when he first returned to civilization. It also happens to him in the epilogue.
• Will They or Won't They?: Several characters have this; notably, Sara and Nogi. Additionally, Himeno and Manabu have a subtle Ship Tease (which they deny in a less than conclusive way).