Working!!/Characters

These are some of the characters from WORKING!! and tropes that are associated with them.

Souta Takanashi
"Voiced by: Kenichi Suzumura (Drama CD), Jun Fukuyama (Anime)"

The fourth child of the Takanashi family, and the only son besides that, 16-year-old Souta never ever intended to work part-time, much less work in a family restaurant (his home life is busy enough). This all changed one winter day after he encountered a petite girl asking for part-timers on the street. Charmed into helping her out, Souta soon found himself in the middle of a workplace full of...colorful co-workers. Ironically, due to his own issues he fits right in.


 * Actor Allusion: He mentions that he's not a masochist
 * Attractive Bent Gender
 * Berserk Button: Do not insult small things.
 * Big Little Brother: To Izumi.
 * Charles Atlas Superpower: Revealed to have strength comparable to Kirio Yamada or even Inami. For comparison, Yamada easily blocked Inami's Megaton Punch, but Yamada almost got his shoulder dislocated by Takanashi. He also said that Inami wouldn't been able to land a punch on him, but he Wouldn't Hit a Girl.
 * Compliment Backfire: Often compares Popura to a bug. To him this is a compliment, to everybody else, not so much.
 * Cuteness Proximity
 * Do Not Taunt Cthulhu: He unconsciously insults Inami, and the result is not pretty.
 * Four Is Death: In a way.
 * Freudian Excuse: Look at his older sisters.
 * Friend to Bugs: Souta loves everything small, including bugs. He compares the idea of squishing a bug to murdering Popura.
 * Heroic BSOD:
 * Suffers yet another one once he realizes his little sister Nazuna is close to outgrowing him in terms of height.
 * Minicon
 * Made of Iron
 * Iron Butt Monkey: Invoked
 * Megane
 * Stoic Spectacles
 * Oblivious to Love: Up to Eleven, as he even mistakes jealousy as being masochistic.
 * Only Sane Man/Only Sane Employee
 * Not So Above It All
 * Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Not because he has anything against the idea morally, but because of his sister Kozue threatening him. If it weren't for this, Inami would actually be unable to land a hit on him.
 * Subverted it's that move she taught him, seeing that he has no problems hitting Yamada.

Popura Taneshima
"Voiced by: Mai Kadowaki (Drama CD), Kana Asumi (Anime)"

Cute and extremely petite, 17-year-old Popura is Souta's sempai both at school and at work. Indeed, she's the main reason why Souta is even working at Wagnaria to begin with, having 'recruited' him off the street one day. Earnest and hardworking, Popura would like it better if some of her co-workers took her more seriously; unfortunately due to her cuteness and her diminuitive height, this won't happen any time soon.


 * Adorkable
 * Butt Monkey: Whether it's Souma and Jun's teasing or Souta's comparing her to a bug, she just can't get a break.
 * Does Not Like Green Peppers
 * Dojikko
 * Gag Boobs: While Inami tries to calm her down after accidentally insulting her about her height, she shakes Popura while saying "Your boobs are bigger than mine!" to try to calm her down... and you can see Popura Gainaxing while she's doing it. Karino Takatsu sure seems to like Oppai Loli.
 * Genki Girl
 * Idiot Hair: Her ponytail acts as this.
 * Ironic Name: Her parents named her in hopes she'd be as tall as a tree....it didn't work out.
 * Kewpie Doll Surprise
 * Older Than They Look
 * My Name Is Not Durwood: Keeps calling Souta 'Katanashi'.
 * The Napoleon: Is very sensitive about her height and tends to blow up.
 * Rapunzel Hair
 * Sempai-Kohai: Sempai to Souta.
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Poplar/Popura

Mahiru Inami
"Voiced by: Mai Nakahara (Drama CD), Saki Fujita (Anime)"

At first glance, Inami looks like a shy and somewhat attractive 17-year-old, the type that wouldn't hurt a soul. As Souta soon finds out, however, this is *not* the case; Inami is violently androphobic, and her first impulse when faced with someone of the opposite gender is to send the poor sod flying with one of her punches. Hard. Inami herself isn't happy about this, and wishes that she could talk to guys normally.


 * A-Cup Angst: It certainly doesn't help that the 12-year old Nazuna is more well-endowed than her.
 * Ambiguous Disorder
 * Brick Joke: Souta constantly thinks of her as a dog and when Kozue gives them cosplay outfits guess what she gets.
 * Character Development: Relatively minor, given the genre the series is part of, but compared to how she was when she was first introduced Inami is a lot less violent when the second season rolls in. She still punches Souta on reflex when surprised, but these instances are getting increasingly uncommon, to the point where almost a month passed since she last decked him. She's really putting a lot of effort into changing, and it's showing results, thanks in part to Souta himself.
 * Charles Atlas Superpower: She can shatter concrete on touch, her punches crack plaster walls, and at one point she nearly broke an electric tower in two just by hugging it.
 * Does Not Like Men
 * Freudian Excuse: Her Super Strength and fear of men are all her father's fault.
 * Hair Decorations: Suffice to say that Inami has a lot of hairpins, and its common for her to cycle through a few during an episode. Amazingly none of them are ever re-used over the course of the series.
 * Heroic BSOD:
 * Luminescent Blush: Almost all the time.
 * Megaton Punch
 * Shrinking Violet

Kyouko Shirafuji
"Voiced by: Junko Minagawa (Drama CD), Kumiko Watanabe (Anime)"

Ostensibly the floor manager of Wagnaria, at first glance Kyouko doesn't seem to actually do much work. Indeed she is usually seen eating, either her usual parfaits (care of Yachiyo), or whatever food is in reach, much to Satou's annoyance. A deliquent in her youth, Kyouko can still call on members of her old crew whenever the restaurant is in need of extra help.


 * Asexuality
 * Big Eater
 * Bob Haircut
 * Even the Girls Want Her
 * Hypercompetent Sidekick: Averted. While Kyouko can still ask her ex-minions for help, they're not particularly skilled.
 * Japanese Delinquents: Used to be one.
 * Marshmallow Hell: Did this to Yachiyo while she was panicking after meeting.
 * Mask of Power: During her high school years.
 * She's Got Legs
 * The Stoic: Kyouko's face seems to be locked permanently in 'bored indifference.'
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
 * Trademark Favorite Food: Parfaits.
 * Sweet Tooth

Yachiyo Todoroki
"Voiced by: Shiho Kawaragi (Drama CD), Eri Kitamura (Anime)"

The daughter of a family of knife-makers, Yachiyo is the senior waitress currently working at Wagnaria. Souta, Popura, and Inami all work under her, while Yachiyo in turn reports directly to Kyouko. Responsible and hardworking, Yachiyo absolutely dotes on Kyouko, and is always happy to prepare for her manager her favorite parfaits. Yachiyo's adoration of Kyouko annoys Satou to no end, partly because it eats through their supplies, and partly because of... other things.


 * Clingy Jealous Girl
 * Comically Missing the Point: She thinks Otoo is trying to seduce Kyouko with sweets.
 * Eyes Always Shut
 * Girly Run
 * Hair of Gold
 * Heroic BSOD:
 * Hot Chick with a Sword: She's had it since she was a kid.
 * Nice Girl
 * Oblivious to Love
 * Psycho Lesbian
 * Schoolgirl Lesbian
 * Shrinking Violet: Outside the store and away from Kyouko she'll act like this
 * Single-Target Sexuality: Toward Kyouko. She displays occasional flashes of attraction to Satou, but they simply confuse her and she forgets about them.
 * Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Her katana is this to her co-workers, save for Takanashi, who (along with the customers) finds it interesting and unnerving.
 * Yamato Nadeshiko
 * Yandere

Jun Satou
"Voiced by: Hirofumi Nojima (Drama CD), Daisuke Ono (Anime)"

One of the two cooks usually on duty, chain-smoking Satou seems to be mostly unaffected by the eccentricities of his co-workers. Stress on mostly. He and Yachiyo started working at the restaurant at the same time, and as much as he hates to admit it, he's taken a shine to his katana-wielding peer. Unfortunately for him, she only has eyes for Kyouko, though if it's of any consolation Yachiyo does see him as a close confidant.


 * All Love Is Unrequited
 * Berserk Button
 * Aloof Big Brother
 * Cannot Spit It Out
 * Cool and Unusual Punishment: He tends to change Popura's hairstyle, much to her dismay.
 * Expy: Resembles Sanji.
 * Face Palm
 * Frying Pan of Doom
 * The Gadfly: To Popura.
 * Hair of Gold
 * Peek-a-Bangs
 * Perpetual Frowner
 * Smoking Is Cool
 * The Stoic
 * Not So Stoic
 * Tranquil Fury: A comedic example.
 * Would Hit a Girl: He teases Popura on a regular basis and is constantly taking out his frustrations on her.

Hiroomi Souma
"Voiced by: Yoshinori Fujita (Drama CD), Hiroshi Kamiya (Anime)"

The other cook normally seen on duty, Souma's personal life is a mystery to his co-workers. Unfortunately the opposite could not be said for him, as he seems to have a very intimate knowledge of their backgrounds, a fact that he often uses to his advantage. He enjoys watching the weirdness that goes on between the folk in Wagnaria, though that's not to say he doesn't mind helping to get things moving—as long as it suits him, of course.


 * Bishie Sparkle (Black)
 * Bastard In Sheep's Clothing
 * Blackmail Is Such an Ugly Word
 * Brilliant but Lazy: Most of the time.
 * Expy: Seems like a nicer version of Izaya. They even share the voice actor.
 * Eyes Always Shut: Averted. Souma's eyes are open as much as he keeps them shut, which makes sense, since he doesn't want to miss any of the craziness happening in the restaurant.
 * The Gadfly
 * It Amused Me
 * Manipulative Bastard
 * The Matchmaker/Pet the Dog: Surprisingly enough. He both encourages Satou with Yachiyo and tries to get Takanashi to recognize Inami's feelings towards him. While it seems he genuinely wants them to get together, it also appears to amuse him a great deal. (It also makes the restaurant safer - for himself, but not for Takanashi.)
 * Perpetual Smiler
 * Soft-Spoken Sadist
 * Token Evil Co-Worker
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair

Aoi Yamada
"Voiced by: Kana Ueda (Drama CD), Ryou Hirohashi (Anime)"

A girl of indeterminate age that Otoo brought back with him one day, Aoi has been living in the restaurant's attic ever since. She works at the restaurant during the day as a 'trainee', though her contribution to the actual workload is dubious at best. Her main goal at the moment is to get Otoo to formally adopt her, something that Otoo seems to be set on delaying for as long as humanly possible.


 * Butt Monkey
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Even by the standards of this restaurant's staff, her behavior comes across as very strange.
 * Comically Missing the Point
 * Even A Freeloader Has Standards: Refused to ask Popura to spoil her like she did everyone else due to her size.
 * Giftedly Bad
 * Hime Cut
 * I Just Want to Have Family
 * Keigo
 * The Klutz
 * Dojikko
 * Mysterious Past
 * Older Than They Look:
 * Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Wants to be this. Renaming the anime to "YAMAKING!!" is one of her goals.
 * The Runaway
 * Third Person Person: Invoked. Several people insist on referring to her as Yamada, which she initially doesn't respond to, so she trained herself to respond to Yamada and ended up using it herself.
 * Tsurime Eyes: Severely. To the point where her eyes look like they are the bottom halves of a larger pair of eyes.
 * Zettai Ryouiki

Hyougo Otoo
"Voiced by: Daiki Nakamura (Drama CD), Joji Nakata (Anime)"

The senior manager in charge of the Wagnaria branch everyone is working in, Otoo-san (as he is called by his employees) doesn't spend as much time at the restaurant as he should. This is because he spends his time looking for his wife, who wandered out of the house one day to buy milk and never returned. His searches lead him all over Japan, which means that he always brings some treats whenever he does drop by the restaurant.


 * Barehanded Blade Block: Pulled off against Yachiyo.
 * Eyes Always Shut
 * Happily Married
 * Punny Name: A result of everyone in the restaurant calling each other by their surnames. His sounds like "otou-san" (dad).
 * Team Dad

Kazue Takanashi
"Voiced by: Ryoko Shiraishi"

The eldest child of the Takanashi family, as well as the eldest daughter, 31-year-old Kazue is a recently-returned divorcee taking up Law to supplement her income. Despite her stern demeanor, she often worries over her younger siblings, particularly her sister Izumi.


 * Beauty Mark
 * Berserk Button: Any mention of her recent divorce. Izumi can't help but push it.
 * Cuteness Proximity: Popura
 * Marshmallow Hell: Again to Popura.
 * Meganekko
 * Strong Family Resemblance: She looks like a female Souta.
 * Throw the Book At Them: Apparently she chose Law specifically because it involves huge books - which she can throw at Souta.

Izumi Takanashi
"Voiced by: Yoko Hikasa"

The second child of the Takanashi family, 28-year-old Izumi is a romance novelist, though she is often struggling to meet her deadlines due to lack of inspiration. Gloomy and extremely physically weak, Izumi almost completely depends on Souta to even function at home. Except for one exception, her warddrobe seems to consist mostly of black gothic-style dresses.


 * Adult Child
 * Ambiguous Disorder
 * Fragile Flower: She has shades of this.
 * Hikikomori
 * Kindhearted Cat Lover
 * Most Writers Are Writers
 * Peek-a-Bangs
 * She Cleans Up Nicely: When Inami encounters her during the one time she dresses up and leaves the house, Izumi is described as very beautiful.
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
 * Woman in Black
 * Writer's Block

Kozue Takanashi
"Voiced by Shizuka Itou"

The middle child of the Takanashi family, 26-year-old Kozue is a self-defense instructor for ladies, and a regular customer at Wagnaria, a fact Souta dislikes intensely. Despite being very attractive, she seems to have awful luck at keeping boyfriends, which leads to her drowning her sorrows through copious amounts of alcohol.


 * Adult Child
 * Bottle Fairy
 * Christmas Cake
 * Hidden Depths: Knows both aikido and karate. Given her drunken ramblings, she knows some pro-wresting moves as well (her usual response to getting dumped is a German suplex after all). Not surprising though, given her line of work.
 * Stalker with a Crush: A minor version, but boy does she latch on to poor Youhei and never lets go.
 * Shipper on Deck: For all the problems with her own love life, she likes the idea of Inami and her brother going out.

Nazuna Takanashi
"Voiced by: Momoko Saito"

The youngest child of the Takanashi family, 12-year-old Nazuna seems to be happiest helping out her older brother, and would do anything, up to and including manipulating her older sisters, just to help ease the pressure from Souta. She helps out at Wagnaria sometimes under the excuse of doing a school 'project'.


 * Huge Schoolgirl: Already tall for her age, by the second season she has caught up to Souta's height (171 cm), and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. Naturally, Souta does not take this development very well.
 * Manipulative Bitch
 * The Messiah: Can make anyone like her.
 * Wise Beyond Their Years
 * Younger Than They Look

Maya Matsumoto
"Voiced by: Akiko Kawase"

Another waitress sharing screentime with the floor crew, 18-year-old Maya deliberately avoids taking part in the day-to-day antics her co-workers keep getting involved in. A perfectly normal working girl in her mind, she wants to make sure it stays that way... Which makes her come off as rather weird to the rest of the cast.


 * Alliterative Name
 * Heroic BSOD:
 * I Just Want to Be Normal: Ironically, it's what makes her abnormal.
 * Last-Episode New Character: Sorta. She's in the credits from the very beginning and is often visible in the background serving customers, but anyone not paying close attention won't notice her until the last episode of both seasons, where she finally gets dialogue.
 * Living Prop
 * Loners Are Freaks
 * Meganekko
 * Not So Above It All: The last episode of the second season gives tantalizing hints that Maya isn't as normal as she thinks she is.
 * Only Sane Man/Only Sane Employee: She thinks she is this.
 * Suddenly Voiced: Her only speaking roles come at the end of a season.

Youhei Mashiba
"Voiced by: Yuuichi Nakamura"

One of Kyouko's old henchmen from her delinquent days, who became her follower after Kyouko beat him to a bloody pulp. These days Youhei is still ready and willing to rush to fulfill whatever request she might have. In fact the main reason he hasn't started looking for work of his own was so that he could be free whenever Kyouko needs him.


 * Cute Little Fangs
 * Embarrassing Old Photo: His sister carries one, but it's not as embarrassing as the one he carries of her.
 * Hypercompetent Sidekick: Slightly averted. He's not an expert at waiting tables, but at least he's better than Aoi.
 * Japanese Delinquents: Not anymore, but still exhibits some traits of this.
 * Non-Identical Twins

Mizuki Mashiba
"Voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu"

Youhei's fraternal twin sister, and Kyouko's other highschool hench(wo)man. Unlike Yohei, Mizuki became Kyouko's follower... because she just loved how Kyouko beat her brother to a bloody pulp. Nowadays she's a productive member of society, unlike her brother, and works as an insurance lady. This still doesn't stop her from running to Kyouko's side whenever the latter needs help with something.


 * Alliterative Name
 * Embarrassing Old Photo: Her brother keeps one of her delinquent days, but what's even more surprising is that Souma, of all people, has a copy as well.
 * Hypercompetent Sidekick: Averted. She isn't that good at kitchen work, and can be a bit of a klutz.
 * Hypocritical Humor: Wants Yachiyo to stay away from Jun because she thinks he'll turn her into a delinquent.
 * Japanese Delinquents: A reformed version. She's none-too-happy about her past.
 * Delinquent Hair: While her hair is a natural brown, she used to dye it blonde in high school.
 * Old Shame
 * Loan Shark: Implied.
 * Non-Identical Twins

Haruna Otoo
"Voiced by: Junko Iwao"

Otoo's long-lost wife, who he spends an inordinately large amount of his time trying to find. Ironically she has been spotted recently close to the Wagnaria branch he works in.


 * Happily Married
 * Living MacGuffin: For her husband.
 * No Sense of Direction: She got lost trying to buy milk at the supermarket, somehow ending up in a manhole. She's been lost for years, apparently.

Ritsuko Kitahara
"Voiced by: Fumie Mizusawa"

A friend and classmate of Mahiru, "Ricchan" worries about Mahiru's many personal issues. That said, she's not too bothered about putting Mahiru's androphobia to practical use.


 * The Gadfly
 * Those Two Girls
 * With Friends Like These...

Momoka Suzutani
"Voiced by: Sayuri Yahagi"

Another of Mahiru's friends at school, Momoka also worries about her friend's problems. However unlike Ritsuko, Momoka is perfectly content to leave things as they are... since it's more fun that way.


 * Bob Haircut
 * Catch Phrase: Actually her thoughts: "I'm worried... but I won't tell her. Not because it's funny, but because I'm her friend."
 * The Gadfly
 * It Amused Me: Even more obvious in the Working!! Seishunhen manga.
 * Those Two Girls
 * With Friends Like These...

Kirio "Yamada"
"Voiced by: Satoshi Hino"

A young man looking for his sister (two guesses who), Kirio's initial methodology in looking for her made everyone think that he was a molester, though an encounter with Inami cleared up that misunderstanding. A member of his school's karate club, Kirio is one of the few males capable of stopping Inami's concrete-destroying punches.


 * Charles Atlas Superpower
 * Cloudcuckoolander
 * Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Can be just as ditzy as Aoi, but as mentioned above he's able to stop Inami's punches.
 * Honor Before Reason: Determined to defend Inami's honor from Souta's declaration of her violent behavior despite the fact that it's her whole schtick. To the surprise of everyone present - especially the audience, who have seen him stop Inami's punches - it doesn't go well for him.
 * Love At First Sight: Fell in love with Inami at first punch.
 * Love At First Punch
 * Yet again with "Yamada,"  when Souma hands him a picture of her.
 * Man in White
 * Strong Family Resemblance: With Aoi. Down to not responding when called by their "family name" Yamada.
 * Tsurime Eyes
 * Tsurime Eyes