Junjou Romantica/Characters

Character sheet of the series Junjou Romantica

Misaki Takahashi
""I'm not trying to flatter myself here, not at all, but...if I asked Usagi-san, 'What do you want?' I have a feeling there's a 99% probability he'd say...'You!'""

"Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai"

A naive high school student determined to enter the university that his brother was unable to after the death of their parents. This leads to him being tutored by his brother's friend, Akihiko, which ends up shaking up his life considerably.


 * Book Dumb: The reason why he's being tutored. He does improve, though.
 * The Cameo: In Sekaiichi Hatsukoi, he's seen sleeping on the train next to Ritsu.
 * Cannot Spit It Out
 * The Chew Toy: The Romantica chapters always end with him being in a ridiculous situation.
 * Cry Cute
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Expy: For some unknown reason, he manages to look exactly like Raguna.
 * Extreme Doormat
 * Housewife: Not literally but he's self-effacing, caring and friendly to everyone, good at housekeeping, etc. He'd be a perfect example of the trope if it weren't for his Tsundere streak when up against Akihiko.
 * Genre Savvy
 * Good Is Dumb: At first. He evolves into Good Is Not Dumb later on.
 * Green Eyes
 * Jerkass Has a Point: Not a jerk per se, but he often gets angry at Akihiko and, to a lesser extent, the other characters for their shenanigans. Considering he's the Only Sane Man...
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold/Nice Guy: Somewhere between the two. He's quite snarky, stubborn and short-tempered; but also a sweet, caring guy who goes out of his way to help others even if it's inconvenient for him.
 * Love Epiphany: For a long time, he doubts whether or not he is in love with Akihiko, and finally admitted it in Volume 8. He already had his Love Epiphany some time before that, though.
 * Luminescent Blush
 * The Messiah
 * Only Sane Man
 * Ordinary University Student
 * Parental Abandonment: His parents died in an accident when he was eight and his brother Takahiro singlehandedly raised him ever since.
 * Replacement Goldfish: One of the main reasons why he refused to acknowledge his feelings for Akihiko is that, as seen in the second episode, he fears his affection for him is nothing more than seeing him as a replacement for his brother, whom Akihiko had unrequited feelings for. Akihiko then set the facts straight by telling him he fell for him as his own person.
 * Second Love: For Akihiko.
 * Supreme Chef: Excellent at cooking and doing housework.
 * Playing Against Type: His seiyuu, Sakurai, normally plays cool and aloof Bishonen.
 * Tsundere: Type B.

Akihiko "Usagi" Usami
""You’re mine. For the rest of your life. Give up.""

"Voiced by: Hikaru Hanada"

Famous author and member of an extremely wealthy and dysfunctional family, he harboured feelings for his friend Takahiro Takahashi for a long time, and took on tutoring his younger brother Misaki as a favour. He ends up falling for him instead.


 * Adorkable: Not often, but it's there, mostly regarding his Man Child habits.
 * Attention Whore: Only toward Misaki.
 * The Cameo: In Sekaiichi Hatsukoi as the author that Ritsu worked for at the beginning.
 * Child Prodigy: He knew difficult Japanese phrases that Hiroki had to look up despite growing up in England.
 * Crazy Jealous Guy
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Buys every type of marimo in the trip to Hokkaido. Also the strawberry and cherry incidents show that he is not altogether of this world.
 * Cock Fight: Narrowly averted. When he learned about his brother's intentions of taking Misaki for himself, hadn't Misaki held him back, he clearly had the intention to go and reality-check Haruhiko with a good punch in the face.
 * Dirty Old Man: Being older than Misaki by 10 years and having greyish hair, he invokes this greatly when combined with being a general pervert.
 * Emotionless Boy: In the Minimum chapters.
 * Gaydar: Invoked a lot, but his accuracy isn't great.
 * Green-Eyed Monster: He is easily jealous when Misaki pays attention to someone else.
 * Hidden Heart of Gold: For all his pervy and possessive behaviours towards Misaki, his general idiosyncrasies, and his utter lack of social skills, more than one character has commented on his kindness. He is also willing to go through great lengths for the sake of people he cares about. This is the main reason Misaki fell for him.
 * Lethal Chef: Can't make an egg to save his life.
 * Lonely Rich Kid
 * Meaningful Nickname: It's well known that "Usagi" means "bunny". Consider rabbits' mating habits...
 * Man Child: Appears to be this when Misaki first visits his apartment. Usagi's actually trying to simulate a child's environment because he wanted to "recreate what normal kids do in their childhood".
 * No Social Skills
 * Ridiculous Procrastinator: Causing an endless amount of grief for Aikawa and it's Misaki who has to apologize for it.
 * Settle for Sibling: Had an unrequited love for Misaki's brother before falling for Misaki.
 * Schedule Slip: The reason why Aikawa has to be tough on him.
 * Unlucky Childhood Friend: To Takahiro.

Hiroki Kamijou
""I'm in a gay relationship, my partner is four years my junior and worse than that, I, despite all my pride, am an Uke.""

"Voiced by: Kentaro Ito"

Childhood friend of Akihiko, Hiroki ended up heartbroken when he realized Akihiko would never return his feelings. Fortunately at that moment, Nowaki showed up to sweep him away like a typhoon. He eventually becomes an associate literature professor at Misaki's school, and works under Miyagi.


 * Bookworm: Is one ever since his childhood (he was willing to look up the words he didn't know even if that lead to even more new words). He has such an extensive collection that books pile up higher than he is in his apartment and Akihiko borrows reference materials from him.
 * Cry Cute
 * Defrosting Ice King
 * Hair-Trigger Temper
 * In-Series Nickname: "The Demon Kamijou", courtesy of his students.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold
 * Perpetual Frowner: One of the many things Miyagi teases him about.
 * Poor Communication Kills: If only he had paid a bit more attention to what Nowaki was saying. In general his tsundereness leads to communication troubles regarding his feelings.
 * Pride: There is a reason his story is called "Egoist"
 * Sadist Teacher: He walks the line between a humourous version of this and the Stern Teacher. He genuinely believes he is being fair and simply has high expectations of the students. On the other hand, he throws chalk and books at them for texting or talking during class, which would probably get him assault charges in real life. They call him "the demon" for a reason.
 * Sex Equals Love: He failed out on this one harshly when he slept with Akihiko hoping it would convey his feelings and that Akihiko would love him back. It really didn't. Further zigzagged in regards to his argument that he only sleeps with people he loves, as there are implications that he didn't in the past, and Akihiko and Nowaki are more the exceptions than the rule.
 * Shrinking Violet: Is one behind his temper, and it's one of the main reasons he's reluctant in showing his affection for Nowaki openly.
 * Snark Knight: Has quite snappy conversations with Akihiko and Miyagi.
 * Throw the Book At Them: Nowaki being his most frequent victim, at least at the beginning of their relationship.
 * Tsundere: A huge type A.
 * Unlucky Childhood Friend: To Akihiko.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: With both Akihiko and Miyagi.

Nowaki Kusama
""Right now, 'I want to be held' is written on Hiro-san's back.""

"Voiced by: Nobutoshi Canna"

Nowaki, found orphaned on the day of a typhoon, started working out of junior high but is determined to enter university. He falls in Love At First Sight with Hiroki and begs him to be his tutor in order to spend time with him. Eventually he realizes both his goals and becomes a pediatrician.


 * Adorkable
 * Beware the Nice Ones: When he thought Miyagi was putting the moves on Hiroki.
 * Crazy Jealous Guy: If he thinks that someone is hitting on Hiroki, he suddenly becomes defensive. Akihiko just gets scorned, but Miyagi nearly gets punched the one time.
 * Dogged Nice Guy
 * Friend to All Children: His career choice is to be a pediatrician.
 * Japanese Pronoun: Addresses Hiroki both affectionately and respectfully as "Hiro-san".
 * Love At First Sight: He fell for Hiroki instantly.
 * Luminescent Blush: The only Seme in the series to gain this.
 * Nice Guy
 * The Pollyanna: Played with. Despite being an orphan, supporting himself and constant beat downs he gets from Hiroki, he's always smiling and thinking positive.
 * Poor Communication Kills: If only he had told Hiroki more clearly about his plan to study abroad. Or when he was leaving. Or that he was coming back. In general this is a problem for him.
 * Second Love: For Hiroki.
 * Self-Made Man: He is an orphan and has to juggle various jobs to support himself, yet this doesn't prevent him from pursuing his dream of being a pediatric doctor.
 * Through His Stomach: He successfuly persuaded Hiroki to tutor him partly thanks to his cooking skills.
 * Tall, Dark and Handsome: So tall, dark and handsome that a chance encounter on the train inspires Misaki to go home and begin training to become taller in one of the extras.

You Miyagi
""To the terrorist... I admit defeat.""

"Voiced by: Kazuhiko Inoue"

An accomplished but somewhat listless literature professor at M. university who is Hiroki's senior. Some time after his wife leaves him following her affair with another man, her little brother shows up in his life demanding that he "take responsibility" because he loves him.


 * Absent-Minded Professor: if you enter his office, you will never find your way out. Not without a map.
 * Bi the Way
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer: It's hard to believe that he is a prominent figure among literary researchers at first since he hardly works on screen. Hiroki has commented on this.
 * His Story Repeats Itself: Miyagi's situation with Shinobu mirrors his story with his teacher in the past, with him switching roles. He is interested in literature because of his teacher, thus becoming her Spear Counterpart.
 * Hot for Teacher: His first romance was this.
 * May-December Romance: On both sides of the trope with his two love interests.
 * Obfuscating Stupidity
 * Only Sane Man: Believe it or not, he's this regarding Shinobu's antics.
 * Smoking Is Cool
 * Snark Knight
 * Stepford Smiler: A mild version. He acts happy-go-lucky and teasing, especially around his junior co-worker Hiroki, but he has been unable to move on since his teacher died. He gets better thanks to Shinobu.
 * Tall, Dark and Handsome
 * The Tease: Towards Hiroki.

Shinobu Takatsuki
""I want you to take responsibility.""

"Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio"

On his way to his sister's wedding, he is attacked by punks until Miyagi comes to his rescue. Shinobu thinks it's destiny and they are meant to be together until he finds out that Miyagi is his sister's fiance. When they get divorced he comes back to Japan because that must be destiny.


 * Catch Phrase: "It's fate".
 * Crazy Jealous Guy: Compared to Akihiko and Nowaki, it's mainly played for laughs.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Dogged Nice Guy: verges on Stalker with a Crush in places when he's trying to get Miyagi to go out with him.
 * Expy: He looks like Hisoka from Descendants of Darkness.
 * The Glomp: Frequently to Miyagi whenever he says/does something sweet to him.
 * Gratuitous English: YEAH, I WAS ROLLING ON THE FLOOR LAUGHING.
 * Hot-Blooded: When he isn't snarking at everything, he's usually yelling.
 * Insane Troll Logic: Borders on this with regard to why Miyagi should be in a relationship with him.
 * Insufferable Genius: He is supremely confident that he will get into the best university in Japan... And he's right. That said, though, he seems to continuously hold the Idiot Ball when it comes to relationships. So, in other words, he's very similar to Usagi.
 * Just Ignore It:He thinks that the problem of their 17-year age gap is basically nonexistent, and he doesn't care one bit that he's the son of Miyagi's boss! He also thinks the fact that Miyagi is concerned about any of this is stupid. Miyagi has a very different opinion.
 * That said, as seen in the first OVA, he's not as nonchalant on these problems as he pretends to be.
 * Kuudere: Unless it concerns Miyagi, he will not go into deredere mode.
 * Lethal Chef: Besides making cabbages, he can't cook anything else. And he is still working on cooking those competently.
 * Perpetual Frowner
 * Rescue Romance: Fell for Miyagi after the latter rescued him from some street punks on the day of Miyagi and his sister's wedding.
 * Second Love: For Miyagi.
 * Teen Genius
 * Through His Stomach: He tried this tactics to win Miyagi over. However...

Ryuuichiro Isaka
""My love is futile.""

"Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa"

The son of a wealthy family that runs a publishing business, which he only entered because he had a knack for it and couldn't hack it as a writer. Crosses into the Romantica storyline as another editor of Akihiko's, and was the person who convinced him to publish as a teenager.


 * Beleaguered Assistant: Like Aikawa, he has to deal with Akihiko's idiosyncracies on a regular basis.
 * Brilliant but Lazy: He still gets his work done, but very few people alive have ever seen that process occur.
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer: Seen more in Sekaiichi Hatsukoi than Junjou, but he has some really strange and frustrating...er, "quirks" that constantly leave his staff in a state of heightened irritability. Unfortunately he is just that good, so he's not going anywhere.
 * Character Overlap: Appears in Sekaiichi Hatsukoi as the director of the publishing company the protagonists work for.
 * Hidden Depths: He acts goofy and is generally a pain to people around him. But he is smart, very perceptive and can be manipulative when necessary.
 * Imaginary Love Triangle: He irrationally assumes Asahina is in love with his father instead of himself.
 * Living Emotional Crutch: Towards the end of the Mistake storyline, he proves the reason he keeps Asahina around isn't because he can't take care of himself, but because he is emotionally dependent on him.
 * Manipulative Bastard: he didn't just get where he is by being a great editor. Borders often on Magnificent Bastard territory when it comes to manipulating other people's lives. And screwing with Ritsu's sense of self-worth.
 * The Obstructive Love Interest: One of the reasons why their story is called "Mistake".
 * Slap Slap Kiss: With Asahina, even 10+ years after they get together.
 * Smug Smiler: This combined with his confrontational personality when people complain about his success at work means he makes a lot more enemies than friends.
 * Tsundere: Towards Asahina, surprisingly enough, though he's more honest with his feelings than the other ukes.

Kaoru Asahina
""Why are you always doing things to trouble me?! Is it that much fun?""

"Voiced by: Ryotaro Okiayu"

As his family was about to commit suicide together due to bankruptcy, Isaka's father found them and hired them, leading to Asahina becoming playmate to Isaka and eventually a sort of caretaker. His gratefulness to Isaka's father leads to Isaka misunderstanding just who he has feelings for.


 * Beleaguered Assistant: To Isaka.
 * The Obstructive Love Interest: The other reason why their story is called "Mistake".
 * Only Sane Man
 * Slap Slap Kiss: Extensively with Isaka.
 * The Stoic
 * Subordinate Excuse: He became Isaka's assistant because he was in love with him for years but didn't feel he could tell him.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: Again with Isaka. Is often present to clean up after whatever mess he makes when he's in Manipulative Bastard mode.

Eri Aikawa - Romantica
"Voiced by: Noriko Namiki"

Akihiko's beleaguered editor.


 * Ascended Fangirl: She was a fan of Akihiko before becoming his editor. This can also be considered Blessed with Suck due to her charge being a Bunny Ears Lawyer.
 * Beleaguered Assistant: She has to work with Akihiko, but she is tough enough to cope with her work and even profits from it
 * Beware the Nice Ones: A kind, welcoming and beautiful woman...who hides a fierce streak that is especially visible when Akihiko doesn't respect his deadlines.
 * Fag Hag: With the added benefit of being genuinely attractive, somewhat intelligent and very supportive of Akihiko's relationship with Misaki, which makes for a refreshing positive portrayal of this character type.
 * Hello, Nurse!: She is actually very beautiful herself.
 * Nice Girl: Very caring, helpful and cheery.
 * One of Us: Because of her being a Yaoi Fangirl and mostly staying out of the way, she doesn't have the typical Hatedom female characters usually garner in Yaoi series.
 * Yaoi Fangirl: To a devilish degree!

Takahiro Takahashi - Romantica
"Voiced by: Kishou Taniyama"

Misaki's elder brother and Akihiko's first love.


 * Big Brother Instinct
 * Cloudcuckoolander: He had some strange ideas about how to raise Misaki.
 * Oblivious Big Brother: Doesn't seem to be aware that his brother and his friend are an item.
 * Oblivious to Love: Unaware of Usagi's feelings for him for ten years.
 * Promotion to Parent: Misaki is well aware of how much his brother has sacrificed for him.

Haruhiko Usami
"Voiced by: Kosuke Toriumi"

Usagi's older brother.


 * Beneath the Mask
 * Broken Bird: Why he's an Ice King, similar to his brother. He gets better thanks to Misaki.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Almost all his interactions with Misaki screams this.
 * I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Eventually adopts this attitude.
 * Kuudere: He seems like he has no emotions whatsoever, but later chapters reveal that he's in love with Misaki, and is willing to do anything to make sure he's happy.
 * Missing Mom:
 * Not Blood Siblings:
 * Not So Different: After talking with him, Misaki believes despite how different they look or how much they may dislike one another, the Usami brothers actually have a lot more in common than they think.
 * Stoic Spectacles
 * The Unfavourite: The main reason for his rivalry with Akihiko is that he felt he was this.

Usami Fuyuhiko - Romantica
"Voiced by: Jurota Kosugi"

Father of Akihiko and Haruhiko. Married into the Usami family.


 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Despite being all smiles, he went from constantly trying to guilt Misaki into leaving Akihiko, to outright telling him his existence is a hindrance then getting him to doubt his self-worth. Downplayed in that he's not evil, just a Well-Intentioned Extremist.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Seems to run in the Usami family.
 * Papa Wolf: It's obvious he cares very much for his sons and tries to do whatever he can to keep them from being hurt. However, he can be a real Jerkass about it. When he learns Haruhiko has feelings for, he tricks Kaoruko into coming back to Japan so the two could be engaged and; despite knowing Akihiko's feelings for Misaki (and being told to stay out of his business), Fuyuhiko still brings match-making photos for brides. His excuse? He knows what's best.
 * Tough Love
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist

Kaoruko Usami - Romantica
"Voiced by: Nana Mizuki"

Akihiko's cousin who takes an interest in Misaki.


 * Kimono Fanservice: Type B1
 * Kissing Cousins: She was engaged to her cousin Haruhiko, but she liked Misaki better. Later on, she has Ship Tease with.
 * Tsundere
 * Yamato Nadeshiko: See the kimono entry here for why she fits and the Tsundere entry for why its not a perfect fit.

Kyou Ijuuin - Romantica
"Voiced by: Hozumi Gouda"

Creator of The Kan, Misaki's favorite manga.


 * The Cameo: During the New Years Eve party in Sekaiichi Hatsukoi.
 * Love At First Sight:
 * Men Can't Keep House: When Misaki goes to drop off some gifts to Ijuuin's apartment, he's warned about how messy it will be. While it is indeed messy, Misaki's seen worse...
 * No Sense of Personal Space: Towards Misaki to the point that even he can tell something's off.
 * He Cleans Up Nicely: Looks like an absolute wreck whenever the deadlines for his manga are near (think the Emerald guys from Sekaiichi Hatsukoi during the last days of their cycle), but is actually very, very handsome.
 * Ship Tease: With Yuu Yanase, much to the fans' delight.
 * Shotacon: Misaki is hardly a little boy but Ijuuin still gives off this vibe when interacting with him. Needless to say Usagi does not take kindly to him. At all.
 * Snark-to-Snark Combat: Almost every time he and Usagi meet, especially during their interview where they're asked about their thoughts on each others works.