Wandering Son/Characters

Here's a list of characters and related tropes for the series Wandering Son.

Shuuichi Nitori
Voiced by: Kousuke Hatakeyama

"Anna: ...I made your little brother cry. Maho: Huh? Shu always cries."
 * Attractive Bent Gender: When she went to her elementary school reunion dressed in mostly masculine clothes with a short haircut she got a lot of attention from the girls. Boys will also become attracted with little more than a hairband.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Shuuichi never becomes violent, but when she finally stands up for herself, she gets to tremendously break verbally her former bully, Doi, almost making him cry. She's actually incredibly tough, emotionally.
 * Bob Haircut: Briefly.
 * Chick Magnet
 * Dude Magnet
 * The Cutie
 * Even the Girls Want Her
 * Expy: In terms of design she's this to the protagonist of an earlier manga by the mangaka.
 * In-Series Nickname: "Nitorin".
 * Fragile Flower: Lampshaded (rather cruelly) by Maho:


 * Supreme Chef: When it comes to baking at least.
 * Transsexualism: Of the female-transitioning-from-male variety.
 * Uncanny Family Resemblance: With Maho.
 * Yamato Nadeshiko

Yoshino Takatsuki
Voiced by: Asami Seto


 * Adaptation Dye Job: Or actually, Story Progression Dye Job. Takatsuki's hair changed from brown to black early on; a retcon.
 * Attractive Bent Gender: He looks very pretty during his runway walk during the cultural festival with Shuuichi.
 * Berserk Button: Bullying Shuuichi. Also, his period and, to a lesser extent, other physical or social aspects of feminity coming from his biologically being female. Teasing him about it made some boys in his elementary school seriously beaten. He's generally only tough in situations he feels pressured in.
 * Even the Guys Want Him
 * Eyes of Gold: In the anime.
 * She Is Not My Girlfriend: No, Shuuichi really isn't his girlfriend. And Chiba isn't his girlfriend either.
 * Hot for Teacher: He seems a bit confused about whether it was a crush or not, he felt pressured by everyone else to have a crush on somebody, but other people thought he fell for a teacher in middle school.
 * Kick the Dog: Telling Saori that her beloved Nitori-kun now dates Anna, and thus completely crushing the girl? Not cool, Takatsuki. He regrets it almost immediately, though
 * Platonic Life Partners: Seems to be this with Shuuichi.
 * No Periods, Period: Averted, and his Berserk Button.
 * Tall Dark And Bishonen: And his 'stylishly feminine' look is lampshaded a couple of times, much to his frustration, as he would be rather be seen as Tall, Dark and Handsome.
 * Transsexualism: Of the male-transitioning-from-female type.
 * Unsettling Gender Reveal: At his first day in the high school to a poor girl named Kayoko Masuda. To be fair, Takatsuki really is a boy.
 * UST: With Shuuichi. The legion of Shippers On Deck doesn't help. And then the Foe Yay tension with Chiba.

Chiba Saori
Voiced by: Yuka Nanri


 * Characterization Marches On: A Justified case. In early volumes her personality was very different, but then, again - it is a story partially about how adolescence and circumstances in it can form child's character.
 * Cannot Tell a Joke: She only tries once in the manga but her "joke" didn't come off as one and just created awkward silence.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * The Snark Knight
 * Stepford Snarker
 * Defrosting Ice Queen: Though the series arguably shows both of the processes, frosting and defrosting, with the Ice Queen period during her middle school years.
 * Dude Magnet
 * Friendless Background: She can't get along neither with girls (except for Sasa) nor boys. When love problems appear and cause a rift between her and her two transsexual friends, Saori ends pretty much alone, excluding her only ordinary female friend and a gay boy. Some other people still keep trying to get close to her, but she isn't too willing to cooperate.
 * Girlish Pigtails: Wore them in middle school, and oddly only while at school; she had her usual cut when in casual clothes.
 * Good Eyes, Evil Eyes: Her eye style changed early on. Originally she had the more wide-eyed expression everyone else does, though she eventually permanently changed to her sarcastic look. She essentially went from Tareme Eyes to Tsurime Eyes.
 * Green-Eyed Monster: Toward Takatsuki.
 * In-Series Nickname: At least Sasa calls her "Saorin".
 * Japanese Christian
 * Jerkass: Skirting a Jerkass Woobie line, but she certainly doesn't hesitate to throw tantrums all around her.
 * Loners Are Freaks: During her middle school years. Though it's her will and difficult personality what makes her isolated.
 * Love Hurts: Arguably the biggest victim of this. She even can't stay as close to Shuuichi as she gets to be to Takatsuki and poor girl seems to be slightly afraid of her extreme personality.
 * No Periods, Period: Averted.
 * No Social Skills: Atypically, not Played for Laughs and not supposed to be cute.
 * Raven Hair, Ivory Skin
 * Shiny Midnight Black: Chiba's hair was this in the first two volumes, arguably even straight-up blue. She has since been retconned into having straight up black hair.
 * Violently Protective Girlfriend: Acts this way towards Shuuichi occasionally. Oka can tell a tale on that subject.
 * Yandere: She doesn't go Ax Crazy or outright psycho over her unrequited love, but sometimes loses it, and is the most realistic example available.

Makoto Ariga
Voiced by: Yuuichi Iguichi


 * Camp Gay
 * Crossdresser
 * Hopeless Suitor: To Oka and a couple of male teachers. Poor kid is just gay and adolescent...
 * Hot for Teacher: Incurable case.
 * Megane: He seems Meganekko though.
 * Nerd Glasses: Originally.
 * Odd Friendship: He gets along surprisingly well with Saori.
 * Serious Business: Hair clippers and dressing up as girls.
 * The Smart Guy: Perceptive and more self-confident than Shuuichi, he frequently supports and defends him from others' inadequate agression, even cutting Maho's bullying of her sister and shutting her up once.
 * Youthful Freckles

Maho Nitori
Voiced by: Nana Mizuki


 * Ascended Fangirl: When makes it to the same model agency where Maiko-chan works.
 * Anguished Declaration of Love: To Seya.
 * Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other: With Shuuichi and Seya, occasionally.
 * Big Sister Bully
 * Big Sister Instinct: She abuses Shuuichi constantly, but NOBODY (else) MESSES WITH HER SISTER!
 * Bob Haircut
 * Bratty Teenage Daughter
 * Fan Girl: THE fangirl of Maiko.
 * Hair-Trigger Temper
 * Hot for Teacher: In her first year of high school she fell for an off-screen teacher, however it matches the description of the teacher both Mako and Takatsuki seemed to like.
 * Jerkass: Aside of Transsexualism problems and the lack of understanding from her environment, having this sister alone would gain Shuuichi status of The Woobie.
 * Kick the Dog: About 90% of her treatment of Shuuichi. Though slightly justified in cases when her transitioning complicates her life, or when she tries her underwear on...
 * Official Couple: With Seya (after some complications involving younger sister.
 * No Periods, Period: Averted.
 * Pet the Dog: Anytime she's nice to Shuuichi.
 * Shipper on Deck: For Shuuichi and Anna.
 * Tsundere
 * Uncanny Family Resemblance: With Shuuichi. She even lampshades it, saying after the audition that they could've said that're twins.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Makoto gives Maho one of these, when witnessing her mistreatment of Shuuichi. Interestingly, having to deal with an assertive and self-confident boy so different from her sister, Maho cannot really tell him off.

Anna Suehiro
Voiced by: Yui Horie


 * Nightmare Fetishist: Mild. She finds some unusual things to be cute.
 * Purple Eyes: In the anime.
 * Shrinking Violet: Though you wouldn't guess at first glance.
 * Slap Slap Kiss: Double Subverted. It seems like she was this with Nitori but it's just her Sugar and Ice personality showing.
 * Sugar and Ice Girl
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
 * Tsurime Eyes

Shinpei Doi
Voiced by: Yoshino Hiroyuki


 * The Bully
 * Expository Hairstyle Change: At the time of getting into high school (when he stops being The Bully and gets slightly picked on by upperclassmen).
 * Hidden Depths: He turns out to have quite a comical talent and generally to be not so awful person, after he gains some respect for Nitori.
 * Jerkass
 * Likes Older Women: He felt attracted to Yuki to the point of forcing Nitori to let him visit her.
 * Unsettling Gender Reveal: The result.
 * Tsurime Eyes

Yuki Yoshida
Voiced by: Takako Honda


 * Cool Big Sis
 * Genki Girl
 * Hikikomori: She was one throughout most of middle school and high school.
 * Only Known by Their Nickname: Yuki's full name is "Hiroyuki", and its implied she hasn't changed her name yet.
 * Shipper on Deck: Toward Shuuichi and Takatsuki.
 * Shotacon: Shows elements of this but it's probably just her teasing Takatsuki.
 * Technicolor Eyes: The anime changes her Brown Eyes into red eyes.
 * The Tease
 * Transsexualism
 * Unkempt Beauty: She used to be very dressed up but has become more casual ever since meeting Takatsuki's and Nitori's 6th grade teacher.

Riku Seya
Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka


 * Attractive Bent Gender: He doesn't look so bad in a maid costume, even the girls thought he looked cute.
 * Nice Guy: Despite their, well, awkward encounters in the past, he cares for Shuuichi's emotional well-being and treats her far better than Shuuichi's own sister does.
 * Slap Slap Kiss: Seya's history of becoming Maho's boyfriend wasn't very easy.
 * Tsurime Eyes
 * Understanding Boyfriend

Kanako Sasa
Voiced by: Yoshino Nanjo


 * The Ditz
 * Genki Girl: Less so than Chizuru though.
 * Girlish Pigtails: Until recently.
 * In-Series Nickname: 'Sasa-chan' and 'Kanabun'.
 * No Periods, Period: Averted, which shocks some of her friends.
 * The Heart: She just wishes for everyone to stay friends.
 * Morality Pet: To Saori.

Chizuru Sarashina
Voiced by: Saeko Chiba


 * Bifauxnen
 * Cloudcuckoolander
 * Crossdresser: She seems to prefer female clothing in casual wear, but she doesn't think twice about dressing in the male school uniforms.
 * Genki Girl
 * Girlish Pigtails: Gained them recently.
 * Third Person Person
 * Tsurime Eyes

Momoko Shirai
Voiced by: Aki Toyosaki


 * Ambiguously Gay: She doesn't seem to really like boys yet, she just cares about Chi.
 * Clingy Jealous Girl: To Chizuru
 * Flat Character
 * Satellite Character: She revolves around Chizuru.

Fumiya Ninomiya
Voiced by: Kaoru Mizuhara


 * Dogged Nice Guy: To Chiba. He can be bit cocky and a liar though, so the "nice" part is somewhat debatable.
 * Japanese Christian
 * Megane
 * Smoking Is Cool: Averted, since him smoking is probably supposed to be seen as a negative thing.
 * Troubling Unchildlike Behaviour: He smokes, and when he was first shown doing this he couldn't have been older then twelve.
 * Villainous Crossdresser: Not really villainous, but his reasons for crossdressing are rather petty.