Yotsuba&!/Characters

Here's a list of characters and related tropes for the manga series Yotsuba&!.

Yotsuba Koiwai


Our viewpoint character, a five-year-old with a very energetic outlook on the world. ---
 * Bad Liar: Not that she's noticeably worse than any other five-year-old.
 * Cheerful Child: As it says every chapter, "Today is always the most enjoyable day."
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Justified because of her age, but even her dad thinks she's a little weird.
 * Constantly Curious
 * Curtains Match the Window: In addition to her green hair, Yotsuba also has green eyes.
 * Determinator: Yotsuba will deliver Fuuka her milk, even if she hasn't a clue where Fuuka's school is, or even what a school is. Because a milkman delivers.
 * Expressive Hair: Her pigtails rise and fall with her (rapidly changing) moods.
 * Genki Girl: In spades. And the trump suit. This gets Lampshaded by Asagi: "Her default rate of movement really is running."
 * Happily Adopted: She doesn't care one bit about the exact nature of her parentage. Koiwai is "dad" and that's that.
 * Improbable Hairstyle: Obeying the Rule of Cute, Yotsuba's hair is always in those four little pigtails, even when sleeping, swimming, taking a bath, etc.
 * Malaproper: She mostly knows the words, but how to say them is still a little beyond her.
 * Meaningful Name: It means "four leaves" as in "four-leaf clover". Thus her hair.
 * "Yotsuba" and "Koiwai" are also both brands of dairy products in Japan.
 * Mistaken Nationality: Based on her appearance, strangers constantly assume Yotsuba a foreigner, and indeed she was born in another, unknown country. As a result, some students at Fuuka's school try to speak to her in English because all gaijin are American.
 * Parental Abandonment: We know nothing about her origins except that Koiwai found her somewhere overseas, which Yotsuba claims was "an island 'to the left'".
 * Plucky Girl: Delivering milk is Serious Business.
 * Sitcom Arch Nemesis: Hers is Yanda.
 * Sunny Sunflower Disposition: She's such a Genki Girl, she appears with a bouquet of sunflowers in the cover of the 1st volume. A later chapter even sees her fascinated by sunflowers in Jumbo's shop, and wanting to buy some.
 * Super Drowning Skills: Suprisingly averted, Yotsuba can swim quite well. Koiwai, Jumbo and Fuuka on the other hand...
 * Sweet Dreams Fuel: Her very existence.
 * Third Person Person: Childishly, in the original Japanese (mimicked in the Yen Press translations); she combines this with an innocent imitation of her father's masculine language -- the effect is hysterically funny but is, alas, Lost in Translation.
 * Trademark Favorite Food: As expected for a five-year-old, Yotsuba really likes ice cream. She also has a fascination for cup ramen.
 * Curry is also a favorite of hers. In fact, one of the songs of the Image Album is called 'Eating Curry (Very Delicious)'.
 * Twin Tails: Technically, quad-tails.
 * Why Did It Have To Be Eyeballs?: Yotsuba is terrified of anything that has huge eyes, or anything that looks like a huge eye. Ironic considering her own are pretty big.
 * X Meets Y: Think Osaka plus Chiyo plus Tomo.
 * You Gotta Have Green Hair: Which makes her an oddity among the cast's otherwise realistic character designs.

Mr. Koiwai / "Dad"


Yotsuba's adoptive father, he works at home as a translator. He's devoted to her, but isn't exactly the most driven parent who ever lived. ---
 * Adult Child: Can be this sometimes when friends are over or when playing with Yotsuba.
 * Children Raise You: Possibly.
 * Cuteness Proximity: Put a guinea pig in his vicinity and he just melts.
 * Good Dad: So very much.
 * Hot Dad: According to some of Fuuka's classmates.
 * Mr. Fanservice
 * No Name Given: We have never learned his given name. Even Jumbo calls him by his family name.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: He's more than willing to tolerate, if not participate, in Yotsuba's antics. On those occasions in which she does misbehave, the hammer will come down hard, sometimes overlapping with Scare'Em Straight.
 * The Slacker: He doesn't even wear pants in the summer, if he has the choice.

The Ayase Family
The Koiwai's next-door neighbors, frequently visited by Yotsuba.

Asagi Ayase


The oldest Ayase girl; Yotsuba looks up to her (figuratively and literally). She seems to enjoy it. ---
 * Badass: Hey, she WAS the only one to disarm the revenge-fueled water-gun toting Yotsuba. She even blasted Yotsuba right back! Nobody else is that badass.
 * Chaste Teens: Despite her attractiveness, she is never seen dating anybody, though Fuuka said she used to have a boyfriend. Some fans suspect she and Torako are an item, though.
 * Cool Big Sis
 * Cuteness Proximity: She gets this every so often around Yotsuba.
 * Long Hair Is Feminine
 * Sweet Tooth: She gets it from her mother. They sometimes clash over it.
 * The Unfavorite: She and her mother do not exactly get along, played mostly for laughs.
 * Considering the fact it's Generation Xerox clashing.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: Girly Girl to Torako's Tomboy.
 * Trickster Mentor: To Yotsuba.

Fuuka Ayase


The middle Ayase girl, and the one who seems to have the worst luck. Her travails, of course, go right over Yotsuba's head. ---
 * Big Ol' Eyebrows: Though Koiwai in chapter 67, thinks this just makes her cuter.
 * Butt Monkey: Her life can kinda suck.
 * Dreadful Musician: Fuuka, drop that ukelele. And stop singing.
 * Friend to All Children: Especially prevalent during the Autumn festival.
 * Generic Cuteness: Often mocked for either her plain looks, eyebrows, or pudginess compared to her older sister Asagi. Doesn't stop her from being popular with her classmates though.
 * Kind of averted in that she is actually regarded as being fairly attractive. For instance, Jumbo's initial reaction to her was to exclaim that she's a bishoujo, only to drop the "Bi" when he meets Asagi because...well, it's Asagi.
 * Girl Next Door
 * Go Nagai Sideburns: Her hair seems to give this sort of visual effect, kinda like Kagura.
 * Incredibly Lame Pun: Her sense of humor leaves much to be desired.
 * Is That Cute Kid Yours?: Apparently Fuuka's classmates thought Yotsuba was her child.
 * Joshikousei
 * Ms. Fanservice: Shows off a lot more skin than any other female character, including wearing short skirts, swimsuits and turning up in sexy outfits on colour pages.
 * Pungeon Master: Of the incredibly lame variety. Her father enjoys them, but Asagi and Jumbo don't.
 * Ship Tease: Usually with Koiwai.

Ena Ayase


The youngest Ayase girl, she's the closest to Yotsuba in age and thus plays with her most often. Likes bugs, amphibians, and teddy bears. ---
 * Berserk Button: Don't do anything that isn't environmentally friendly, or keep calling any of her bears Duralumin.
 * Cheerful Child: Although not quite at Yotsuba's level, Ena still generally has a sunny disposition.
 * Cool Big Sis: The younger variety; Ena seems to go further than Fuuka or Asagi in treating Yotsuba as a little sister.
 * Daddy's Girl: Though Mr. Ayase loves all of them very much, Ena seems to be his little girl.
 * Considering the other two don't even recognize him sometimes...
 * Girls Love Stuffed Animals: She likes playing with her teddy bears with Yotsuba.
 * Granola Girl: She tends to be more environmentally conscious than others as well as having a fondness for recycling, but she doesn't mind eating meat or helping clean fish for a meal.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: With Miura in terms of looks and general personality but a bit subverted in that she looks like the girly girl but has some tomboy interests.

Mrs. Ayase
The mother of the three girls. ---
 * Happily Married
 * Housewife
 * Long Hair Is Feminine: Subverted
 * Like Mother Like Daughter/Generation Xerox: She and Asagi are quite alike, but don't tell either that.
 * No Name Given: Her given name has not been revealed so far.
 * Only Known By Their Nickname / Team Mom: Yotsuba calls her "mom".

Mr. Ayase
The father of the three girls. ---
 * Happily Married
 * No Name Given
 * Parental Abandonment: He's coming close to it due to him working all the time. Asagi rejects him for it.
 * Salaryman
 * Satellite Character

Takashi "Jumbo" Takeda


Koiwai's best friend, whose nickname hints at his most notable feature. A decent guy, if a little overenthusiastic around Asagi. ---
 * Adult Child: Gets into a rivalry with a ten-year-old girl over going to Hawaii.
 * All Love Is Unrequited: Has a large crush on Asagi.
 * Big Ol' Eyebrows
 * Friend to All Children
 * Gentle Giant: He's a florist.
 * Hot Blooded: Moreso than others; he shares it with his dad.
 * Only Known By Their Nickname
 * Phrase Catcher: "You're huge!"
 * She Is Not My Girlfriend: He corrects his dad after he assumed Fuuka was his new girlfriend.
 * The Big Guy

Miura Hayasaka


Ena's friend, who's not all that nice to Yotsuba (though she doesn't actively try to be mean; she just doesn't have everyone else's patience). Hates slimy things, in contrast to Ena. ---
 * Bifauxnen
 * Deadpan Snarker: On occasion.
 * Everything's Better With Princesses: Yotsuba thinks she's a princess after seeing the apartment complex she lives in.
 * Jerkass: Miura has a tendency of playing mean pranks on Yotsuba. Which usually backfire.
 * Miko: Was dressed for the part during the Autumn Festival.
 * She Cleans Up Nicely: Pulls this off as one of the matsuri maidens during the autumn festival.
 * Shorttank: She prefers sports clothing to tanktops, though.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: With Ena, a bit subverted in that she looks like the tomboy but has some girly girl interests.

Torako


Asagi's friend, she has a somewhat more aloof personality. Yotsuba seems to confuse her even more than the rest of the cast. ---
 * Cool Big Sis: See Smoking Is Cool.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Sometimes.
 * Defrosting Ice Queen: Toward Yotsuba, since she's not used to kids. The process is still ongoing.
 * In-Series Nickname: Since her name looks like "Tiger Child" when written out, Yotsuba calls her Tora/Tiger.
 * Perpetual Frowner
 * Smoking Is Cool: Or so Yotsuba thinks.
 * The Stoic: Though she'll show emotion when the situation calls for it.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: Tomboy to Asagi's Girly Girl.
 * The punchline of chapter 77 specifically plays off this dynamic.

"Yanda" Yasuda


Koiwai's kohai who gets a kick out of taunting Yotsuba. Unfortunately for him, everyone treats him exactly like he deserves. ---
 * Adult Child: This guy enjoys being Yotsuba's Sitcom Arch Nemesis.
 * Butt Monkey: He brings it upon himself.
 * Drop in Character
 * The Friend Nobody Likes: Koiwai and Jumbo put up with him more than hang out with him.
 * Jerkass: Why he's the Butt Monkey.
 * Kick the Dog: He initially went out of his way to be mean to Yotsuba, though he seems to be getting better.
 * Mr. Fanservice: One of the few young and attractive guys around.
 * Only Known By Their Nickname: His real last name is Yasuda, but no one calls him that. His given name is completely unknown.
 * Perpetual Poverty: He barely even has money to eat well, at least until the end of the month.
 * Salaryman: White shirt, tie and all.
 * Sempai-Kohai: Probably the main reason Koiwai has anything to do with him.
 * Sitcom Arch Nemesis: Of Yotsuba. He even seems to take delight in invoking the trope in regards to her.
 * Straight Man: Thinks the way that Koiwai and Jumbo go along with Yotsuba's antics is incredibly weird. However he's Not So Above It All at times.
 * Trademark Favorite Food: He practically lives off instant ramen.
 * Tsurime Eyes
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy

Miss Stake/Shimau
A classmate and friend of Fuuka's. Her real name is Hiwatari, but acquired her nickname when flubbing her introduction to her class.


 * Happy Dance - Done by Shimau, Fuuka and Yotsuba while baking a cake.
 * Lost in Translation - The joke behind her nickname.
 * Nice Hat - Her Chef's Hat when baking a cake.
 * Only Known By Their Nickname - Her name's Hiwatari, but everyone calls her Shimau/Miss Stake.
 * Satellite Character - Satellite to Fuuka. She also only appears in a few stories.