Sakana/Characters

'''WARNING! Spoilers are unmarked. Read at your own risk.'''

The Main Four

 * Adorkable: All of them, to varying degrees.


 * Animal Motifs:
 * Jiro: Shark
 * Taro: Crab
 * Yuudai: Eel
 * Taisei: Octopus


 * Color Motif: Apart from Animal Motifs, each of them have these.
 * Jiro is Blue, indicating his reasonable (Nervous Wreck tendencies aside) demeanor.
 * Taro is Red, fitting for someone as passionate as he is.
 * Yuudai is Green, which is often linked with jealousy and personal growth.
 * Taisei is Yellow/Orange, colors associated with happiness and excitement.


 * Creepy Good


 * Dysfunction Junction: Good Lord.


 * Face of a Thug: They can come off as far creepier than they actually are. Their exaggerated expressions don't help in the slightest.


 * Fatal Flaw:
 * Taro's is his short temper.
 * Jiro and Yuudai's is insecurity.
 * Taisei's is obliviousness.


 * Fire-Forged Friends: While the four already knew each other to some extent, one of the main plot points is the four of them becoming this.


 * Four-Philosophy Ensemble:
 * Jiro: Realist
 * Taro: Apathetic
 * Yuudai: Cynic
 * Taisei: Optimist


 * Four-Temperament Ensemble:
 * Jiro: Phlegmatic
 * Taro: Choleric
 * Yuudai: Melancholic
 * Taisei: Sanguine


 * Hidden Depths:
 * Jiro is shown to be very observant and empathetic, which allows him to help his friends to overcome their own insecurities. He's also tougher than his introverted behavior suggests.
 * Taro used to be a japanese delinquent in his youth, retaining several traits, and is working to resolve them, with help from Shigeru.
 * Yuudai acts like a Jerkass to hide his insecurities and loneliness; has a Dark and Troubled Past the size of Texas that still affects him, and he's gay.
 * Taisei may seem like a ditz, but he's actually extremely intelligent, being a succesful salaryman at work. Also, there's hints he's a lot more insecure than he lets on.


 * Loser Protagonist


 * Not So Different


 * Odd Friendship: To say their relationship with each other is odd would be an Understatement.


 * Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Taisei and Jiro (sensitive) to Taro and Yuudai (manly).


 * True Companions: They're becoming this in-story, and extra material fully shows them as this, even if the friendships are less than ideal. They're also this with their coworkers and loved ones.

Jiro Sakana

 * Anime Hair: His hair symbolizes his Animal Motif (shark). Apparently it grew over time. This becomes less so after his Important Haircut.


 * Berserk Button: Messing with his family, friends and coworkers. Especially Taisei.


 * Beware the Nice Ones: Not as much as Taro, but the guy can turn terrifying if pushed too far. Made more impressive in that he doesn't even need to get violent.


 * Big Brother Instinct: He's very protective of Taisei and often takes care of him. He even tells Yuudai he can't hurt him in any way, shape or form. This trope is In The Blood, after all.


 * Big Little Brother: He's considerably taller than his older brother.


 * Book Dumb: As a teen, he had some difficulty getting good grades, to the point of being surprised when he did extremely well in one test. He got better as he grew up, however.


 * Cannot Spit It Out: He has been harboring a crush on "Cashier Girl" for two years, yet he couldn't even ask her name until late in the story, and that was thanks to Taro and Taisei's help.


 * Cannot Talk to Women: He's even more of a wreck than usual around women, due to certain trauma involving a Loving Bully. In an ironic twist, said Loving Bully is the one who helps him get over said insecurities.


 * Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: To Taisei.


 * Deadpan Snarker: Sometimes.


 * Determinator: Now matter how much troubles he goes through, he never gives up. This trait is what makes him an idol in Michio and Kento's eyes.


 * Dogged Nice Guy: To "Cashier Girl"/Chie.


 * Everyone Has Standards: Even he is completely baffled at how incompetent Yuudai is in terms of social interaction. He'll also put his foot down if things get serious.
 * He's willing to help, even befriend, Yuudai despite his many, many shortcomings; but if Yuudai becomes too intolerable or hurts his BFF Taisei, you bet he'll scare him into submission very quickly.


 * Extreme Doormat


 * Fragile Flower: Being a Nervous Wreck, this is a given. It's especially evident as a child.


 * Grew a Spine: He's determined to do this, and it's working so far.


 * Heterosexual Life Partners: With Taisei.


 * Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: With Chie. He's very meek and gentle, as well as having some "girly" interests.


 * Morality Pet: He tends to fulfill this role. He turned Chie from an Enfant Terrible into a Nice Girl, Genji considers him his favorite cousin and tries to be nice to him (he fails, but still), Michio and Kento genuinely like and admire him, and even Yuudai starts acting nice to him. With Taro he's more of a Morality Chain.


 * Nervous Wreck


 * Nice Guy: Despite his social anxiety, he's very kind, compassionate, forgiving and empathetic.


 * Official Couple: With Cashier Girl/Chie.


 * Only Sane Man: He takes this role among the main four.


 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Blue to Taro's Red, in more ways than one.


 * Shrinking Violet


 * Sibling Yin-Yang: With Taro.


 * The Social Expert: Ironically enough, he proves to be this regarding other people's problems, acting as a sort-of counselor.


 * Socially Awkward Hero


 * Strong Family Resemblance: Unfortunately, his Important Haircut had made him look very similar to his cousin Genji.


 * Team Mom


 * Tranquil Fury: When pissed off, and it's terrifying. Even more remarkable is that, unlike his brother, he doesn't use physical violence (nor does he need to).


 * Vitriolic Best Buds: "Best buds" is a stretch, but he starts becoming this with Yuudai.

Taro Sakana

 * Ax Crazy: A darkly humorous example.


 * Beware the Nice Ones: Despite first impressions, Taro is a very nice guy. Mess with him or the people he loves, however, and you'll be sleeping with the fishes.


 * Big Brother Instinct/Knight Templar Big Brother: To say he's devoted to his brother would be an Understatement. Especially evident in his youth, threatening (and succeeding) to throw a girl down the stairs for rejecting his baby brother.
 * As seen with his apology to Yuudai in Chapter 14, this protectiveness extends to anyone he cares about.


 * Big Little Brother: He's considerably shorter than his younger brother.


 * Birds of a Feather: With Mori.


 * Blood Knight: He really does enjoy his job as a butcher.


 * Dye Hard: In his teens.


 * Emo Teen: What he used to be before turning into a delinquent. There's a reason for that.


 * Fetish: Mad confirms he's fond of angry sex and big butts.


 * Former Teen Rebel


 * Hair-Trigger Temper


 * Heterosexual Life Partners: With Shigeru.


 * Hot-Blooded: Good Lord.


 * Japanese Delinquents: With Genji in his youth.


 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's a certified Blood Knight with a Hair-Trigger Temper bordering on Ax Crazy, but he's otherwise a nice and loyal person who will defend his loved ones to hell and back. In the present day, he only really acts like a jerk towards people who have done something to deserve it, and tries to work on his flaws, either for his brother's sake or his own.


 * Knife Nut


 * The Napoleon


 * Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: While the others are just socially inept, he's genuinely off-putting due to his Blood Knight tendencies.


 * Noble Male, Roguish Male: The roguish to Shigeru's noble.


 * Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Despite being one of the smallest characters in the series, he's also one of the strongest.


 * Really Gets Around


 * Red Eyes, Take Warning


 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red to Jiro's Blue, in more ways than one. He's also the Red to Shigeru's Blue.


 * Sibling Rivalry: Cousin rivalry, actually, but he has a nasty one with Genji.


 * Sibling Yin-Yang: With Jiro.


 * Stepford Smiler: He covers his Broken Bird personality with a friendly, jovial demeanor.


 * Took a Level in Jerkass: He Used to Be a Sweet Kid until his parents died in a car crash, and the sheer trauma combined with his cousin rivalry with Genji led him to become a delinquent in his teens. That said...


 * Took a Level in Kindness: After getting a job in his uncle's fish stall, he softened up until becoming the Nice Guy we see in the present, although he still has his trademark temper.


 * Tranquil Fury/Unstoppable Rage: He combines these two tropes to terrifying effect.


 * Troubled but Cute: As a teen, though as an adult he still has shades of this.


 * Vitriolic Best Buds: With Yuudai, due to his prickly personality.

Yuudai Tanaka

 * Because You Were Nice to Me: He tends to become less ornery once he's sure someone shows genuine kindness to him, as seen with Taisei, Shigeru, Taro and even Jiro.


 * Breakout Character


 * Broken Bird


 * Brooding Guy, Gentle Guy: The brooding to Taisei's gentle.


 * But Not Too Foreign: He's half-Swedish.


 * Byronic Hero


 * The Chew Toy: Very little seems to go right for him, and unlike most examples, this isn't always Played for Laughs, especially when certain asshole enters the picture.


 * Dark and Troubled Past: Let's see: sick mom, harsh relationship with his dad, growing up poor, being subjected to an horrendous abusive relationship for years... Yep, you get the idea.


 * Deadpan Snarker: Has his moments.


 * Defrosting Ice King: Upon meeting Taisei, the guy not just defrosts, he outright melts.


 * Dirty Coward: Not as reprehensible as other examples, but he frequently acts like this, especially at the start.


 * Driven by Envy: His initial hatred towards Jiro seems based on this.


 * The First Cut Is the Deepest: The main cause of his issues.


 * Grumpy Bear


 * Hair of Gold: Double-subverted.


 * Hair-Trigger Temper: Nearly everything pisses him off.


 * Hates Being Touched: With good reason.


 * Horrible Judge of Character: In a different way than Taisei. He thinks everyone is out for his head, when in reality most of them are actually concerned and do care about him.


 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: To a freaking T. He's grouchy, rude, distrustful, and short-tempered; but he really does care about others, even if he's reluctant to admit it. He combines this trope with Jerkass Facade, as he uses his Jerkass behavior as a defensive mechanism, dropping it when he's comfortable enough.


 * Kindhearted Cat Lover: He owns a cat named Hime, and is the only being he's willing to interact with (at least, until Taisei comes along).


 * Luminescent Blush


 * Mark of Shame: His X-shaped scar turns out to be this, as it's the painful reminder of his past relationship.


 * Nervous Wreck: As he states at one point, everything makes him uncomfortable.


 * Opposites Attract: With Taisei, a rare case this is combined with Birds of a Feather.


 * Shrinking Violet: What he actually is behind his mask. Just see his interactions with Taisei.


 * Single Man Seeks Good Man: He thought Arata was a nice guy (as seen in extra material), but that ended badly. Currently, he crushes hard on Taisei.


 * Straight Gay: Hobbies aside, he doesn't show any stereotypical traits.


 * Sweet Tooth


 * Took a Level in Kindness: His character journey consists on him doing this.


 * Tsundere: Very much so. He tends to be tsun around his coworkers, and very dere around his cat. To say nothing about his huge crush on Taisei...


 * Tsunshun: His Jerkass behavior is a mask to hide a terribly vulnerable and lonely person marked by many past sufferings.


 * The Un-Smile: Every time he smiles, it comes across as this, mostly because of them being forced. When these are genuine, however...

Taisei Tachibana

 * The Ace: Jiro mentions that he's just good at stuff, and it shows.


 * The Alcoholic: As stated, he's drunk 50% of the time.


 * Alliterative Name


 * Beneath the Mask: A responsible, intelligent man on-the-clock; a cheery manchild off.


 * Betty and Veronica: The Betty to Arata's Veronica.


 * Bi the Way: He has dated women before, and currently has feelings for Yuudai.


 * Big Little Brother: He's taller than his older brother Genkei.


 * Blinding Bangs: Normally, though occassionally leaning towards Peek-a-Bangs.


 * Brooding Guy, Gentle Guy: The gentle to Yuudai's brooding.


 * Bunny Ears Lawyer: Don't let his childlish, goofy demeanor fool you, he's a very intelligent and successful assistant director in a big company.


 * Chick Magnet: Played with. The women in his office swoon over his professional and composed persona at work... but once they see what he's really like, they dump him over this.


 * The Cutie: Hard to believe a tall man like him can pull this off without a hitch.


 * Ditzy Genius


 * Even the Guys Want Him: Looking at you, Yuudai.


 * The Fashionista: He's very interested in fashion, and loves to go shopping.


 * Foil: To Yuudai's ex Arata. While they have some common traits, they couldn't be more different.


 * Fun Personified


 * Genki Guy


 * Gentle Giant: He's by far the tallest member of the cast, as well as the kindest.


 * Heterosexual Life Partners: With Jiro.


 * Horrible Judge of Character: Once he's out of work, his naive nature becomes clearly apparent.


 * Incorruptible Pure Pureness: The closest the comic has to one.


 * Man Child: He has the energy and enthusiasm of a ten-year-old, and tends to like things most people find "juvenile".


 * Manic Pixie Dream Guy: To Yuudai.


 * Morality Pet: To Yuudai. His presence motivates Yuudai to actively avoid acting like a jerk to not hurt his feelings, as well as act nicely to others to impress him.


 * Nice Guy: Even compared to the others, he still stands out, to the point of Incorruptible Pure Pureness.


 * No Sense of Personal Space: He's prone to hugging anyone he considers a friend.


 * Opposites Attract: With Yuudai, though they're also Birds of a Feather.


 * The Pollyanna


 * Second Love: To Yuudai.


 * Stepford Smiler: Implied, as he's shown to have some insecurities behind his cheerful demeanor.


 * Tall, Dark and Handsome


 * Tender Tears: He cries quite easily.


 * Wide-Eyed Idealist

Shigeru Watanabe

 * The Ace: About as close as one can come in this comic. Cool-headed, responsible, very attractive, and capable to lift 200kg of tuna (according to Taro, anyway).


 * Bi the Way


 * Big Brother Mentor: Tends to act like one, given he's the one with the most common sense in the cast. Also serves as a Cool Big Bro and Team Dad.


 * The Caretaker: To Yuudai once the "bottle incident" happened. He also takes this role to Jan, and frequently acts as the cast's personal therapist.


 * Face of a Thug: Not exactly "thug", but he can come across as off-putting at first glance.


 * Fingore: He lost two of his fingers due to an accident with a bandsaw.


 * Has Two Mommies


 * Heterosexual Life Partners: With Taro.


 * The Idiot From Osaka: Hell no. He's from Osaka, and has the Southern accent to match, but he's the one with the most common sense in the cast.


 * Living Emotional Crutch: To Jan. He would be completely lost without him.


 * Manly Bi


 * Mr. Fanservice: He has a really nice body underneath his shirt, much to the joy of many fangirls and Yuudai.


 * Nature Hero: He has gardening as his hobby.


 * Nerves of Steel


 * Noble Male, Roguish Male: The noble to Taro's roguish.


 * Only Sane Man


 * Perma-Stubble


 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Definitely the Blue to Taro's Red.


 * Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The manly to Jan's sensitive.


 * So Proud of You: Played for Laughs when he hears Jan hilariously imitating how he talks.


 * The Stoic: Incredibly calm and composed, showing either friendly sarcasm or well-meaning exasperation as his default expressions.
 * Not So Stoic: While still relatively composed, he tends to be (understandably) quite upset when someone/something reminds him of his missing fingers. In one of the extra materials, he's shown furiously glaring at Arata, and with good reason.


 * Sixth Ranger: To the main four.


 * Sugar and Ice Personality


 * Tall, Dark and Handsome


 * Tranquil Fury: As seen in extra material, even when absolutely enraged, he still keeps his trademark composure. It's as horrifying as it sounds.

Jan Pieter Krieger

 * Adorkable


 * Ambiguously Bi: He shows clear interest in Sango, and has quite the subtext with Shigeru.


 * Because You Were Nice to Me: When he got wrongfully sent to Japan, Shigeru pretty much gave him a home, a job, and some well-needed advice and language lessons to fit in. As such, he often latches onto him.


 * Birds of a Feather: Friendship example with Jiro and Taisei.


 * The Cutie


 * Fiery Redhead: Downplayed, as he's cheerful and enthusiastic rather than outright fiery.


 * Fun with Foreign Languages: Much of the humor comes from others completely missing the point of whatever he tries to say.


 * Funny Foreigner


 * Genki Guy/Keet: He even bonds with Taisei over it.


 * Gratuitous German: Justified, given he's a german foreigner trying to fit in another country.


 * Innocently Insensitive: Sometimes, due to his tendency to misinterpret others. In one extra, for example, he mistakes Shigeru's missing two fingers with a Japanese gang salute.


 * The Klutz


 * Nice Guy


 * Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The sensitive to Shigeru's manly.


 * Shrinking Violet: He's this whenever he's outside his comfort zone. In his comfort zone, one the other hand...


 * Significant Green-Eyed Redhead


 * Stepford Smiler: Mad confirms he's quite homesick, and considering the struggles he faces in fitting in another country (that he wasn't supposed to go in the first place), this isn't unwarranted.


 * Totally Radical: It turns out he speaks like this once his dialogue is properly translated.


 * Wingdinglish: Which serves as a reminder the rest of the cast speaks japanese.


 * Youthful Freckles: It adds to his Moe appeal.

Ren Sakana

 * Badass Grandpa: With a Badass Beard, to boot.


 * Cool Old Guy


 * Cool Uncle: He treats his nephews like his favourite sons, and even gives them the afternoon off so Jiro can go on a date with Taro checking on him.


 * Does Not Know His Own Strength


 * Happily Married: To the brothers' aunt Yumiko.


 * Nice Guy: A caring, compassionate father figure. It's baffling someone like him is the father of Genji.


 * Parental Favoritism: He clearly has a better relationship with his nephews than with his own son. Hard to blame him for this, though, considering it's Genji.


 * Parental Substitute: To the brothers ever since their parents' tragic deaths. Yuudai also sees him this way (secretly, of course).


 * The Pollyanna


 * Unwitting Instigator of Doom: He certainly tried to calm down Taro and Genji's rivalry, but telling Taro he can't hurt Genji because they're cousins only made his anger issues worse.

Genji Sakana

 * Being Evil Sucks: Not exactly "evil", but his dealings with the Yakuza have turned out poorly for him.


 * Big Brother Bully: He constantly messed with Taro throughout most of their lives, only getting away with it (sometimes) because they're cousins. Averted in regards to Jiro, whom he treats more nicely (or at least attempts to).


 * Black Sheep


 * Break the Haughty


 * Bullying a Dragon: Seriously, he provokes Taro at every turn. He only gets away with it due to them being cousins, and that doesn't always happen.


 * The Chew Toy


 * The Gambling Addict: Part of the reason he's in so much debt.


 * Gonk: Downplayed. He's not ugly per se, but he's drawn much less attractive than the other characters, mostly to reflect his moral bankruptcy compared to them.


 * Inferiority Superiority Complex


 * Japanese Delinquents: With Taro in his youth, and unlike him, he did not grow out of it.


 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: As Mad states, he would love not to be a dick to his family, but has no idea how to not act like a dick to them. He genuinely tries to be kind to Jiro, whom he considers his favourite cousin, and apologizes to Taro (after he already left) for trying to mooch off money.


 * Man Child


 * Nervous Wreck: A much meaner version than Jiro, but Genji is constantly on edge, mostly because of Ryoji.


 * No Social Skills: To the point he makes Yuudai look like a social expert by comparison.


 * Shadow Archetype: He's what Taro would have become had he not grew out of his delinquent phase.


 * Sibling Rivalry: A cousin example with Taro.


 * Small Name, Big Ego: He thinks of himself as a tough gangster, but that couldn't be farther from the truth.


 * Stepford Smiler: He pretends he's happy with his life as a "wannabe gangster". He isn't. At all.


 * Straw Loser: He makes his cousins look like social experts by comparison. Hell, even Yuudai has better social skills than him.


 * Trapped by Gambling Debts


 * Tsundere: Mad referred to him as such, even doing a "Tsundere Battle" with fellow tsundere Yuudai in extra material.


 * Tsunshun


 * The Unfavourite: His father clearly has a better relationship with his cousins than with him, although most of it is his own fault.


 * Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: At first, he seems like one, being a selfish jackass whose schemes always blow up in his face. Then his dealings with the Yakuza come up...

"Cashier Girl" (Chie Yamamoto)

 * The Atoner: Part of the reason she wanted to meet Jiro is to make up for her childhood bullying against him. The other part, well...


 * Beware the Nice Ones: Sweet, caring and capable of wrecking shit if messed with.


 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: As a kid, she seemed to be a sweet girl on the surface, but was an Enfant Terrible underneath. She subverts this as an adult, though she still has traces of her previous psychosis and Taro is still suspicious of her.


 * Cute Bruiser


 * Cute and Psycho: She's usually a very nice lady, but is capable of becoming creepy in seconds. More obvious as a kid.


 * Enfant Terrible: Was this in her youth.


 * First Girl After All


 * Genki Girl


 * Heel Realization: She evidently had one in the past when Jiro left, thinking it was her fault (It wasn't).


 * Heroes Love Dogs


 * Heterosexual Life Partners: With Sango.


 * Loving Bully: She had a crush on Jiro as a kid. Unfortunately for him, she was an Enfant Terrible. As an adult, she's trying to redeem herself for this.


 * Manic Pixie Dream Girl


 * Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: With Jiro. While feminine, she's much more action-oriented and straightforward than her boyfriend.


 * Nice Girl


 * Obliviously Evil: As a kid, she did not seem to understand that bullying her crush Jiro was something terrible. She only started to realize it after she grew up and Jiro left, and tries desperately to make up for what she did in the present.


 * Official Couple: With Jiro.


 * Plucky Girl: If one of her jobs is training huge dogs, she qualifies as this by default.


 * Shallow Love Interest: Oh, so gloriously subverted.


 * Sibling Yin-Yang: With her sister Mori.


 * Single Woman Seeks Good Man: She clearly has the hots for Jiro, ever since she was young.


 * Took a Level in Kindness: Hoo boy. From Enfant Terrible who made Jiro's life a living hell to a Nice Girl and Jiro's dream girlfriend, it's safe to say she took eleven levels.


 * Tranquil Fury: She shows this when provoked, as Arata learned firsthand.


 * Tsundere: Type B. Very sweet and lovely... but if you cross her or her boyfriend, watch out. Taken to ridiculous levels as a child, constantly hitting Jiro while declaring him her boyfriend.


 * Violently Protective Girlfriend: Downplayed. She's usually a perky, caring girl, but every time she suspects Jiro's in danger, she quickly intervenes in his defense.

"Angry Lady" (Moriko "Mori" Yamamoto)

 * Beauty Mark: Has one on one of her breasts.


 * Big Sister Instinct: Towards Chie, in a similar way to Taro (with whom she's frequently at odds).


 * Birds of a Feather: With Taro.


 * Boobs of Steel


 * Boyish Short Hair


 * Broken Bird


 * Christmas Cake: She seems to be one. Then you learn the reason why.


 * Cool Big Sis: To Chie.


 * Death Glare: Her default expression.


 * Does Not Like Men: As a result of her godawful breakup, the mere mention of men makes her cringe. She even shows disgust at her sister and Sango's guy talking, and only tolerates her sister's relationship with Jiro for her sake, and even then she's distrustful of him (which puts her in conflict with Taro).


 * The Eeyore


 * The First Cut Is the Deepest: Very much so.


 * The Gadfly: Has shades of this.


 * Grumpy Bear


 * Hair-Trigger Temper: She lives in a state of constant rage.


 * Ice Queen: Most of the time, though she tones it down with people she completely trusts.


 * Innocent Flower Girl: Subverted. While she works as a florist, she's short-tempered and can hold a hell of a grudge.


 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She tends to be cold and rude with others, but like Yuudai, this is a result of personal problems. She cares a lot about her loved ones, especially her sister, to the point of reluctantly swallowing her dislike for guys for her sake.


 * Ms. Fanservice


 * Sibling Yin-Yang: With Chie.


 * Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Her dumping her cheating ex-fiance is enough proof to confirm this. More to the point, Mad tends to tease her with rough yet kind Taro.


 * Statuesque Stunner


 * Sugar and Ice Personality: She usually acts like an Ice Queen, but shows a much kinder side with her loved ones (namely her sister and Sango).


 * Took a Level in Jerkass: In contrast to her sister, she went from a sweet little girl to an angry, bitter woman. She does have a reason for it, though.


 * Tsundere: A Type A, without a doubt.


 * Tsunshun: She's rude and distrustful of others, but it's clear she's suffering depression as a result of a particularly awful breakup.


 * Uncanny Valley Makeup: Her excessive makeup can come across as this, and is definitely the case with Chie and Sango. This is most certainly intentional, as it symbolizes her turn into Broken Bird-dom.


 * Woman Scorned: She had a nasty fight with a cheating ex-fiance, causing her to live with her sister Chie, seemingly this being the cause of her anger issues.

Sango Iijima

 * Adorkable


 * Big Beautiful Woman


 * Bishonen: Tends to imagine the male characters as this.


 * Cloudcuckoolander: Her imagination is... vivid, to say the least.


 * The Cutie


 * Heterosexual Life Partners: With Chie.


 * Mrs. Imagination


 * Nice Girl


 * Pint-Sized Powerhouse: She can bench-press people twice her size.


 * Serious Business: Shoujo manga are this for her.


 * Shipper on Deck: She's more than happy to support Chie's relationship with Jiro, in contrast to Mori.


 * Single Woman Seeks Good Man: She shows clear interest in Jan, who is a cheerful, kind Funny Foreigner.


 * Thinks Like a Romance Novel: She's obsessed with shoujo manga, and her Establishing Character Moment was imagining Jiro and Chie in a shoujo-esque date.


 * Wise Beyond Their Years: She's shown to be very mature and serious for a 19-year-old, Cloudcuckoolander tendencies notwithstanding.

Genkei Tachibana

 * Aloof Big Brother: Subverted.


 * Big Brother Instinct: Mainly towards Taisei.


 * Birds of a Feather: With his wife Kaede.


 * Emotionless Boy: Seems like one, but later subverted. He does have emotions, he just sucks at expressing them, at least physically.


 * Happily Married: With his equally quiet wife Kaede, with whom he has a daughter.


 * Hidden Depths: An ironic example. The seemingly emotionless Genkei can read other people's emotions rather quickly, as shown when he flawlessly detects his brother's stepfordism.


 * Meganekko


 * The Quiet One


 * The Silent Bob: He doesn't need more than two words to talk with his brother.


 * The Stoic: Usually, though he turns Not So Stoic with his family.


 * Strong Family Resemblance: Once the glasses come off, he's pretty much identical to his brother (only a bit shorter).


 * Sugar and Ice Personality: He seems emotionless, but as his phone texts can attest to, he's a Nice Guy who is just as intelligent and excitable as his brother.

Hideo Mura

 * Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Not quite evil, but his main redeeming quality is his love for his wife and daughter.


 * Happily Married: He's married and has a daughter, whom he loves dearly.


 * It Amused Me: Why he messes with Yuudai.


 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's an annoying Troll at work, especially with Yuudai, but is a softie when it comes to his family.


 * Last-Name Basis: In canon, he's only referred to as "Mura".


 * Sitcom Arch Nemesis: To Yuudai.


 * Troll: He takes a kick in messing with Yuudai.

Michio and Kento Kusagawa

 * Always Identical Twins: Both in appearance and in personality.


 * Beauty Mark: The only way to differentiate them, with Michio having one and Kento having two.


 * Because You Were Nice to Me: This is why they prefer helping Jiro over Yuudai.


 * Brutal Honesty


 * Fans of the Underdog: They're pretty much admire Jiro for his kindness and earnestness.


 * The Gadfly: Obvy, being Trickster Twins and all.


 * |Jerks with Hearts of Gold: They tend to be annoying trolls, yet they can be helpful when needed and are Jiro's biggest fanboys.


 * Trickster Twins


 * Trolls

Jiro and Taro's Parents

 * Good Parents: They were very much this when alive.


 * Happily Married


 * Killed Off for Real


 * Knight of Cerebus: A non-villainous example. Whenever they get mentioned, expect tears to come through.


 * Like Father, Like Son: Taro is very similar to his father, especially as a child, while Jiro took after his mother.


 * Orphan's Ordeal: Their tragic deaths in a car crash led to their sons having massive issues, with Jiro becoming a Shrinking Violet Nervous Wreck and Taro gaining a lot of anger issues. Even to this day, the brothers are still in grief over their deaths.


 * Parental Abandonment: Tragically justified.


 * Small Role, Big Impact

Ryoji Nishimura

 * Ambition Is Evil


 * Benevolent Boss: He treats his underlings rather well, even calling them "sons", which only enhances his role as Ren's Evil Counterpart.


 * Big Bad Ensemble: With Arata Tasaki.


 * Blackmail: A master in this. He does this to Genji to persuade him into going along with his plan of taking Ren's stall for his own shady businesses.


 * Evil Counterpart: To Ren.


 * Evil Old Folks


 * Faux Affably Evil: Always polite and friendly, even as he beats his clients down and screws them over. He's a bit more genuine when it comes to his subordinates, though.


 * Knight of Cerebus: Apart from some moments of being Laughably Evil, he's still a serious threat. The fact he outright threatens Genji should be a dead giveaway.


 * Large Ham: Mad states he loves dramatic entrances.


 * Light Is Not Good


 * Loan Shark: Well, duh.


 * Manipulative Bastard: Obvy, as he's a Loan Shark.


 * Perpetual Smiler: He's pretty much always with a smug smile in his face.


 * Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: Who would have expected to have a Loan Shark in a Romantic Comedy?


 * Villainous Friendship: Mad states he feels like this towards his Co-Dragons, even if it's not reciprocated.


 * Yakuza

Endo and Billy

 * The Bully: To Genji. Billy in particular likes to mess with him and use him as a punching bag.


 * The Brute: Endo.


 * Co-Dragons: To Nishimura.


 * Jerkass: Both, especially Billy.


 * Obviously Evil: Unlike their boss, they make no attempts at pretending to be good people.


 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Billy and Endo respectively.


 * Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Endo turns out to be quite eloquent when describing Ryoji's death threat to Genji.


 * Smug Snake: Billy.


 * The Stoic: Endo.


 * Those Two Bad Guys


 * Troll: Billy constantly messes with Genji with sadistic glee.


 * Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: Same as their boss.

Arata Tasaki

 * Bastard Boyfriend: A scathing Deconstruction of one.


 * Betty and Veronica: The Veronica to Taisei's Betty.


 * Big Bad Ensemble: With Nishimura.


 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: As seen in Mad's extra material, he presented himself as nice and charming to a young Yuudai. Needless to say, he wasn't. He tries to act like this in the present day, but his fakeness is so blatant nobody buys it.


 * Chekhov's Gunman: He appeared in previous strips as a background character.


 * Dark Is Evil


 * Depraved Bisexual: According to Mad, he had a girlfriend before dating Yuudai, and he's considered the comic's most sexual character. This is not a good thing.


 * Dirty Coward: Implied. He's perfectly happy to bully those he thinks are weaker than him (like Jiro and especially Yuudai), but if someone threatening approaches him (like Chie), he's quick to chicken out (not that he'll admit this).


 * Domestic Abuser


 * Evil Counterpart/Foil: He's pretty much the Anti-Taisei.


 * Exotic Eye Designs: His pupils are shaped like diamonds. A striking case, considering no other character has those. This probably hints at his creepiness.


 * Faux Affably Evil: A revolting case. At least Nishimura sounds convincing.


 * Hate Sink: Being a realistic depiction of a Domestic Abuser, he's pretty much this trope personified, both In-Universe and out. Mad even called him the worst character in the entire webcomic (yes, even worse than the freakin' Yakuza).


 * Jerkass: The worst one in the entire comic.


 * Knight of Cerebus: He pretty much sends this Romantic Comedy in a darker direction, and unlike Nishimura, he has no funny moments and is always taken seriously.


 * Manipulative Bastard


 * Nice Hat


 * Obviously Evil: Everything about him screams "creepy douchebag". To bring this further, his Animal Motif is an anglerfish.


 * Really Gets Around: Mad has called him the most sexual character in the webcomic. Considering who he is, this leads to some... unfortunate implications.


 * Smug Snake


 * Stalker with a Crush


 * Tall, Dark and Handsome


 * Unsexy Sadist: He's definitely easy on the eyes, but he's so creepy and repulsive it's near impossible to see his attractiveness as anything other than unnerving.


 * Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: Oh, boy. He makes Nishimura seem downright amiable in comparison.


 * Walking Spoiler


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