Ro-Kyu-Bu!/Characters

A list of characters appearing in Ro Kyu Bu!

Subaru Hasegawa
"Position: Head Coach / Point Guard (Nashiba Men's Team) Height: 172 cm (5 feet 8 inches) Voiced by: Yuuki Kaji"

The protagonist and a freshman at Nashiba High School, whose dreams of playing in their boys' basketball team took a heartbreaking blow when the team was meted out a year-long suspension for its captain allegedly hitting on their adviser's daughter, a sixth-grade schoolgirl. In the meantime, he reluctantly accepts his aunt Mihoshi's part-time job offer as coach of her school's girls' basketball team, of which she is the adviser.


 * Accidental Pervert
 * Awesomeness By Analysis: His skills and knowledge of basketball took a historically winless middle school team to the regional final, and later on, a group of cute little girls into a formidable basketball team capable of taking on the best teams in the region (and possibly the entire nation).
 * Big Brother Mentor
 * Broken Pedestal: Felt this way to his idol, the high school's boys' basketball captain, in light of the latter's Lolicon scandal.
 * Childhood Friends: With Aoi.
 * Cool Big Bro: To his proteges in a surrogate way.
 * Improbable Aiming Skills: Once shot 10 free throws in a row in the arcade. This feat isn't as implausible as anyone thinks, however.
 * The Mentor
 * She Is Not My Girlfriend: His reaction to anyone who insinuates that he may have feelings for Aoi (the latter replies in kind). Their friends, including the five girls, aren't convinced.
 * Ship Tease: With both Tomoka and Aoi.
 * Signature Move: The scoop shot, which he used to beat his rival during their rematch. Eventually passed on to Tomoka and Mimi.
 * Strong Family Resemblance: Inherits his father's looks and his mother's hair.
 * Tsundere: A mild male Type A, in that he's generally cavalier to others (or at least that's his way of coping with the suspension of his team), but turns out to be a caring Cool Big Bro to his proteges. He is also hinted to have awkward feelings for Aoi.

Tomoka Minato
"Number: 4 Position: Shooting Guard (previously Small Forward) Height: 142 cm (4 feet 8 inches) Class: 6-C Birthdate: September 9th (Virgo) Blood Type: A Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa"

Keishin's star female basketball player who, ironically, has misgivings about her skill.


 * The Ace/Broken Ace: Very skilled in basketball, able to take boys her age head-on and win...and has lost many friends from her previous school because of her over-competitiveness.
 * A-Cup Angst: Feels rather uneasy about her bust size, and gets teased about it by her teammates from time to time.
 * Adaptational Badass: Appears as a playable character in the crossover Fighting Game Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax, with her basketball team as Assist Characters.
 * All of the Other Reindeer: Her obsession with winning has cost her friends back at her previous school.
 * Beauty Mark: Below her left eye.
 * Determinator: Accepts Mihoshi's 50-consecutive-jumpshot challenge and goes to great lengths to achieve it, in order to convince Subaru to continue coaching the team.
 * The Heroine: The most experienced player and de facto team captain.
 * I Know Madden Kombat: In Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax: her fighting style is based on her position as captain of her basketball team, as she throws basketballs as projectiles, or passing them to her partners for varied attacks. One of her super moves is a reference to her Scoop Shot Signature Move, as she catches her opponent into a basketball, dribbles and throws him/her high above, all while wings sprout from her back.
 * I Just Want to Have Friends: ...Even if it means giving up her favorite sport. Subaru helps her balance out friendships and basketball.
 * Lightning Bruiser: She's a beast on the hardcourt. Too bad she's prone to calling plays out loud.
 * Nice Girl
 * One-Girl Army: Defeats the boys' basketball team all by herself.
 * Precocious Crush: Out of all the girls, she is the one closest to Subaru, after he vows to protect her dream of playing basketball.
 * Rose-Haired Girl
 * Ryu and Ken: The Ryu to Maho's Ken. Tied at lateral speed (i.e. in a straight line), but Tomoka changes directions more quickly and has a more reliable long-range jump shot.

Maho Misawa
"Number: 5 Position: Power Forward Height: 145 cm (4 feet 9 inches) Class: 6-C Birthdate: July 2nd (Cancer) Blood Type: AB Voiced by: Yuka Iguchi"

An energetic blonde kid from a rich family.

"She's very optimistic and tries to think that it's a mistake."
 * Alliterative Name
 * Captain Ersatz: She is very similar to Nagi Sanzen'in in appearance, wealth and love of video games, but much more cheerful, energetic and outgoing.
 * Childhood Friends: With Saki and Natsuhi.
 * Dirty Kid: Shows shades of this.
 * Divergent Character Evolution: Inverted. As Tomoka was the only experienced player on the team in the first season, Subaru trained her and Saki in long-range shooting to fit his winning strategy against the boys' team. As the story progresses, however, she gradually improves her skills to the point that she and Tomoka now have similar movesets to each other.
 * Gamer Chick
 * Genki Girl
 * Girlish Pigtails
 * Hot-Blooded
 * The Heart: The most emotional member of the team.
 * Instant Expert: She learns a new sport almost instantly, but as Natsuhi explains, is also quick to get bored of it, fearing that one day she may quit her current sport soon. Needless to say, she doesn't.
 * The Lancer
 * Leeroy Jenkins: She's almost always itching to take a shot as soon as she has the ball in the first season. Finally grew out of it in the second season.
 * Long-Range Fighter: Specializes in long-range jump shots.
 * Discard and Draw: Improves her athleticism and high post game upon the arrival of Masami.
 * The Nicknamer
 * No Sense of Personal Space: The most touchy-feely one towards Subaru among her teammates.
 * Petite Pride:


 * Power Blonde
 * Primal Fear: The dark.
 * Ryu and Ken: The Ken to Tomoka's Ryu. Tied at lateral speed (i.e. in a straight line), but Maho is more athletic and has a better high post game.
 * Spoiled Sweet
 * Took A Level In Badass: In the first season, she was very much error-prone due to her impulsiveness. Come the second season, she completely shut down Rena when the entire 5th grade team could barely stop her.

Saki Nagatsuka
"Number: 6 Position: Point Guard (previously Shooting Guard) Height: 148 cm (4 feet 10 inches) Class: 6-C Birthdate: July 1st (Cancer) Blood Type: O Voiced by: Youko Hikasa"

A smart, nerdy kid and team strategist.

""Eh? Already?""
 * Awesomeness By Analysis: When she moved up to point guard in the game against Suzuridani, she did the role so well the opposing team's supposedly Nigh Invulnerable defense crumbled like a house of cards.
 * Childhood Friends: With Maho and Natsuhi.
 * Covert Pervert: Suggested the girls to dress in School Swimsuits with aprons on top to welcome Subaru back.
 * Jack of All Stats: She doesn't have Tomoka's skills, Maho's athleticism, Masami's range or Airi's size, but she makes up for these with her strong analytical skills and a better presence of mind, making her an even better Point Guard than Tomoka.
 * Meganekko
 * Not So Above It All: While being the cool-headed kid of the bunch, she has her moments:
 * Episode 4:.
 * Episode 5:.
 * Episode 7: Joins the other girls in dogpiling Subaru after a little bit of hesitation.
 * Episode 9: Her reaction to Airi mentioning that her most recent swimsuit doesn't fit anymore is...


 * Only Sane Man: Often serves as Maho's voice of reason, and serves as middleman every time she and Natsuhi get into yet another fight.
 * Rapunzel Hair
 * Serious Business: Making Okonomiyaki.
 * Shipper on Deck: Loves to help Tomoka regarding her crush on Subaru. The problem is, her suggestions are not something you'd expect from a 11-12 year old girl.
 * The Smart Girl
 * The Stoic
 * The Strategist
 * Sugar and Ice Personality
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: Blue-haired she may be, but she has the qualities of one -- complete with being voiced by Youko Hikasa.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair

Airi Kashii
"Number: 7 Position: Center Height: SECRET [~170 cm (~5 feet 7 inches)] Class: 6-C Birthdate: April 5th (Aries) Blood Type: A Voiced by: Rina Hidaka"

An unusually tall, busty girl with issues concerning her figure.


 * The Big Girl: After some training courtesy of Subaru, she eventually fills this role for the team.
 * Big Sister Mentor/Friendly Rivalry: To Aya Miyakoouji of Suzuridani.
 * Fragile Flower/Shrinking Violet
 * Gag Boobs
 * Gentle Giant
 * Glass Cannon/Stone Wall: Her size makes her an ideal center, but she's so anxious about her size and does not like getting hit on the court. It took a Secret Test of Character from Aoi to help her overcome these problems and prepare her into her best-suited role.
 * Huge Schoolgirl: As tall as Subaru, point in fact.
 * Ms. Fanservice/Innocent Fanservice Girl: Easily has the best figure of the entire cast (Aoi and Nayu included), and hence falls victim to majority of the show's fanservice humor.
 * Nice Girl
 * Precocious Crush: Has one towards Subaru, like Tomoka.
 * Tender Tears: Tends to cry a lot.
 * Took A Level In Badass: After getting pushed around by Suzuridani's starting center in the first season, she utterly outplays her in their official match in the second season.
 * Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Suffers from aquaphobia (fear of water) after an incident when she fell off a boat and nearly drowned in a lake, rendering her unable to swim. Subaru and her teammates help her cope with it.
 * Younger Than She Looks: For a twelve-year-old she's already slightly shorter than Subaru himself. She is also the eldest of the five since the school term in Japan starts in April.

Hinata Hakamada
"Number: 8 Position: Small Forward (previously Point Guard and Shooting Guard) Height: 137 cm (4 feet 6 inches) Class: 6-C Birthdate: March 3rd (Pisces) Blood Type: O Voiced by: Yui Ogura"

An unusually tiny girl with a love of stuffed toys.


 * Alliterative Name: Hinata Hakamada.
 * The Chick
 * Cloudcuckoolander
 * Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Small, frail and inexperienced at first, but it doesn't pay to underestimate her. To wit:
 * She held back Natsuhi long enough to seal a win for her team during the girls vs. boys match
 * Made the winning shot at a tightly-contested coed game after a day training with Natsuhi
 * Does a Crazy Awesome reverse layup that blasted away Suzuridani's calculated tactics.
 * Fake Weakness: Uses it to great effect, as Suzuridani found out the hard way.
 * Fragile Speedster: While not exactly known for her speed, her small size allows her to get past bigger defenders on offense, and she can be quite the formidable defender on the court despite her poor health.
 * Girls Love Stuffed Animals
 * Innocent Fanservice Girl
 * Rapunzel Hair
 * Rose-Haired Girl
 * Strange Girl
 * Smarter Than You Look: Beneath her seemingly innocent appearance and strange thought patterns, she also tends to be rather perceptive.
 * Third Person Person
 * Token Mini-Moe: Stands out among the five kids on account of her ridiculously short stature. She's also the youngest of the bunch.
 * Verbal Tic: "Oh~" at the start of many of her sentences.

Aoi Ogiyama
"Position: Assistant Coach / Center (middle school) Height: 163 cm (5 feet 4 inches) Blood Type: O Voiced by: Kanae Ito"

Subaru's childhood friend and prospective manager of their school's boys' basketball team.


 * Childhood Friends: With Subaru.
 * Cute Sports Club Manager: She wanted to be this for her school's boys' basketball team (of course, Subaru's presence has nothing to do with it), long before the scandal that caused the team to be given a year-long ban.
 * Cool Big Sis: Becomes this to the five girls after becoming a confidant to Subaru's double life.
 * He Is Not My Boyfriend: Her reaction to anyone insinuating that something's going on between her and Subaru.
 * Innocent Fanservice Girl: By way of accidentally flaunting her panties every time she kicks.
 * Kick Chick: And Subaru is usually on the receiving end for whenever she perceives him doing something indecent.
 * Panty Shot: A lot, featuring perwinkle-and-white striped panties.
 * Tsundere: Type A, especially towards Subaru.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair

Kagetsu Hakamada
"Number: 9 (previously 8) Position: Center Height: 160 cm (5 feet 3 inches) Class: 5-D Blood Type: O Voiced by: Asami Seto"

Hinata's younger sister.


 * Badass on Paper: Stated to be Keishin's marathon champion in the first season, but gets tired just as quickly as everyone else in the 5th grade team in the second season. It is possible that basketball training may be much more grueling than running in a marathon.
 * Big Little Sister: Easily One Head Taller than her older sister Hinata.
 * My Greatest Failure: Fell asleep one snowy day alone at home, only to find out later that Hinata lay freezing and unconscious outside all this time, which she believed to have resulted in her sister's frail constitution.
 * Lightning Bruiser: Shorter, but faster than Airi.
 * Rose-Haired Girl

Mimi Balguerie
"Number: 10 (33 in France, 4 in the ForM tournament) Position: Small Forward Height: 135 cm (4 feet 5 inches) Class: 5-D Birthdate: February 3rd (Aquarius) Blood Type: AB Voiced by: Misaki Kuno"

A 5th-grade French-Japanese transfer student at Keishin Academy.


 * A-Cup Angst: Has it even worse than Tomoka. Which makes one wonder since she's still in the 5th grade.
 * The Ace: Stated to be better than Tomoka one-on-one but lacks the Team Spirit to take her game to the next level.
 * But Not Too Foreign: She has a French father and a Japanese mother.
 * Emotionless Girl: Rarely expresses her emotions.
 * Hair Decorations: A huge white ribbon at the back side of her hair.
 * Hime Cut
 * Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Occasionally lapses into French.
 * Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Despite her small size, she is one of the best grade school players in the series.
 * Rapunzel Hair: Goes up to her waist.
 * Shout-Out: Her French jersey number 33 is the same one worn by Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird.
 * Signature Move: Un Deux Trois.
 * White-Haired Pretty Girl

Tsubaki and Hiiragi Takenaka
"Numbers: 11 (Tsubaki) and 12 (Hiiragi) (previously 6 and 9, 7 for Hiiragi in the ForM tournament) Position: Power Forward / Point Guard Height: 140 cm (4 feet 7 inches) Class: 5-A Birthdate: January 1 (Capricorn) Blood Type: B Voiced by: Minami Tsuda (Tsubaki) and Aya Suzaki (Hiiragi)"

Natsuhi's younger twin siblings.


 * Annoying Younger Siblings
 * Confusion Fu: Their combination plays are designed to confuse their opponents. Taken to its logical conclusion with Twin Hell.
 * The Dividual: They are often inseparable, hence their In-Series Nickname TsubaHii.
 * Hair Decorations: Serves as their Identical Twin ID Tag below.
 * Identical Twin ID Tag: Tsubaki wears a yellow flower hairpin on her left side, while Hiiragi wears a pink flower hairpin on her right side.
 * Portmanteau Couple Name: TsubaHii for Tsubaki and Hiiragi.
 * The Rival: To Maho.
 * Signature Move: Twin Hell, a defensive move bordering on Teleport Spam to the opposing player.
 * Single-Minded Twins: The fact that they look and think alike means they are perfectly in sync with each other, making their combination plays nigh-unpredictable.
 * Theme Naming: Named after the camellia and holly flowers (tsubaki and hiiragi in Japanese), respectively.

Masami Fujii
"Number: 13 (previously 1) Position: Shooting Guard Height: 143 cm (4 feet 8 1/2 inches) Class: 5-B Blood Type: O Voiced by: Risa Taneda"

Saki's neighbor and self-proclaimed rival. Her family owns a sushi shop just in front of the Nagatsukas' okonomiyaki shop. Saki beats her at everything, but when she saw her make a jump shot in a game against the Keishin boys' team, she trains herself to shoot from a much longer distance than Saki can.


 * Always Second Best: To Saki in pretty much anything.
 * Awesome but Impractical: Downplayed with her long-range jump shot. Since mini-basketball does not implement the three-point line, it's not as useful as a three-point play (making a field goal after drawing a foul, then making the resulting extra free throw) for scoring in a hurry, but it does have some use for catching double teams and zone defenses off-guard.
 * Berserk Button: Do NOT mess with her father's dishes. She will rip you a new one either on or off the court.
 * Hair Decorations: She wears a ponytail with a long white ribbon.
 * Long-Range Fighter: The 5th graders' long-range shooting specialist. Her range is stated to be from outside the three-point line in regular basketball.
 * Crippling Overspecialization: She only has long-range shooting and nothing else.
 * Green-Eyed Monster: Her main motivation to beat Saki in basketball.
 * Rapunzel Hair
 * The Resenter: Due to being Always Second Best to Saki.
 * Satellite Character: Initially has her motivations revolve around Saki, until Rena pressed one of her Berserk Buttons.
 * You Gotta Have Purple Hair

Mihoshi Takamura
"Voiced by: Shizuka Ito"

Subaru's aunt, younger sister of his mother Nayu, and advisor of Keishin Girls' Basketball Team.


 * Adult Child
 * Cat Smile: Sometimes sports one very similar to that of Konata Izumi.
 * Cool Aunt
 * Expy: She's basically an older version of Konata.
 * Hot Teacher
 * Japanese Honorifics: Subaru calls her "Miho-nee" -- an honorific usually reserved for older sisters (or perhaps because she's such an Adult Child).
 * Older Than She Looks
 * Sensei-chan
 * Shameless Fanservice Girl: Shows no reluctance sitting around in Subaru's house in a rather immodest way.
 * The Trickster: Blackmails Subaru into coaching her team on threat of revealing an embarrassing childhood moment.

Natsuhi Takenaka
"Voiced by: Minako Kotobuki"

Maho and Saki's childhood friend and star player of Keishin's Boys' Basketball Team.


 * The Ace
 * Arrogant Kung Fu Guy: He improves over time, fortunately.
 * Childhood Friends: With Maho and Saki.
 * Everyone Can See It: His crush on Hinata.
 * The Rival: To the Keishin girls' team, initially.
 * Tsundere: A male Type A.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair

Touko Hatano
"Voiced by: Rina Sato"

Head of Keishin's infirmary.

""I love little girls, but I especially love you." (To Mihoshi)"
 * Ambiguously Lesbian


 * Hello, Nurse!
 * Hospital Hottie
 * Meganekko
 * The Nicknamer
 * The Tease
 * White-Haired Pretty Girl

Kazunari Uehara
"Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka"

Subaru's best friend.


 * Bromantic Foil: To Subaru.
 * Megane
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy: Steel grey, to be exact.
 * With Friends Like These...: Keeps teasing Subaru about being a Lolicon after the scandal that brought a year-long suspension to his team.

Satsuki "Zono" Kakizono and Tae "Shouji" Mishouji
"Voiced by: Asuka Oogame (Zono) and Ai Kayano (Shouji)"

Aoi's two girl friends and teammates from middle school.
 * Power Trio: With Aoi.
 * Refuge in Audacity: They're pretty much this when they are shippers on deck.
 * Shipper on Deck: Huge ones for Aoi x Subaru. They went as far as giving her lingerie for the Kyoto vacation.

Banri Kashii
"Voiced by: Kenji Hamada"

Nayu Hasegawa
"Voiced by: Mamiko Noto"

Subaru's mother and Mihoshi's older sister.


 * Good Parents: Spent a few episodes worrying about Subaru's welfare after the suspension of his team. She is relieved that he found a new life as a basketball coach for her sister's team.
 * Hot Mom: So cute and cuddly she looks like Subaru's big sister.
 * Older Than She Looks
 * Supreme Chef: Cooked so well Subaru once wrote a letter back when he was a child exclaiming "I love you, Mommy!". Mihoshi uses this to blackmail Subaru into coaching her basketball team.

Ginga Hasegawa
"Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu"

Subaru's father who just came back from Hawaii. First appeared in SS, he has coached the Keishin 5th grade team for a while upon Subaru's request


 * Adventurer Archaeologist: During his travels, he met the daughter of a French professor he worked with. He has since trained her in basketball, and becomes her guardian upon her father's request.
 * Batman Gambit: Pulls off one where the 5th graders shoot the ball in a specific order. They still lost, but as a result they played well for a hastily-formed team against a more experienced one.
 * Cool Teacher: He presents himself as such to the 5th grade team, to great effect.
 * Dark-Skinned Redhead: As a result of spending too much time outdoors in Hawaii.
 * Hot Dad: Now we know where Subaru got his looks and basketball skills.
 * Famed in Story: According to Nayu, he was the ace player of Nashiba High School.

Shinobu Minato
"Voiced by: Ryotaro Okiayu"

Tomoka's father who opposes her daughter playing basketball at first due to the incident with her at her previous school.


 * Hot Dad
 * Overprotective Dad: See above.
 * Samurai: Very traditional in words and in deeds.

Kaori Minato
"Voiced by: Yumi Uchiyama"

Tomoka's mother who seems to be very supportive.
 * Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: Snucks Tomoka out of the house despite her being grounded, so she could be with her friends and Subaru.
 * Hot Mom
 * Shipper on Deck: Seems to ship Tomoka with Subaru.
 * You Gotta Have Red Hair

Fuuga Misawa
"Voiced by: Teruyuki Tanzawa"

Maho's father who is a famous fashion designer. In gratitude for Subaru taking care of Maho, he helps him organize a mini-basketball tournament to serve as training ground for both Keishin teams.
 * Hospitality for Heroes: Does one for Subaru as thanks for taking care of Maho, even going as far as bringing the Dream Team to Japan just for him. Thankfully, Subaru only need help organizing a mini-basketball tournament to serve as tune-ups for the Keishin 5th grade and 6th grade teams.

Hatsue Nobidome
"Position: Advisor / Head Coach Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi"

Advisor and Head Coach of Suzuridani Girls' Academy Grade School Basketball Team.


 * Green Eyes
 * Stern Teacher
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair

Manaka Nobidome
"Position: Assistant Coach Voiced by: Satomi Satou"

Second Year, Suzuridani Girls' Academy High School Department. Hatsue's younger sister and assistant coach of Suzuridani's Grade School Basketball Team.


 * Game-Breaking Injury: Had to walk on a pair of pimp canes as a result.
 * Green Eyes
 * Red Baron: Subaru knows her as a fearsome three-point shooter on court.
 * Sempai-Kohai: She's one year higher than Subaru.
 * Shipper on Deck: Concocted a Kansas City Shuffle to get Subaru and Aoi together in the bath. Hilarity Ensues.
 * You Gotta Have Sea Green Hair

Miyu Aida
"Number: 4 Position: Shooting Guard Height: 140 cm (4 feet 7 inches) Class: 6-1 Birthdate: November 23rd (Sagittarius) Blood Type: O Voiced by: Mariya Ise"

Team captain of the Suzuridani Team.


 * The Ace
 * Arrogant Kung Fu Girl
 * In-Series Nickname: Chibi-Ribbon
 * Lightning Bruiser: She's even faster than Tomoka, and doesn't get tired as much as our heroines.
 * The Rival: Towards the whole Keishin team.