CROSS†CHANNEL/Characters

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


The characters from CROSS†CHANNEL:

Remember, everyone here is insane. It's the whole point of the story. So beware of spoilers, which may or may not be marked.

Taichi Kurosu

Our protagonist, an attractive, superficially charming boy prone to sexual harassment. He has strained relationships with the rest of the cast which he is trying to repair. The sight of blood and emotional upset tend to set him off, leading to extremely deranged behavior which he regrets immensely.

  • Afraid of Blood: The sight of blood triggers Taichi's psychotic episodes.
  • The Atoner
  • Bag of Holding: The Taichi Bag appears to be this.
  • Bishonen: He's aware of it, but also thinks he's incredibly ugly for reasons that are never explained fully.
  • Bloodbath Villain Origin: The alternate Taichi from Tower of Friends, who is not the same Taichi that we know. But somehow just as crazy.
  • Byronic Hero: Taichi may be immensely screwed up, but he does try his best to act normal in order to fix everyone's problems.
  • Chick Magnet: Eroge. Taichi can win everyone's love. Even Hiroshi's, though there's no sex for that one. For Kiri, it's only in the true end, though the implied resulting sex happens offscreen.
    • The alternate Taichi was apparently completely normal and thus had even more girls that liked him... until the day it turned out he was even more insane and killed everyone.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: During more lighthearted moments.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: It's stated that he could even beat Youko if he ever fought seriously.
  • Diagnosis From Dr. Badass: Taichi displays uncanny medical knowledge at certain points during the game, quickly and effectively diagnosing injuries his friends have received. Later it is implied that he learned these skills - among others - from Youko, with whom he also committed mass murder during their childhood.
  • Driven to Madness: Due to Taichi being gang raped and then being forced to kill his rapists. Which, oddly enough, isn't what made him snap. The final nail was Youko's horrified look after she made him do it.
  • Drives Like Crazy: He's probably not even of age anyways, and he doesn't have a license.
  • Elegant Gothic Lolita: The dress Taichi is made to wear as a child fits this description.
  • Freak-Out: Taichi had one as a kid after killing a ton of people for Youko. The killing he was able to cope with. What screwed him up and turned him into the horrible mess he is today is the sheer horror he saw on Youko's face at the brutality.
  • Freudian Excuse: Dad died before he was born, mom died when he was a baby, repeatedly physically and sexually abused as a child, committed mass murder afterward at the behest of his co-conspirator, who reacted in sheer horror of what he did. The last is what finally broke him.
  • Freudian Slip: Taichi accidentally calls Nanaka "mom" later on in the game. Subverted, as she actually is his mom.
  • The Gadfly: Taichi trolls his friends, which actually makes him pretty charming and normal seeming. Two problems though: One, it's a mask. Two, due to being deranged he has trouble knowing when he's gone too far.
  • Go Through Me : Taichi defends Kiri from Youko when she tried to kill her. Youko stops attacking once Taichi threatens to cut off connections with her
  • Harmful to Minors
  • Heroic Albino: For a certain definition of "Heroic". His albinism is actually a plot point.
  • Hey, You: Taichi uses Japanese Honorifics in a rather offensive manner, being way overly familiar. Or he'll omit them entirely. It surprises some such as Tomoki and severely angers others such as Kiri.
  • H-Game POV Character: Somewhere between a Type II and Type III B. He's definitely a Type II by the end, though.
  • I Am Not Pretty: Taichi thinks he's repulsive due to certain features of his.
  • I Just Want to Be Normal: His main goal is to enjoy life like a normal person.
  • Knife Nut: Chris Reeve knives are his Weapon of Choice, it seems.
  • Lemony Narrator: Sometimes lapses into this, especially during the footnotes.
  • Lolicon : Parodied by Taichi, who views people who like little girls as being severely messed up. And is also a lolicon. At the end he asks Tomoki to apologize to Yuusa for him.
  • Lovable Sex Maniac : Taichi, except when he's not.
  • Meaningful Name: Taichi sounds very similar to "tachi," which is used after pronouns to indicate "this person and everyone with him" (watashi-tachi means "us" and anata-tachi means "you guys" and so on). Kurosu is similar to "korosu," which means to kill. Put the two together and you get "kill everyone." Could also count as a Prophetic Name.
    • Don't forget that the "kuro" in "Kurosu" means black, and Taichi frequently thinks of himself as "black-hearted"...
    • A far more subtle one occurs in the form of an anagram. "Kurosu Taichi" can be rearranged into 6+1 in Japanese, or "roku tasu ichi". What do six and one equal? Seven!
  • My God, What Have I Done?: Whenever he realizes he's crossed the line.
  • The Nicknamer: Taichi comes up with all sorts of strange names for the Broadcasting Club's members, and even himself.
  • Porn Stash: Which Touko burns, to his horror.
  • Rape as Backstory
  • Sad Clown: Taichi himself. He may try and make jokes and harass everyone, but he doesn't even consider himself human.
  • Second Year Protagonist: The dynamics are there, but the actual school system makes it difficult to say how strictly accurate it is.
  • Stepford Smiler: Taichi fakes being a clown in order to get along with others. Tomoki is shocked to discover the truth, though he did wonder how someone reputed to be as unbalanced as Taichi could be so normal.
  • Trauma Conga Line: His entire life. It'd probably be enough to drive anyone insane, really.
  • White-Haired Pretty Boy
  • Wholesome Crossdresser: As a child.
  • Yandere

Misato Miyasumi

Taichi's upperclassmen, she wears glasses and is a stickler for rules. Her brother is a friend of Taichi's, though they have an extremely strained relationship due to Misato's obsessive compulsive need for order and proper behavior, which is especially demanding for those she views as friends and family. This led to her turning in her father for a crime he committed for her sake though she really did not want to do it, thus causing the rift with her brother. The first arc is dedicated to her.

Touko Kirihara

A surly, detached girl who does not understand why she has to go to this school. Her issues involve a realistic depiction of a tsundere, traces of yandere/stalker behavior and extreme dependence on others. Appears to hate Taichi. She once dated him when he tried to make normal human relationships with other, but he forgot that that everyone he knew is also insane, even those who appear normal. Deeming the relationship doomed to failure, he cut ties with her, leading to a suicide attempt in order to regain his attention. The second arc is dedicated to her.

Kiri Sakura

Miki's friend, she possesses a strong hatred for Taichi. Her psychological issue appears to be over dependence and clinging to some figure, which is at the moment Miki. She a certain degree of paranoia as well. Through the story, she feels threatened by Taichi, which is understandable considering his irrational violence, though in the end she is not much better herself. She seems to understand Taichi the best of the main cast with the possible exception of Youko. She hates Taichi because she thinks he killed her brother Yutaka, but in fact it was a suicide. The third arc is dedicated to her.

  • Broken Pedestal: Yutaka.
  • Girl with Psycho Weapon: Thanks to the fact that everyone appears to have vanished from the world, she becomes increasingly terrified of Taichi and begins to train with a crossbow. Causes a few bad endings. Unknown to her, actually acting out against Taichi is a bad idea since it just means Youko will kill everyone.
  • Hair Color Dissonance: Kiri's hair is a bright blue, but is described as black in the text.
  • Leitmotif: Diarize, the leitmotif for the Flowers.
  • Living Emotional Crutch: To Kiri, in chronological order: Yutaka, Miki, and Taichi. This appears to be her "ultramarine". Of course, Yutaka dies before the story properly begins, Miki becomes rather broken due to the reset, and Taichi sends her back once she finally warms up to him, but he at least helps her get over Yutaka and become normal enough to adapt to society.

Miki Yamanobe

The Token Loli, she is one of the few able to keep up with Taichi and even match his sexual harassment. One of Taichi's closest friends, they have a policy of mutual harassment and the innuendo slung between the two is ever present when the two converse. She appears to be a case of clinical sociopathy, though is generally not dangerous. Thus, the feelings of others never mattered to her. The fourth arc is dedicated to her.

  • Cute and Psycho: In some iterations with the justification of apparently being a genuine sociopath. But she's normally pretty cheery and harmless.
  • Genki Girl
  • Lack of Empathy: Miki's "ultramarine". She has enough to have feelings for others, but doesn't particularly care for anyone else's. Taichi is somewhat similar, but it's more like he has problems understanding people in general.
  • Leitmotif: Diarize, the leitmotif for the Flowers.
  • Stepford Smiler: Miki reveals near the end of her route that she can't relate with human beings and that her Genki Girl behavior is just an act in order not to cause alarm.
  • Suspiciously Vague Age: Miki gives very evasive, semi robotic answers when question on their exact age. She should not have a problem sharing this kind of information with Taichi, so it's almost surely an oblique reference to this trope. But she may be a subversion: In her own route, she's been avoiding the reset button for several subjective years.
  • Token Loli: Miki is treated and acts like a kid, but, to Taichi's disappointment, she isn't really a little girl. In hindsight, her refusal to answer about her age makes somewhat more sense because she's older than she should be. Also, due to being older than he remembers, her body has also matured.

Youko Hasekura

A mysterious but extremely capable girl who tends to act as an observer throughout most of the story, she is extremely submissive to Taichi's will. Thus, whenever Taichi needs something done he will often ask her to do it. She apparently stalks Taichi and frequently claims to love him, but only annoys him and he denies that she loves him. She is the reason he is so profoundly broken: She manipulated him into killing the foster family that enslaved and molested them and at his moment of purest vulnerability reacted with horror to what he had done for her sake, utterly shattering his mind. The fifth arc is dedicated to her.

Nanaka

A mysterious girl who appears detached from the rest of the world. She is aware of the time loop, but will only hint about the situation to Taichi or nudge him into useful directions. No one but Taichi ever sees her, and he is not even sure what she is. She is actually Taichi's deceased mother. It is unclear how she came to be in this world even as the ghost she apparently is.

  • Absurdly Youthful Mother: Although we're not sure how old Taichi is, Nanaka looks just as old as him if not younger. Miki might be heading the same way, which isn't too good once you remember that she came from a poor family.
  • Dead All Along
  • Fetish Fuel Station Attendant: Nanaka is enigmatic yet cheerful, wears a Sailor Fuku and once wore bloomers under them, is really good with her legs and has no problem with Taichi's perverted jokes. Did we mention she's also a mom?
  • Figure It Out Yourself: She gives Taichi a few hints on what's really going on and that's it.
  • Genki Girl
  • Ill Girl: In life. Nanaka states that Taichi's father knew his life was short, and that she wasn't long for this world either, indicating some health issues on her part.
  • Leitmotif: Blithe Spirit, which is self-explanatory.
  • Luke, I Am Your Father: Nanaka is Taichi's deceased mother. This has been foreshadowed by some of her lines.
  • Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Definitely has some of the hallmarks of one. Somewhat played with in that her main job is to make sure Taichi stays sane.
  • Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Is Nanaka an alien, an agent of the divine, a ghost, or simply Taichi's delusion from what he remembers of his mother? He wonders about this for a moment before finally concluding that he doesn't care, and was just happy she was there to help him.
  • Meaningful Name: The "ka" in her name means incense, as in the type you use to honor the dead. Prophetic Names must run in the family.
  • Non-Linear Character: Sometimes does things to the wrong version of Taichi, showing that her existence is unaffected by the loops.

Hiroshi Sakuraba

One of Taichi's few male friends, he is perhaps the most normal person in the cast, even more so than siscon Tomoki. He is deaf in one ear due to being hit by Taichi.

Yutaka

A relative of Kiri's and a friend of Taichi's. Deceased.

Tomoki

Taichi's other surviving male friend, he's also Misato's younger brother and frequently accused of having a crush on her. He deeply resents her for turning in their father for a crime he committed for her sake, but when it is explained she literally can't help doing things like that he cools down. And he is indeed a siscon.

  • Freudian Excuse: His resentment of Misato is fueled by her 'betraying' their father. When the circumstances involved are explained, their relationship improves.
  • Straight Man: While he might not be the sanest, he's certainly the most coherent.
  • Suspiciously Vague Age: Tomoki gives very evasive, semi robotic answers when question on his exact age. He should not have a problem sharing this kind of information with Taichi, so it's almost surely an oblique reference to this trope.
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