SHUFFLE!/Characters
These are the main and secondary characters that appeared in the SHUFFLE! Visual Novel and anime.
Rin Tsuchimi (voiced by Tomokazu Sugita / Jerry Jewell)
The protagonist of the series, Rin Tsuchimi started off with only Kaede Fuyou around, until the plot ball got rolling with the arrival of Lisianthus Eustoma and Nerine Forbessi.
Tropes associated with Rin:
- Chekhov's Gun - Rin taking the boxcutter in Episode 23.
- Dark and Troubled Past
- Deadpan Snarker - Appropriately voiced by Tomokazu Sugita
- Eye Scream - Once during their childhood, Kaede, out of hatred, dropped a boxcutter on his eye.
- Hey, It's That Voice! - It's Kyon! Or if you're watching the dub, it's... er... Barry the Chopper...?
- Luminescent Blush - Occurs without fail every time he gets into a situation with any of the girls in his harem.
- Ordinary High School Student
- Parental Abandonment - Rin's parents, along with Kaede's mother, died in a car crash on their way back from a trip.
- Silent Scapegoat: He claimed he was responsible for Kaede's mother's death by asking his parents to come back early
- The Other Darrin - Kenichi Suzumura voices him in the visual novel sequel, Really? Really! (Yes, that really is the title).
- Tomboyish Name - Inverted in his case, as Rin is, more often than not, a girl's name.
- Unlucky Everydude - Rin is this trope incarnate.
Lisianthus "Sia" Eustoma (voiced by Sayaka Aoki / Brittney Karbowski)
The daughter of the King of the Gods, Lisianthus, or Sia for short, met Rin when she was eight years old in the human world, having wandered away from her father's business meeting out of boredom. Rin befriends her on that day, causing Sia to fall in love with him.
Tropes associated with Sia:
- Accidental Kiss- With Kaede in the ending credits of the final episode.
- Book Dumb - Eustoma almost destroyed the school because Sia was in danger of failing.
- Chekhov's Gun - Those mirrors in her room look pretty suspicious...
- Dead Little Sister - Turns out she's Not Quite Dead, as she exists in the form of her more aggressive personality, Kikyou.
- First Girl Wins: In the manga. Though as usual, she's very willing to share.
- Fiery Redhead
- Gainaxing - She gainaxes more than the other girls, with the exception of the OVA, where almost all of them gainax with equal frequencies.
- Genki Girl: Extremely energetic. She gets excited at rain.
- Hey, It's That Voice! - She's Kyon's Sister in Suzumiya Haruhi.
- English: Um, she used to only say "Mone" in her past life?
- Image Song - Freedom, based on her Leitmotif, and Hitori Janai yo, a duet with Nerine.
- Instant Fanclub - Suki Suki Sia
- Marry Them All - Which technically leads to this in the VN ending, as Sia and Kikyou agree to share both their time, perspective, body and Rin.
- Even more so in Kikyou's ending in Shuffle! Essence+, where she splits from Sia into a separate body, and they still share Rin.
- New Transfer Student - Her transfer to Verbena Academy along with Nerine sets the plot going.
- Nonhuman Humanoid Hybrid - She's half Goddess half Demon and also Nerine's cousin.
- Starfish Character - Kikyou's existence.
- Weapon of Choice - Usually chairs and benches, to hit her Bumbling Dad with.
Nerine Forbessi (voiced by Haruka Nagami / Caitlin Glass)
The daughter of the King of the Demons, Nerine also met Rin in the past, and fell in love with him due to his kindness. It's revealed that the one who actually met Rin and fell in love with him was Lycoris, Nerine's clone. When Lycoris sacrificed her life force to save Nerine from the lingering illness she contracted when she was younger, Nerine absorbed all of Lycoris' talents and emotions. Eventually, Nerine as Nerine herself develops feelings for Rin.
Tropes associated with Nerine:
- Badass Princess: Look at what she did to those guys bullying Rin, and that was holding back!
- Body Snatcher - Non-villainous example: In the conclusion of the Nerine/Primula arc, to save Primula, Lycoris takes over her body and calms Primula, whose magic was spiraling out of control, down. Her eye color changes from brown to purple to indicate the change, as well as her calling Rin "Rin-kun", as opposed to Nerine usually calling Rin "Rin-sama".
- Dark Is Not Evil - Completely justified with Nerine's kind character.
- Dead Little Sister - Her clone, Lycoris.
- French Maid Outfit - Nerine dresses up as a maid when she helps Rin move into his new appartment.
- Funbag Airbag - Rin crashes into Nerine at one time. Her reaction is to hold him there for a while.
- Hey, It's That Voice! - English: She's Winry Rockbell and Yakumo Tsukamoto.
- Is this troper the only one to realize Nerine's father also voices her husband? *Shudders*
- Image Song - Pray and Hitori Janai yo, a duet with Sia.
- Informed Ability - Nerine is said to be an astounding singer, but when we hear her sing, she sounds like any other VA worth their singing talent (for example, Yūko Gotō, Kaede's seiyuu, is quite the singer in real life). It's revealed that her singing talent also came from Lycoris.
- Instant Fanclub - Ran Ran Rin
- Lethal Chef - Nerine claims she can't cook without something disasterous happening: "Fire, explosions, bleeding, dissolution... and much more..."
- Magic A Is Magic A - Most of Nerine's magic involves explosions, which she invokes to protect Rin from the Instant Fanclubs that harass him.
- New Transfer Student - Her transfer to Verbena Academy along with Sia sets the plot going.
- One-Note Cook - She eventually graduates from Lethal Chef when she learns how to make omelettes.
- Stuff Blowing Up - When annoyed, stuff tends to be destroyed. Her father indicates that she could easily destroy the school if angered.
- Yamato Nadeshiko - Ironically, she is bad at cooking, though not to the extent of the Lethal Chef. All she knows how to make are omelettes.
- In the graphic novel, she says she is beyond Lethal Chef. Apparently, explosions are the least of her disasters. Her dad wanted to make it a holiday when she upgraded to One-Note Cook
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair
Primula (voiced by Minami Hokuto / Cherami Leigh)
A young girl that Rin meets in the town's arcade, Primula is extremely attached to Rin and follows him home, after saying "I've found you Rin." She always carries a stuffed cat around with her, and gets distressed when it gets worn out. Primula is the third test subject of the Yggdrasil Project, a homunculus created for the sole purpose of being experimented upon. She was friends with Lycoris when she was younger, and almost prematurely reveals Lycoris' existence to Rin when they met. She corrects herself midsentence, instead asking Rin if he knows Nerine.
Tropes associated with Primula:
- Artificial Human
- Cheerful Child: The result of her Character Development in her own visual novel path.
- Chekhov's Gun - Singular episode example: When Kaede got sick early on, one could only wonder what Primula was doing in her room with a bag of seeds and a grindstone. Turns out she was making medicine for Kaede.
- Emotionless Girl - Part of her Character Development is gaining emotions, which is a plot point of her arc:Her gaining emotions caused her powers to spiral out of control, but she got better.
- Kuudere- The emotions were always there, deep down; she just never had anyone to bring them out because nobody except for Lycoris, who died shortly after has ever bothered to treat her like a person instead of an experiment.
- Harmless Freezing - Primula once froze Rin's dad as a gag, but the same magic has also killed.
- Hey, It's That Voice! - She also did the voice of Sakura Yoshino in the PC version of the Da Capo Visual Novel, Nanoha Takamachi for the Triangle Heart 3 ~sweet songs forever~ OVA, and Akiha Tohno in Melty Blood.
- So that's where all that excess out-of-control magic power of hers went to after it was sealed to save her life. Sure would explain Nanoha's Starlight Breaker.
- English - She's also Tama-chan, and Ayano Kannagi. Be very afraid.
- Image Song - Pureness.
- Instant Fanclub - in the graphic novel, the moment she started the school. This is the only club which physically hurt Rin in the game.
- Japanese Sibling Terminology - Starts referring to Rin and Kaede as onii-chan and onee-chan ('big brother' and 'big sister') in her Visual Novel route. This is notably also the route in which she and Rin become lovers, so make of that what you will...
- Laser-Guided Amnesia - In her own route, she gives Rin this so he won't miss her when she's taken back to be experimented on again. Unfortunately, she chooses to do this while they are having sex. And yet despite the obvious Squick potential, it somehow it still manages to be something of a Tear Jerker...
- Magic A Is Magic A - Primula's magic is seen in the form of freezing her surroundings and when she was put back under observation, explosions in the vicinity, similar to Mewtwo.
- In the graphic novel, she also had healing and Laser-Guided Amnesia as her powers.
- Older Than They Look - She's actually only a year younger than the rest of the cast.
- People Jars
- The Stoic
- Token Mini-Moe
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair
Kaede Fuyou (voiced by Yūko Gotō / Carrie Savage)
Kaede Fuyou lives in her house along with Rin, and openly states that the meaning of her entire existence is to "serve Rin-kun." Her mother died when she was little, and her father is often on business trips, leaving both Rin and Kaede alone in the Fuyou household. Kaede had a very emotionally traumatized childhood. Her mother's death (along with Rin's parents) caused her to lose the will to live, so Rin lied to her by saying that it was his fault that they died in the crash by calling for them to come back. As a result, Kaede abused Rin for most of their childhood as revenge, until one day when she discovers a letter that her mother wrote to her on the day she died. She discovers that it was actually indirectly her fault that her mother died, since she was gravely ill therefore Mrs. Fuyou and the Tsuchimis went out to buy medicine for her. She snaps, runs off to the street and nearly gets hit by a truck until luckily, Rin was able to pull her out of the way. She apologizes to him for all the years she abused Rin, and as a result, pledges that her only reason for continuing to live was to serve Rin, to make up to him for all the abuse she piled on him.
Tropes associated with Kaede:
- All There Is to Know About "The Crying Game" - The boxcutter incident has become more well-known than the actual premise of the show.
- Break the Cutie - In spades.
- Childhood Friend Romance
- Clingy Jealous Girl - In the anime. Give Rin-kun... back to me.
- Inverted, as it was only because she was starved of affection by Rin ignoring her.
- Covert Pervert - Don't forget that Really? Really! happens inside of her mind, and there are a lot of times where Rin has sex with other girls. All of those events are purely fictional and product of her imagination, including hardly believable scenes like a threesome between Rin, Asa and her mother.
- Dark and Troubled Past
- First Girl Wins - Subverted. Though possible to play straight in the visual novel, one spinoff has Nerine as the winner, the manga has Lisianthus and the anime Shigure Asa.
- Freak-Out - At her mother's funeral, and when Rin ignores her more and more in favor of Asa.
- Girl with Psycho Weapon - Anime only
- Heroic BSOD
- Hey, It's That Voice! - Yet another Suzumiya Haruhi seiyuu, as she's more well known as the voice of Moe Meido Mikuru Asahina, despite Kaede being Goto-san's breakout role.
- In English: "Hey , she sounds like a perky Rakka..."
- Image Song - Memories, also based on her Leitmotif, and Kimi to Mirai wo, a duet with Asa.
- Innocent Cohabitation - With Rin, although this gets hazy during her own arc when out of desperation, she clings to Rin in his bed. While naked.
- Instant Fanclub - Kitto Kitto Kaede
- Not so much on the instant at least from our perspective as viewers. It can be presumed to have existed since Kaede entered high school and is well established by the time the story begins.
- Parental Abandonment - Her father is on a business trip for the entirety of the anime, and is only seen in flashbacks. Her mother is, well, dead.
- Stepford Smiler - Her picture was even in the trope page at one time!
- She also thinks Rin is the Stepford Smiler by pretending to forgive her for the abuse, but that's not actually true.
- The Atoner - Her Yamato Nadeshiko side was actually borne out of her guilt for abusing Rin when they were younger.
- Yamato Nadeshiko - She became this due to guilt from abusing Rin when they were kids.
- Yandere - However, it's only in the anime. In the Visual Novel she's almost exactly the opposite; she has no sense of self-worth to speak of and believes she doesn't deserve to be loved by Rin. Not only does she not interfere with whatever girl he chooses, if he tries to choose her she attempts to turn him down.
Asa Shigure (voiced by Miki Itou / Monica Rial)
Asa is both Rin and Kaede's senpai, having known them since middle school. She's very tomboyish and initially views Rin as a younger brother, and is fond of slapping Rin hard on his back. She's also the most forward among the girls (with the exception of Kikyou), but whether or not she's serious is a mystery to Rin.
Tropes associated with Asa:
- Against the Setting Sun - Rin confesses to her, and they kiss Against the Setting Sun.
- Bokukko
- Cool Big Sis - Which means she has a Bro-Con on Rin.
- Dawson Casting - Miki Ito was pushing forty-five when she voiced seventeen year-old Asa-sempai, and is clearly straining her voice in certain scenes to pull of the perkiness she could so easily convey twenty years ago. Heck, the voice actress of her mother (Ama Shigure) is twenty years her junior
- Gainaxing
- Genki Girl
- Fan Service - The first Ecchi shot in the entire anime was of her topless in the Beach Episode. It was also the first Episode to receive a "This programme should not be watched by viewers under the age of 18" card in its initial broadcast.
- Fan Service with a Smile - At the end of her route.
- Fashionable Asymmetry - She has a long lock on her left side which she ties together with a brown band.
- Half-Human Hybrid - Her mother hides demon ears under her cap, and that's not even the full story.
- Hey, It's That Voice! - You may recognize her as the voice of Miyo Takano, Eva Ushiromiya, Taiga Fujimura, Sachiko Ogasawara and Android 18.
- Asa-sempai kicking Vegeta's ass... Ah what an awesome image.
- Whereas Asa-sempai as Rosa Chinensis is kind of... disconcerting (especially the Does Not Like Men part)
- English: Heya, Kyoko!
- And she's also... Kirika Yumura!? RUN!!!
- Asa-sempai kicking Vegeta's ass... Ah what an awesome image.
- Ill Girl - She often becomes ill for no apparent reason. It's revealed that her illness is her weak human body being unable to support the magic she inherited from her mother, Ama. Which she utterly refuses to use, since magic as a whole brought poor Ama lots of pain.
- Which is a bit idiotic, considering her slow and completely preventable death would be far, far more painful to Ama than knowing her daughter has magic.
- Image Song - Wish, and Kimi to Mirai wo, a duet with Kaede.
- Instant Fanclub - Ai Ai Asa
- Magic A Is Magic A - Asa's only documented use of magic was to heal Rin's self-inflicted slash.
- Panty Shot - Invoked in-universe: When Rin is trying to hide from the Instant Fanclubs, he hides under a table where Asa is sitting at. Asa then forcefully pushes his face into her panties.
- Power Makes Your Hair Grow - Her's hair is longer than usual when she uses magic. Unlike many examples, it stays that way until manually cut off.
- Sempai-Kohai - Becomes a subject of irritation for Asa once she hooks up with Rin.
Asa: Asa-senpai is forbidden! |
Kareha (voiced by Yura Hinata / Colleen Clinkenbeard)
Kareha is Asa's friend and also Rin and Kaede's senpai. She is of the God race, and she is known to fall into trances when imagining romantic things, sparkling as she does so. She becomes one of the heroines in On The Stage.
Tropes associated with Kareha:
- Bishie Sparkle - Whenever she Fangirls about anything, she sparkles and says "My my my!"
- Covert Pervert: Only covert in that she doesn't say out loud what she's imagining. However, whenever a situation that could be construed as romantic or perverted presents itself, she will Squee and glow.
- Fan Girl
- Fan Service with a Smile - She takes a part time job at the tea shop Flora, notable for their cute waitress outfits.
- Hey, It's That Voice! - She did the voice of Kotori Shirakawa in the PC version of the Da Capo Visual Novel.
- English: Riza Hawkeye, Ritsuko Akagi, Monkey D. Luffy... Wait, really!?
- Zettai Ryouiki - Special mention goes to Kareha, by virtue of her uniform at the shop where she works (The five main girls have all sported Zettai Ryouiki at some point)
Mayumi Thyme (voiced by Miki Inoue / Kelly Green)
Mayumi is classmates with Rin and Kaede and Itsuki. She's known for being always updated on any scoops that come by, especially if it involves Rin's lovelife. She also becomes one of the heroines in On The Stage.
Tropes associated with Mayumi:
- Berserk Button - Do not look down on her for her flat-chestedness. She will punch you. Hard.
- Book Dumb
- Camera Fiend
- Flung Clothing - She throws her clothes up in the air while changing into a waitress uniform. It gives her a problem, since she can't find her panties afterwards.
- Going Commando - She misplaces her panties by accident while changing into her waitress outfit in the anime, and the rest of the episode is spent with her trying to hide the fact.
- Half-Human Hybrid - Mayumi is half-demon.
- Hot Scoop
- Mismatched Eyes - Her eyes are colored purple and blue, so it's hard to notice.
- Ordinary High School Student
- Pettanko - And proud of it!
- Shipper on Deck
- Those Two Guys - With Itsuki.
Nadeshiko Benibara (voiced by Chinomi Takema / Luci Christian)
Ms. Beni is the teacher of Rin's class in (apparently) history. She becomes one of the heroines in Essence+.
Tropes associated with Ms. Beni:
- Badass Teacher - How she deals with guys that hit on her qualifies.
- Christmas Cake
- Hey, It's That Voice! - English: She's Kaname Chidori, Yukari Tanizaki, Nami, Princess Tutu, Dejiko, Tenma Tsukamoto, and... Milia Fallyna!? YIKES!
- Gainaxing
- Hot for Student - Inverted, Itsuki hits on her during the Beach Episode and turns Blue with Shock upon discovering who she is.
- She can end up with Rin in the Essence+ visual novel.
- Hot Teacher - The resident Handsome Lech hits on her on occasion if he doesn't know who he's talking with.
- Sadist Teacher - Has a frightening tendency to dole out over-the-top punishments like 100 page reports due the next day.
- One Teacher School
Itsuki Midoriba (voiced by Hideki Ogihara / Todd Haberkorn)
Itsuki's mantra is to love all girls equally. Academically at the top of Rin and Kaede's class, Itsuki dreams of ending up with a harem consisting of the girls that Rin does not pick.
Tropes associated with Itsuki:
- Cooking Duel - Test score comparison with Rin.
- Hey, It's That Voice! - He was a scientist and inventor working with the main protagonist in Super Robot Wars Reversal.
- English: He was a Frog in his past life!?
- Informed Ability - Mayumi states that Itsuki is at the top of the class along with Rin and Kaede, but outside his test duel with Rin, no other mention of his academic prowess is seen.
- Handsome Lech: He is successful enough to be given lunchboxes, but is generally shown to be unsuccessful in his attempts to flirt with the main cast.
- Ordinary High School Student
- Shipper on Deck - It was his idea to set up Rin's date with Asa that way. Rin gets slapped for his trouble. Thanks a lot Itsuki.
- Those Two Guys - With Mayumi.
Ama Shigure (voiced by Yuria / Jamie Marchi)
Ama is Asa's mother, who has always taken care of her whenever she got sick. It's revealed that Ama was the first test subject of the Yggdrasil Project. Eustoma and Forbessi state that she blew up the entire lab, but instead, she wandered into the human world, injured, and meets a man who she would later have Asa with. Asa's Ill Girl nature is a result of Ama's enhanced magic being passed onto Asa's human body; as a child, Asa saw her mother cry silently more than once, and swore to herself to never use magic so she wouldn't make Ama cry over it..
Tropes associated with Ama:
- Adorkable
- Adult Child - Her relationship to Asa, although loving and close, is more like that between a big-sister and little-sister than mother-daughter proper.
- Bokukko
- Doting Parent
- Hot Shonen Mom - She looks young and attractive enough for Itsuki to hit on her, before they're introduced. Everyone is surprised when they find out who she is.
- Kawaiiko - Her adorable and cuddly cuteness is outright acknowledged by Itsuki, which makes the revealing of her age all the more comically-devastating.
- Nice Girl - No wonder Asa is such a bright ray of positive sunshine; just look at her kind-hearted role-model.
- Nice Hat - Her bandanna, which is used to hide her demon length ears from everyone else.
- Older Than They Look - Young-looking enough to be mistaken for Asa's cute-big-sister by essentially everyone.
Eustoma (voiced by Jurota Kosugi / Travis Willingham)
Eustoma is the King of the God realm, and Sia's dad.
Tropes associated with Eustoma:
- Bumbling Dad: He means well but stumbles in his attempts at pushing Rin at Sia.
- Butt Monkey
- God Is Good: The King of the Gods is an affably guy and a doting father.
- Hey, It's That Voice! - He's Lantis, Zagato, Fox Mulder, and James Bond!?[1]
- English: Now he's Roy Mustang.
- Running Gag - His attempts at cooking and failing badly. Also, being hit by chairs by his daughter.
Forbessi (voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa / Vic Mignogna)
Forbessi is the King of the Demon realm, and Nerine's father.
Tropes associated with Forbessi:
- Dark Is Not Evil
- Genre Savvy: He tries to give his daughter an edge by informing her about costumes that turn up in shows like this. The french maid outfit for one and the school swimsuit for another.
- Hey, It's That Voice! - He's best known as the voice of Sephiroth. Though he's so soft sounding you won't be able to recognize him right off the bat.
- As well as Mitsurugi, Dante, Mitsuomi, Roberto Miura, and ... Ryu!
- English: Huh, he's also Edward Elric and Junpei Iori... and ... Broly!
- Hot Dad
- House Husband - He's the one who cooks Nerine's lunches (at least until she learns cooking from Asa).
Lycoris (voiced by Haruka Nagami / Mary Morgan)
Lycoris is Nerine's clone. After the failure of the first experimental test subject (Ama Shigure), the scientists decided to take someone who already had strong magical abilities to experiment on. Nerine, with her power, was an ideal candidate but since she was Forbessi's daughter, they could not risk Nerine's life, even if she was willing. Thus, they cloned Lycoris from her cells, however, as all clones go, they have a short lifespan. Nerine then fell ill, and Lycoris volunteered to sacrifice her life force for Nerine's sake. That is how Nerine and Lycoris became one. It is also revealed that it was Lycoris, not Nerine, who met Rin.
Tropes associated with Lycoris:
- Artificial Human
- Body Snatcher - At the climax of the Nerine/Primula arc.
- Clone Degeneration
- Posthumous Character
- Spell My Name with an "S" - Kaze No Koe Fansubs spelled her name as Licorice.
Kikyou (voiced by Sayaka Aoki / Brittney Karbowski)
Kikyou is Sia's sister. It was evident that only Sia would be born safely, and so Sia made a pact with Kikyou when they were still unborn, enabling her sister's soul to share her body.
Tropes associated with Kikyou:
- Body Snatcher - In the anime, when Kikyou got pissed off at Sia for being so passive, she decided to take over for a day to try to appeal to Rin. It didn't work. In the original Visual Novel, this is actually forced on her when Sia thinks Kikyou deserves to be happy with Rin.
- Dead Little Sister - Of Sia, but she's Not Quite Dead.
- Femme Fatale - Far more aggressive than Sia in her pursuit of Rin.
- Starfish Character
- ↑ Japanese dubs for the latter two roles