Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi/Characters

Character sheet for the series Sekaiichi Hatsukoi.

Emerald Editing Team a.k.a. "Maiden Department"

Onodera Ritsu

"This is definitely not love! This is definitely not love!" at the end of every chapter/episode

The protagonist. A former literature editor who was unceremoniously thrown in the crazy world of shoujo manga publishing only to discover that his boss was his ex-boyfriend in highschool. Hilarity Ensues.

Apologizes a Lot: In high school...but not so much in the present.
Belligerent Sexual Tension/Slap Slap Kiss: With Takano. They fight most of the chapters and then end it on a rather good note before the process repeats next episode.
Berserk Button: For all his sheltered and lovestruck behaviours, he did not respond calmly or civilly when he thought he was played with, as poor Takano found out first hand. Similarly when first realized that Takano is his ex, he immediately dropped all politeness (the only time he does so in the series) and started an argument.
Bookworm: Reads the whole library of his school and can finish 100 mangas in one night to get the hang of his new job.
Butt Monkey: He gets no respect from the other members of Marukawa simply because he's the rookie. When he tries to get the job done, they insult him. They insult him even more when he slacks off temporary. When he tries to warn everyone about the deadline, no one listens and when he tries to be optimistic, he's shot down by cynical responses. Only when he's as depressed as everyone else will they accept him into their group.
Cannot Spit It Out: When he finally admits his feelings for Takano, he still has not worked up the nerve to say that to the guy.
Can't Hold His Liquor: One drink and he's usually gone as shown in recent chapters when he tries to drink on the job.
The Cutie: In his high school years...and that's gone now.
- Break the Cutie: More in flashbacks than the present story. His first relationship with Takano crumbled which jaded his view of love. He is further broken in publishing fine literature, a job he loved, due to idle gossip about his familial connections being the reason why he worked with famous authors.
Deadpan Snarker: Has quite snarky comments about the weirdness of his new job.
Determinator: To prove that he does not need his family connections in order to succeed.
Expy: Looks like Misaki, and has a mixture of his and Hiroki's personality.
- Also, there's a slight Expy from Junjou Terroist, who watches his crush from afar just like Shinbou did. At a library.
Heroic Self-Deprecation: Has horribly low self-confidence, in part because of how his highschool relationship with Takano ended, but more so because his family, owning a publishing company, has determined his career so far and as a result he has no confidence in his own skills - he's devastated when he finds out that the only reason he was hired at Marukawa was because his parents made some calls to Isaka. This is actually one of the bigger obstructions to his current relationship with Takano, as he honestly doesn't have enough confidence to believe that Takano actually loves him and isn't just playing with him, although it doesn't help that Yokozawa tells Ritsu straight out that he's dating Takano and tells him to back off. Yeah, that did wonders for his self-esteem.
In Vino Veritas: He is a lot more open and honest about his feelings when he is drunk.
Love Is a Weakness: one he's determined not to succumb to. He's not doing too well in that department.
Master of the Mixed Message: Jebus, where to begin with this when it comes to Takano?
Meddling Parents: His dad is the reason why he can't seem to get any respect from his co-workers given that his dad's position will land him any job. His mom keeps harassing him to get married to An despite the fact he only sees her like a sister.
Oblivious to Love: Still doesn't believe that Masamune is in love with him (despite him telling him so repeatedly), and is in complete denial about the fact that he's in love with him, despite pretty much admitting that he does at the end of each chapter/episode... before swerving straight back to denial. Understandably, Masamune gets fairly pissed off about both this and the fact that he seems to forget very important details about their relationship.
Only Sane Man: During hell week, he's usually the only person that manages to keep his sanity while everyone else is freaking out, giving demands and fainting.
Poor Communication Kills: Instead of actually confronting Takano when he thought he was playing with him, he simply retreated into himself, absolutely convinced that that was the case and making no effort to communicate properly. Rinse and repeat.
Selective Obliviousness: His memory of the past is notoriously hazy with details unfavourable to him getting conveniently forgotten, as Takano called him out. In the present, he also actively convinces himself that what he feels for Takano is not love and tries to ignore Takano's repeated confessions.
Shrinking Violet -> Tsundere: Used to be one when he was younger. Not so much in the present though his fundamentally shy personality shows up at times.
Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids: Pessimistically points out that growing up involves realizing that being idealistic does not always work out.
Stalking Is Love: In his high school years he was generally thinking this.
Stalker with a Crush: Acknowledges himself that he is one in his high school year, but he is harmless compared to the average example of the trope.
Training from Hell: Takano made him go through five years worth of manga manuscripts from draft to final version in one week and comment on the changes. He was understandably freaked out at first but then goaded to accept the task.
Tsundere: Type B with the tsun side triggered very fast when concerning Takano.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Thinks of himself this way but according to Takano, he hasn't changed much. He is much snarkier though.

Takano Masamune

"Useless people are useless no matter what they do."

Editor-in-chief of the shoujo manga department and Onodera's ex-boyfriend.

Belligerent Sexual Tension/Slap Slap Kiss: With Onodera. They fight most of the chapters and then end it on a rather good note before the process repeats next episode.
Bookworm
Brutal Honesty: Bluntly points out to Onodera that he should quit if he is half-hearted about the job. And does not hesitate to make a mangaka redo her work.
Crazy Jealous Guy: Over Onodera, although it tends to be more subtle than the usual examples of this trope. But he can be incredibly forceful and possessive when pushed.
Deadpan Snarker: Especially when Onodera is concerned.
Despair Event Horizon: Crossed it after Onodera left him during his high school years. Other things contributed to his breakdown such as having problems with his parents and then thinking that Onodera was playing with him when he found out that he had a fiance.
Dogged Nice Guy: In a reverse of their situation in highschool, this time round it's Masamune pursuing Onodera - made more difficult by the fact that although Onodera constantly pushes him away out of fear of getting hurt, he relents just enough to send some really mixed messages. He is a bit too violent for the usual Nice Guy though.
The Determinator: To make Onodera fall in love and/or admit his feelings for him, true to his declaration. To give a glimpse of his troubles, the infamous love countdown of the series starts with 354 days.
Expy: Looks like Nowaki but has the personality of Usami if not worse. He is less weird and more arrogant though. Basically mix Shinobu's intelligence and attitude with Usami's personality and Crazy Jealous Guy tendencies and you're in the right zone.
Hellish Pupils: The anime gives him these, combined with Eyes of Gold, most likely to emphasize his famous intense gaze.
Insufferable Genius: Is usually right about what is best for work and is very direct about his opinions.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold
Kuudere: Off-handedly consoles Onodera about not getting the job he wants and compliments him when he does something good. He has also said some of the sappiest lines in the series.
Love Hurts: Didn't take it well when Onodera suddenly broke up with him in high school and definitely does not like it when Onodera has forgotten him.
- Apparently completely went off the rails in college when he found out that Onodera was engaged, and went the typical route of drinking and sleeping with anyone until Yokozawa snapped him out of it. He himself attributes the breakdown to his family problems
The Mentor: To Onodera at work.
Nerd Glasses: Often wears them during work. He takes them off when "interacting" with Onodera.
Parents as People/Parental Neglect: Takano's parents were more interested with fighting each other that they tended to ignore Takano during his high school years refusing to attend conferences despite Takano needing a parent. His parent's divorce along with Ritsu leaving him contributed to him crossing the Despair Event Horizon.
Real Men Wear Pink: Working as Shoujo manga editor and having ordered his department's office to be decorated with what can only be described as the most sparkly pink ever. On the other hand, he is assertive, blunt and no-nonsense.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Despite his his harsh manners and arrogant attitude, he treats his subordinates and the authors fairly and his criticisms are always on the mark. In addition, he too works his arse off during the hectic end of the cycle and suffers when bad things happen.
Smoking Is Cool
Tall, Dark and Handsome

Kisa Shouta

"I know that a middle-aged homo midget who only likes good-looking faces like me won't be able to have a normal relationship."

Seiyuu: Nobuhiko Okamoto

The one who sits next to Onodera at work. Despite his youthful appearance and childish manners, he is actually a veteran of the team, having joined Emerald even before Takano.

Beneath the Mask: Underneath the hyperactive persona he keeps at work, Kisa is a very depressed and cynical person that has no self esteem whatsoever.
Bishounen: While he considers himself normal in comparison to Takano and the other members of editing team, the women at the party in episode 19 find him equally attractive as the rest of the guys. The sparkles help.
Can't Catch Up: Is very conscious about his limits especially when compared to Takano.
Christmas Cake: An unlikely example as he doesn't look the part. However, the conversation with friends shows that he's the only one that hasn't settled down and gotten married and then he'll be at the age where it will be harder to do that the more he waits. However, given Kisa's appearance, he doesn't have to worry about that.
Deadpan Snarker: When he's away from the Emerald team, he starts acting really sarcastic somewhat of a jerk to the people around him.
The Eeyore: Surprisingly melancholic under his happy-go-lucky appearance.
First Love: At 30! He doesn't even know how to recognise it until Yukina spells it out for him.
First-Person Smartass: His inner monologue is very snarky and cryptic in comparison to Ritsu or any of the other Junjou Romantica characters.
The Generic Guy: Thinks of himself compared to other people in the industry this way.
Head Desk: A memetic-level instance in the beginning of episode 9.
Heroic BSOD: When he thinks that Yukina has cheated on him, he immediately reasons that all along he was just a plaything, and for days he is almost useless at work because he's so depressed and heartbroken. He's so convinced that Yukina is already tired of him, that he decides to take the hint and break up with him to make things easier for both of them. He's still so depressed and apathetic afterwards that when an ex-fuckbuddy calls up he agrees to sleep with him because he just feels that none of it matters anymore.
Heroic Self-Deprecation: Much, much worse than Ritsu, and although Ritsu's lack of self-esteem comes from his background and fear of nepotism, Kisa literally believes that there is nothing good about him, personally or at work. The biggest problem in his relationship with Yukina is that he has real issues trying to understand why Yukina is with someone like him when there are so many "better" people out there. Consequently, he is constantly afraid that Yukina is just playing with him or will leave him as soon as someone else comes along. Like Ritsu, he is terrified of being hurt.
Hidden Depths: He thinks and broods in Seen It All fashion more than his childish appearance shows.
Hypocritical Humor: He often jokes with the other members of the group of being players that probably had multiple partners when this applies to him more than Hatori or Takano as he's the one that sleeps around the most before meeting Yukina. Then again, he could be taking a jab at himself and how pathetic he is.
Insane Troll Logic: his self-deprecation and low opinion of himself is so bad that when he sees Yukina with a woman he immediately constructs an elaborate interpretation of his behaviour that concludes with Yukina actively giving him hints that he doesn't want him. Of course, Kisa then immediately tries to protect himself by breaking up with him first.
Keet: Subverted.
Looking for Love In All the Wrong Places: He is not intentionally a Casanova, but he seldom looks beyond appearance before hooking up with guys.
Love At First Sight: Which then turns to Rescue Romance when Yukina gets his stalker off his back.
Mankiller In Love: he's left scores of sex partners and broken hearted men in his wake. He's really really afraid that Yukina will do to him what he did to others before he had experienced love.
The Napoleon
Older Than They Look: He's thirty. He even manages to convince one guy that he slept with that he was an 18-year old high school student.
Precision F-Strike: To his stalker - "We only fucked once and that's all. Don't act like you're my boyfriend. Now fuck off."
Really Gets Around: Kisa has slept around for a long time, so when he finally falls in love, he can't bring himself to have sex with Yukina instantly like he had with all the other guys. Also, if he thinks Yukina is cheating on him, he'll go back to his old lifestyle as a way of trying to cope with the depression and heartbreak..
Stalker with a Crush: Similar to Ritsu stalking Takano in middle school, he just watched Yukina from a distance for a while. However, Yukina was very much aware of Kisa watching him and simply didn't mind it at all. Of course, Kisa has multiple stalkers on his watch to deal with.
Stepford Smiler: He's not at all chirpy outside of work, and the moments where he drops the happy go lucky act is when people around him start to worry.
Truth in Television: A fair exponent of Kisa's internal monologue is actually about his worries about his job, the stresses of balancing work and his personal life, and his future now that he's already into his 30s. A lot of it is very realistic. Hits a little close to home...
What Is This Thing You Call Love?: Apparently, he had a hard time understanding the concept of love hence why he slept around without a second thought, never thinking he would fall in love.
What the Hell, Hero?: Gets called out by Yukina when he breaks up without warning or without explaining what was on his mind and then proceeding to attempt to sleep with another man.

Hatori Yoshiyuki

"This guy pisses me off"

Seiyuu: Yuuichi Nakamura

Takano's second in command and the long suffering editor of the famous mangaka Yoshino Chiaki

Beleaguered Assistant: Yoshino is not the best when it comes to keeping with deadlines, and Hatori has to deal with the mess. In addition, Hatori essentially acts as Yoshino's caretaker, down to odd jobs such as cooking and doing laundry for him.
The Comically Serious
Crazy Jealous Guy: Whenever Yanase is mentioned, he instantly gets possessive and tells Chiaki never to see him again.
Destructive Romance/The Masochism Tango: With Chiaki. YMMV on which interpretation goes for them, but given that their relationship is a deconstruction of a love triangle relationship and how the author tries to show the two are lovers but end up fighting for most of the episode/novel volume and barely making up at the end, it's not hard to see that their relationship is more harmful than not.
Foe Yay: With Yanase to the point that Yoshino thinks the two are going out and later feels terrible thinking that he took Hatori away from Yanase.
Friend Versus Lover: As the lover, he often competes with Yanase simply to make sure that Chiaki won't fall for him.
Green-Eyed Monster: His ugly side shows up whenever he thinks that Chiaki is more interested in Yanase than him. Taken to the logical extreme in episode 16.
Jerkass/Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He's relatively friendly to many people such as those he works with and when dealing with women and other authors. However, toward Chiaki and Yanase, he's kind of a dick. Justified in that Chiaki is rather bratty and Yanase is his rival but he goes to the extremes sometimes when it concerns them.
Karma Houdini: He rapes his childhood friend and Yoshino still ends up forgiving him and the two end up hooking up. The incident isn't mentioned again.
- And in episode 16 he gets to cancel his date with Chiaki and expect him to be fine about it, goes to meet his ex girlfriend (of course he was meeting her due to work but Chiaki thought he was cheating on him behind his back), barge into Yanase's house and proceeding to beat the crap out of him and then forcing himself into Chiaki's house. And what does he get? He gets yelled at by Chiaki for simply skipping out on the date and he gets Chiaki to calm down easily.
Kick Them While They Are Down: Yanase was already in a state of despair when Hatori barged into his house. To push him against the wall and then proceeding to kick his ass is where this trope comes in.
Kuudere
Living Emotional Crutch: For Chiaki. In fact, without Hatori, Chiaki is a mess as he is unable to take care of himself due to his personality and being used to Hatori always doing everything for him.
Married to the Job: To the point where Chiaki thinks he stays at work just to avoid him at times.
My God, What Have I Done?: Intended to resign as Yoshino's editor after basically raping the latter out of frustration.
Patient Childhood Love Interest: Has all characteristics of the trope, except for being female.
The Stoic
- Not So Stoic: When he's really stressed, he'll let it all out.
Supreme Chef: The episodes featuring him always have Food Porn.
Tall, Dark and Handsome
Victorious Childhood Friend: To Yoshino.
Workaholic: Even when he's on break, he's always doing something work related.
Yandere: When he mistook Yoshino's confusion regarding him and Yanase being lovers as the latter's rejection of him, he snapped and raped Yoshino. He regretted it afterwards though.
- And then there's episode 16 where he literally barges into Yanase's house when Yanase locked his door and proceeded to beat him up when he thought that Yanase was making his move on Chiaki. While Yanase did make his move, he was rejected in a very depressing manner.

Mino Kanade

Takano about him: "No matter what you do, never piss off Mino."

Seiyuu: Hikaru Midorikawa

Beware the Nice Ones: The ever smiling and soft-spoken Mino on dealing with mangakas who are uncooperative in meeting deadlines "It's very simple. You barge into her house at around 3 am and while playing around with a box cutter right there at her bedside, you say It's going to be okay. You'll definitely get this done. There is no reason you shouldn't. You just slipped a bit in your schedule. I've got high hopes for you because you always come through. No reason you couldn't this time, right? You're one of my authors after all. After you have repeated this litany a few times, she'll definitely come around".
Cute and Psycho: Very likely.
Expy: He looks and acts a lot like a certain tennis player from a certain tennis series.
Eyes Always Shut
Perpetual Smiler
Tall, Dark and Handsome

Other Marukawa Publishing's Employees and Affiliates

Yokozawa Takafumi

"You have no right to love him!"

Seiyuu: Kenyuu Horiuchi

In charge of Sales Department of Marukawa Publishing and a good friend of Takano.

Bookworm: Apparently instead of giving him love and attention when his parents were working all the time, they just gave him books. Considering he ran away once, this indicates it may not have been a good idea. Although his circumstances are implied to never have been as bad as Takano's parents (who were truly Jerk Asses).
Crazy Jealous Guy: According to Yokozawa himself, his jealousy streak is so bad that he doesn't even want Zen to tell him about his past relationships!
Defrosting The Ice King: Thanks to the combined efforts of Zen and Hiyo.
Drowning My Sorrows: Over being rejected by Takano, which kicks off the events of his own case.
Grumpy Bear: He is called one by Marukawa employees
Hopeless Suitor
If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Him: to Ritsu over Takano. Ritsu is very confused by this, considering he thought he was the one being played with.
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Stated outright in the light novel, that he wants Takano to be happy, even if it's with Onodera.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Under the overbearing exterior, he is surprisingly gentle to animals and children.
Kindhearted Cat Lover: Believe it or not.
Post-Kiss Catatonia: Kirishima is a very good kisser. And then there's the sex.
Smoking Is Cool
Tall, Dark and Handsome
Tsundere: A major one when it comes to Kirishima. Ironically, the way he reacts to Kirishima is nearly identical to how Onodera reacts to Takano. With much less denial.
Uke: Believe it or not, he is one to Kirishima in his own case.

Yoshino Chiaki

Seiyuu: Shinnosuke Tachibana

One of Marukawa's best selling authors under nom de plume "Yoshikawa Chiharu".

Adorkable
Adult Child: Not very good at taking care of himself, gets excited easily and likes manga.
Armor-Piercing Slap: Or rather armor piecing punch to Yanase in order to get him to stop his advances.
My Beloved Smother: His mom is shown to be a little possessive of him to the point that Chiaki doesn't want to see her at all. It doesn't help that she's very much like her son and says rather insensitive things to him. This attitude might be the very reason he's an Adult Child.
Berserk Button: Don't give him a crappy reason to why you want to break up. He'll call you out on it.
- He also gets pissed off when an apology isn't accepted if he feels like he didn't do anything wrong.
Beware the Nice Ones: He's very sweet and mellow compared to the other characters and it really takes a lot to piss him off. Hatori is always making him really mad.
Big Eater: He always eats big meals and always expects Hatori to cook for him.
Break the Cutie: Getting brutally raped by your childhood friend can ruin you physically, mentally and psychologically. However, it doesn't last long.
Bunny Ears Lawyer: He may be lazy and unprofessional, but Chiaki is one of the most successful manga authors in Japan, which says something.
Butt Monkey: Despite being the one that get to order everyone around when it comes to helping him in his manga, he's still the one that gets mocked and criticized by those that work under him. Special mention goes to the time where he speaks of the love triangle (representing him, Hatori and Yanase) and the girls and Yanase making fun of him and Hatori getting pissed off that he even mentioned it.
Clingy Jealous Boy: Gets jealous easily when he thinks Hatori is hitting on another chick or Yanase but never understands why he's so upset.
Destructive Romance/The Masochism Tango: With Hatori. YMMV on which interpretation goes for them, but given that their relationship is a deconstruction of a love triangle relationship and how the author tries to show the two are lovers but end up fighting for most of the episode/novel volume and barely making up at the end, it's not hard to see that their relationship is more harmful than not.
Generic Cuteness: Chiaki is supposed to be one of the few characters is is deemed unattractive. Chiaki himself even comments that he's not nice to look at but given the series, he's just like everyone else.
Genre Blind: Did not notice the romance happening to him, despite being a shoujo mangaka.
Idiot Hero: Probably the only idiot uke Nakumura has ever written when you look at the Tsundere/Kuudere ukes.
Innocently Insensitive: Most of the plots starting him always kicks off by saying something that insults either Hatori (telling your boyfriend you're going to hang out with your best friend that is in love with you on your birthday instead of staying at home) or Yanase (telling your best friend to fall in love with someone else when it's obvious that he likes you)...and it usually goes down from there.
Lazy Bum: Beside being a huge procrastinator, Chiaki has a hard time doing anything in general unless Hatori or Yanase pull him by the hair to do it. This is shown when Hatori tries to resign as his editor and Chiaki doesn't do anything around the house when he's not there.
Lethal Chef: Implied to be one since he let's Hatori do all the cooking.
Moustache De Plume: Inverted version. He does not like his readers to know that he is a guy writing shoujo manga.
Not What It Looks Like: Often with Yanase. To be fair, Yanase is deliberately going for this trope while Chiaki being Chiaki is oblivious to Yanase's passes.
Oblivious to Love: Had no clue that both his close friends were in love with him, and assumed that those two were in love with each other. His denseness is cranked Up to Eleven in episode 6 and gets worse from there.
Please Don't Leave Me: Did not take it well when Hatori intended to resign as his editor.
Ridiculous Procrastinator: Why Hatori has to be strict to him.
Selective Obliviousness: Besides being Oblivious to Love, Chiaki seems to ignore certain things about certain people. This tends to backfire on him when it concerns Yanase though.
This Loser Is You: Despite being one of the most popular manga writers out there, outside of that, he fits the typical description of being a huge idiot, very lazy and doesn't seem to be that intelligent according to his mother.
Took a Level in Jerkass: It's harder to see, but in the beginning, Chiaki really was a nice guy who meant well in what he did (concerning Yanase and how he wanted to do all he could to make Yanase feel better when he thought that he stole Hatori from him even though that turned out not to be true). However, ever since he started dating Hatori, he's prone to snapping at either Hatori or Yanase, ignoring his family calls and simply being more immature about all the situations that befall him. And judging how he and Yanase were very close in the beginning and how it implies that the two rarely fight, the fact that episode 15, they're mad at each other for a long time implies that this type of fight isn't normal and that Chiaki normally wouldn't threat about.
Victorious Childhood Friend: To Hatori.

Yukina Kou

"My name is Yukina Kou. I'm 21 years old and I'm from Sapporo, Hokkaido..... And I'M IN LOVE WITH KISA SHOUTA!"

Seiyuu: Tomoaki Maeno

In charge of shoujo manga section of a bookstore, he is a fan of works edited by Kisa. He is still a student, majoring in art.

Armor-Piercing Slap: Gives one to Kisa when he tried to break up with him without explaining why and then trying to get laid by some other guy shortly afterwards.
Berserk Button: Don't hurt, hit on, or harass Kisa. You will regret it.
Beware the Nice Ones: He's one of those characters you really don't want to piss off.
Bishie Sparkle: Ep.8 is chock full of these, complete with floral background, most of the time he is onscreen.
Bishonen
Chick Magnet: Which he puts to good use in selling manga.
Curtains Match the Window
Exact Words: In response to Kisa's claim that he doesn't know anything about him as an excuse for their breaking up, he gave a verbal resumé of himself on the spot as the quote shows.
Hidden Depths: If he's not near Kisa, he's actually shown to be rather gloomy, but that's mainly due to critique artists putting him down and other students being jealous of him.
Keet: A more subdued version. He is not really loud but still very cheerful and enthusiastic. Kisa complains that his sparkly aura hurts his eyes its so bright.
Let's Get Dangerous: You know that always smiling cheerful persona? Watch his personality do a complete 180 and him scare away every single guy that comes close to Kisa. It's legitimately scary.
Nice Guy: The most unambiguously nice guy of the series. Except for that Berserk Button of his.
Not So Different: Kisa often worries if Yukina gets tired of him. Apparently, Yukina has the same thoughts going through his mind.
Prince Charming: Kisa constantly calls Yukina a prince due to his looks, being nice to everyone and having girls constantly swarm him.
Real Men Wear Pink: Likes shoujo manga and does not mind having emotional reactions to the stories.
Say It with Hearts: "Kisa-saaan! ♥"
So Beautiful It's a Curse: While Kisa constantly teases him about his looks, his looks seem to make the guys in the school jealous of him. Just asking to hang out with them at an art museum causes them to accuse of him of going there to pick up chicks, he also attracts so many girls that apparently they confess their love to him more often than not. He's very nice about it, of course, but his reaction everytime it happens is Here We Go Again.
Squee: His reaction when finding out that Kisa is in charge of his favourite series.
Understanding Boyfriend: He understands the stress that work puts on Kisa and is always putting Kisa's needs over his. Of course, Kisa thinks that he's just doing this because he's losing interest in him.

Yanase Yuu

"It was just a joke."

Seiyuu: Hiroshi Kamiya

One of the workers who works in Marukawa department. Is the middle school buddy of Yoshino.

Actor Allusion: He's sexy, he has a lot of fans and he's a really good Troll. Yep...Izaya is here.
All Love Is Unrequited
Anguished Declaration of Love: In episode 15, Yanase has to spell it out to Yoshino that he likes him. Too bad he gets rejected.
- It gets worse. He tries again in the next episode desperately trying to get Chiaki to understand that he's not playing around. He gets punched as a result.
Armour Piercing Question: Asks Chiaki what he sees in Hatori. Chiaki is actually silenced by his question and doesn't respond because of Hatori. Given the type the common interpretation of their relationship, it's not hard to see why Chiaki is speechless.
Berserk Button: Episode 15 implies that he hates when people lie to him. He didn't take it well at all when he found out that Chiaki abandoned him at the hot springs not because of a family emergency but because Hatori asked him to come back on Chiaki's birthday despite the fact the two could have seen each other and made up the next morning. It was apparently so bad that he didn't talk to Chiaki for a while hence Chiaki almost missed an important deadline. Yanase even admits that he was being immature about the situation.
Big Fancy House: More like a big fancy temple.
Bishounen
Break the Cutie: Episode 16. That's all.
Chew Toy: Of the Sekaiichi Hatsukoi universe.
Cry Cute
Deadpan Snarker: He's very witty at work to the point that one of the female workers finds that his endearing point.
Foe Yay: With Hatori to the point that Yoshino thought they were together.
Friend Versus Lover: As the friend (trying to promote himself to the love interest), he fights with Hatori for Chiaki's affection.
Heroic BSOD: Implied to have one at the end of episode 16.
Hopeless Suitor: One of the most depressing examples ever.
Ineffectual Loner: If the female workers have anything to say about it. Even more apparent in middle school.
In Vino Veritas: He's more opened about his feelings toward Chiaki when he starts drinking.
Jerkass Facade: Once you get past his snarkiness and his pranks, he's not that bad of a guy.
Love At First Sight: He fell for Chiaki in middle school and couldn't think of anyone but him since.
Love Hurts: Boy howdy...
Stepford Snarker: Behind his snarky and aloof attitude toward everyone, there seems to be a rather depressed person if his outbursts have anything to say about it.
The Trickster: Toward Chiaki but combine this with being a Troll and you have a nasty combination.
Troll: Loves messing with Hatori especially when he gets Yoshino to say something that pisses him off. Its very intentional as episode 16 shows.
Unlucky Childhood Friend: To Yoshino with a huge emphasis on the unlucky.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: His advances on his best friend is what causes Hatori to rape Yoshino and that eventually causes them to hook up.

Kirishima Zen

"Blushing over something like this, you really are cute. I'll just have to keep saying them until you get used to it, I suppose."

Editor-in-chief of Japun, Marukawa's Shounen department. Encountered Yokozawa when the guy was drunk after being rejected by Takano and took an interest in him.

Bi the Way: Was married and has a daughter.
Hot Dad
Manipulative Bastard: nearing Isaka-levels of manipulation when he has a mind to. Unfortunately Yokozawa isn't nearly devious enough to even make a decent stand against him when Kirishima really wants something. He's come straight from a love triangle involving two people who were honest and straightforward (Onodera's Selective Obliviousness and denial excluded); he is so not prepared for Kirishima.
Nice Guy: Much more lenient to his subordinates and authors compared to the likes of Takano.
Parents as People: He tries his best to take care of his daughter but work sometimes gets in the way.
The Tease: He enjoys making Yokozawa uncomfortable, as the quote shows.
You All Meet In A Bar: He first met Yokozawa in a bar when the latter was drowning his sorrows.

Other Characters

Kohinata An

"Ricchan, I love you, so do your best!"

Seiyuu: Yukari Tamura

Ritsu's childhood friend and the fiancée his family arrange for him. Sekaiichi being a BL series, it doesn't end well for her but she's still supportive of Ritsu's decision.

Anguished Declaration of Love
Arranged Marriage: With Ritsu. Unfortunately for her, he never takes it seriously and has tried to call it off.
Nice Girl
Unlucky Childhood Friend: To Ritsu.

Kirishima Hiyori

Zen Kirishima's daughter.

Cheerful Child
Has Two Daddies
Kindhearted Cat Lover
Morality Pet: Yokozawa is by no means immoral but he defrosts quickly thanks to her. In addition, Zen is very understanding with his authors' personal circumstances with the reasoning "What if it's Hiyo?"

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