OURAN HIGHSCHOOL HOST CLUB

Plot

Haruhi Fujioka is a scholarship student at the prestigious Ouran Academy, a fictional high school located in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Looking for a quiet place to study, Haruhi stumbles upon the Third Music Room, a place where the Ouran Academy Host Club, a group of six male students, gathers to entertain female "clients". During their first meeting, Haruhi accidentally knocks over and breaks an antique vase valued at ¥8,000,000 (US$80,000 in the U.S. English manga)^[1] and is told to repay the cost in service to the club. Haruhi's short hair, slouching attire and gender-ambiguous look cause her to be mistaken by the hosts for a male student. The hosts all agree that Haruhi would be a good host, thus making her join the host club. Ultimately she agrees to join the Club as a host herself (dressed as a male) in order to pay off her debt.^[2] She agrees to join since she does not mind hosting as long as she can pay the debt off faster. The hosts do later find out that she is, in fact, a girl. They keep this a secret, so no one will be able to tell. The Ouran Private Academy encompasses kindergarten to twelfth grade (along with a university). Most students come from wealthy families, but in special cases, merit scholarships are granted to exceptional students from a lower income bracket. The school's unofficial motto is "Lineage counts first, wealth a close second," meaning students with stellar family backgrounds but low socioeconomic status may be given top priority over those from rich families with lesser pedigrees.

Characters

Haruhi Fujioka

Voiced by: Maaya Sakamoto (Japanese anime and later drama CDs), Aya Hisakawa (early drama CDs), Haruna Kawaguchi (live-action), Caitlin Glass (English)

Haruhi Fujioka is the main character of the series. She was born on February 4 and is 15 years old at the start of the series.

As an intelligent first-year student of the exclusive Ouran Academy that comes from a poor family, having a cross-dressing father and a deceased mother, she is required to achieve academic excellence and rank first in class to maintain a special scholarship. She comes across the Host Club while looking for a quiet study place and accidentally breaks a ¥8,000,000 (80,000 USD in the English edition of the manga) vase that was to be featured in a school auction. She clears her debt to the club by disguising herself as a boy and working for them as a host. She finds this task easy because she feels gender does not dominate her personality. She soon realizes that acting as host and talking with girls comes naturally and begins to enjoy the work. However, she dislikes taking time away from studying and finds the antics of other hosts bothersome. Although she appears indifferent and fearless, she is revealed to suffer from brontophobia, a fear of thunder.

Throughout the manga, Haruhi grows to appreciate the Host Club and falls in love with Tamaki, the club's self-proclaimed King. She refuses to accept her feelings for him in the beginning, but as time goes by and the Host Club has to endure several trials together, even having Tamaki leave due to his grandmother's orders, Haruhi finds her courage. She confesses to him after the Host Club makes sure he is reunited with his mother. Shortly after becoming a couple, Haruhi accepts an offer to leave for America on a one year scholarship program. Originally supposed to go alone, Haruhi is happy to learn that Tamaki is going with her, as he has no intention of leaving her. Days after their arrival in America, they discover the other club members have followed them to live in the same building.

The official storyline of Ouran High School Host Club ends here.

In a one-shot released in January 2011, the Host Club follows Kyoya to Spain. Haruhi finds herself troubled with how to deal with Tamaki's growing confidence in their relationship. After Kyoya explains to her how Tamaki would get just as flustered as her if she should flirt back, however, Haruhi tries to hug Tamaki and ask him to carry her, which causes Tamaki to faint out of embarrassment.

In April 2011, a series of short glimpses into the futures of the main characters and some of the supporting characters was included in volume 18, the last volume. A short chapter was also included with Haruhi and Tamaki in Boston, set eight months after chapter 83, and showed Tamaki thinking about marrying her. In the one-page glimpse into the futures of Haruhi's father and Tamaki's parents, Haruhi and Tamaki are preparing to ask her father for permission for Tamaki to marry her. In the final two pages of the volume, a few pictures are included of their wedding. In the glimpse into Mei's and Kasanoda's futures, Mei, who has just started dating Kasanoda, informs a shocked Kasanoda that Haruhi is pregnant. Mori's glimpse into the future confirms that Haruhi and Tamaki were the first in the host club to have children.

In July 2011, a 16-page chapter released in LaLa, set during Haruhi's first year at Ouran University, where she is studying law, explains how Mei and Kasanoda met. At the end of the chapter, Tamaki returns to Japan from America; it ends with Haruhi about to tell him about Mei and Kasanoda. In another 16-page chapter released in August 2011 in LaLa, also set two years after chapter 83, the twins briefly confirm that Haruhi and Tamaki wed some time after the events of the July 2011 chapter, and before the events of the August 2011 chapter.

Tamaki Suoh

Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano (anime and later drama CDs),^[4] Hikaru Midorikawa (early drama CDs), Yūsuke Yamamoto (live-action), Vic Mignogna (English)^[5]

Tamaki Suoh, whose full name is René Tamaki Richard de Grantaine, is a second-year student at Ouran Academy and the founder and president of the Host Club. He was born on April 8 (Buddha's birthday), and is 16 years old at the beginning of the series. Flamboyant and narcissistic, he is dedicated to his duties as a host. He is the princely type, who entertains customers with upper-class etiquette and shameless flattery. He is partial to classic piano music and plays exceedingly well. He refers to his club as his "family": himself being the father figure; Kyoya the mother; Haruhi the daughter; Hikaru and Kaoru the brothers; Mori and Honey the cousins.

As Tamaki is the main comic relief character of the series, he is outspoken and naïve for his age, especially since he only views himself as an obsessive father figure to Haruhi, when, in reality, he is in love with her. Mori and Honey point out his naiveté when it comes to how he truly feels about Haruhi and the rest of the club sees this too. His naiveté applies to his overall dense approach to his own feelings, although he is very perceptive to the feelings of others, which Hikaru and Kaoru both note. He often becomes jealous of other boys who approach Haruhi and admires her natural personality. When he is kicked out by Haruhi or made fun of, he has the tendency to grow mushrooms in either the closet or the corner, which appear like they were worked on for weeks.

Tamaki is half Japanese and half French, and lives under the custody of his father, the wealthy chairman of Ouran Academy. They are separated from his French mother because of a deal made between Tamaki's ill mother and his cold-hearted paternal grandmother. He lives at the Suoh family's second mansion, while his father stays at the main mansion with Tamaki's grandmother. Eventually, he is accepted into the main residence where his grandmother lives. At first, she does not acknowledge him and makes his life sour by "pulling him back to reality", but he manages to win her approval with his mind and kindness and the two grow close. She also allows him to meet with his mother.

At one point in the manga, Tamaki realizes that he loves Haruhi as a woman and not a daughter. However, he does not act on it because of his own divided family, fearing that something similar will happen to the Host Club should he ever pursue Haruhi romantically. Thanks to his friend's efforts, however, he accepts that doing so would not hurt the club. Even then, though, he cannot find the courage to confess to her, frightened that she will not return his feelings. Later, upon hearing Haruhi's confession, he admits to his feelings and the two become a couple. Towards the end of the manga, he surprises Haruhi by going with her to America. The two move into a dorm building together, soon followed by the rest of the Host Club members, much to Haruhi's and Tamaki's surprise. While living in Boston, in a short chapter about Haruhi and Tamaki included in volume 18, Tamaki reads a book on how to be a good husband. In the final pages of volume 18, a few scenes of Tamaki's and Haruhi's wedding are shown (the wedding is later confirmed to have taken place about two years after Chapter 83 in a 16-page special chapter released in August 2011); in a paragraph discussing the future of Mori, Hatori revealed that Tamaki and Haruhi were the first in the club to have children.

His family name is romanized by VIZ Media as Suho and by Chuang Yi, Funimation and Nippon Television's Japanese-language website as Suou.

Kyoya Ootori

Voiced by: Masaya Matsukaze (anime), Junichi Suwabe (drama CDs), Shunsuke Daito (live-action), J. Michael Tatum (English)^[5]

Kyoya Ootori is an attractive, calculating second-year student at Ouran Academy and vice-president of the Host Club. He was born on November 22 (Good Wife Day) and is 16 years old at the beginning of the series.

Kyoya is best friends with Tamaki, despite their completely different demeanors. Kyoya is secretive and intelligent, as his ability to calculate the financial and social benefits that result from the Host Club's adventures demonstrates. He is a very realistic and pragmatic person, as well as a competent and accurate accountant. Despite his occasionally antagonistic traits, the Host Club would not have been successful without Kyoya's uptight resourcefulness. Although he is rarely seen entertaining guests of the Host Club, he is considered the cool type.

Kyoya lives with his father, an influent zaibatsu owner who specializes in hospital management. He has two brothers that he has to surpass to become his father's successor and a married sister who cares deeply for him. Despite his cold and uncaring exterior, Kyoya occasionally demonstrates his concern for others. For example, when the Club goes to the beach and Haruhi is harassed by men, he pretends to intimidate Haruhi to show her why the other members of the Host Club were worried about her. Another example is when he points out the false nature of an antique to an old woman who was about to buy it. Haruhi is able to see through his mask, however, and understands him well. In volume 16, his actions helped Tamaki strengthen his relationship with his grandmother.

Kyoya, unlike the rest of the host club, stays in the United States after their year in Boston; in the July and August 2011 special chapters, he makes only a cameo appearance because of his university studies there. In the Volume 18 glimpse into the future for Kyoya, Hatori declined to confirm whether he was named heir to the zaibatsu or not. As for his romantic future, Hatori wrote that she saw him marrying a woman that would bring merit to the Ootori family, although she did not completely discount the possibility that love would be involved in his choice. It is hinted that Nanako Shouji, a rebellious college student whom he helps in a special chapter set in Spain (included in Volume 18) has romantic feelings for him by the end of the chapter; whether those feelings are reciprocated or not, however, is left unclear.

Kyoya is incredibly irritable and slow to wake up in the morning, which is attributed to low blood pressure. He carries a clipboard with him and it is a long-running joke that it is unknown what he writes in it. In almost everything he does, he gets something out of it. According to the author, if Hatori Bisco had allotted forty pages for the first chapter of the manga instead of fifty, she would have cut Kyoya from the cast, but is glad this did not happen as "since the rest of the members are the way they are, he is invaluable for maintaining order and offering explanations."^[11] Bisco named him after the fact he wears glasses by taking the last syllable of gankyō, meaning a pair of glasses.

Viz Media romanized his name as Kyoya Ootori, Chuang Yi as Kyoya Ootori, FUNimation as Kyoya Otori,^[14] and Nippon Television's Japanese-language website as Kyoya Ootori.

Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin

Hikaru voiced by: Kenichi Suzumura (Japanese anime and later drama CDs), Soichiro Hoshi (early drama CDs), Shinpei Takagi (live-action), Todd Haberkorn (English)^[5]
Kaoru voiced by: Yoshinori Fujita (Japanese anime and later drama CDs), Kenichi Suzumura (early drama CDs), Manpei Takagi (live-action), Greg Ayres (English)

The twins Hikaru Hitachiin and Kaoru Hitachiin are depicted as mischievous, devious and otherwise childish young men who toy with people, including their schoolmates. They were born on June 9, a date chosen by the manga artist to show that they are alike yet different, and are 15 years old at the beginning of the series.

When Hikaru and Kaoru were young, they were fond of their maid. One night, they discovered her trying to steal from their mansion and offered her a deal. She needed to guess which of the two Hikaru was in exchange for the combination to the safe. The maid took the combination number from them anyway and said that no one would ever be able to tell them apart. They eventually learned many skills from the maid, including how to fake emotions, before she fled the mansion and never returned.

Kaoru and Hikaru before joining the Host club, only trusted themselves. They did not have any other friend in school besides them both. In the game "Which one is Hikaru", sometimes, they wanted to be told a part, sometimes they didn't.

Hikaru had been keeping his true feelings towards Haruhi Fujioka, which Kaoru believes that one day he would tell her.

During their second year of junior high, they meet Tamaki Suou, who wants them to join the newly-formed Host Club. The twins agree to join only if Tamaki can guess which twin is which. Although Tamaki fails many times, he eventually guesses it, at which point the twins give in and decide to try the Host Club. The club opened them up to new experiences, including the development of a deep bond with Tamaki. Prior to joining, the twins described the world as "us" and "them", being very distrustful and unkind to others. Additionally, because their parents were often away, they were deeply dependent on each other. Joining the club and meeting Haruhi helped them become more independent.

The Hitachiin twins use acts of "forbidden brotherly love" as their main draw in the Host Club, with highly suggestive themes of incestuous boy love. When their popularity amongst the Ouran females is questioned by Haruhi, the twins admit to having homosexual tendencies, though it is never clarified if they are bisexual or not. In addition, they are both considered the mischievous, tricky, little devil types in the club. They have their differences: Kaoru is nicer, more mature and considerate to the thoughts of others, while Hikaru is more childish and immature, even though he is the elder. Their different personalities are best shown when they are separated and there is also a slight difference in the way they speak. Hikaru has a deeper voice and tends to talk first, while Kaoru voice is higher and a little more pitchy and he tends to talk second. There are several ways as to how to tell the twins apart, the most used being that Hikaru's hair is parted to the right side and Kaoru's hair parts to the left. And at the same time Hikaru tends to be on the left and Kaoru on the right. Besides this, Hikaru dyes his hair a darker color after a fight and later reconciliation with Kaoru, in which Kaoru encourages him to be more independent.

The twins live with their mother, Yuzuha, a fashion designer, and their considerably meeker father, a computer software designer, until the final chapter in which they and the other Host Club members move to America to study with Haruhi.

In the volume 18 extras, they are shown around college age with their younger sister Ageha, born after the end of the series. She likes butterflies and flowers but has a personality much like her older brothers. She is attached to Tamaki, referring to him as milord/boss like Hikaru and Kaoru. The twins dote on her a lot.

Mitsukuni "Honey" Haninozuka

Voiced by: Ayaka Saitō (anime and later drama CDs), Ikue Ōtani (early drama CDs), Yūdai Chiba (live-action), Luci Christian (English)

Mitsukuni Haninozuka was born on February 29 and is 17 years old at the beginning of the series. The author has joked saying he only ages every four years because his birthday only comes on leap years.

Honey is depicted as a childish and cake-loving boy who is much older than what his elementary school appearance would indicate. He is also a strong fighter who can send people flying with one kick. When Haruhi is warned about his legendary fighting skills, the point is illustrated in the anime by a mushroom cloud erupting where a city had once stood. In the anime, there is a scene which shows Honey's true strength and it is said that Japan's Defense Minister has told him not to show his full power for fear that other countries might think Japan holds a weapon of mass destruction, causing them to fire missiles upon Japan (episode 18 of the anime). Honey is often around his cousin Mori, to whom he is very close, and lives with his father, the owner of a famous dojo, and his little brother, Yasuchika, with whom he is often at odds.

Honey is very fond of eating sweets and his room is full of stuffed animals. He always carries around a plush bunny named Usa-chan, an abbreviation of usagi, which means rabbit (also called Bun-Bun in the manga). He used to hide his true self with much difficulty by acting like a "real man" for some time, but after Tamaki convinced him that liking cute things was not bad, he realized that there was absolutely no need to hide. Together with Mori, he joined the Host Club, attracting customers with his shotacon cuteness. It is possible his nickname, Honey, came from his first name, Mitsukuni, as mitsu can mean honey. It could also be an abbreviation of his family name, Haninozuka. He is referred to almost exclusively by this nickname, Mori being the only one who calls him by his first name.

In chapter 72, he graduates from Ouran, but says that he will return to the Host Club every so often, as will Mori. They often return for visits and for a picnic planned by Haruhi. He and Mori also help fetch Tamaki for the reunion plan. In his volume 18 glimpse into the future, he is seen dating and marrying Reiko Kanazuki; Hatori also mentions that Honey is the first host club member to be married. Their marriage is confirmed in the August 2011 special chapter, set two years after Chapter 83; in the July 2011 chapter, it is confirmed that he is a third-year engineering student at Ouran University.

Honey, like Kyoya, has a difficult time waking up. Despite his cute nature, he wakes up in the same manner as Kyoya, though he is much quicker when dealing with the person that wakes him up, for example the platoon soldier when he visited America.

He was originally intended to have an extreme dual personality. However, the "crouching in the corner, depressed" stance was reassigned from him to Tamaki.

Takashi "Mori" Morinozuka

Voiced by: Daisuke Kirii (Japanese anime and later drama CDs), Kenjirō Tsuda (early drama CDs), Masaya Nakamura (live-action), Travis Willingham (English)

Takashi Morinozuka, usually called Mori, is a third year student at Ouran Academy. He was born on May 5, Children's/Boys' Day, and is 17 years old at the beginning of the series.^[3] The manga artist felt Children's Day a bit of a mismatch, but she later found Boys' Day to be quite fitting.

Mori is depicted as tall, quiet and somewhat intimidating, but he is very protective of Honey, whom he calls by his first name, Mitsukuni. This was seen in the anime and manga when Honey had a toothache (anime: episode 12, manga: chapter 14). Mori blamed himself for not reminding Honey to brush his teeth and restricted his cousin from eating candy until he had a filling for his cavity. Honey ended up judo-throwing Mori to the floor in a fit of anger, but they made up soon afterwards. The Morinozuka family had protected and served the Haninozuka family for many generations. As the two families were joined by marriage two generations back, they became related to each other, thus breaking the master-servant tradition. Nevertheless, Mori still faithfully protects Honey and is always by his side, attending to his wishes and watching out for him. His protective personality extends to his classmates and the Host Club members, earning him a level of respect. He is also protective of Haruhi, as shown in episode 7, of whom he thinks in a very kind, brotherly way. Although, as a host, he is considered the wild type (changed to the strong, silent type in the English anime dub), he normally does not try to woo girls. The girls like how he cares for Honey and shyer customers are attracted to his tall physique and taciturn personality. In the manga, he has an outgoing little brother, Satoshi Morinozuka, who does not appear in the anime.

Mori's hobbies include kendo, of which he is the national champion. In the manga, he becomes uncharacteristically talkative and flirtatious when he is tired. In the later chapters, he raises a chicken he names Piyo and takes in a stray tanuki. He is also depicted as having a natural ability to tame animals, as shown in a few later chapters in which he easily tame the 2 Doberman guard dogs in the Suoh residence and able to summon a flock of doves in the amusement park.

In chapter 72, he graduates from Ouran, deciding to study Theory and Philosophy of Law (or Jurisprudence). Although he is leaving for the university section, Honey and Mori state that they will visit the Host Club often. He continues to maintain a close relationship with the host club members even in the future, especially with Tamaki and Haruhi, being the first to congratulate them when they had their children and even visiting them often. The author stated that despite he has the quality of an old-fashioned, cool-looking Japanese man, Mori is, on the contrary, very loving and devoted to his future wife and children.

YAMATO NADESHIKO (WALLFLOWER)

Plot

See also: List of The Wallflower characters

The Wallflower is about a girl who was called ugly by the first and only person to whom she confessed her love. This incident sparks a life change, and as a result Sunako shuns all forms of beauty, both in herself as well as in life. Concerned by her change for the worst, Sunako's aunt, the owner of a beautiful mansion where four very handsome students live, offers the guys free rent in her mansion if they can turn Sunako into a "perfect lady" (referred to in Japan as the titular Yamato Nadeshiko).

While the four of them manage to make Sunako physically beautiful enough to become a lady, the problem lies with her attitude and interests (which Sunako has no intention of changing). Up until the most recent release in the story, they've managed to convince Sunako's aunt that her niece is indeed a lady befitting the mansion in which they live (and prevent the rent from skyrocketing to triple the required amount). However, in reality Sunako has not changed considerably. Sunako has the tendency to spurt out in a nose bleed when seen by bright creatures, especially around Kyohei.

Characters

Sunako Nakahara

Voiced by: Yukiko Takaguchi (Japanese), Hannah Alcorn (English) Live-Action: Aya Ōmasa

Sunako always had an obsession with darkness and a morbid fascination with blood, horror movies, and similarly dark things but it wasn't until she was rejected by her first love that she openly expressed it and became even more isolated from the rest of the world. She hates excessive light exposure and also does poorly in hot weather, though the latter is because she grew up in northern Japan. She has three "friends"; a skeleton called Josephine (with husband, sergeant George) and two anatomical figures named Hiroshi-kun and Akira-kun. While she suffers from severely low self-esteem, she is actually quite beautiful (most of her physical imperfections are a result of her self-imposed isolation from the world) and a frighteningly tough fighter, being able to lift someone twice her size with one hand. She is portrayed (mostly) throughout the manga in chibi form as a sort of visual metaphor for how she and others see herself; becoming beautiful when her mood becomes bold or confident . Somewhat surprisingly, she is a very good cook, very athletic, intelligent, and a good pianist. She refers to beautiful people as "creatures of light" and "ugly" people, such as herself, as "creatures of darkness", in the translation in America. Whenever she sees a "creature of light", she gets nosebleeds, and they're usually severe when she sees Kyohei. Despite her negative attitude, once she is driven to do something, Sunako is quite capable of doing things that no one expects her to complete. There is also a possibility that she may have supernatural abilities i.e. plants wilting near her and windows shattering by an unseen force. She's also been possessed many times.

Her relationship with Kyohei is somewhat unclear, saying that she always wants to kill him, and even going to the extent of turning into a lady temporarily to get him back. Her reason is that "she's the only person who can kill him". She has not, however, thought of or mentioned killing him for many chapters, not even after he kissed her. Recent chapters have seen her forget her first crush, and she is now more open to other people, including her peers and teachers at school. She's also having less and less nosebleeds and though protests at first, doesn't greatly mind spending time with Kyohei. During chapter Sunakos Curse Sunako is seen kissing Kyohei (the first time she has initiated a kiss) after she put a curse on him, of living spirits. In the chapter a present for you she is seen giving Takano a hand-made present to remind him of the good memories with his mother.

Kyouhei Takano

Voiced by: Showtaro Morikubo (Japanese), Josh Grelle (English) Live-Action: Kazuya Kamenashi

While he says that all he cares about is getting free (or the lowest amount required to be paid) rent, he has a soft spot for Sunako and empathizes with her more so than the others. He is the most popular of the boys, and always has trouble keeping down a part-time job because his fans will chase after him, or his boss (male or female) will sexually harass him. Kyohei is cocky, short-tempered, and the only one tough enough to fight on the same level as Sunako. His hair is modeled after Tackey of Tackey & Tsubasa. He also tends to succumb to food and money. Since Sunako is the only girl who is able to understand his true personality regardless of his good looks, he gradually develops an obvious attraction towards her, even going as far as kissing her for no apparent reason. In latest chapters he seems to be aware of his feelings to at least a small degree, looking at a loss when it seems Sunako loves a guy (she doesn't) and when witnessing said guy hug a girl rushes to find Sunako after buying chocolates 'for himself' (to console her- he doesn't eat a single one). He seems to have softened towards her more in chapter 91, telling her she's fine just the way she is when she's upset, scolding her for lying on a dangerous place and telling the 'old man' who talked to her not to fill Sunako's head with too many strange ideas, that he and the others would be worried if she went to the underworld.

Ranmaru Morii

Voiced by: Hirofumi Nojima (Japanese), Chris Patton (English) Live-Action: Shuntaro Miyao

A ladies' man, Ranmaru is often going out with various beautiful older (and often married) women. The very sight of Sunako initially has him breaking out in hives, but when her true beauty is revealed, he decides that she has "potential" to become a real lady. Like Takenaga, he comes from a wealthy family (who own a series of hotel chains), but was sent to live with the Landlady because he exploited his wealth and his parents wanted him to become "normal". Surprisingly, Ranmaru is actually better at kendo than Takenaga, who comes from a traditional family. He apparently is the strongest advocate of making Sunako into a lady and is usually responsible for doing her make-up whenever she has to dress up; however, his attempts are rarely successful in the long run and he is convinced the it is Kyohei's attitude towards Sunako that is the primary problem. In hopes of changing his womanizing habits, his parents engage him to reserved and conservative girl of their liking, named Tamao Kikunoi. Even though he rejects Kikunoi's love for him, he begins to develop feelings for her. He is named after the real life Mori Ranmaru, the partner of Oda Nobunaga.

Takenaga Oda

Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (Japanese), Vic Mignogna (English) Live-Action: Hiroki Uchi

The most intellectual of the four, Takenaga is called the "Boss" (a pun on his personal name in Japanese, which can be read as buchou, meaning "boss") by his friends and is the least fazed by Sunako's morbid habits. When the quartet dress Sunako up, Takenaga is usually responsible for doing Sunako's hair. Takenaga was originally from a wealthy family descended from flower masters (ikebana), but when the pressure of being the family heir was too much, he became completely withdrawn and ignored everyone. He was sent to live at the Landlady's mansion in hopes of becoming more "normal". He is described as a caring feminist and is rather shy. He is currently going out with Noi, whom he affectionately calls "Noi-chi". His name is derived from Oda Nobunaga (in fact it was once suggested in the anime that Takenaga was a direct descendant of Nobunaga) and his reference to Noi as "Noi-chi" is probably a reference to Oichi, a sister of Nobunaga.

Yukinojo Toyama

Voiced by: Yamauchi Yuuya (Japanese), Greg Ayres (English) Live-Action: Yuya Tegoshi

The most androgynous of the four, "Yuki" is gentle and is initially the most frightened of Sunako. He's the most "normal" of the four boys; before coming to live at the mansion he had a normal school life with a middle-class family. His mother and the Landlady are old friends and the Landlady, and Sunako at times, has a soft spot for Yuki. He's also the shortest and shyest, with a "cute" face, and has been called on (very reluctantly) to dress up as a girl on more than one occasion. He is usually responsible for choosing what sort of clothes Sunako wears when she is forced to dress up and has a good sense of fashion.

Noi Kasahara

Voiced by: Mai Nakahara (Japanese), Jessica Boone (English) Live-Action: Ranko Kobe

A very pretty and exceedingly popular girl. She loves being called beautiful by the others, especially Sunako. Noi is Sunako's closest friend at school, where Sunako is scorned for her terrifying demeanor and association with the boys. She admires Sunako's tough attitude and also believes that Sunako and Kyohei are compatible as a couple. Noi is in love with Takenaga, though she tends to be insecure about their relationship because Takenaga is too shy to openly admit that he likes her. She is called "Noi" in both the North American and Singaporean English-language translation. As stated in recent chapters, she's a fan of shoujo manga.

Mine Nakahara

Voiced by: Yuka Komatsu (Japanese), Tiffany Grant (English) Live-Action: Reiko Takashima

Sunako's aunt (addressed as Oba-san or "Auntie"), who expects Kyohei, Takenaga, Yuki, and Ranmaru to make Sunako into a lady. Called the "infamous Marie Antoinette of the East", Miss Nakahara is extremely wealthy and usually travels in unconventional fashion, such as in a fleet of helicopters. The Landlady is rarely around (usually in France with her latest boyfriend or fiancé) and the four males have managed to convince her that Sunako is on the fast track to becoming a lady when really her niece is not. However, the Landlady has also been known to make unexpected visits, which often leads to the boys putting on an act of some sort with Sunako to make her appear more lady-like and, occasionally, resulting in raised rent when all does not go as planned.

The Landlady is actually the younger sister of Sunako's father and, like her niece, requires very little effort to frighten the boys. It is known that her husband is dead and the apparent reason why she keeps getting a new boyfriend is that she is lonely, but she loves none of these men in the same way she loved her husband. While their interaction is relatively limited, Sunako actually admires her aunt a great deal and considers her the most beautiful woman she knows; the Landlady, in turn, simply wants Sunako to be happy and believes that helping her niece become a lady will do so, especially since as a child Sunako always wanted to be like her aunt. She gradually turns her focus away from trying to shape Sunako into an elegant lady, believing that Sunako is perfectly capable of acting as such, and attempting to change Kyohei into a suitable partner for her niece.

HAYATE NO GOTOKU (HAYATE THE COMBAT BUTLER)

Plot

Hayate Ayasaki is an unlucky teenager who has worked since childhood to make ends meet due to his parents' irresponsible behavior. One day he finds out that his parents were planning to sell his organs to the Yakuza to make money, leaving behind a massive gambling debt on his shoulders of ¥156,804,000. While running away from the debt collectors he ends up meeting Nagi Sanzen'in, a young girl who is the sole heir of the wealthy Sanzen'in estate, and due to a misunderstanding Nagi ends up falling in love with Hayate. After he rescues Nagi from some kidnappers, she hires Hayate as her new butler.

Aside from performing his ordinary duties as a butler, Hayate must fight to protect Nagi from harm, a difficult task since her life is always in danger because she is the target of other individuals coveting her family's fortune, and sometimes deal with some extravagant requests from her, oblivious to Nagi's true feelings for him. In the later story, Hayate has to deal with the feelings of several other girls, Ayumu Nishizawa, his former classmate who harbors a crush on him, and Katsura Hinagiku, the student council president of Hakuō Academy who ends up growing attached to him. Hayate is also revealed to have had a romantic relationship with a childhood friend, who is revealed to be Athena, chairman of the board of Hakuō Academy.

Due to a series of events involving Hayate and Nagi, Nagi ends up forfeiting her inheritance and with the last of her savings, she moves with Hayate and her maid Maria to an old building called "The Violet Mansion" and rents its extra rooms for income, having Hinagiku and Athena

Characters

Hayate Ayasaki

Voiced by: Ryōko Shiraishi (Japanese), Muriel Hofmann (English)

The butler of the Sanzenin family, Hayate Ayasaki has had to work to support his parents' bad habits since the age of nine, always moving from job to job, before he was found out to be underage. The experience gained does mean, however, that of all the characters, he possesses the most extensive practical knowledge he has is of how the world operates. Hayate's dad has refused to get employed, while his mother is a compulsive gambler, and the whereabouts of Hayate's older brother, Ikusa, are unknown. These events led to their bankruptcy—they abandon Hayate after selling his organs to the Yakuza to ease their financial burdens (an action that disgusted even the Yakuza that bought Hayate's organs, though that didn't stop them from accepting). With not many choices left to him, Hayate conspired to kidnap someone to get ransom money. He found a girl, Nagi Sanzenin, and told her that he would kidnap her. However, Nagi mistook his words for his confession of love, so he was later employed as Nagi's new butler. In the beginning of the story, he often mentioned Nello and Patrasche from the novel A Dog of Flanders, and compared his miserable situation to the characters' life.

As a butler, Hayate is capable of all aspects of housework and can even play the violin, but it is his ability in repelling attacks from almost anything, including butlers of other families (despite his bad luck) that makes him a "combat butler". He once demonstrated a skilled use of fire-arms (capable of wielding an MG3 single-handedly) and is essentially invincible with physical prowess far surpassing any normal human being. Hayate once parried a sword thrust easily with just two fingers, and in Volume 8, revealed that doing over 350 one-finger push-ups is part of his daily routine since he was little, among other displays of his strength. At the end of Volume 6, Hayate manages to create an ultimate technique called Hayate no Gotoku (like the wind).

Hayate sees Nagi as a beautiful girl, and has a crush on the more mature Maria. It is also possible that Hayate is starting to fall for Nagi, slowly and steadily. He can go as far as touching Nagi's breasts (Episode 22, 31) rather than the regular touching, holding her hand or holding her in his arms. He has even seen her naked twice Season 2. The first time is in in Episode 5, and the second time is in Episode 16 of Season 2. Afterwards, Nagi asks Hayate to dry up her hair before he leaves. Hayate obeys, and as thanks, Nagi kissed Hayate on the cheek as a reward. Hayate's heart seemed to have moved a little towards his precious mistress after this episode, and he seems to come to understand the feelings that Nagi had harbored for him throughout the first season. He even admits to Hinagiku that Nagi is his girlfriend in Episode 6 of Season 2, (Although it is shown indirectly with pictures in his mind) but Hinagiku thought Hayate's girlfriend is Ayumu. As a result, Nagi and Ayumu have become one of the few people to successfully express their emotions towards their loved ones, although Nagi seems to be beating her rival by at least one mile as of now, because Ayumu has yet to kiss Hayate. Their feelings for each other have increased again on Episode 17 of Season 2, where Hayate saves Nagi from being sent into outer space. When he got into the UFO, he hugs Nagi instantly and they both blush, and he promises Nagi that he won't leave her again. He also makes the same vow to Yukario, that he will protect Nagi forever. Nagi overhears this and her heart is touched.

However, he gets really annoyed when Nagi and Maria force him to wear female clothing, although he has vowed to protect Nagi forever in Episode 52. This in short means that he cannot choose any girl except for Nagi, and it also means that he must choose Nagi as his wife out of all girls.

In chapter 156, it is revealed that he sleeps three hours a day: studying until 2am, waking up at 5am (the reason that he gets up at 5 is that he thinks it would be unwise to wake up after Maria has done so).

In addition to looking poor and seedy, Hayate can also appear to be extremely feminine. He has a girlish face and is good at housework such as cooking and cleaning, which are usually thought to be work for women; he is also very modest and sensitive, all of which contribute to others' perception of him as feminine. This has led to him being forced to wear girls' clothing or cosplay in feminine outfits such as nekomimi, a maid and so on. In episode 36 of the anime, he cosplays as Belldandy from Ah My Goddess. Both Tama and Klaus have fallen for Hayate when he wears girls' clothing. Later on, this female alter-ego is given a name: Hermione Ayasaki, which is probably a reference to the main heroine of the Harry Potter series. Hermione Ayasaki has officially "appeared" once in each season of the anime (officially meaning whenever Hayate lies by saying his name is Hermione Ayasaki in order to hide the fact he was unintentionally cross-dressing at that time. He has been forced to cross-dress at other times, but he is not referred to by his alter-ego's name on these occasions). However, in recent Hayate no Gotoku manga popularity polls, it was seen that there are votes for two different characters, one being Hermione Ayasaki, the other being Hayate dressed as female .

Although he possesses a wide range of skills, his empathy is very poor, to the point where he often hurts the people around him because he doesn't understand their feelings towards him. He is truly a handicap on dealing with his admirers' feelings towards him. However, Hayate's attitude towards a relationship is actually very positive. Athena taught him that he must be economically strong if he wants to date with a girl.

On the other hand, he often unintentionally embarrasses others by reacting wildly at very simple requests. Such as in volume 8, when Hinagiku asks if he wants to take a bath and he thinks that she wants to take a bath together. This may be because of his innocent personality, which often leads him into trouble with other people. It seems that he also has a crush on her. This is evidenced in Episode 6 of Season 2, when he is bathing Hinagiku's bathtub, he pictures a pretty Hinagiku bathing and he blushes, not understanding why he felt that way. Afterwards, Hayate's heart beats unsteadily when Hinagiku entered Yukiji's room (Hayate's staying there for the night), it leaves the twosome alone in the room. Hinagiku has finished taking a shower and is trying to teach Hayate the correct answer for his mistakes on his homework. The scent of her shampoo is in the air, and Hayate is starting to fall for Hinagiku even more because he thought that she was a very beautiful girl. In the following episode (Season 2 Episode 7), Hayate and Hinagiku created a spark when they both accidentally touched each other's hands. They both blush, and Hinagiku rushed out of the house to buy some ice cream because she can't face her crush due to embarrassment. It seems that their feelings for each other has increased. And as Hinagiku often helps him out on more than one occasion, he ends up making biscuits for her on her birthday and White Day, as thanks for his love for her.

He also has a slight interest in Ayumu after Ayumu hugged Hayate on Valentine's Day, and their feelings have increased after Ayumu gave some suggestions to Hayate on what he should buy for Hinagiku, Maria and Nagi on Episode 10 of Season 2. and saving her from a bicycle crash for the second time. He also gave some cookies as a present for Ayumu on White Day because Ayumu had saved Nagi from being killed by the mafia on Episode 15 of Season 2. On the 22nd episode of Season 2, when Hayate saw Ayumu changing clothes, he immediately blushed, but his feelings for her have increased even though it is supposed to be embarrassing.

He had a girlfriend named Athena, who was responsible for teaching him cleaning and swordsmanship, as well as for building his strong body. They had a falling out after his parents pawned an "engagement" ring she gave him. In chapter 239, after being asked by Hinagiku how he feels about Athena, Hayate describes Athena as "Not like the others," and ultimately tells Hinagiku that he is in love with Athena. Following her advice to meet her, he goes to her mansion and confronts Machina, who nearly kills him and steals his King's stone before Athena brings him in and treats him. After these events he rescues Athena and they express their feelings one another as they still love each other. At the end he tells her that she is the one he loves but he comes to deciding he must first protect Nagi.

Nagi Sanzenin

Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya

Nagi Sanzenin is the only heir to the Sanzenin fortune. She is short-tempered, spoiled, immature and disruptive. (She can go as far as destroying things and hitting people if she's frustrated) She has an otaku-level hobby with manga, anime and video games, and draws her own manga, which is called "Millennium Legend: Magical Destroy" whose main protagonist is a magical girl named Britney who is voiced by Rie Kugimiya and Ryōko Shiraishi for Nagi and Hayate's version respectively. Many of the characters in the anime think that Britney is very ugly and that Nagi's manga sucked. (Hayate and Maria included) Only Isumi understands and enjoys her manga. Sakuya has shown her hate on Nagi's manga by throwing it into the trash can when Nagi was only a child.

She has a large crush on Hayate, and she thinks that Hayate loves her since they first met. She sometimes tries to make him take an interest in her in many ways, and sometimes, she succeeds. She has successfully kissed Hayate 2 times in total. She gets really jealous when Hayate makes some good statements on other girls, and then punches him into the face. However, Hayate never understands why Nagi is mad at him. Only Ayumu, Kazuki, Mikado, Maria, Wataru, Isumi and Sakuya is aware of Nagi's crush on Hayate.

Nagi's only surviving family is her grandfather, whom she greatly dislikes. She regards Maria as an older sister figure, but gets ultimately jealous when Hayate is out with Maria or is alone with her. She has a pet white tiger, Tama, whom she regards as a family cat. Her mother is shown in volume 12 of the manga. She cares for her family and friends, but she doesn't want to show her concern directly, she usually shows her concern with "formal words".

Because of her pampered existence, she lacks any worldly knowledge and is even incapable of looking after herself. In one episode, in the absence of both Maria and Hayate, she was shown to be incapable of even making tea on her own, wrecking the mansion in the attempt. Nagi is mortally afraid of the dark (due to an incident with Isumi), and so shares her bed with Maria at night. Since going outside is very dangerous because of her status, Nagi favors staying at home, not liking company in general. (With the exception of Hayate being around) She also dislikes sports, especially swimming. However, Hayate managed to convince Nagi that sports is good for her body, and she is able to get into 2nd place on the Hakuo freestyle marathon due to Hayate's absorbing training and her huge amount of love for him.

Nagi likes to do what she likes to do, but mostly what she likes to do is not so good for her future. She is hard to control, even Maria who has lots of talents can't control her. But Hayate, her average educated and insensitive butler, who saved her from the kidnappers and the mafia, is able to convince her to go to school, do exercise, have many friends, etc. He helps Nagi to be a better person. He saved both her life and her lifestyle. While Hayate always reminded her to go outside and gather experiences on the outside world, she always thought that will be boring or she will always get lost and risk being kidnapped. Maria always states to her that without Hayate she will always get lost or in danger.

Nagi spent most of her younger years living outside Japan. Because of her family's wealth, she became the prime target of the Sicilian mafia and other criminal organizations. Nagi disliked being a target and spent most of her days indoors playing video games and watching TV and hence slowly becoming a hikikomori. Hayate, Maria, and Klaus worry about her well-being because she likes to play games until late at night and skips school so they encourage her to leave the house or invite guests for a party. She begins to go to school more often after Hayate transfers to her school. Despite her laziness, Nagi is a highly intelligent student. She skipped grades and is currently in the first year of high school and in the same class as Hayate.

Another funny thing about Nagi is that she always forgets the everyday life of an ordinary person. For example, she once rode on a subway train with Ayumu in the 1st season, but she seemed to have forgot what a subway train is like when she is with Kazuki in the 2nd season.

"Nagi" means "windless" or "calmness", which seems to be the contrast of Hayate, which means "gust of wind" or "squall".

On the other hand, in Episode 52, Hayate got summoned back to the past when he jumped into the sky to get Nagi's hat back. At that time, Nagi feels uncomfortable going outside, because the mafia is after her. However, Hayate manages to defeat the mafia but he made a few holes on Nagi's hat. Nagi doesn't mind and said that the holes are proof that Hayate saved her life. After this incident, Nagi falls for Hayate even more because he has vowed to protect her in the past, present and future. Both Nagis (The one in the present and the one from the past) fall for Hayate deeply.

Maria

Voiced by: Rie Tanaka (Japanese), Candice Moore (English)

Maria is Nagi's maid and is the one of the few people who understands the relationship between Hayate and Nagi. She appears to be the one in charge of everything in Nagi's manor, since everyone from Klaus (head butler) to the SP either obeys or fears her (or both in some cases). She is highly intelligent, somewhat devious, good at general housework and likes games of all kinds, though she is deathly afraid of cockroaches, which she refers to as "the dark life-form that exists in the kitchen and other places". She has also proved capable of self-defense techniques in times of need. She is, however, poor at disguises, as seen multiple times when she tries to spy on Hayate and Nagi and is recognised instantly.

She has no surname and she doesn't have records of her biological parents. She is found in front of St. Mary's church by Mikado as an orphan, where she got her first name. Not knowing anything about herself, her birthday was decided as December 24, the day she was found. She is the unfortunate one who always has to clean up everyone's messes. She has seen Hayate naked multiple times (and has been seen naked by him once), and she sees the effect he has on other girls, many of whom are attracted to him for his kind nature. Her own feelings for Hayate are very clear, and she blushes whenever Hayate saves her from danger. (Episode 19) Also, when Hayate accidentally tripped on her, they both blush as well. (Episode 22) Although she has chosen to put any feelings for Hayate aside in order to support Nagi's love for him, she has been shown to be curious about love. However, there are countless cases that Maria is unable to control her own feelings for Hayate. One example is that on Valentine's Day, she keeps telling herself that she isn't in love with Hayate, but eventually She ends up making some chocolates for Hayate. However, she smashed it because she is jealous of Hayate's skill at making chocolate. At the end, Hayate ended up making chocolates for both Maria and Nagi. Both girls enjoyed the chocolates.

Maria is also legendary throughout Hakuō Academy for having graduated high school at the age of 13 in just three years while maintaining the position of Student Council President for all three years. Because of this, she was able to recommend Hayate to Hakuō Academy despite him narrowly failing the entrance exams. Due to such unusual experiences, she both appears and acts in a manner more mature than people typical of her age. Because of this, even people near to her speak of her as if she is older than she really is, a pet peeve for her. She commonly responds that she is still a fresh 17-year-old girl and remains 17 years old (according to this phrase) throughout the entire six-month-span of the series. She may have met Athena as a child.

Tama

Voiced by: Jūrōta Kosugi

Tama is a white tiger from Africa, who was rescued by Nagi as a cub, and was raised on Matsuzaka beef and expensive tuna fish, making him incapable of going to the zoo or back to the wild. He can speak the human language, though he does not reveal this to Maria or Nagi because he doesn't want to shatter the girls' dreams. He will lay his life down to protect Nagi, as Nagi saved his life and raised him herself. To him, Maria is the highest power there is, followed by an impassable wall, Nagi, then himself, and everyone else is below him.

Despite the fact he is a white tiger, he was found by Nagi while she was exploring Africa. The manga artist admitted that he made a mistake when fans wrote to him pointing out there are no tigers in Africa. Because of this, when Nagi first finds Tama, she becomes convinced that he is just a cat. Usually when Tama is speaking or involved in a comical situation, he looks rather cartoon-like and, when standing on his hind legs, is about human size. He appears this way in most of his appearances, although he will occasionally be drawn in his actual size and appearance. He has been known to imitate other people's voices, and has done a perfect imitation of Nagi once.

Tama is often seen relaxing or doing human-like activities. However, he seems to enjoy reading male model magazines in his free time, which only goes to show Tama's odd behavior. He once fell in love with a tiger on a picture of a magazine advertisement for Brazil, and tried to machinate a plan involving Klaus' retirement just to get to go see her, before being reminded by Hayate that there are no tigers in Brazil.

Isumi Saginomiya

Voiced by: Miyu Matsuki

Saginomiya Isumi is a girl who always wears a kimono and, sometimes, a stole. She is Nagi's best friend; they met at a party a long time ago. When all the other children, Sakuya included, laughed at Nagi's first attempt at writing her own manga, Isumi took interest in it and asked Nagi how it ends. Nagi then asked Isumi (in a childish sense) to marry her. As a result, Nagi has always asked Isumi for ideas for her own manga, but it proved that Isumi's ideas were even more retarded than that of Nagi's.

Like Nagi, Isumi is very rich; however, Isumi is soft-spoken, kind, and a good cook. While she does not have an awful sense of direction, she constantly gets lost because she is apt to forget her destination and believes herself to be reliable and independent (a belief further enforced by the flighty nature of her mother and grandmother); the fact that she can disappear from people's eyes instantaneously only complicates the matter. She also has a habit of saying, when she doesn't understand how to use a machine such as a cellular phone or a vending machine, that the machine is broken. She displays a high level of empathy for Nagi's feelings, yet she does not recognize Wataru's love for her, a fact that Nagi, Maria, and Hayate comment on. She has, however, seemed to have developed a crush on Hayate.

Although what Isumi actually did on Episode 24 was to decurse Hayate's pendant, she did confess to Hayate afterwards. Hayate, as always, misunderstands it as something else.

In volume 5 of the manga, it is revealed that she can perform exorcisms. Humorously, she calls this power "hand soap", though Hayate assumes she means "hand power". She loves Hayate and does not wish to see him sad.

Isumi is the inheritor of the secret mystical power called Jutsushiki Hachiyo, the spell of the eight leaves. This power is only inherited by a chosen female child in the Saginomiya family. In volume 11, she loses this power, which causes some slight distress to Hayate as he would have to literally bleed through grueling trouble in order for her to regain it, but she rejects his help, saying that she does not wish to cause other people harm for her own ends. However, in volume 12, when Hayate is on the verge of tears thinking of a way to save Nagi from being blasted off into outer space, she kisses Hayate on the cheek (while he is bleeding profusely after being struck on the head by Ginka) and regains her power, sending Hayate speeding towards the UFO to save Nagi.

Later in the story, Isumi has a prominent role regarding the events about Athena and Hayate's past, by aiding Hayate in several ways during the fight against King Midas. It is also revealed that her hair temporarily pales whenever she overuses her power.

Hinagiku Katsura

Voiced by: Shizuka Itō

Hinagiku Katsura is the current student council president, and kendo club president at Hakuō Academy, the school that Nagi, Isumi, Wataru, and eventually, Hayate attends. She is 15 and is an expert with swords, specifically kendo. Her family is also quite wealthy like most of the other girls at Hakuo, but they do not have a butler because Mrs. Katsura prefers to do the chores herself. She can also speak as many as 17 languages, and is an expert linguist. She first meets Hayate when he is lost on the huge Hakuō campus and ends up rescuing her. She had been helping a baby bird who had fallen out of its nest, but due to her fear of heights, had become stuck without her realizing it. Hayate ends up helping her down the tree, and then promises that he will help her should she ever call for him. In gratitude, she invites him to the top of the school's clocktower, where only student council elites are allowed. She allows Hayate to call her by her first name and also seems to be infatuated by Hayate and his attractive personality. Her family, while shown to be well off in volume 8 (chapter 76), does not show any signs of being rich in comparison to much of the cast.

However, in volumes 9 and 10, it is revealed that Hinagiku suffers from a past nearly identical to that of Hayate's – she, along with her sister, had also been abandoned by their biological parents, who left them with a debt of 80 million yen (approximately 1 million US dollars) shortly before Hinagiku's sixth birthday. Following this, her sister, Yukiji, managed to pay off the debt (albeit through what the manga depicts as rather dubious means) and the two of them went to live with the Katsura family, as Mr. Katsura had been Yukiji's elementary school teacher. When Hinagiku finally sees the beautiful view from atop the clocktower on the night of her 16th birthday with Hayate's help, though, she finally realizes that she actually loves him. She had been afraid of admitting this to herself because she was scared that she would forget about her past if she fell in love with him. She likens her feelings to the scenery atop the clocktower: she had been unable to see them because she had been too scared to. When Hayate asks her if she's still scared, she replies that while she is, it's not a bad feeling, which is a possible response to both her fear of heights as well as her fear of abandonment. Hinagiku's problems are not over yet, however; in Volume 8, when Ayumu and Hayate were staying over at Hinagiku's house, she promised Ayumu that she would support her in her relationship with Hayate. Now, having fallen in love with Hayate herself, she must come to terms with her feelings of betrayal as she tries to find a way to tell Ayumu about her feelings. As such, she publicly tries to help Ayumu get closer to Hayate, but finds herself feeling saddened whenever she does so. She also helps Hayate get closer to Ayumu, taking on an almost motherly role as she feels exasperated by his slip-ups time and time again. Although Nagi seems convinced otherwise, Hayate himself doesn't seem to think that Hinagiku could have feelings for him, which leads him to say things that hurt her as well (such as in volume 12, when, after Hinagiku said that a good White Day gift would be biscuits, he remarks cheerfully that he could buy the basket of biscuits on display that Hinagiku had been eying to give to Ayumu). Later on in the series, after many interruptions, Hinagiku manages to confess her love for Hayate to Ayumu in order for her to help clear her conscience. Upon hearing the news, Ayumu cheers up Hinagiku, leaving her confused. She explains that although her feelings may not be returned, she is content to be with Hayate nonetheless and encourages Hinagiku to try her best, provoking a competition between the two friends.

Hinagiku is sometimes referred to as being rather masculine for a girl by other characters in the series. This is exemplified on Valentine's Day in volume 7, where Hinagiku is given a lot of chocolates by female admirers. Miki suggests this is because Hinagiku is seen as being "cooler" than the boys, and the fact that she was rather domineering at a younger age. Her athleticism, competitiveness, and leadership position all also probably contribute to this view. This is similar to how Hayate is seen as being rather feminine, and wound up giving chocolates to girls on Valentines Day when it was supposed to be the other way around. In addition, on Valentine's Day, she had considered giving Hayate chocolates as well, but ate it herself because she didn't want to add to Hayate's troubles after Nishizawa had already given him chocolates as a way of confessing her feelings to him a second time. Thus, on White Day in volume 12, she regrets not having given him any chocolates, as he would feel no obligation to return the favor as a friend.

The anime has given her pink hair, which corresponds with her hair color in most of the manga, except on the color page cover of chapter 37, where she has strawberry orange hair. The hair clip she is always seen wearing was a birthday present from her real parents. She met Athena prior to meeting Hayate a year before.

When Hinagiku tries to confess her love to Hayate, he surprises her with his feelings, telling her that the one he loves is none other than Athena and that he needs to confess his feelings to Athena. Hinagiku advises Hayate to pursue his feelings and not be hesitant. When she goes back to the mansion she's staying at, Hinagiku breaks down in tears, whilst trying to accept the fact that Hayate loves someone else. In later chapters we see that Hinagiku has decided to help Hayate and the others when King Midas made his move and attacked the hotel where the others were staying. She goes to Athena's mansion to help Hayate defeat King Midas and rescue Athena. Once Hayate and Athena are reunited (while displaying great signs of affection for each other), Hinagiku leaves in tears trying to give them some privacy. The next day, after the Athena conflict is resolved, she learns from him that Athena turned him down, but Hayate escapes before she is given a chance to pursue the topic.

Wataru Tachibana

Voiced by: Marina Inoue

Wataru Tachibana is Nagi's fiance, but they have no feelings for each other. Wataru claims that his parents arranged their future marriage entirely for money. He lives and runs a video-rental store in the city, the last store owned by the Tachibana group, which lost all their assets and is on the verge of bankruptcy due to the recession. His dream is to make his store great and acquire a fortune greater than Nagi's. Wataru is in love with Isumi. He initially hates Hayate for accidentally stealing Isumi's affection, but later he looks up to him and strives to be like him. Despite this, he still calls Hayate by his own personal nickname for him, "Butler In Debt" or "Bankrupt Butler" (or a variation thereof), and doesn't hide his usual irritation.

Later on in the manga, it is revealed in an off-hand conversation that Wataru's store is actually starting to do well and is making some profit. However, he has yet to retain a fortune that can match Nagi's. It is also shown that he cares for Saki, although in a different way from how he feels about Isumi. This is implied through the great means he often goes through to make her happy, or to otherwise make up for wronging her. This includes a time where he believes she is downtrodden because he had forgotten her 20th birthday, when he had also promised to buy her a furisode (a long-sleeved kimono used for coming-of-age ceremonies). In order to make up for this, he goes as far as to buy a 200,000 yen (roughly $1,650) yukata for her because the furisode was too expensive, and even rejects a chance (as he sees it) to win Isumi's heart. Later on, he realizes his love for Saki when he saw her face in his mind just before confessing to Isumi.

Surprising, Wataru also has a crush on Sakuya in Episode 51. He expresses his feelings for her by thanking her for giving a spot in Hakuo, and would pay her millions back for what she did when he gets rich.

On the ninth episode of Season 2, Wataru is beginning to fall for Sonia when he kissed her in exchange for saving Saki, and he constantly blushes when Sonia says some romantic stuff to Wataru.

Sakuya Aizawa

Voiced by: Kana Ueda

Sakuya Aizawa is Nagi's cousin and from Kansai. Like Nagi, Sakuya is very rich and has a similar personality — loud, arrogant, abusive of servants, and unwilling to accept defeat in anything; Nagi is one of the few people who can stand up to her wrath, Sakuya is the one who has known Nagi the longest. Sakuya is the eldest daughter in her family with three younger sisters and one younger brother. Her illegitimate half-brother Gilbert is one of the people who is constantly harassing Nagi for her fortune. Sakuya is obsessed with stand-up comedy, especially Manzai style. She encourages Hayate to become a comedian because she believes that Hayate's life up to now is nothing more than a comedy. She is quite well-endowed for her age, easily surpassing Nagi, Hinagiku, and Isumi, and a match for the normally developed teenagers like Ayumu or Chiharu; so far only Athena and Maria are the ones amongst the "minors" of the cast to clearly surpass her.

Sakuya can often be seen hanging around with Isumi: she is usually present when Isumi performs exorcism, although she doesn't have any special powers. When Isumi disappears after seen in Greece with Nagi, Sakuya flies to Greece to look for her. She's not all bad though, since deep down she does care for her cousin.

Sakuya develops a crush on Hayate in Episode 32 when he saved her from the demon monsters, evidenced by blushing. Her crush on Hayate is further evidenced in Episode 40. Hayate is supposed to fix the blackout problem for Nagi, but then meets up with Sakuya. After arriving to the Sanzenin hot spring for cover, Sakuya then kicks Hayate into the hot spring and hugs him tightly, telling him that she is older than Nagi, and therefore should not be treated like a kid. However, Hayate doesn't understand Sakuya's feelings for him. On the 5th episode of Season 2, Sakuya falls deeper for Hayate when he tidies up her clothing. However, she can't quite express her emotions, and thinks that Hayate is making fun of her instead. On the 19th episode of Season 2, she expresses her love for Hayate indirectly winking her eye after Hayate made her laugh on the 29th of March. On the 24th episode of Season 2, she expresses her love for Hayate again in another indirect way. He asks Hayate whether or not she can call him "Brother Hayate" instead of "Bankrupt Butler. She did this because her feelings for Hayate has grown.

On the other hand, Sakuya also develops a crush on Wataru in Episode 51. Her heart was touched when Wataru thanked her for giving him a spot in Hakuo. She also stuck herself close to Wataru on the 23rd episode of Season 2 when she thinks he did a good job on the gag show for the audience, as a sign of love for him. However, Wataru doesn't want her to stick that close, and pushed her away. Wataru then fell on top of Sakuya, making the both of them blush. Their feelings for each other has increased after that.

SHAKUGAN NO SHANA

Plot

Yuji Sakai, a high school student, expected his very normal life to last forever. However, this expectation is quickly shattered one day while on his way home. The world suddenly freezes in time, leaving Yuji to watch in horror as blue flames engulf the people around him. Soon a monster resembling a large doll appears and begins sucking the flames into its mouth, until it notices Yuji. Surprised with Yuji's insusceptibility to the time-stop (fuzetsu), it jumps with glee. Just as the monster prepares to consume Yuji, a sword-wielding girl in black attire with flaming red eyes and hair appears, swiftly and confidently destroys the monster, before noticing Yuji moving freely. The girl calls herself a "Flame Haze" who hunts the "Denizens of the Crimson Realm" and the "Rinne" they send to do their bidding. When Yuji notices a blue flame in his chest, the Flame Haze tells him that the "real" Yuji died some time ago, and that he is a "Torch", a temporary replacement for erased humans. Torches take on the forms of those erased persons, but after a period of time, they will vanish from existence and the memories of the living. Unfazed by his apparent death, Yuji befriends the strange girl and names her "Shana" after her sword. The reason Yuji was able to move in the fuzetsu is that he is not a normal Torch, but instead a special kind called a "Mystes": he has a treasure inside him, known as a "Hougu", a device possessing special abilities of sorts, and an extremely powerful and valuable one at that. The hougu inside Yuji allows him to remain in existence rather than fading away like other torches. Shana resolves to protect Yuji from the Denizens, who would use the treasure to disrupt the balance of the world, and Yuji decides to join Shana in her fight.

Shana's fight is actually a long-standing struggle between the Lords and Denizens of Guze. The Denizens steal Power of Existence, the energy that forms the basis of the world, from living people and utilize it for their own selfish ambitions. Some Lords inhabit humans creating Flame Hazes in an attempt to retain balance by hunting renegades from Guze. Flame Hazes create Torches in place of the consumed to save the world from the disruption of many existences being lost at once, allowing the Torches to gradually burn out over the course of time.

Main characters

Yuji Sakai

Voiced by: Satoshi Hino (Japanese), Kristian Ayre (English)

Yuji, the main male lead of the series, is just an average high school student. However, his world is turned upside down when he discovers that he is already dead and does not have much time before he disappears. Fortunately, Yuji is a Mystes who contains a treasure known as the Reiji Maigo, "Midnight Lost Child"). Unlike normal torches, the treasure inside him restores his Power of Existence every night at midnight. With the Reiji Maigo, Yuji has the possibility to live on like an average human as long as he makes sure that his Power of Existence does not run out before midnight. Later, he begins to learn to use the yet untapped potential of the treasure kept within him. Once he began using this power, the antagonists recognize him as "Silver the Second". He cares deeply about Shana, but does not make any advances in their relationship due to his feelings of inferiority as a Torch and his view of Shana as someone who is beyond his reach. He also starts to see Shana from her old former perspective of the world, where he is just a Torch and she is just a Flame Haze. With this going on, he distanced himself from the closeness that the two originally shared, leaving Shana hurt with the new feelings of love she has developed but cannot explain. However, Yuji and Shana have since repaired the damage to their relationship. As of volume 16 of the novel series, he has verbally acknowledged that he is in love with her.

Shana

Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya (Japanese), Tabitha St. Germain (English)

The main female lead of the series and a Flame Haze. Initially she is concentrated solely on her duty as a Flame Haze, going as far as to not bearing even a name. She initially sees Yuji only as a Torch, an object, and is marginally interested only because of his status as a Mystes. However, she slowly opens up to Yuji, coming to think of him as a person, despite being a Torch, and eventually comes to love him. Until she met Yuji, she was identified by only her Flame Haze title "Flame-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter," or her nodachi, Nietono no Shana, "Vairocana of the Offering Room"). Yuji, in his need to humanize her, chose to name her "Shana" after her sword. Shana has a habit of saying "Urusai! Urusai! Urusai!" which means "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" whenever Yuji asks her questions or makes remarks that disturb her original point of view. But in reality they really care for each other. She has a great fondness for melon bread. Shana later comes to the startling conclusion that she loves Yuji, and even confesses it to him in the last episode of the first anime series when she thought she was going to die, but he does not hear what she said. Shana is continually torn between her mission to protect the balance, and her love for Yuji. Due to a decision she made near the end of the first season of the anime version, the closeness they once had begun to erode as Yuji kept a distance from her because of it. Yuji adopts a viewpoint similar to Shana's in the beginning of the series. However, Yuji comes to realize that he was wrong, and their relationship seems to be restored.

Alastor

Voiced by: Masashi Ebara (Japanese), Paul Dobson (English)

He is the Lord of the Crimson Realm to whom Shana is bound. He expresses his will through a divine vessel called the Cocytus, which (in Shana's case) takes the form of a pendant. His name is actually the name of a demon in mythology. Alastor is considered to be one of the strongest of all Lords or Denizens; in fact being one of the true Gods of the Crimson Realm. But even so, he tries to keep the Denizens from consuming Power of Existence.

ROZEN MAIDEN

Plot

The plot revolves around Jun Sakurada, a junior high school student who refuses to go back to school after being traumatized by an embarrassing experience. Since then, he avoids leaving his house and spends the day ordering goods online and returning them before the grace period ends. When Jun receives a letter asking "yes or no", he becomes skeptical, but circles "yes". Soon after, the letter vanishes and a wood case appears in his room. Inside the box is a very realistic doll which, after being wound, starts moving on its own and introduces herself as Shinku, the fifth doll of the Rozen Maiden series.

In the following, Jun becomes Shinku's "medium", a human host that provides the doll with his own life energy, allowing her to walk and use magic. This bond is symbolized by a ring worn by both parties. Now, Jun and Shinku must participate in the "Alice Game", a competition between the Rozen Maiden dolls to capture each other's "Rosa Mystica", their primary life source. Once a doll is defeated in combat, she loses her Rosa Mystica to the opponent, and becomes an inanimate doll. The last doll who remains standing wins the Alice Game, will become a girl of utmost beauty and purity named "Alice", just as their creator Rozen wanted.

In the first season of the anime, the main antagonist was Suigintou but was destroyed by a team effort led by Shinku. In the second season of the anime Rozen Maiden: Träumend, Shinku, Jun, and the other dolls, meet two additional Rozen Maidens: Barasuishou and Kanaria. Suigintou reappears, as she is resurrected by Rozen himself, and this time she has a "medium", an ill girl named Megu. With all the seven dolls awoken, the "Alice Game" grows near to its conclusion. Adding to the mystery of Rozen, there is also Enju and Shirosaki, who operate their own doll shop, and the strange Laplace's Demon, who appears during battles talking in riddles. In the last episode, Barasuishou successfully defeats the other dolls. However, she was revealed to be Enju's creation and not a true Rozen Maiden. She was destroyed when she was unable to contain the "Rosa Mystica" of the other dolls.^[1] The series ends unresolved as Rozen appears at the last minute, restoring the life of his dolls, except for Hinaichigo and Souseiseki and with Kirakishou, the real seventh Rozen Maiden, making a brief appearance.^[1]

Characters

Jun Sakurada

The protagonist, Jun is at first a secluded boy, who refuses to go back to school because of a traumatic experience (hikikomori): After living with Shinku and the other Rozen Maidens, and experiencing their own struggles, he has a change of attitude and starts understanding the importance of friendship.

Nori Sakurada

She is Jun's older sister. In the absence of both of their parents, who work abroad, Nori takes care of the household. She cooks, does the laundry, and in general tends to Jun and the Rozen Maidens living with them, without getting too involved in their affairs and battles.

Suigintou

The first Rozen Maiden, she had a flaw in her design in the anime. Despite this, her love for their father and will to live are so strong that she can walk and use her powers without a human "medium". She holds a special hatred towards Shinku because of events in their past. In the anime, Suigintou was the primary antagonist of the first season. Her abilities involve using the feathers of her wings as weapons.

Kanaria

The second Rozen Maiden, she is childish and eccentric, becoming a perfect complement for Hinaichigo. In the anime, Kanaria was introduced only in the second season, Träumend. Her powers come from her skills with the violin.

Suiseiseki

The third Rozen Maiden, and Souseiseki's twin. She and Souseiseki are both referred to as "gardeners" for their ability to communicate and tend to plants, but also to the "soul trees" of humans. Notable in the original Japanese language, Suiseiseki ends every sentence with the word desu, making her a well-known character for this trait. In addition, she is depicted with heterochromia, her right eye red, and her left eye green, with the same colors but on opposite eyes for Souseiseki. She has the power to enter people's dreams and create vines and trees with her water can.

Souseiseki

The fourth Rozen Maiden, and Suiseiseki's twin. Souseiseki is sharp in her speech and a good fighter, much like Shinku. Unlike Shinku, however, Souseiseki has short hair, wears not a dress but trousers, and uses masculine forms in her speech (notable in the original Japanese language), making her more of a tomboy. In addition, her left eye is red and her right eye is green. She can enter people's dreams and cut through solid objects with her scissors. At the end of Träumend, Souseiseki is defeated by Suigintou and falls from the Alice Game.

Shinku

The fifth Rozen Maiden, she is the main protagonist of the dolls. Shinku first makes a bond with Jun when he is attacked by a possessed doll. Then, Shinku is perceived as bossy and cold, but she is actually very protective of Jun and the other dolls. After living long enough, Shinku has become a pacifist and doesn't like fighting her sisters. Nevertheless, she is a good fighter, being able to fight back the ruthless Suigintou when she needs to. Her powers manifest by releasing rose petals out of her hands.

Hinaichigo

The sixth Rozen Maiden, she is quite childish and naïve, and is not much of a fighter. Hinaichigo has the best intentions for those that she cares about, and she is specially fond of Nori, and her cooking. Her powers work by creating strawberry vines from the ground. In the manga, her body is consumed by the seventh doll, Kirakishou. In the anime, she loses the power link that Jun provides her and falls from the Alice Game.

Kirakishou

The seventh Rozen Maiden, she does not possess a physical body and only exists in the "N-Field"^{[clarification needed]}. Because of this, she consumes Hinaichigo and uses her body to step into the real world, becoming a major threat to the other dolls. In the anime, she was only shown briefly at the very end of the second season, Träumend, and she was not even called by name. In Träumend, which follows a story different from the manga, another doll, Barasuishou, poses as the seventh doll, and is the main antagonist.