List of Ai Yori Aoshi characters

Ai Yori Aoshi (藍より青し) is a Japanese seinen manga written and illustrated by Kou Fumizuki and serialized from 1998 to 2005 in Hakusensha's Young Animal. The manga and anime series features an extensive cast of characters. The male protagonist is Kaoru Hanabishi, a university student, is the eldest son of Yūji Hanabishi, the head of the Hanabishi Zaibatsu. The female protagonist is Aoi Sakuraba. Aoi is the only daughter of the owner of the Sakuraba Dry Goods Store (later renamed to Sakuraba Department Store). Kaoru's family and Aoi's family had expected for Kaoru to marry Aoi, but after Kaoru walked out, the marriage was canceled.

Main characters

Kaoru Hanabishi (Honjo)

Kaoru Hanabishi (Honjo) (花菱(本条) 薫, Hanabishi (Honjō) Kaoru)

Voiced by: Sōichirō Hoshi (Japanese); Dave Wittenberg (English)^[1][2]

The male protagonist of the series. He's a fairly average person and he doesn't fit the mold of the stereotypical male hero in most harem anime series. For the most part, he's shown to be a fairly good student, and isn't prone to emotional outbursts unlike other leading males in harem anime. He's generally well liked and is a member of the photography club at Meiritsu University. He harbors a deep dislike for the Hanabishi clan due to their inhumane treatment of himself and his mother, which was due in turn to that clan's disapproval of his parents' relationship: Kaoru's mother and father never married, and he was an illegitimate child. His back is scarred from when he was tortured with a bamboo cane for trying to prevent his grandfather from burning mementos of his dead mother. Living alone in self-imposed exile, he has led an average, if not lonely, life. When Aoi came he was, at first, perplexed at her visit, not remembering almost anything prior. The idea of marriage took him aback, but very quickly likes, and even eventually looks forward to it.

Note: In the manga, there's another Kaoru Hanabishi who claims to be the legitimate heir of the Hanabishi Zaibatsu and insists on referring to Aoi's Kaoru by his mother's surname, Honjō. He also claims that the marriage agreement between the Hanabishi and the Sakuraba is still in effect and that duty requires Aoi to marry him instead. His character is two-faced in nature; though he tries to show nothing but kindness, charity and honor to Aoi and her parents, he is acting in his own self-interest and trying to make the first Kaoru's life as difficult and miserable as possible. However, Aoi does not respond to these overtures and remains faithful to the first Kaoru, even to the point that she declares she would sooner give up her family name than abandon her true love.

His given name, Kaoru, means "fragrant."

In the final chapter, which happens four years after Tina has returned to the US, Kaoru has taken to using his mother's surname, Honjō (本条). He's also married to Aoi. Despite giving up the fortunes of the Hanabishi family to his half-brother, Kaoru has no regrets, and the last characters to be seen in the manga are the couple, as seen through the viewfinder of Tina's camera.

Aoi Sakuraba (Honjo)

Aoi Sakuraba (Honjo) (桜庭 葵, Sakuraba Aoi)

Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (Japanese); Michelle Ruff (English)^[1][2]

The primary female protagonist of the series. She's generally very shy and demure, addressing Kaoru as "Kaoru-sama". Also, she's usually portrayed wearing a kimono; specifically, an indigo one. Because she's a very good cook and keeps her house in a very clean state, she's seen as a Yamato Nadeshiko (traditional Japanese beauty). Her marriage to the Hanabishi heir, Kaoru, was arranged when they were children. When Kaoru left the Hanabishi the marriage agreement was terminated but she, having fallen deeply in love with him, refused to consider any other suitors. Eventually she leaves home to find Kaoru without letting her parents know. Unlike female leads in other harem manga and anime, she works to control her jealousy and is generally successful. She's very devoted to Kaoru, however, and will do anything in her power to prevent being separated from him. On meeting Kaoru again for the first time in several years Aoi was even bold enough to slip into his futon in the nude (he had a fever and she was trying to warm him). Aoi has a quiet but strong willfulness. Many viewers have mistaken this for weakness or subservience due to her mild temperament. She has a "bad" habit of clutching things in her sleep.

Aoi's given name (aoi) has the same pronunciation as the Japanese word for "blue" (青), but the kanji used (葵) translates to "hollyhock". Her surname (桜庭 sakuraba) means "cherry-blossom garden", and her given name means "hollyhock flower".

During the events of the final chapter of the manga, which take place 4 years later, Aoi and Kaoru are married and she has taken his mother's maiden name to become "Aoi Honjo".

Tina Foster

Tina Foster (ティナ・フォスター, Tina Fosutā)

Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino (Japanese); Wendee Lee (English)^[1][2]

Tina was born in the United States, but spent the majority of her life in Hakata, a ward in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. She attends Meiritsu University with Kaoru, and was the one who convinced him to join the photography club, of which she's also a member. She moves into the servant house that Kaoru is staying in because she had no place to stay after returning to Japan from a year-long trip around the world. She has a habit of greeting females by groping and fondling their breasts from behind, which most people find very uncouth (and frustrates Kaoru to no end). She's loud and outspoken and very protective of Kaoru when it comes to Mayu, and Chika. She's also very fond of drinking and has an enormous capacity for alcohol...but still pays the inevitable price in hangovers. She has a white pet ferret, named Uzume, which most of the cast finds very cute, except, initially, for Miyabi. She is afraid of dark places. Late in the manga she remarks that though she doesn't like Mayu, if Mayu were missing she would notice. And in another place she tells Mayu that Mayu is like the younger sister that she never had. Initially she was in the same year as Kaoru, but by taking a year round-the-world tour to try and forget Kaoru she came back one year behind him.

Tina is also an experienced swimmer, and coaches Chika's swim team for a time during the second series.

In many respects, Tina is one of the more deeply developed — and somewhat tragic — characters of the show, despite her ditzy behavior. Being an American, and yet having been raised in Japan, she's constantly haunted by the fact that she can never truly fit in either country. When she left Japan to attend high school in America, she explained that she was unable to fit in there because she was culturally Japanese. But she also realizes that she can never truly fit in Japan either, because of her appearance. Tina wishes that she'd been born Japanese, so that perhaps she'd have a better chance at winning Kaoru's heart.

Tina is very deeply in love with Kaoru, but pains her heart with efforts to hide her feelings, because she thinks that he could never feel the same way about her. Towards the end of Ai Yori Aoshi: Enishi she realizes that Kaoru loves Aoi, and that her own opportunity to win his heart has passed.

Four years later, Tina returns to Japan to visit the rest of the cast. Notably, she has cut her hair short.

Miyabi Kagurazaki

Miyabi Kagurazaki (神楽崎 雅, Kagurazaki Miyabi)

Voiced by: Akiko Hiramatsu (Japanese); Lia Sargent (English),^[1][2] Ai Orikasa (Drama CD)

Aoi's guardian and caretaker, she has spent much of her life looking after Aoi and helping in her upbringing. She's also very active in the running of one location of the Sakuraba department store chain. A generally strict person, she is named the manager of the Sakuraba summer house when Aoi and Kaoru move in. Despite her initial misgivings of Kaoru and his friends, she eventually accepts him because of the feelings that Aoi and Kaoru have for each other. She is somewhat humbled in the episode where Tina is introduced courtesy of losing in a drinking game with her. She's also very fond of breaking watermelons in the summer.

Although she gives the impression that she is a tough-as-nails workaholic, she shows signs of being a deeply compassionate person. When Tina's pet ferret was in danger of being crushed by an heirloom pendulum clock, for all her initial dislike of the animal, she raced to find a crowbar to free the ferret, which later became more attached to her than to Tina. Aoi explains that the ferret could sense the kindheartedness within Miyabi's samurai-like demeanor.

In the manga, it's revealed that her parents worked for the Sakuraba family before they died in an accident. Aoi's mother took in the orphaned Miyabi, who was tasked with caring for Aoi. She has great respect for Aoi and shows this by adding the honorific "-sama" after her name. After accepting Kaoru, she adds the honorific "-dono" after his name.

Her given name means "refinement", which befits her role in training Aoi to be a good wife.

Four years later, Miyabi has been adopted by the Sakurabas. She's also a manager of a department store owned by the Sakurabas.

Taeko Minazuki

Taeko Minazuki (水無月 妙子, Minazuki Taeko)

Voiced by: Kaori Mizuhashi (Japanese); Sue Beth Arden (English),^[1][2] Yui Horie (Drama CD)

Taeko is a new member of the Meiritsu University photography club and eventually moves into the Sakuraba summer house as the housekeeper after being relieved of her previous housekeeping job. Her most prominent features are her very large breasts (that never stop growing) and her clumsiness. She was so clumsy that Aoi had to convince Miyabi to hire her, as she had a tendency to break a lot of valuable objects, but she tries to do her best. Tina commends Taeko for her effort and tells her that she is getting better. Taeko explains that the reason she wants to be a housekeeper so badly is because when she was very young, her father died and her mother had to raise her as a single parent. Taeko's mother was very proficient at keeping house, and Taeko wishes to achieve the same proficiency that her mother had. Taeko and Tina are contrasts. While Tina's room in the servant's building is a mess, Taeko's room is neat as a pin. And in the scene when the two are first shown together Tina shares some booze she brought back from her tour. Taeko downed a glass, to Tina's alarm because it was so alcoholic. Taeko simply remarked that it was "quality rot-gut." It is usually Taeko who brings a drunken Tina home. Taeko was a first year student when she was introduced, one year behind Tina and two years behind Kaoru.

She also develops feelings for Kaoru as the series progresses. She likes to put chocolate in all the food she makes, even in fish. In an episode of Ai yori Aoshi: Enishi it is indicated that Taeko has an interest in the supernatural as well as training as a miko.

Taeko's given name (tae-ko) means "strange child" in Japanese, reflecting her strange quirks and her love for the supernatural.

In the final chapter, which happens four years after Tina has returned to the United States, Taeko is working at the department store where Miyabi is the manager. She has knocked over a display and Tina comments, "Same as ever".

Mayu Miyuki

Mayu Miyuki (美幸 繭, Miyuki Mayu)

Voiced by: Sayaka Narita (Japanese); Karen Strassman (English),^[1][2] Chiemi Chiba (Drama CD)

Something of a prodigy, Mayu skipped two grades in K-12 and entered the same college as "Hanabishi-sama" purely by accident. Meiritsu University was chosen for her by her father and she initially thought poorly of it. She is a year behind Taeko.

She is in love with Kaoru because he cheered her up at a party when she was 12 years old. At that time, Mayu's parents informed her that they would be missing her 12th birthday because of business overseas. They gave her a stuffed rabbit as a gift because her father has made a habit of giving her stuffed toy animals as gifts for years. Mayu's parents had been holding a party for their business partners, and no matter what Mayu said or did, her parents simply did not have the time for her. Dismayed, Mayu ran off into the woods, bumping into Kaoru and dropping her rabbit as she fled. Kaoru followed her and tried to cheer her up, but she exclaimed that her parents did not take care of her at all, and that they also did not love her. Kaoru then uses the rabbit (which he named "Ussaa", a contraction of usagi, the Japanese word for "rabbit") as a puppet to cheer up Mayu, telling her that her parents do love her very much, and that even if they do not pay as much attention to her as they should, it's better than having no parents at all, like himself. This left a significant impact on Mayu, and she kept and cherished Ussaa to the current day. Mayu is still very lonely, because her parents are always busy working. She tries as hard as she can to do things that would make Kaoru happy, such as learning how to cook from Aoi so she could make lunch for him.

Mayu shares a rivalry with Tina, whom she considers uncouth, and whose presence she cannot stand. The two characters are opposites in many ways. Where Mayu is serious, Tina is playful. Where Mayu is uncharacteristically open in her unrealistic desire for Kaoru, Tina is uncharacteristically shy in her (almost) reciprocated love of Kaoru. Where Tina is an American who embraces Japanese culture, Mayu is Japanese and embraces Western culture. When Tina accidentally bumped into her during their first meeting, Mayu reprimanded her in English, while the out-of-practice Tina struggled to recall an appropriate response in her native language. Even their introductions to Kaoru are mirrors of one another. Kaoru did much to lift Mayu out of her loneliness, while Tina lifted Kaoru out of his own loneliness and apathy following his defection from the Hanabishi clan.

Mayu's given name (mayu) means "cocoon", a reference to her family owning a silk company.

Mayu has the habit of referring to herself in the third person when speaking. This is common in the Japanese language in the age group of young girls. Aoi also sometimes does the same.

Mayu is a gifted pianist, though this is not directly mentioned until manga Volume #8 Special Chapter 2 'Piano' and the Ai yori Aoshi: Enishi series episode 5 'Piano' (she is seen playing a piano in a flashback in episode 12 of Ai Yori Aoshi).

Four years later, Mayu was shown to have grown into a beautiful woman (possibly another nod to her given name), living in England, although she still bickers with Tina when they met. She has not, however, given up on Kaoru, and visits roughly once a month, causing Aoi some irritation.

Chika Minazuki

Chika Minazuki (水無月 ちか, Minazuki Chika)

Voiced by: Haruko Momoi (Japanese); Kay Jensen (English)^[1][2]

Taeko's younger cousin. During the summer she spends most of her time working in a cafe down by the beach. Because of this, she's very tanned except for tan-lines caused by her swimsuits. She notices that Taeko has a crush on Kaoru and spends a lot of time trying to fix the two of them up. She occasionally expresses mild feelings for Kaoru as the series progresses, but for the most part, looks up to him as an older brother. When first introduced she was a third-year middle school student, four years behind Mayu and seven years behind Kaoru.

Chika's given name means "near".

Four years later, she, Chizuru and Natsuki are at Meiritsu University. They are presumably students at the University. Chika has grown her hair longer and no longer wears it in two ponytails. Chizuru and Natsuki look much the same.

Uzume

Uzume (ウズメ)

Voiced by: Yuka Inokuchi (Japanese); Kaeko Sakamoto (English)^[1]

The pet ferret purchased by Tina but eventually becomes attached to the one person who initially rejected having anything to do with it, Miyabi. His arrival at the 'boarding house' was predictably chaotic, with his accidentally destructive behavior causing Miyabi to develop an intense dislike for it, partly because in the episode it is learned that the tough-as-nails Miyabi is secretly afraid of insects, and Uzume has a tendency to present them, cat-like, as presents to her. Her anger that her secret vulnerability had been discovered by the other residents is short-circuited by being the only one who can save the animal's life when it becomes trapped and is in danger of dying. The name Uzume was derived from Ame-no-Uzume, the goddess on Japanese Mythology who was responsible for luring Amaterasu out of the Heavenly Cave.

In later episodes, it is seen that the ferret has been accepted by Miyabi as being, for all intents and purposes, her pet. He is often seen in close proximity to her, laying or sleeping on a pillow in Miyabi's office.

In the anime Uzume shares the house with a 'fat' cat named Tsurube, who was in possession of the house since before Aoi and Kaoru moved in, ep 4 Living Together.

Minor characters

Chizuru Aizawa

Chizuru Aizawa (相澤 千鶴, Aizawa Chizuru)

Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese); Midge Mayes (English)^[2]

One of Chika's good friends in high school, who took swimming lessons from Tina along with her schoolmates. She's very afraid of the water, but managed to overcome her fear and learned how to swim. She is the shy one of Chika's group, often overwhelmed by adult matters (of the trio, her mind is the most prone to perverted thoughts) and prone to constant blushing and the occasional fainting fit.

Natsuki Komiya

Natsuki Komiya (小宮 夏樹, Komiya Natsuki)

Voiced by: Kimiko Koyama (Japanese); Julie Ann Taylor (English)^[2]

Another of Chika's good friends in high school. She considers Chika to be her chief rival and is often jealous of the love-love relationship that she and Chizuru assume Chika to have with Kaoru. She is about the only person who can beat Chika at swimming besides Tina Foster (who nicknames her "Natsukitchi" in the manga, "Nakki" in the anime).

In the bonus chapters of the manga volumes 15 and 16 we see that Natsuki has a budding girlfriend:boyfriend relationship with a neighbor boy, and that she works part-time in a flower shop.

Ruka Saionji

Ruka Saionji (西園寺 琉伽, Saionji Ruka)

Voiced by: Kenyū Horiuchi (Japanese); Kirk Thornton (English)^[1]

Mayu's attendant, charged by Mayu's parents with seeing that she attends school and does the other things they want her to do.

Suzuki

Suzuki (鈴木)

Voiced by: Kazuya Nakai (Japanese); Lex Lang (English)^[1]

Kaoru's and Taeko's senpai, and President of Meiritsu University's Photography Club. He is tall, tanned, angular in form and wears dark glasses. He's noted for his love of trains and locomotives.

Satō

Satō (佐藤)

Voiced by: Makoto Higo (Japanese); Kirk Thornton (English)^[1]

Kaoru's and Taeko's senpai, and Vice President of Meiritsu University's Photography Club. He is short and plump. He's noted for his love of idols (especially female ones).

Others

Other minor characters seen or referred to in the manga and anime include Aoi's parents, Kaoru's grandfather, Mayu's parents, Taeko's and Chika's grandmother, Tina's parents, Kaoru's graduate advisor, and Chika's middle school friend Tomo.

References