Mayo Chiki!

aka: Mayoeru Shitsuji to Chicken na Ore to (The Wavering Butler and Me, the Chicken)

Kinjiro "Jiro" Sakamachi fears women, to the point of nosebleeding whenever he is touched by women. It doesn't help that his younger sister Kureha wakes him up with excruciatingly painful wrestling moves—a trait inherited from their mother, herself a former champion wrestler. His only escape is high school.

All that comes to a screeching halt the moment he finds Subaru Konoe—butler of the school's Onee-Sama, Kanade Suzutsuki, and a ridiculously handsome Chick Magnet—in the men's comfort room... and gropes his way into discovering that "he" is a she!

After being knocked unconscious by Subaru, Jiro wakes up with all his limbs save his left arm chained to a clinic bed. He discovers the sadistic side of Kanade, who then blackmails him into keeping Subaru's gender a secret—and with good reason. Subaru was the exception to her family's centuries-old prohibition against allowing females to serve as butlers for the Suzutsuki family, due to being the only child, provided she keep her gender secret from the rest of her classmates at Rouran Academy throughout her tenure. He agrees to keep it so, after Kanade also promised to help cure his gynophobia.

Looks like Jiro will be safe from girls no more, wherever he goes.

Originally a Light Novel by Hajime Asano, it has an ongoing manga and an anime which started airing in the Summer 2011 Anime season. Now also has a spinoff, Mayo Mayo!, which follows the life of another Ordinary High School Student, female freshman Mayoi Hinata, whom Kanade pressures into becoming one of her household's maids after becoming the second person outside her household to discover Subaru's secret.

Tropes used in Mayo Chiki! include:
  • Abuse Is Okay When It Is Female On Male: Played straight in many cases but also subverted in others.
  • Above the Influence: Several times in the anime, but most evident during episode 12 when Jiro is sharing a hotel room alone with Subaru. Kanade even says over the phone that they could be doing things as well, which is definitely on his mind. Subaru even seems willing to go along with it since its him, but he tells her that while he wouldn't mind it, he wants to share the experience with someone he loves. Cue Subaru then getting out of her futon, and climbing into his anyway...but just to sleep next to him.
    • The next day, her father accuses him of doing naughty things, but when she says she had a very stressful night, he calms down.
  • Accidental Pervert: Always knock when entering a toilet stall. Jiro found this out the hard way.
    • Happens to Mayoi as well. Maybe Subaru should try getting a padlock whenever she needs to go.
  • The Ace: Subaru
    • Except when it comes to cooking. Or nursing someone. She's got the right heart, but goes way overboard.
  • A-Cup Angst: Subaru has a pretty decent bust size, but she definitely got upset when Mayoi called her flat-chested while the latter is in denial mode regarding "his" true gender. Kureha is a full-blown Pettanko, and is apparently self-conscious about it—she apparently reads Jiro's thoughts when he was thinking this about her in the pool episode.
    • After she gets drunk in the light novel, Subaru admits to drinking milk every day in to be, in her words, "like Kana-chan."
    • Usami on occasion as well. Hey, that's what's you get when you hang out with Nakuru.
    • Both Usami and Kureha get a bit jealous when a clothing lady is measuring Nakuru's bust size and comments on how big they are in episode 13.
    • And then there's Nakuru's older sister Shuredeiga. Despite being in her last year of high school, she looks she should be in elementary school.
  • Adaptation-Induced Plothole: So, why didn't Subaru use that big bag of weapons carried just in case of an emergency like Kanade's kidnapping? In the light novel, the kidnapper already knows about the bag and specifically orders her not to bring it. It also serves as a bit of Foreshadowing that something's up with the whole situation.
  • A Day in the Limelight: Episode 10 focuses largely on Kureha.
    • Nakuru gets one in episode 13 of the anime.
  • All of the Other Reindeer: Usami really is lonely. Until she befriended Jiro, she was unable to trust anyone. The fact that she lived by herself after her family broke up probably didn't help either.
  • Allergic to Love: Jiro gets a nosebleed anytime a woman touches him.
  • Alliterative Name: One of the two Subaru fangirl camps bears the name "Shooting Star Subaru-Sama". Lampshaded as they refer to themselves as "S4".
  • All Men Are Perverts: Many girls seem to automatically think Jiro is this, despite his gynophobia. On one example, Kanade climbed on the table and tried to kiss a clearly terrified Jiro. Subaru then comes in, and asks if he was trying to kiss Kanade. Particularly bad because Subaru, being Kanade's butler, should know better than anyone how naughty and teasing Kanade is...
  • Animal Motifs: There are several:
    • Subaru is associated with sheep, because sheep (hitsuji) and butler (shitsuji) sound similar.
    • Usami has a rabbit (usagi) motif for the same reason, and for some reason styles her hair in a way that vaguely resembles rabbit ears despite supposedly hating that conflation.
  • Annoying Younger Sibling: Kureha.
  • Antenna Hair: Usami
  • Artificial Riverbank: In Episode 4 Kanade introduces Jiro to Nagare (sans his wolf-mask), who camped out in one such riverbank, after increasing tensions between him and his daughter Subaru (ever since Kanade's staged kidnapping and its unforeseen consequences) irritated Kanade's father such that he kicked them out of his mansion until they reconcile.
  • Attractive Bent Gender: Subaru
  • Bad Liar: Subaru is terrible at lying when she's embarrassed.
    • She does a poor job of concealing that she's hungry after her stomach growls from not having eaten for a day.
    • In the novel and episode 4 of the anime, she offers to do the laundry for Jirou while staying over at his place, after sparring. He catches her sniffing his recently used sweaty towel, after which all she manages to say is this:

Subaru: You've got it all wrong! I wasn't sniffing your sweaty towel because I was curious about how a man smells! I wasn't doing anything like that at all!

  • Base Breaker: In-Universe, Jiro has unwittingly become this to Subaru's fangirls, on account of his (alleged) gay romance with Subaru. In fact, fangirls who approve of their relationship (implied to constitute roughly half of Subaru's entire fanbase), led by Nakuru, formed their own club, "Let's Warmly Protect Subaru-Sama Committee" (Mimamorugai), leaving the original club, "Shooting Star Subaru-Sama" (S4), entirely to the other half—the ones who vehemently object to such a relationship.
    • And it's slowly going to end up in a Civil War.
  • Batman Gambit: In Episode 3 Kanade was kidnapped by a knife-wielding man in a wolf-mask. Turns out she planned it all along, and her "kidnapper" is Subaru's father, Nagare. She intended to help Subaru overcome her fear of knives, though things spun a bit out of control because Jiro fought Nagare, resulting in some friction between father and daughter.
  • Battle Aura: Subaru seems prone to developing these anytime she suspects or hears about Jiro hanging out or getting a little too friendly with other girls besides herself.
  • Battle Butler: Subaru and her father Nagare.
  • Beach Episode: Episode 7
  • Beautiful All Along: While Nakuru isn't THAT bad looking with her glasses on, when she loses it temporarily, even Jiro is awestruck momentarily by her beauty.
  • Bedmate Reveal: Happens to Jiro in the first episode after waking up in the nurse's office. For some reason Kanade had a sheet completely over her.
    • Happens again in episode 7 in a hotel at the beach.
  • Best Her to Bed Her: Kureha fell in love with Subaru after "he" defeated her while she was forcing Jiro back from "him".
  • Bifauxnen/Bokukko: Subaru, though she can look quite girly if needed.
    • Also Kosame.
  • Big Breasts, Big Deal: Nakuru's something of a light Type1/Type2, in that she doesn't really make a big deal about them, but episode 13 shows she's got a few issues regarding them locked away.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Subaru pulls one for Jiro in episode 3.
  • Bishie Sparkle: Happens at least twice in episode 13. First to Nakuru when Jiro is looking at her without her glasses on, then later to Jiro when Nakuru looks at him and is wondering why he suddenly seems cooler.
  • Bi the Way: Kanade says that Subaru was her first love and she kisses Jiro.
  • Blackmail: Poor Jiro just can't catch a break, can he?
    • In the very first episode alone, Kanade blackmails him into keeping Subaru's secret by exploiting his nosebleed reflex.
    • In Episode 5, Usami of the S4 blackmails him into becoming her "boyfriend" during the School Festival with a picture of him and Subaru wearing Rouran's female uniform on their mock date back in Episode 2, as a gambit to defeat Mimamorugai.
    • Both girls, however, also made promises that could prove beneficial to Jiro in the long run: Kanade will help cure his gynophobia; and Usami will negotiate with her higher-ups to leave him alone.
  • Bland-Name Product: Usami knocks down a Fuiridou 4D2 in the festival shoot-out.
    • Some bottles of "Jin Be" (Jim Beam) can be seen in the cafe in episode 13.
    • And many more, including anomate, PlayStationary5, Mitsubusu, Codomo...
  • Blatant Lies: Several examples, largely to keep unaware characters from suspecting Subaru is a girl.
    • One happens when Kanade tells Kureha that she's dating Jiro in episode 3.
    • In episode 7 Kanade says that Subaru in a bikini is actually "his" cousin, Punyuru. Kureha falls for both lies.
      • The whole school falls for it in episode 12, despite them transferring in and out at the same time. This is lampshaded by Usami.
    • In episode 7 Subaru's father Nagare nearly blows her cover, but both Kanade and Subaru come up with some lies to make it seem like he's a pervert. It works rather well.
    • Jiro's public Love Confession to Kanade in episode 6, and her sudden rejection, in order to prevent the S4 girls from attacking him. Surprisingly it works, and Kanade later tells him she loves him, to get back at his fake one earlier.
  • Blue with Shock: Happens to Jiro a lot.
  • Bound and Gagged: Kanade does this to Subaru complete with a ballgag.
    • And now to Mayoi after the latter also discovers Subaru's secret. Not that she is put off by it, though.
    • Narumi Shuredeiga, Nakuru's older sister does this to Usami in volume six of the light novels. She then presented the girl to Jiro, thinking that Tsundere girls were his type, in order to get his help in patching things up with his sister.
  • Bowdlerization: After her lie is found out, Usami almost commits suicide before Jirou saves her in the manga and light novel. In the anime, she was instead about to withdraw from school.
  • Bromantic Foil: Yamato Kurose for Jiro, though since Subaru pretends to be male he teases Jiro for being (allegedly) gay.
  • Bumbling Dad: Subaru's dad, Nagare.
  • Butt Monkey: Poor Jiro.
    • Nagare falls into this trope occasionally as well when Subaru is involved.
  • Buxom Is Better: Nakuru much to Kureha and Usami's irritation. This trope is why a random boy confessed to her in episode 13, and she forces to Jiro help her see if its true.
  • Calling Your Attacks: Though Jiro questions Subaru's naming sense.
  • Cameo: In episode 9, Mirai Suenaga, mascot of Danny Choo, shows up at the Butler Cafe Subaru gets strong-armed into working at part-time.
    • She's at the comic market in episode 13.
  • Can't Hold Her Liquor: Subaru has negative alcohol tolerance, getting drunk on less alcohol than is humanly possible. She gets drunk (and eventually passes out) after eating a single piece of food with a small amount of cream sauce - made with a fairly small amount of white wine that would have had at least part of the alcohol cooked out.
    • In episode 8, Usami claims that Nakuru got "drunk" off a carbonated drink. Considering how she acts and looks, Usami probably wasn't too far off the mark.
  • Cannot Spit It Out: It's inevitable in a show like this, after all.
  • Catgirl: Nakuru sports some nifty ears.
    • Subaru cosplays as one at the beginning of episode 4.
  • Cat Smile: Kureha and Nakuru display one from time to time.
    • Shuredeiga is even stronger than both of them.
  • Charles Atlas Superpower: Subaru and Kureha are superhumanly strong. Jiro can get hit by a scooter (and in the manga, a semi) at high speed without a scratch.
  • The Chew Toy: Jiro's ability to take constant beatings and act like nothing happened moments later is actually a plot point.
  • Clingy Jealous Girl: Subaru, particularly whenever Jiro is forced to spend too much time with Usami.
    • Kureha seems this way towards Jiro. She always seems a bit too interested in why Subaru is hanging out with Jiro all the time, or why there's female underwear in their house such as in episode 4.
    • Usami isn't immune to this either, and gets jealous whenever Jiro isn't paying enough attention to her, especially when Kanade is around.
  • Color Failure: Happens to Jiro occasionally, such as when Kureha pinches him really hard when she's trying to impress Subaru.
  • Comically Missing the Point: Kureha sees Subaru dressed in the female school uniform. She concludes that "he" is a crossdressing pervert.
  • Conservation of Ninjutsu: Blatantly enforced in episode 12 when Jiro goes to the area the S4 girls hang out in. None of them can lay a hand on him, and he even manages to block two attacks at the same time.
  • Continuity Nod: At the end of the sixth novel, Jiro and Kureha lose their house in a fire. Kanade offers to let them stay at her house, provided they need to earn their keep. Part of her reasoning is that she recently employed a girl in a similar position, and it wouldn't be fair to said girl -- Mayoi Hinata -- if she just let them freeload.
  • Covert Pervert: Kanade, though it's less covert around the people who know her true self.
    • Mayoi, full stop. Her mind is constantly wandering down thoughts highly unsuitable for a high school freshman.
    • Subaru accidentally lets out a Freudian Slip when Usami comments on Jiro's half-naked avatar in an indie fighting game. It suggests that she likes imagining him in a birthday suit.
    • When Nagare questions Jiro about finding Subaru's panties in the bathhouse in episode 8, Subaru wonders why he would know what type she wears.
  • Crash Into Hello: How Jiro meets Nakuru (in the hallway) and Usami (on a scooter).
  • Crazy Prepared: Kanade and her schemes.
  • Creepy Doll: The "Lost sheep" doll.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Jiro and Nagare.
  • Crowbar Combatant: Ichigo whips out her trusty crowbar on anyone who she thinks disrespects her beloved Kanade.
  • Cry Cute: Subaru in Episode 3, after Jiro risked his life saving Kanade from what ultimately turns out to be a staged kidnapping meant to help Subaru overcome her fear of knives.
  • Curb Stomp Battle: Subaru knocks out the usually strong Kureha with one kick in episode 2 after the latter thinks that the former is trying to trick her brother into a perverted relationship.
    • Nagare absolutely stomps Jiro in episode 3. The one punch that Jiro manages to land doesn't even faze him.
    • While its mentioned that Nagare is much stronger than Subaru, he never seems to actually be able to beat her, although it may be due to him holding back for her sake, such as the fight in episode 3, or her launching a surprise counterattack on him in episode 8.
  • Cuteness Overload: Kanade asks Subaru (as "Punyuru") to call her "Kana onee-chan". She complies... and Kanade falls to her knees.

Kanade: "I think I've created a monster."

    • She then turns around and has "Punyuru" call Jiro "Jiro onii-chan" in the manga and light novel. He also falls to the ground.
  • Dark-Skinned Blond: Nakuru.
  • Dead Guy, Junior: Played with—Jiro took his nickname from the full name of his (and Kureha's) late father.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: Kureha despised Subaru at first, until she easily defeated her. Now Kureha is in love with Subaru, though is unaware that he is a she.
  • Defrosting Ice Queen: Subaru's a very mild case, or at least a very quick one. She goes from trying to beat Jirou senseless to having a lovey-dovey date with him and taking his first kiss very quickly, especially for this genre.
    • Usami. She's very cold towards Jiro at first, but eventually starts warming up to him.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: While Jiro understandably gets beaten up when he first discovers Subaru's secret, some of the other stuff that happens to him fits this trope rather well.
    • Subaru punches him after he claims he's dating Usami in episode 5 and has to break off his plan to spend the day with her. She does it again when he tells her where he was and what he was doing in the beginning of episode 7.
    • Kureha uses wrestling moves on him to wake him up, or whenever she's mad at him, or even when she's happy with him. If he's not available, she beats up her teddy bear instead.
    • Nagare's first fight with him in episode 3. He claims he was holding back, but Jiro doesn't think he was. Later in episode 8, he nearly dropkicks Jiro in the bathhouse, until Subaru counters him.
    • The S4 girls try to attack him several times, and the other group even joins in during episode 12, but he always manages to avoid or block their attacks.
  • Do Not Call Me Paul: Jiro does not like to be called by his full name.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: Usami manages to squirt a large quantity of glue over her face and hair.
  • Driven to Suicide: Usami in the manga, due to her inability to trust anyone finally getting too much for her. Fortunately, Jiro is able to stop her, turning this into an Interrupted Suicide.
  • Drunk on Milk: When Nakuru goes tipsy over carbonated drinks she gets...
  • Dynamic Entry: Kureha pulls off one in Episode 2, making for a pretty painful Moment Killer for Jiro.
    • Usami does it to Nakuru in episode 7.
  • Dropped a Bridget On Him: Inverted example, the premise of the stories of both Jiro and Mayoi.
  • Dumb Blonde: Nakuru sure acts like one.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: While the opening kind of gives it away, Nakuru is seen early on, but isn't a main member of the cast until several episodes later.
  • Even the Girls Want Her: Subaru.
  • Embarrassing Nickname: Jiro's full name (in Japanese order) -- Sakamachi Kinjiro—has an unfortunate arrangement such that the last syllable of his surname and the first of his given name can be combined to sound like "chicken", something he really has a major complex with (thus he prefers to be addressed as "Jiro") and called out on by Kanade and later Usami. This is also what gives us part of the series' title.
    • Usami herself has one, as her name sounds similar to "usagi" ("rabbit"), a fact that gets made fun of a lot. It doesn't help that she's pretty petite and the ribbons that bind her Twin Tails stick out like bunny ears.
  • Everything Is Worse With Bears: Kureha encountered one while wandering around during her club camp outing. She beat it, but not before she broke an arm and got sent home early.
  • Everything's Even Worse with Sharks: While swimming towards an island, Kureha, Usami and Nakuru encountered a shark.
  • Excited Show Title!
  • Expressive Accessory: Nakuru's cat ears.
  • Expressive Mask: Nakuru in the "lost sheep" costume.
  • Expy: Kanade is basically a black-haired Mariya Shidou, except actually female.
    • And adding to the Maria Holic allusion, Mayoi is the pink-haired Kanako Miyamae to Kanade's Mariya.
    • Subaru's been compared to Saber by both looks and personality.
    • Kureha is quite similar to Sakura Haruno in both appearance and attitude. They're the same age too.
  • Eyecatch
  • Fan Girl: Usami, a member of S4 (the camp objecting to Jiro's alleged gay romance with Subaru).
    • Also, Nakuru, leader of Mimamorugai (the other Subaru fangirl camp, which approves of "his" alleged gay romance with Jiro).
  • Fetish: Nakuru and boys in glasses, which explains why her BL Doujinshi features Jiro and Subaru in glasses. She doesn't seem to recognize Jiro without his glasses either, and would gladly give him a pair (because regardless, he fits her definition of "hunk").
  • False Start: The end of Episode 8 makes it appear that Subaru is about to confess to Jiro, but then tells him to forget about it. Next episode she tells him she was really asking him to be her best friend, but the look on her face as she walks away suggests otherwise.
  • Fan Service: This show is heavy on the Accidental Pervert tropes, but in the broadcast version at least Barbie Doll Anatomy and Magic Skirt are in effect. The DVDs are a different story, although Barbie Doll Anatomy is still in place.
  • Fan Service with a Smile: Usami works at a Maid Cafe, and Jiro comes in to help her out (and later Kureha and Nakuru come in for a part-time job). Kanade makes sure all the usual tropes are checked off when she visits. Subaru also ended up working in said cafe's Spear Counterpart, a Butler Cafe owned by the same company.
  • First Kiss: Kanade claims she took Jiro's... along with hers.
    • Turns out Subaru beat her to it with a CPR while while he was unconscious.
    • Jiro takes Usami's at the end of volume 9 of the light novels.
  • Forgotten Birthday: Episode 10 deals with the issue of Jiro apparently forgetting Kureha's 16th birthday. While she celebrates it at Usami's place, and then at the Maid Cafe Usami works at, all he did was sleep till noon and eat instant noodles. Turns out he bought her a big stuffed polar bear as restitution for actually forgetting it last year, earning him a beatdown from her. She still beats him up in joy, anyways.
  • Funny Background Event: In Episode 6, during Jiro and Usami's "date", Subaru can be seen in the background eying a booth of "Lost Sheep" paraphernalia.
    • In the same episode, while Usami and Jiro are having a serious discussion, Kurose (in a nurse outfit) is dancing with another guy, and is trying to kiss him.
    • Throughout Kureha's birthday party at Usami's home in Episode 10, the ghosts haunting her apartment randomly pop up in the scene in ways that creep out Kureha.
  • The Gadfly/The Tease: Kanade.
  • Gag Boobs: Nakuru
  • Genki Girl: Mayoi, Kureha, and Nakuru.
  • Girlish Pigtails: Kanade and Usami.
  • Girls Love Stuffed Animals: Subaru and the "Lost Sheep"—sheep plushies with Blood From the Mouth and a bored expression.
  • Goofy Print Underwear: Subaru's animal-print panties on the two occasions she was exposed—cat-print for Jiro, dog-print for Mayoi.
  • Giver of Lame Names: Subaru, because she has a huge love of Gratuitous English.
  • Giving Up the Ghost: Jiro does it a couple of times.
  • Gratuitous English: Part of the Signature Style of the director, Keiichiro Kawaguchi. There's a lot of random English one-liners at just the right spots to get a laugh.

Kureha: No reaction? Boy's Love.

    • Jiro in episode 4.

Jiro: Welcome, my Golden Week!

    • Nakuru in episode 8 as well, after jumping out a window to save a Boys Love manga Subaru threw out.

Nakuru: I can fly!

    • In the light novels, Jiro is a big offender, partially because the story's written from his point of view, but that's no excuse for most of it.
  • Hartman Hips: Kureha, although the school uniform tends to emphasize everyone's hips. Subaru's got surprisingly wide hips despite being a Bifauxnen.
  • Hiccup Hijinks: Kanade in Episode 11.
  • Hidden Eyes: Happens to Subaru a lot.
  • High-Pressure Emotion: Subaru
  • Hilariously Abusive Childhood: Yakemi and Kureha used Jiro as a punching bag most of his life. This made his body incredibly tough, but also developed his nosebleed reflex—they'd stop beating him when he started to bleed, because they don't want the floor dirtied with blood.
  • Hopeless Suitor: In the anime at least, practically anyone not named Subaru Konoe. It's not certain if Kanade was just teasing him or if she did have feelings for him, and while Usami seems to clearly like him, it seems she doesn't have much of a chance. Nakuru meanwhile seems to have some hints of liking him in episode 13, but she seems more interested in Shipping Jiro with Subaru, who she doesn't realize is a girl.
    • Subaru has a look on her face that seems to invoke this trope shortly after Jiro publicly confesses his love to Kanade in episode 6. Luckily for her, Kanade turns him down publicly as well and then later explains to Subaru they did that to avoid the S4 girls thinking he had the hots for Subaru and beating him up as a result.
  • Hot Mom: Jiro and Kureha's mother, Yakemi, herself a former champion wrestler.
  • Hot Springs Episode/Festival Episode: Episode 8.
  • I Love You Because I Can't Control You: It's implied that Kanade fell in love with Jiro because he was the only guy able to talk her down.
  • Idiot Hair: Subaru.
  • Innocent Cohabitation: In Episode 4 Subaru temporarily moves in with Jiro after she and Nagare had a falling-out after Kanade's "kidnapping" last episode ended with a surprise, forcing Kanade's father to kick them out until they reconcile. She visits regularly before and after for the ostensible purpose of making sure he keeps her secret.
  • Innocent Fanservice Girl: Subaru, and sometimes Usami.
  • In-Series Nickname: "Jiro" for Kinjiro. And he prefers to be called as such, thanks to the embarrassing nature of his real name.
    • Also "Bakachiki" from Usami.
  • Instant Fanclub: Subaru has an all-female one. It undergoes a schism as some members don't object to Jiro's (alleged) relationship with Subaru, while others do.
  • It Amused Me: Pretty much the reason behind almost anything Kanade does.
  • I Just Want to Have Friends: Usami is a loner initially, but eventually starts to hang out with Jiro and other girls.
  • I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Kanade is this towards Subaru and Jiro at the end of episode 12, especially after Jiro mentions wanting to be strong enough to protect someone.
    • In the light novel, after worrying about her own feelings, even after she promised Subaru she'd help her properly convey her feelings to Jiro, Kanade decides, with a bit of push from Jiro, albeit unwittingly, to step up her teasing of him. When he warns her that if she did that, in time he'd probably begin to hate her. Her response?

It's fine if you hate me. But I will keep my promise.

  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Kanade may be a perverted sadist, but she genuinely cares for Subaru, and even encourages Jiro to be her friend since she can't find one on her own.
    • Kanade also keeps her word in helping Jiro cure his gynophobia, though in ways which fluster and/or humiliate him.
    • After learning that she is orphaned, Kanade tells Mayoi that she wants her to be more like a family member instead of a mere servant.
  • Justified Trope: Jiro's ability to take beatings without a scratch is justified with a Hilariously Abusive Childhood-forged fortitude. Although other characters have displayed Charles Atlas Superpowers, no one has had to take an extended beatdown like Jiro for a proper comparison.
  • Karma Houdini: Rule of Funny dictates that Kanade always gets away with a lot of mischief she causes. Then again, she's the daughter of the school principal and she always means well even while doing a number on Subaru, Jiro, Usami and Mayoi.
  • Kick Chick: Usami.
  • Lap Pillow: Jiro gets one from Subaru at the end of episode 8.
  • Laser-Guided Amnesia: Nagare gets kicked by Subaru for trying to attack Jiro for sharing the bath with her. She then ends up kicking Jiro, too, for accidentally seeing her on full-frontal nudity. Both wake up the next day remembering nothing of this incident. It seems she wasn't kidding about having a memory wiping technique after all.
  • Late for School/Crash Into Hello: How Jiro and Usami meet. Only she's riding a motorcycle. Jiro even lampshades on it in the manga.
  • Lethal Chef: Subaru. When she tries cooking something with Jiro in the light novel, he mentions that he repeatedly had to stop her from accidentally setting fire to the house multiple times.
  • Letting the Air Out of the Band: Used frequently in the anime when gags occur.
  • Younger Sibling Fetishization: Kureha, although this is mostly played for laughs and played up more in the other media than in the anime.
  • Lolicon: Kosame. Subaru thinks it has something to do with her complex about her bust size.
  • Loners Are Freaks: Usami initially. Her intro in episode 5 even emphasizes it as she does things by herself in contrast to other girls who are talking and having fun with each other.
  • Lovable Alpha Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Kanade—sweet Ojou to her schoolmates, a perverted sadist to Jiro, Usami, Mayoi and even Subaru.
  • Love Epiphany: Subaru experiences a subtle one in episode 7 after Jiro clears up the misunderstanding with when he went to Usami's apartment earlier.
    • Seems to happen to Nakuru as well at the end of episode 13 after looking at a sparkling, much cooler looking for some reason, Jiro. She responds by running away and leaving her food for Jiro to pick up.
    • Kanade seems to have one in episode 11 while a "drunk" Subaru tries to kiss and get really friendly with Jiro before passing out. Kanade doesn't say anything, but the look Jiro sees on her face hints that she's not happy seeing them together like that.
  • Made of Iron: Jiro, thanks to Yakemi and Kureha's "training".
    • In Episode 5 he managed to land perfectly on both feet and stand up like nothing happened even after he got blown away by Usami's scooter, whereas Usami was knocked cold for a while.
    • In the manga's Sick Episode, he even got to stand up and walk to Subaru even after he got ran over by a truck to tell her that he's not going to die before collapsing. He's fine after a few days' rest.
  • Madness Mantra: Nagare before the paintball game:

"Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kill, kill, kill, kill, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kill, kill, kill, kill..."

  • Manipulative Bitch: Kanade, who qualifies under multiple subtypes listed on that trope's page.
  • Meaningful Name: Jirou's name means "stand by me", according to his father. Which now pretty much defines his relationship to Subaru.
    • Subaru's surname, Konoe, means "Imperial Guard", which matches quite well with her family's profession.
    • Incidentally, the Kin in Kinjirou and the Kon in Konoe are both the same character (近), meaning close or nearby, which may or may not have any significance.
  • Martial Arts and Crafts: It's not exactly this, but the Handcrafting Club is extremely hardcore. You know Kureha? She's in third place in regards to strength. And there's the "training camps." In the manga one of them had the club members sneak aboard a ship in the dead of night and sailing to an abandoned island.
  • Measuring Day: Subaru goes to the boys' measuring station to keep the facade, and Jiro offers to do it for her.
  • Megaton Punch: Jiro is on the receiving end of these a lot.
  • Meido: As expected of an Ojou, Kanade has a few around her mansion. At one time she also dresses up as one to compete with Subaru over who can best serve Jiro and Kureha.
    • Mayoi was also forced into becoming one for the Suzutsuki household (besides her other job in a Maid Cafe—the same one Usami works in, and where Kureha and Nakuru also did part-time) in order to keep her mum about Subaru's secret.
  • Megane: Jiro and Nagare.
  • Meganekko: Nakuru (it's also her Fetish) and Subaru (as "Punyuru").
  • Mind Control Eyes: Subaru has a stint of this in Episode 2.
  • Missing Mom: Subaru's mother passed away when she was five. This fuels her enthusiasm to tend to the sick Jiro during her stint as his butler.
  • Mistaken for Gay: Jiro, due to the covert nature of Subaru's crossdressing.
  • Mood Whiplash: At the end of episode 7, Nagare interrupts the little gathering at the beach, saying he needs to bring Subaru and Kanade back, complete with Scary Shiny Glasses. Both girls react in the correct manner... and then Kanade asks who he is. Worse still, Subaru (as "Punyuru") pretended she doesn't even know him and even threatened to call the cops. Though it didn't help that he was constantly blowing her cover in front of her friends.
  • Murder the Hypotenuse: The reason why S4 exists.
  • My Name is Not Usagi: It's Usami!
  • Nice Guy: Jiro's main redeeming quality, which also causes all the girls to fall for him.
  • Nightmare Fetishist: A mild example with Usami, who has no qualms living in a dorm full of ghosts. No wonder she's mostly alone.
  • Ninja Maid: Subaru goes into this mode in episode 13 after spotting what appears to be a stalker taking pictures of her in the bath.
  • Nobody Poops: As a trip to the bathroom sets the plot in motion, this trope is quite obviously averted.
  • Nosebleed: Jiro, whenever a girl touches him.
  • Ojou: Kanade
  • One Dialogue, Two Conversations: This trope happens too many times to count, especially in the Light Novel and, to a lesser extent, the manga. Some noteworthy examples:
    • Twice in Episode 5. First, after Jiro got run over by Usami, his glasses somehow got stuck under her skirt. It doesn't help that he used rather vague language to explain the situation.

Jiro: "Um... you have something I want under your skirt."

    • The second was when he was consulting Subaru about his First Kiss.
    • There's another just in the light novel. Kureha asked what Subaru and Jirou were doing all day while she was away at camp. What they actually did was spar in the Sakamachi house's dojo. What Subaru said, though:

Subaru: "We spent all day working up a sweat. I thought a full day of moving our bodies like that was too long, but leave it to Jirou to say he couldn't stop because he was getting so fired up."

    • Especially the Beach Episode, where Subaru was wondering if he likes them big. Jiro, thinking she is referring to the water melon the girl has he agrees. Even added they are taster that way much to Subaru's shock.
  • Only Sane Man: It's common in these types of series to have some thinly veiled manzai routines as conversations, but these seem to comprise half of Jiro's conversations in the Light Novel—Subaru and Kureha are particularly big offenders when it comes to saying ridiculous things. The anime adaptation has much less of it in favor of sight gags and Gratuitous English, though.
  • Overprotective Dad: Subaru's dad, Nagare. He definitely means well; too bad he's blind to the fact that his little girl is already turning into a young lady who needs support outside familial ties.
    • This trope is likely why Kanade knocks out Jiro during the paintball Battle Royale. She probably knew Nagare would lose it had any guy, especially Jiro, won. Considering he was ready to do a mega dropkick on Jiro earlier in the episode for merely taking a bath in the same water as Subaru, and Nagare breathing a sigh of relief when Kanade wins the kiss from Subaru (who conveniently won the yukata contest earlier), she probably saved him some unnecessary wrath from the dad.
  • Paper-Thin Disguise: Oddly enough, nobody seems to recognize Jiro without his glasses. Kureha and Nakuru were convinced by Kanade that Subaru in a bikini and glasses is "his" female cousin, "Punyuru Takanashi". Usami, meanwhile, thinks "he" makes for a crossdresser so god-level it makes people question their sexuality.
  • Panty Shot: Jiro gets one from Usami as she kicks him on their first meeting, but the audience doesn't see it (in the broadcast anime version at least) He manages to say "pink" while falling.
  • Parental Abandonment: Jiro and Kureha's dad died of an illness, and their mom Yakemi, already at the top of the Japanese women's wrestling world, decided to travel around the world (currently in India fighting tigers) to find new challenges.
    • Subaru's mother died of an illness when she was five, thus she can relate to Kureha's Primal Fear of losing Jiro to an illness.
    • Mayoi's parents died in an accident a year before the story starts.
  • Pet the Dog: At the end of Episode 10 it turns out that Jiro, who apparently spent the entire August 28 - Kureha's birthday - sleeping till noon and eating instant noodles, actually bought her a large stuffed polar bear as a gift, partly as restitution for actually forgetting it last year in favor of a concert, causing her to beat him up and rip his souvenir t-shirt. Either way, she still beats him up (in joy).
  • Punny Name: Jiro's full name—Sakamachi Kinjiro—has the misfortune of having the last syllable of his surname and the first of his given name sound like "chicken". He literally panics when Kanade realized and points it out.

Kanade: "Chicken-kun?"
Usami: "Sakama Chicken Jiro!"

    • In the Light Novel, Kanade suggests he marry someone with the surname "Okamachi" and adopt her surname, so his new name, "Okamachi Kinjiro", can be read as "Okama Chicken Jiro" -- "Gay Chicken Jiro".
  • Primal Fear: Subaru is deathly afraid of knives. Thus Kanade staged her own kidnapping to help her overcome it.
    • Kureha fears the prospect of Jiro dying of an illness, just like their father. Even a bad cold is enough to make her hysterical.
      • Which is kind of ironic, seeing as how she beats him up almost every day and sees absolutely nothing wrong with that.
  • Qipao: Subaru complete with Odango.
  • Rapunzel Hair: Kanade, Yakemi and Subaru (with her hair down).
  • Recursive Crossdressing: Subaru as "Punyuru Takanashi", "his" female cousin, for whenever Kanade feels the need to get Subaru to embrace her feminine side without blowing her cover before her schoolmates (except Jiro and Mayoi, of course).
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: Kanade.
  • Relationship Upgrade: Subaru and Jiro go from "friends", to "best friends", but otherwise this trope is in effect for them in episode 9.
  • Rich Bitch: Kanade, of the rarer "Jerk with a Heart of Gold" type discussed on that trope's page.
    • Actually, only Jiro and Usami really thinks of her this way, which is justified because of all the "torture" she seems to enjoy putting them in. No one else seems to really care about her status, nor does she really flaunt herself as being "better" than other people.
  • Rose-Haired Girl: Kureha and her mom Yakemi, as well as Mayoi.
  • Running Gag: Nakuru tends to leap out to try and retrieve her things that were tossed away in a dramatic fashion, often resulting in her falling down.
  • Sarashi: Subaru.
  • Seamless Spontaneous Lie: Kanade is really good at this as seen in the Blatant Lies trope above. She's less effective on Usami however, who sees right through Kanade's lie about being on the beach with Jiro in episode 7.
  • Second Year Protagonist: Jiro, Subaru, Usami, and Kanade. Kureha, Nakuru and Mayoi are in their first.
  • Secret Keeper: Jiro and Mayoi, concerning Subaru's true gender. Both are being forced to do so by Kanade—Jiro through exploiting his nosebleed reflex, and Mayoi through pressuring her into becoming a Meido for the Suzutsukis.
  • Serious Business: Fangirling over "Subaru-sama" and the issue of what to make of Jiro's alleged gay romance with Subaru. The latter is what divided "his" fangirls between the objecting S4 and the supportive Mimamorugai, escalating into a full-fledged war come the School Festival.
    • Kanade's hiccups in Episode 11. Turns out she was trolling again.
  • She Is Not My Girlfriend: Jiro gets questioned on Subaru's relationship with him by her father while they're in the public bath in episode 8. Jiro vehemently denies being anything more than just classmates and friends. Which causes Subaru, who's hiding right behind him, to let off an annoyed grunt.
  • Skewed Priorities: Nakuru's fetishes. Where she jumped out of a second story building to grab her yaoi comic. And later in the manga, when her $10 glasses where thrown over the edge of a skyscraper, she destroys her camera gear worth in the thousands when she tosses it aside and jumped off to get them.
  • Spit Take: In episode 7, Jiro does this twice in one scene. The first is when Subaru calls him on his cellphone while he's hanging out with Kureha, Usami, and Nakuru, who don't realize Subaru is a girl. She's wondering why he's taking so long buying drinks, and decides to come over to the shop, causing him to spit the water. He warns them not to come into the shop, but then Subaru informs him that they're already there, causing him to spit out some more water, and forcing him to come up with a Paper-Thin Disguise for her.
  • Squee: The schoolgirls often do this whenever Subaru is around.
    • Usami does this very briefly after eating an octopus ball at the school festival in episode 6
  • Stealth Hi Bye: Kanade seems to be a master of this. It usually surprises the other characters when she does show up.
  • Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl: Usami has one, and a few other ghosts living in her apartment, freaking Kureha out.
  • Strong Family Resemblance: Jiro and Kureha are nearly identical to their father and mother, respectively.
  • Supporting Harem: To Trope Codifiying levels, to the point that everyone is head over heels for Subaru.
  • Suspiciously Specific Denial: Subaru does it at least twice, once in episode 4 as shown in the Bad Liar trope above, and later in episode 8 after he wakes up from the Lap Pillow.

Subaru: "It's not like I was watching you sleep in secret!"

  • Sweet Polly Oliver: Subaru
  • Talking in Your Sleep: Kureha.
  • Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: Kanade.
  • The Tease: Kanade big time towards Jiro. Particularly hilarious in episode 7 while on the beach. She asks Jiro to put some sunscreen on her, then makes some really suggestive sounds and lines, which causes a lot of embarrassment for him, and causes Subaru to ask if he wants to play Smashing Watermelons, or get buried in the sand. Cue Jiro's shock when he sees Subaru wielding a really large spiked club, and having dug a very deep pit in the sand.
  • Thanks for the Mammary: How Jiro found out about Subaru's gender.
    • He pulls it again in episode 9, this time on Usami.
  • Theme Tune Cameo: Usami hums the opening theme while in the bath in episode 13.
  • Thigh-High Boots: Usami Masamune.
  • Third Person Person: Nakuru.
  • This Loser Is You: Jiro
  • The Trickster: Kanade, oh so very much.
  • Tsundere: Usami is a mild case, down to the Twin Tails and thigh-high boots. Lampshaded by Kanade in episode 9.
    • An even milder case is Subaru herself, though she have been defrosted quickly towards Jiro.
    • Kanade pulls a tsundere act towards the computer club, possibly as a reward for her request to make a game.
  • Unrequited Love: Usami, and possibly Kanade, towards Jiro.
  • Unwanted Harem: Pretty much all the main girls to Jiro. Kanade in particular likes to tease him a lot. Although she claims to be doing it under the pretext of curing him of his gynophobia, she seems to like watching him suffer when other girls are around him as well, especially with Subaru.
  • Verbal Tic: Kanade's hiccups act like this.
  • Violently Protective Girlfriend: While Subaru likes to hit Jiro whenever she suspects he's too interested in other girls, when other girls try to attack him, she can suddenly invoke this trope. Such as with Kureha in episode 2, and later Usami in episode 6. And she also protects him from her dad in a couple of episodes.
  • Wholesome Crossdresser: Subaru.
  • Woman in Black: Kanade.
  • Wrestler in All of Us: How Kureha wakes up Jiro. Also, Yakemi is supposedly strong enough to beat a tiger with her bare hands.
  • Writer's Block: Nakuru gets one in Episode 13 concerning her BL doujins. She asks Jiro for help.
  • Yandere/Psycho Lesbian: Ichigo towards Kanade. Mayoi even calls her this.
    • And inadvertently, the S4 is following the same path, with their overprotective attitude towards Subaru and utter contempt for Jiro.
  • Yaoi Fangirl: Nakuru is a brazen one, even amongst her peers at the Mimamorugai.
  • You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Jiro and his (and Kureha's) late dad.
  • Younger Than They Look: Nagare has to be in his mid-30s, but Jiro just can't see him as looking older than 25. Subaru was also described as young-looking in the Light Novel despite being his age.
  • Zettai Ryouiki: Most of the girls while in the school uniform are sporting this. Usami manages to do it with thigh high boots.
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