< Red String

Red String/Characters


Miharu Ogawa

Dyed-blond hair, trendy clothing, and an unusual knack for speaking up for herself, Miharu is an outgoing high school student who enjoys eating and hanging out with friends. She comes home one day to discover she’s an unwilling candidate for an arranged marriage to Kazuo Fujiwara. The only problem is she realizes that she actually LIKES Kazuo. Unfortunately, the two eventually break up. Miharu is left to rediscover herself now that she is alone.

  • Delinquents - Miharu gets labeled as one for her blonde hair and rash behavior. When she won't be beaten into submission, Arata has her expelled for it.
  • Lethal Chef - As well as her mother, who jokes that it's genetic in Supplement 1. After which they both try to cook and cause so much disaster that they're forced to give up and get takeout. Note that all of Miharu's love interests have been excellent chefs.
  • Runaway Fiance - She does this in Chapter 1, though it doesn't last long.
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl - Miharu is the tomboy, being loud, confident and more willing to try new things. Reika is her girly half.

Reika Matsuo

Reika has been Miharu’s friend since childhood and they’ve attended the same schools since elementary school. Though she is shy with others, she and Miharu are always very honest with one another and is very attached to her friend. She eventually befriends the anti-social guy in her class, Eiji Hayashihara. After a disastrous time dating her old crush, Hiroshi, Reika and Eiji become closer and she starts to realize her feelings for him are more than just friendship.


  • Loving a Shadow - Reika's longstanding crush on Aizaku was based off her romantic notion of him as a handsome boy who saved her from a bully on her first day of high school. She completely overlooks that it had nothing to do with actually helping her, he's a womanizer, and he can't seem to remember who she is. Once she finally gets a chance with him, her illusion of him shatters and she realizes she has no real attraction to him.
  • Shrinking Violet
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl - Reika qualifies as the girly girl as she is quieter, sweet and more conventional. Miharu is her tomboy half.

Fuuko Akimoto

Fuuko has been friends with Reika and Miharu since the beginning of their first year of high school. Fuuko loves to watch the school’s volleyball team and has great admiration for the team’s captain, Maya Chiaki. That admiration turns into something more and Fuuko finds herself in an uncomfortable situation at school. She ends up having to uproot her life again when her family moves to Tokyo. At her new school, she joins the Film Club and meets Hanae Niijima.

Kazuo Fujiwara

Kazuo is the only son of the Fujiwara family and was engaged to Miharu. His career, wife, and lifestyle have been all planned out for him. While he feels trapped in his situation, he has learned to accept his fate even at the cost of his dreams and his happiness.

  • Betty and Veronica - In the quest for Miharu's love, Kazuo is the Veronica, Makoto is the Betty.
  • Driven to Suicide - After a lot of foreshadowing, Kazuo finally makes an attempt at the end of Chapter 43.
  • Extreme Doormat - His actions seem to be exclusively the product of obeying/pleasing either his father or Miharu, with the father taking precedence. Kikuko finally calls him out on this in Chapter 32.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy - Kazuo is the king of this trope. All he wants is his father's approval, to the detriment of literally everyone and everything else in his life.

Eiji Hayashihara

Eiji does not get along well with Miharu or Reika at first. He has been called the worst wolf of them all and as a loner and generally grumpy guy he seems to fit the description. However, there is much more than what is on the surface and proves to be a strong and steadfast friend to the girls. He develops strong feelings for Reika and pursues her even though at first she has a crush on his friend, Hiroshi.


Makoto Yosue

Makoto is from Tokyo and is confidant and flirtatious, but also has a sincere side. He just popped up one day claiming to be Miharu’s fiance and that he would take over the Ogawa-ya restaurant as the Ogawa’s son-in-law. It turned out there was a miscommunication between their parents and was supposed to be engaged to Miharu’s cousin, Karen. With no chemistry between the two, they dissolved their relationship. This freed them to pursue the people they were truly interested in being with.

  • Betty and Veronica - In the quest for Miharu's love, Kazuo is the Veronica, Makoto is the Betty.
  • Nice Guy - Despite his initial rough exterior.
  • Stalker with a Crush - Comes across as this for his first couple of appearances. Following Miharu around school and trying to hit on her when she'd made it clear she wasn't interested didn't help.
  • Unlucky Everydude - Makoto has had several girlfriends, but they were all undeveloped and ended poorly (one girl moved, the other dumped him for not being rebellious and edgy enough). He spent a good year in love with Miharu when she was already engaged to someone else while his heart ripped apart for want of her. He displays other common traits of the character type, like his parents still being in Tokyo while he lives independently in Kyoto, and his sibling-like relationship with Aya.

Karen Ogawa

Karen is Miharu’s older cousin. They attended the same high school until Karen graduated and their parents run the Ogawa-ya family restaurant together. Karen works at Ogawa-ya with her parents and is somewhat unfriendly. She is unhappy with the idea of working in the family business.

Hanae Niijima

Hanae is a friendly, bubbly girl who befriends Fuuko when she transfers to a new school in Tokyo. She soon reveals her interest in Fuuko is more than platonic and explains that she is not afraid of what people think of her. She wants to work in television as a stylist for hair and make-up. She has an elder sister who gives her flower hair-clips for her birthdays.

  • Ascended Extra - Hanae was originally supposed to appear in one side story to give Fuuko's exit some more closure. The couple was so popular that further full story lines were written for them and Hanae became the first character to get an entire special chapter dedicated to her back story.
  • Formerly Fat - Hanae started with a formerly fat background. As the story has progressed, she's put a lot of the weight back on. She puts a lot of her self worth on being pretty in other people's opinions. Her mother's vision of her as a girlie princess takes a huge toll on her.
  • Lipstick Lesbian - Fuuko described Hanae as "the prettiest girl I've ever met" and her mother revels in her being her "sweet beautiful Hanae."
  • Manic Pixie Dream Girl - Hanae brings Fuuko out of her funk and teaches her to love again after her first disaster of a romance forces her so far into the closet she's finding Christmas presents. Then it gets deconstructed when Hanae's mother finds out and it's Fuuko that has to prop up Hanae and give her the confidence to be herself.

Tomi Hisamori

Tomi is a strange girl Miharu meets at Harusono High. She is bullied by other girls, but doesn’t care to be rescued. She also is very candid about her goal of snagging a rich husband and later reveals it’s because her family is poor. She is the eldest of five sisters; Rie, Sakae, Maruko, and Madoka. Tomi dolls herself up in an attempt to emulate her beautiful classmates, but as with her seduction skills, they’re just not quite on the mark. She has a bad experience at school that finally opens her eyes and she then decides to get a job. With Miharu’s good reference, she gets a job at Ogawa-ya.

  • Ethical Slut - Tomi makes no apologies for her man-hunting behavior. She's got her reasons: to help her family by marrying rich. As she points out, you can love a rich man just as much as you can love a poor man.
  • Good Bad Girl - Tomi is ostracized because of her promiscuous way of landing dates, but as soon as Miharu gets to know her we find out what a great person she is.

Kikuko Miyauchi

Kikuko is Miharu’s beautiful classmate at Harusono High School and childhood friend of Kazuo. She is admired by her fellow students and seems to be followed by sparkles and flowers. She gives off the impression that she is sweet and innocent, but there is something ruthless hiding underneath.

  • Alpha Bitch - Originally presented as one, but it seems she's genuinely nice and just knows how to play the popularity politics game.
  • Spoiled Sweet - Possibly. Her motives are unclear and she's suspected of a lot of treachery by the fandom, but she could be genuine just as easily.

Hiroshi Aizaku

Hiroshi is a classmate and secret love interest of Reika Matsuo. He and Eiji Hayashihara hang out together sometimes, but normally not outside of school. Hiroshi is a ladies man, flirting constantly and dating many girls. When Eiji starts to inadvertently steal some of his spotlight, Hiroshi gets very jealous and starts dating Reika to spite his friend.

Sayuri Morita

Sayuri is the envy of all the girls in school and the desire of all the guys. She’s a top-notch student as well as a royal pain in the rump for Miharu and her friends. She likes to gossip and has a following of admiring lackies. Later, she gets herself in trouble and the queen falls from her high status.

  • Alpha Bitch - Morita holds this role at her school, until her treatment of Maya backfires on her.
  • Fallen Princess - After Morita tries to bring down Maya but is foiled by Yuuki, she's constantly teased by the very same girls who used to be her witch posse.
  • Hot for Teacher - Morita develops a huge crush on Mr Igarashi.

Maya Chiaki

Maya attends Fuyuzono High School and is the “master strategist player of the school’s volleyball team.” She is the school’s athletic idol and is friends with Karen and Fuuko. Reika worships her as a sports fan. She also likes karaoke. Later on, a rumor gets out that she and Fuuko are more than just friends and it ruins her popularity status. Her reputation is restored by Yuuki Kiyoe who claims she is his girlfriend.

  • But Not Too Foreign - Maya is only half American.
  • Even the Girls Want Her - Maya has a huge female fan club that all act like they're fawning over a cute boy. Fuuko even falls completely in love with her as part of her coming out story.
  • No Guy Wants an Amazon - Maya thinks this way about herself. She's shocked when Yuuki becomes generally interested in her.
  • Schoolgirl Lesbians - With Fuuko, but she wasn't too sure of her feelings.

Mr. Arata

Arata is a teacher at Fuyuzono High School. He is unfriendly, strict, and seems to dislike anyone who steps out of line. A lot of students find him creepy and uncomfortable to be around. He gave Miharu trouble after she defended her friend, Fuuko. He has now set his sights on bullying Eiji.

  • Jerkass - Arata uses his Freudian excuse of having been teased as a young teacher to torment his students. When Miharu refuses to be broken, he gets her expelled. Then there's the creepy way he looks at some of the female students ...
  • Sadist Teacher - Mr. Arata pretty much hates students. And he really hates students he determines to be delinquents and definitely crosses the line between discipline and abuse of authority when dealing with them. His final storyline implied his bullying drove one of his former students to suicide.

Norio Igarashi

Norio is the new, young homeroom teacher at Fuyuzono High School. He seems warm and friendly to his students. The girls in his homeroom class find him very attractive and speculate that this is his first teaching job. One of his students, Sayuri Morita, develops a crush on him due to his kindness toward her.

  • Hot for Teacher - Igarashi is very popular with the female students. Too bad he's gay.
    • Especially Morita, since he's the only person nice to her after she becomes a Fallen Princess.
  • Invisible to Gaydar - Igarashi's sexuality came as a huge shock to the fandom.

Kenta Fujiwara

Kazuo’s father is a very strict and serious man. He wants Kazuo to join the family business and one day take over, as is expected of him as Kenta’s eldest son. This expectation has created a rift in the Fujiwara family.

  • Abusive Parents - Kenta is horrifyingly abusive to his son Kazuo and his wife Emi. He doesn't seem to be bad to his daughters, but they are still young enough not to question his authority, which is his real trigger for abuse.
  • Jerkass - Kenta, a rude, abusive asshole who mistreats virtually everyone in his family and whose sole motivation in life seems to be getting richer and more successful by any means necessary, including forcing his son to break up with Miharu so he could marry into a richer family. The fact that he fails at these objectives and still abuses his family only rubs in his general unlikeable nature. He's outright stated that he doesn't care much about Kazuo because he views him as useless.

Jun Mataichi

He is a kind and artistic classmate of Karen Ogawa. He has a crush on her and attempted multiple times to date her, but circumstances prevent them from being together.






Yuuki Kiyoe

Yuuki is the captain of the baseball team at Fuyuzono High School. He shows kindness to Maya after her fans turned on her and eventually ends up dating her for real.






Seiko Hoshikawa

Seiko is the Astronomy Club’s president. She is a cheerful and friendly girl with a passion for the stars…. and good advice to share.




Ryou Ogawa

Miharu’s father and eldest son of the Ogawa family. He is the owner of the Ogawa-ya family restaurant and one of the chefs. He is very close with his family. He and his younger brother Jiro share an amazing resemblance to one another even though they are not twins.






Kazuko Ogawa

Miharu’s mother and head hostess at the Ogawa-ya family restaurant. She is a bad cook, but cheerful and enthusiastic about life. She knew Emi Fujiwara when they were still in school.






Jirou Ogawa

Karen’s father and second son of the Ogawa family. He helps is older brother run the Ogawa-ya family restaurant and is one of the chefs. He and his older brother Ryou share an amazing resemblance to one another even though they are not twins. Jirou is the one with an earring and Ryou is the one who wears glasses.






Akina Ogawa

She is Miharu’s aunt and Karen’s mother. She is married to Jirou Ogawa and is a waitress at the Ogawa-ya family restaurant. She is friendly and can be just as energetic as Kazuko and is good friends with her sister-in-law.






Emi Fujiwara

Emi is mother to Kazuo, Mika, and Yumi. She is a very kind person and has been friends with Kazuko Ogawa since their school days. She can be just as enthusiastic as Kazuko and Akina, but her marriage and family life are not nearly as cheerful.

  • Extreme Doormat - She takes almost as much abuse as Kazuo off of Kenta. She puts up with him because she fears losing her children in a divorce.





Mika Fujiwara

Eldest daughter of the Fujiwara family and sister to Kazuo. She thinks of Miharu as a delinquent because of her dyed hair and calls her “tough sis” but she has grown fond of Miharu. She tends to speaks from her heart.






Yumi Fujiwara

Second daughter of the Fujiwara family and sister to Kazuo. She is a sweet girl and easy to please. She likes to have her big brother take her to the park and is very friendly.






Saburou Hayashihara

Saburou is Eiji’s younger brother and a first rate brat. He seems to know exactly what buttons to push with his older brother, but that’s what little brothers do. He also seems to show favoritism toward his eldest brother, Ken’ichi.





Ken’ichi Hayashihara

Ken’ichi is the eldest son of the Hayashihara family, though his personality and demeanor hardly reflect that responsibility. He does not live with his parents and seems to only visit for short amounts of time.






Aiko Nakano

Aiko is the bubbly, scantily dressed girlfriend of Ken’ichi Hayashihara. She shows up with him when he’s come home to ask for money from his parents. Ken’ichi casually announces to his folks that Aiko is pregnant.





Ayumi Kawazoe (Ayu-chan)

Ayumi is the childhood friend of Makoto Yosue. Despite her teasing, she shows a lot of concern for Makoto’s well-being and is always there for him when he needs her. She is a very friendly and enthusiastic person. She is into cool fashion styles and leans toward dark colored clothing.




Genki Nagahara

Genki is one of Kazuo’s friends from Harusono University and an employee of Cafe Charm. He is a generally cheerful fellow and plans to move back to his hometown of Mie to work at his father’s gas station after college.






Minao Chiaki

Minao is Maya’s older brother. He is half-Japanese and is a fashion designer. He and his sister grew up traveling between Japan and America, so their behavior is a little different from the norm.

  • But Not Too Foreign - Half American, just like his sister.
  • Red Herring - Minao was fed to the audience as one to throw them off the scent of Fuuko's real love interest - his little sister Maya.




Mizuho

Mizuho is the president of the Film Club in the Tokyo school where Fuuko attends (after chapter 15). She is tall, thin, and confident. She bickers a lot with her fellow club member, Hisako. She dreams of becoming a television actress when she graduates high school.






Kouya

Kouya is a member of the Film Club in the Tokyo school where Fuuko attends (after chapter 15). He wants to work in television with camera work or putting together soundtracks.






Hisako

Hisako is a member of the Film Club in the Tokyo school where Fuuko attends (after chapter 15). She is short, busty, and artistic. She constantly teases her fellow club member, Mizuho. She wants to work in television with set designs.






Yoshihiro

Yoshihiro is a member of the Film Club in the Tokyo school where Fuuko attends (after chapter 15). He is constantly attached to his fellow club member, Mayuka. He wants to work in television as a writer.






Mayuka

Mayuka is a member of the Film Club in the Tokyo school where Fuuko attends (after chapter 15). She is constantly attached to her fellow club member, Yoshihiro. She wants to work in television as a writer.







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