Oniisama E... - Characters

Characters

Nanako Misonoo (御苑生奈々子, Misonoo Nanako?)

Voiced by: Hiroko Kasahara (original series), Yūko Mizutani (television pilot)

The main character of the story, Nanako Misonoo is chosen to join The Sorority, an elite group at her new high school, eliciting the wrath and jealousy of her fellow classmates. Like many shōjo heroines, Nanako is innocent, caring, sometimes insecure, but always determined to do what is right. She begins the story hoping only to be liked by her peers, but is soon dragged into the lives and secrets of Seiran High's most elite students. She develops a great admiration and possible romantic feelings for Rei "Saint-Juste" Asaka, and their relationship is one of the major driving plots of the series.

Tomoko Arikura (有倉智子, Arikura Tomoko?)

Voiced by: Waka Kanda

Tomoko is Nanako's childhood friend and arguably the only "normal-themed" character in the series. In the manga, Mariko manipulates her into ending her friendship with Nanako, which Tomoko later rekindles when she realizes the misunderstanding. In the anime, Mariko attempts to end the friendship and almost succeeds, but Tomoko ultimately remains by Nanako's side and protects her from Aya Misaki's bullying, and the three of them become best friends for the entire duration of the show, with Tomoko acting as the series' main comedic relief.

Rei Asaka ("Hana no Saint-Juste") (朝霞れい, Asaka Rei?)

Voiced by: Sumi Shimamoto

Rei "Saint-Juste of the Flowers" Asaka is one of the "Magnificent Three" known for her social indifference and her many artistic talents, specially musical (She plays guitar and sings in the manga, and plays the piano and acts in the anime). Incredibly loyal and devoted to the ones she loves, Rei's destructive relationship with Fukiko Ichinomiya leads her to be troubled, obsessed with death, and drug-addicted. She is Kaoru's best friend, and is made to frequently interact with Nanako, but her relationship with Fukiko prevents her from comfortably maintaining other friendships. The secrets between the two, and Nanako's involvement in them, is one of the major driving plots of the series. She dies late in the series; in the manga it is suicide via pill overdose, but in the anime it is an accident as she falls off in the path of a train. Rei's nickname comes from Louis de Saint-Just, a French Revolutionary.

Mariko Shinobu (信夫マリ子, Shinobu Mariko?)

Voiced by: Sakiko Tamagawa

An aspiring Sorority member and a former student of the junior high school attached to Seiran, Mariko becomes one of Nanako's best friends. Mariko distrusts all men because of her troubled family life: her father Hikawa is an erotica author who has an affair with an actress and later divorces Mariko's mother Hisako. She is terrified of abandonment to the point where she becomes obsessed with the ones around her. She is also extremely beautiful, with red lips and long black hair as well as a curvy body, and shows an odd mix of vanity about her good looks and lack of regard for her own health if upset. Mariko greatly admires Kaoru due to her strength and the emotional support she gives her as well.

Kaoru Orihara ("Kaoru-no-kimi") (折原薫, Orihara Kaoru?)

Voiced by: Keiko Toda

"Kaoru-no-Kimi" ("Prince Kaoru") Orihara is one of the "Magnificent Three" and the star of the basketball team, known for her tomboyish way of dress and her great athletic skills. She has a mysterious and deadly illness (breast cancer) kept secret from most of her classmates; it's only known in public that she was held back a year due to unnamed health problems. As Rei's best friend, she greatly dislikes Fukiko for everything she has done to Rei and hates the very existence of the Sorority. She spends the series trying to live her life to the fullest in spite of her disease, and is the one who supports Nanako when she is bullied, and helps Rei when she gets into major trouble. She was romantically involved with Nanako's "brother", Takehiko Henmi, but broke it off after her mastectomy. Kaoru's nickname comes from the anti-hero character, Kaoru Genji, of the The Tale of Genji.

Fukiko Ichinomiya ("Miya-sama") (一の宮蕗子, Ichinomiya Fukiko?)

Voiced by: Mami Koyama

One of the "Magnificent Three", Fukiko "Miya-sama" ("Princess") Ichinomiya is the Student Body President, leader of the Sorority, mem ber of the flower arrangement and riding clubs, and known for her elegance and dignity. She appears to be calm and generous, but is cruel and manipulative, often psychologically and physically torturing Rei for several ambiguous reasons. The annual Sorority candidate selections always cause extreme fighting and jealousy among the lowerclassmen, which she promotes, believing that in competition one finds strength. She sponsors Nanako's entry into the Sorority due to secret and ulterior motives: she is in love with Takehiko, and not knowing that Takehiko is really Nanako's stepbrother and confident, she jealously tries to destroy their relationship by making Nanako love her instead. In the anime, her love for Takehiko is given a backstory: She met and fell in love with him when she was twelve and he spent several days with her in the Ichinomiya mansion, but he broke his heart by not showing up to her birthday party, which emotionally splintered young Fukiko.

Aya Misaki (三咲綾, Misaki Aya?)

Voiced by: Masako Katsuki

Another Sorority aspirant and Mariko's rival ever since junior high, she tries to make life miserable for Nanako and Mariko when she fails to gain entry. In the TV series she is almost always seen with Miyuki Sonobe and Megumi Furuta, the only friends she seems to have at Seiran school. Mean-spirited and conniving, her cruelty belies an intense self-loathing. In the anime, after she is wounded in an altercation with Mariko, she experiences intense guilt for her actions and ultimately repents. By the series' end, she and her group appear to be on good terms with the main characters.

Takehiko Henmi ("Oniisama") (辺見武彦, Henmi Takehiko?)

Voiced by: Tesshō Genda

Takehiko is a favourite tutor of Nanako, whom she asks to be her "Oniisama"—a trusted older-brother figure. He is a graduate student at Gakuin University along with Takashi Ichinomiya, and has aspirations to study abroad in Germany. Takehiko is actually Nanako's stepbrother, the son of Mr. Misonoo's first marriage, though he keeps this secret from Nanako so as not to air the family's dirty laundry. He was involved with Kaoru approximately two years prior to the series' start, though after she was diagnosed she ended their relationship. He is acquainted with the Ichinomiya family through Takashi: when visiting their lake house once summer, he met a lonely Fukiko and spent a considerable amount of time with her, in which she fell in love with him; he also appears to know of the situation with Rei, though if this information was revealed through Kaoru or Takashi is not stated.

Takashi Ichinomiya (一の宮貴, Ichinomiya Takashi?)

Voiced by: Kenyū Horiuchi

Takashi is introduced as a friend of Takehiko, and is often seen accompanying him. A self-proclaimed metrosexual with a passion for cars, clothes, and beautiful people, Takashi is good-natured and caring, showing considerable interest in the well-being of his younger sisters. Takashi is incredibly supportive of Takehiko, frequently driving him around and going so far as to plan and pay for his friend's entire wedding at the show's conclusion. It is hinted that he has a strained relationship with his father.

"Miyuki Sonobe

Voiced by: Yumi Takada

An anime-exclusive character, introduced as one of Aya Misaki's two friends. She has pigtails and hair decorations, and is almost never seen without either Aya or their common friend Megumi Furuta. She and Megumi are seen as few more than Aya's girl posse, supporting her bullying of Nanako and Mariko. In episode 30 it's revealed that her and Megumi actually do care for Aya's well-being instead of just liking her high status; this leads Komabayashi and Ogiwara to manipulate them both for their benefit

Megumi Furuta

Voiced by: Miki Itou

An anime-exclusive character, of Aya Misaki's other friend. She has short hair and a deep voice, and is almost never seen without either Aya or Miyuki. She and Miyuki are seen as few more than Aya's girl posse, supporting her bullying of Nanako and Mariko. Like Miyuki, her motivations (misguided but genuine affection for Aya) are revealed in episode 30.

Junko Nakaya

Voiced by: Mayumi Setou

A girl from another first-year classroom, chosen to be in the Sorority alongside Mariko and Nanako. She is the first member of the Sorority who is expelled from it due to her bad grades, despite having a reasonable excuse (her bad health); Fukiko humiliates her via exposing her case to everyone in the Sorority, and then demanding for her to resign, despite Nanako's objections. She ultimately does so, and later confesses to Nanako that she had begun to feel uncomfortable in the Sorority itself. In the anime she is given some more spotlight, as she is introduced via speaking to a friend about Nanako's qualifications to be in the Sorority, which angers Mariko; later, she rejoins the cast and befriends Nanako more properly.

Mr. and Mrs. Misonoo

Voiced by: Hiroko Suzuki (Mrs. Misonoo), Kinryū Arimoto (Professor Misonoo)

Nanako's parents, or more exactly, Nanako's mother and stepfather. Misonoo, a well-known and respected college professor, was formerly married to Takehiko Henmi's mother, and after a very bitter divorce, he took to drinking his sorrows away; Nanako's mother was the waitress of the pub that he attended the most, and once the professor sobered up, they fell in love and got married. Ever since then Professor Misonoo has been a kind father figure to Nanako, though he wasn't able to rekindle his bonds to Takehiko as well; he and his new wife still worked hard to both be able to support themselves and help Takehiko after his mother's death. When Nanako is chosen as a Sorority member, one of the reasons she was questioned the most for was the assumption that her mother was a homewrecker, which was obviously false.

Hisako and Hikawa Shinobu

Voiced by: Rihoko Yoshida (Hisako), Tomomichi Nishimura (Hikawa)

Mariko Shinobu's parents. Hikawa Shinobu is a rich and popular erotica writer, and his work is used by Aya and her group to bully Mariko at school; not to mention, his affair with an ex-actress is very well known, as well as the reason why Mariko hates men of all kinds. Hisako attempts to take care of Mariko as much as she can while ignoring her own troubles, but while Mariko loves her deeply, her forceful personality sometimes is too much to handle.