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Junjo Romantica ( Pure Romance) is a yaoi series by Shungiku Nakamura. It focuses on three storylines; the main couple, which comprises the bulk of the books, and two other male couples which provide ongoing side stories (Junjo Egoist and Junjo Terrorist). It has expanded into several cd-dramas, a manga series with a spin-off running in Asuka Ciel, a light novel series running in The Ruby with a spin-off and a 24-episode anime series.
Shungiku Nakamura has written a spin-off to Junjou Romantica (mentioned above), titled Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi (lit. The Best First Love in the World) focusing on a shōjo manga editor and his first love, which was also animated by Studio Deen in 2011.
Characters:
Misaki Takahashi is the 18-year-old (19 in episode 8 of Junjo Romantica) little brother of Takahiro. At the start of the series, Misaki is about to sit for his college entrance examinations. His dream is to go to Mitsuhashi University since that was the college his brother turned down so that he could begin taking care of Misaki after their parents died. Although seemingly childish and brash, Misaki is later revealed to be a person who is simply adamant on insisting against doing anything that might be troublesome for anyone else. This is due to the fact that he still blames himself for his parents' death (believing that if he had not asked them to hurry home, they would not have sped in the rain and crashed). Misaki and Usami eventually begin a relationship together which puzzles Misaki, who is not outwardly confident about his feelings towards the older man because of his narrow view of a typical relationship. In the anime adaption, he is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai.
Akihiko Usami is a 28-year-old popular author of fiction and erotic BL (Boys' Love) novels, and the youngest recipient of the distinguished Naomori Award. His nickname is "Usagi", which means "rabbit" in Japanese. Usagi is Misaki's tutor for the upcoming entrance exams, and a very close friend of Takahiro (he, in fact, harbored an unrequited love for Takahiro for a long time). He and Hiroki were childhood friends. Shortly after meeting Misaki, he finds that Takahiro has gotten engaged. Seeing how upset this makes Misaki on Usagi's behalf, Usagi realizes that he loves the younger boy and the two become lovers. In the anime adaptation, he is voiced by Hikaru Hanada.
Haruhiko Usami is Akihiko's 30-year-old half brother (they have different mothers). He is generally cold and disapproving towards his brother, though no one really knows why. After a brief appearance by him in the middle of the series he begins proclaiming that he 'loves' Misaki, but that was only after he found out how close he and Usagi were. When he begins sending Misaki flowers and saying that he would take Misaki as his own, Usagi claims that Haruhiko was "always trying to take [his] things." In the anime adaptation, he is voiced by Kōsuke Toriumi.
Takahiro Takahashi is Misaki's 28-year-old brother, and Akihiko's long-time friend. He was the subject of Akihiko's love interest for a long time, but never noticed Akihiko's feelings due to him being naive. He is extremely caring towards his brother, even dropping out of school to support Misaki's studies after their parents died. Early in the series, he engages and marries Kajiwara Manami. They soon move to Osaka due to his job. In the anime adaptation, he is voiced by Kishō Taniyama.
Hiroki Kamijō in the anime, he is 29 years-old and a long-time friend of Akihiko's, who is an associate professor at the college Misaki studies at. He is a bit of a loner and is extremely passionate about classical Japanese literature, apparently having graduated at the top of his class. Hiroki initially loved Akihiko, his childhood friend. He is an example of the tsundere character archetype: he has a bad temper and is feared among his students, though he is actually shy and gets flustered easily. He is often called "Devil Kamijou" by the students. Hiroki has now fallen in love and is in a relationship with Nowaki, who calls him Hiro-san. In the anime adaptation, he is voiced by Kentarō Itō.
Nowaki Kusama was orphaned without a name as an infant, he was named "Nowaki" ("typhoon" in Japanese) by the head of the orphanage because he was found in a heavy rain storm. Elders call him "Wacchan". 6 years previous to the main story, Nowaki first comes across Hiroki when he finds Hiroki crying about his fruitless relationship with Akihiko, and goes on to insist that Hiroki become his tutor. Originally studying to become a social worker, he changes his mind and is currently in training to become a pediatrician. Nowaki is very kind, understanding, and patient, and shows these traits most when around Hiroki. Nowaki is 4 years younger than Hiroki, leading to a desire to quickly catch up to him (mostly career-wise) so the two can stand on equal ground. Despite his age, Nowaki is actually much taller than Hiroki, a fact that initially irritated the older Hiroki. In the anime adaptation, he is voiced by Nobutoshi Canna.
Miyagi Yō in the anime, he is 35 years old and a literature professor at Mitsuhashi University and a co-worker of Kamijo Hiroki. He was once married, but is now divorced most likely due to his indifference to feelings and emotions. His love interest is Takatsuki Shinobu, his young ex-brother-in-law. Miyagi is often playful when it comes to teasing Hiroki, though his true character is far more serious due to an event from his past. In the anime adaptation, he is voiced by Kazuhiko Inoue.
Shinobu Takatsuki is an 18-year-old high school student (and the son of Mitsuhashi University's dean of literature and of Miyagi's boss) who believes it to be fate that he is in love with his ex-brother-in-law, Miyagi Yo. He would very much like Miyagi to take responsibility for Shinobu falling in love with him. He is often blunt and unreasonable, though he is shown to have a softer side. In the anime adaptation, he is voiced by Daisuke Kishio.
Keiichi Sumi is a senior college student at Mitsuhashi University and Misaki's friend. He is very mysterious and it is hard to tell whether he is serious or not, though he is not a bad person. He is the son of famous novelist Ryouichi Sumi. Keiichi is also a member of the university's Onsen Research Group, ORG, which have been known for generations as makers of Japan's most terrifying haunted house. He has stated that he was merely using Misaki to get closer to his true object of affections, Usagi. Despite this the two remain close friends afterwords, showing that he does care for Misaki. In the anime adaption, he is voiced by Isshin Chiba.
Ryūichirō Isaka is the senior managing director of Marukawa Publishing, and Haruhiko's childhood friend. He is 32 years old in the main time line. He and his assistant Asahina are the main characters of the short comics released with the DVDs, Junjou Mistake. Junjou Mistake takes place ten years before the main Romantica storyline. Isaka aspired to be a novelist, but his real talents lay in finding future best-sellers. In the anime adaptation, he is voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa.
Kaoru Asahina is Ryūichiro's assistant, and came to work for the Isaka family when they helped the Asahina's out of a bad situation. Originally intended to be Isaka's playmate, he ended up becoming something more of a caretaker. In the anime adaptation, he is voiced by Ryōtarō Okiayu.
Eri Aikawa is Usagi's editor, as well as friend to both him and Misaki. She is roughly the same age as Usagi and is constantly pushing him to finish his work on time. On the outside she seems like a very nice mannered person, but when Usagi does not hand in his manuscripts on time she is famous for freaking out and even, on one occasion, attacking him. In the anime adaptation, she is voiced by Noriko Namiki.
Fuyuhiko Usami is the father of Akihiko and Haruhiko and uncle of Kaoruko. He loves both of his sons equally and wants what's best for them, however, he can become quite ruthless in his need to accomplish that. Like his youngest son, Akihiko, he is very fond of bears and enjoys the art of woodcarving. He owns a successful business and is often seen carrying rubber ducks. It is briefly mentioned by Akihiko that Fuyuhiko was adopted. In the anime adaption, he is voiced by Jūrōta Kosugi.
Kaoruko Usami is Akihiko's cousin on his mother's side (though she has the same last name as Akihiko's father. Akihiko did mention once that his father was adopted so it's possible that Akihiko's mother is a blood relative of the Usami family, including Kaoruko Usami). She is 20 years old and came to Japan because she heard that her parents had fallen ill, but really it was a trick by her uncle Fuyuhiko to get her to come back and marry Haruhiko in order to separate him from Misaki. As time progresses in the story, Kaoruko claims to love Misaki as she has the "same taste" as Usagi. She wants to be a pâtissier (pastry chef). In the anime adaptation, she is voiced by Mizuki Nana.
Mizuki Shiiba is Akihiko's 25-year-old cousin from his father's side of the family. He has returned from America to visit Akihiko, freeloading in his apartment. While he is very attached to Akihiko, he comes off as quite cold to Misaki. It turns out that the reason he's so cold to Misaki is that he has feelings for Kaoruko.
Shinnosuke Tōdō is Misaki's friend and classmate. He is attending Mitsuhashi University as a law student with aspirations of becoming a police officer in the future. He is also a member of the Kendo club. He met Misaki when he picked up The☆Kan phone strap that Misaki dropped. The two easily bonded over their shared love of The☆Kan manga.
Kyō Ijuuin is the creator of Misaki's favorite manga, The☆Kan. Whenever the deadline for his next manga installment is near, he becomes incredibly pessimistic. According to Isaka, it is disputed whether The☆Kan is in 1st or 2nd place in sales for the Marukawa Publishing Company. Misaki first met him at the Marukawa Publishing Company when Kyō is in one of his pre-deadline funks. Misaki gives him the motivation to continue by telling him how much his work means to him. Later on, Misaki is selected in a lottery to meet him once again for an autograph signing. Kyō's a bachelor, and when he's cleaned up he's a considerably attractive man. The majority of his fans are women. In the anime adaptation, he is voiced by Hozumi Gōda.
Shinoda is a real estate agent who met Hiroki while trying to get him into a real estate contract. He and Hiroki had a short romantic relationship while Hiroki was dealing with his feelings for Akihiko. He appears very briefly and only in the manga.
Tanaka is the Usami household butler, often mistakenly called 'Sebastian' by Misaki.(Pun off of Black Butler, there are two butlers one is named Sebastian, and one is named Tanaka.) In the anime adaptation, he is voiced by Kenta Miyake.
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