Shall We Date Ninja Shadow/Characters

The Shishido siblings

Saori Shishido (the Player Character)

"I am Saori, the shadow of my brother... the shadow of Kaname. The eyes of justice are upon you! Prepare to meet your fate!"

• Action Survivor: She must become this fast, if she wants to survive in a place as dangerous as Nagasaki.
• All Girls Want Bad Boys: Downplayed. Saori tends to swear by the "Single Woman Seeks Good Man" motto, but Toru and Tsubaki are the closest to exceptions. (With Toru as the most overt one, considering his and Tsubaki's personalities.)
  • Later it's clear that while she is willing to love a man whose ideals oppose hers, it will take her time to warm up to him or even consider him as a prospect beloved. Especially seen if she romances Gin or Haku from the Shadow Vigilantes (Toya and Sanosuke pull Heel-Face Turns) or Hades, the more outwardly cruel White Rose (Griffon and Cerberus are far more Anti-Villainous.)
• Angsty Surviving Twin: Kaname's death was a terrible shock for her, and her huge pain about it ia a driving force in her character.
• Attractive Bent Gender: In her boy disguise, Saori is very often called "beautiful".
• Badass Adorable: She is a super cute-looking Action Survivor who grows into this trope as she becomes more experienced in the battlefield.
• Battle Couple: She and her chosen boyfriend can and more often than not do become this.
  • Subverted tragically in Toru Nakagawa and Tsubaki Kusunoki's routes, since she fights against either because even if she loves the guy, her loyalty to the Vigilantes is her priority. Her chosen beau understands her reasons, even, and both of them say they'd be disappointed otherwise.
• Bifauxnen: Contrasting with her girly-looking brother, though in a subversion she looked very girly before Kaname's death and her Important Haircut.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Saori is kind, plucky and patient, so she can become the Gentle Girl to several of her boyfriends. Of special note are her dynamics with Asagi (once they open up to one another), Tsubaki (ditto), Okita (who is quite ill and almost resigned to death) and Kagura (who has a terrible Dark and Troubled Past and a fierce Split Personality born from it.)
• Childhood Friends: With Yoshiyuki. They can go into Childhood Friend Romance if the player chooses his route.
• Depending on the Writer: Since the love interests are all very different in personalities, different sides of Saori's character are explored in each route. i.e. she broods quietly yet deeply about Kaname's death in Eduard's path, is more action-oriented and straightforward in Makoto's/Hijikata's/Toru's, in Shintaro's she nears Broken Bird levels of mourning regarding her brother at some moments, in Okita's she is more patient and gentle since she's dealing with an Ill Boy, and in Yoshiyuki's she is a clear Tsundere to him.
• Expy: If she's paired up with Zeyo Sakamoto, Saori can be seen as the Oryo to his Ryoma.
• Failed a Spot Check: Aside of the obvious, there is ONE physical trait of Kaname that Saori couldn't copy: a mole on his neck . That saves her life in Sanosuke's route, since Sanosuke knew about said mole and when he sees that Saori doesn't have it, he stops trying to kill her.
• Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: Saori may be a bifauxnen and have quite a direct fighting style, but she's very much a Girly Girl at heart. She used to be super feminine before tragedy struck and she had to pose as a boy, adores sweets and Hair Decorations, and in several endings she dresses girlishly again after her revenge mission is more or less done.
• Important Haircut: Saori's first step towards taking Kaname's place is to grab one of her knives and cut off her until-then very long hair in front of his lifeless body.
• Living Emotional Crutch: Okita's path is about her becoming this to him. It's a very Justified Trope: He's very seriously ill and not expected to live for too long, so Hijikata invokes the trope by asking Saori to give him a reason to keep going on.
• Morality Pet: If Kagura's path is chosen, Saori has a chance to become this to Homura, Kagura's Blood Knight of a Split Personality.
• My Sibling Will Live Through Me: "From now on, I'm Kaname. Until the day I restore my village and find my vengeance, I must abandon the name Saori"
• Plucky Girl: This young woman is stubborn as HELL when she wants to.
• Recursive Crossdressing: Saori is a Sweet Polly Oliver who finds herself Disguised in Drag more than once. Including some "trips" to the Red Light District.
• Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: When Haru finds out that Saori is a girl, she really wants this with her. There's a whole Event dedicated to them going on a trip to Tokyo on their own and actually developing one.
• Shop Keeper: As a part of her cover, Saori/"Kaname" is appointed to do this with Kagura at the Meiko Salon.
• Sweet Polly Oliver: Her "cutely boyish" looks allow her to do this and impersonate her dead brother. Her disguise tends to be good enough to fool the vigilantes and many others for quite a while, except when the plot demands it.
• Taking the Bullet: She does this for Makoto, when Willem tries to shoot him In the Back towards the end of his route. And only then the other Vigilantes realize that she's a girl.
• These Hands Have Killed: Downplayed: she had never killed anyone before coming to Nagasaki and is understandably shaken whenever she does so in-story, but recovers quite faster than expected.
• Tsundere: She's a Type B ("hot to everyone, cold to the love interest") in Makoto's and Yoshiyuki's route. It doesn't help that the first clearly enjoys riling her up and the latter is sweet but VERY clingy.
  • In Haku's route, she's seen as a Type A. Because he annoys and antagonizes her that much.
• Weapon of Choice: She's seen wielding a Kusarigama scythe.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: At first sight she does not seem to be one, being a quite short Bifauxnen and Action Survivor with blond hair... but looking at her closely, she fits in surprisingly well. She is a Girly Girl who takes up the Bifauxnen deal for the sake of her dead brother and their village, has quite archetypically feminine tastes (like her love of sweets and hair jewelry), dedicates herself to the Nagasaki Vigilante group and their deals completely, is very kindhearted and compassionate to near every single person she comes across (unless they're villains, but if they're sympathetic enough, she will also be kind to them), often comes up as a sort-of Only Sane Man, etc.
• You Are Not Ready: Happens in Shintaro's route, when her emotions get the worst out of her in a mission.

Kaname Shishido

"The one who leads the village must always act in the name of justice"

• Ascended Extra: A ehole Spin-Off event is dedicated to him and his relationship with Saori.
• Big Brother Mentor: He cared a lot for his little sister and she loved him back just as much.
• Brother-Sister Team: He and Saori were this before his muder. Their Spin-Off shows that they were really, REALLY good at it - to the point that both of them get to stay with the Vigilantes.
• Childhood Friends: With Yoshiyuki.
• Clear My Name: Well, he's not the one doing it for obvious reasons, but still. In Yoshiyuki's route Sanosuke appears and furiously attacks him and "Kaname", screaming that "Kaname" has taken everything away from him. It's explained in Sanosuke's route that the late Kaname was and still is the biggest suspect of having killed everyone in Sanosuke's Doomed Hometown, and since Saori is convinced that her brother was framed, she and Sanosuke must dig in to find out whether Kaname was guilty or not, and if not, who is the real culprit.
• Cynicism Catalyst: His very early death near breaks Saori and makes her swear for revenge.
• Dude Looks Like a Lady: A very handsome and feminine-looking fella. No wonder his little sister could take his place so well.
• Go Out with a Smile: As he was about to burn to death in a warehouse, he smiled to his sister and entrusted her with the safety of their beloved village. Then, he perished.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: He tried to help some people in severe trouble (as in, "their village is being burned down" kind of trouble) and ended up killed for it.
• Sacrificial Lion: His death is what pretty much kicks off the whole plot.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: He sincerely believed in justice and the goodness of people.

The Nagasaki Vigilantes

In General

• Amateur Sleuth: Before carrying out punishments, they do this to find out more about their targets.
• Badass: The only one who isn't a skilled fighter is Makoto, and even he refuses to throw down the gauntlet if he has to face an enemy.
• Big Brother Instinct: Any Vigilante that isn't romanced by Saori takes up a big brother role to her, and woe betide anyone who bothers their "little sister".
• Dark and Troubled Past: None of them have led easy lives.
• Pretty Boy: All of them are very, very, VERY good looking.
• Secret Identity: They all lead double lives as: a high-ranked policeman (Ukyo), store workers (Kagura, "Kaname"), a Dutch-Japanese translator (Eduard), businessmen (Makoto, Yuzuki), etc.
• True Companions: They consider each other as this, always doing what they can to aid one another whenever it's needed. This is put to test in Makoto's route when he's believed to be a killer: the only one who seriously doubts this is Yuzuki and it's less about him being disloyal and more about his personal Berserk Button being pressed to the core.
• Vigilante Man: By night, they chase around evildores and fatally punish them at the request of the Nagasaki citizens.

Makoto Nakagawa

"Nagasaki shall know that its vigilante bring justice"

• Ambiguously Bi: Stealthily implied in his Epilogue. He deliberately makes a Clingy Jealous Girl believe that "Kaname" is his boyfriend, and when an embarrassed Saori points it out, his reaction is basically a "who cares...?"
  • As mentioned below, Ukyo also seems to think Makoto is bi, or at least more prone to fall for someone's personality than their gender.
• Beautiful Dreamer: Played straight when he falls asleep on Saori's shoulder, subverted later when she finds him sleeping but he wakes up almost immediately.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Surprisingly, it's played rather straight when he's the chosen boyfriend. One of Saori's most important missions there is to pose as a girl and as his girlfriend after he blows her cover and he quite enjoys getting under Saori's skin as it happens.
• Berserk Button: He really, really doesn't like it when people lie to him. He's not very happy when he realizes that Saori is a Sweet Polly Oliver in his route, and it's only when she tells him the truth behind it that he lets her stay.
• Big Good: He's no frontline fighter, but leads the Nagasaki Vigilantes very well.
• Childhood Friends: Makoto and Asagi have been friends for a long, long time, since their families are allies from quite a while ago.
  • He and Zeyo Sakamoto count as this as well, much to his annoyance.
• Cooldown Hug: Saori gives him one in his route, to prove him that she believes in him even after he's become the biggest suspect of being a Serial Killer.
• Combat Pragmatist: When he and Toru fight, he resorts to kicking his brother away when it's needed much to Toru's surprise. It's very, very needed since Makoto is not a good fighter and he's clearly aware of it.
• Hidden Depths: He's an amazing artist, and he built the Meiko Salon with the money he got for his beautiful artwork. Saori once watches him paint and is pretty much entranced at the sight.
  • In his own route, Saori realises that the deal with his Aloof Big Brother Toru causes him lots of sorrow.
  • Toru's route also delves quite a bit in Makoto's mind and POV, revealing that he's The Unfavorite in the Nakagawa clan compared to his brother and has suffered quite the emotional damage for it.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: He's the owner of the Meiko Salon and leader of the group. He does very well at both tasks.
• The Stoic: Always carries himself with cold serenity, trying not to let any emotions get in the way of his huge responsabilities. Logically, he comes off as more emotional in his route and in Toru's.
• Tall, Dark and Handsome: Very tall, with dark-blue hair, very good-looking.
• Tall, Dark and Snarky: In his own route, he develops a penchant for snarking at Saori a LOT and for almost anything. Even his True Feelings mini-events are full of sarcastic remarks.
• Team Dad: Whether he's not the main love interest or not, he often displays a quite fatherly concern for his subordinates and for Saori. It's especially glaring in Kagura's route, since he's the one who saved Kagura's life.
• Weapon of Choice: In the very few times he actually fights, he favors shorter katanas.

Asagi Himuro

"Roast in the flames of perdition"

• Accidental Pervert: A plot point: an Accidental Kiss at the start and an incident involving a fire shikigami and a waterfall lead to him realizing very soon that Saori is a Sweet Polly Oliver.
• Ascended Extra: He takes the backseat in other routes than his own, logically... save for two paths: Makoto's and Toru's. In the first, it's because he is Makoto's closest friend and the one who knows him the most, so he supports Saori's attempt to clear his name as much as possible (even if he can't do lots); whereas in the second case, he also knows Toru very well and realizes that Saori can be the key to deal with him, so he kinda becomes Saori's Big Brother Mentor and helps her as much as he can.
  • He also keeps this role in Seiya's route, since he and Seiji are his younger cousins.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: His route drips of this at the start. It's ultimately subverted since Saori gets to see his Hidden Depths rather soon and they warm up to one another faster than typical BST couples.
• Childhood Friends: As already said, he and Makoto have known each other since they were tiny. As such, Asagi is unwaveringly loyal to Makoto; it shows in Makoto's and Makoto's brother Toru's routes, where he does his best to support Saori's effort to help him.
• Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: If he and Saori become a Battle Couple in his route, they avert this since he's the spell caster and she favors weaponry. He puts everyone but Suetsugu to sleep when they infiltrate his Big Fancy House and then creates a Ring of Fire so he won't escape, and Saori uses the blade of her kusarigama to kill the asshole.
• Hidden Depths: In his route he's snarky, aloof, kind of an asshole at first... but he turns out to have serious insecurities about his mystical skills, terrible self-esteem problems because of said insecurities, and at times he also shows genuine difficulties approaching others (aside of Makoto and Saori).
• Inept Mage: Considers himself as this, despite having pretty decent skills to start with. It's because he needs far more power and skills to be a good heir to his family's shrine and feels that he's a burden on his much-loved father and head priest, plus some priests treat him like crap for his lack of skills. In reality, Asagi turns out to be a case of Unskilled but Strong: as a child his spiritual powers were so strong, he had a serious case of Power Incontinence that led him to accidentally summon ghosts. Mokuren, fearing that little!Asagi would be isolated and maybe even executed by the family leaders, performed a ritual that partially sealed some of Asagi's powers within his body, which saved Asagi's life at the cost of weakening his health.
• Miko: Genderflipped example, as he is the heir to a Shinto shrine run by an ally of the vigilantes.
• Meditating Under a Waterfall: One of the most poignant scenes of his route take place when he's doing this in a waterfall behind the Himuro shrine and almost collapses in Saori's arms, due to his terrible mental state.
• Missing Mom: Asagi's mother passed away when he was a child. His route reveals that she left him a cape with a crystal brooch, and if the player plays their cards right, Asagi gives it to Saori when they admit their feelings for one another.
• Mission Control: To a degree: the people who need the Vigilantes' help leave their written requests at the Himuro Shrine and then Asagi uses his shikigami to check on the petitioners and then relay info to the group.
• Number Two: He refers to himself as Makoto's right-hand man at some point.
• Took A Level In Badass: In his own route, after Mokuren's Heroic Sacrifice lifts the Power Limiter over him, his mystical powers experiment a monstrous boost. He immediately uses them for the Vigilantes' and Nagasaki's sake, and to cover-up Suetsugu's death. It's implied that he also goes through similar boosts in other paths, as one Normal Ending has him using Astral Projection outside Nagasaki itself.
• Weapon of Choice: Asagi uses his Onmyodo skills in battle, including: shikigami, force fields, sleeping spells, some degree of Astral Projection, creating temporary clones of a dead person, etc.
• You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Literally, in his case.

Ukyo

"I'll make this quick and painless"

• Badass Adorable: He is a cheerful, smiley, teasing and a little child-like redhead man who doubles as an extremely skilled swordsman.
• Badass Bisexual: As mentioned below, Ukyo is bisexual. He's also very, VERY badass.
• Big Brother Mentor: Outside his route, he's explicitly this to Saori and to his childhood friend Eduard.
• Big Eater: Ukyo loves eating, has a huge Sweet Tooth, and whenever he's featured in a scene including meals he will always steal food from others.
• Bi the Way: Ukyo's speculation about Makoto's bisexuality and his support of Eduard/"Kaname" don't come out of nowhere: Ukyo himself says that he doesn't care about the gender of the person he falls for, and he fell for Saori before her gender was revealed.
• Bunny Ears Lawyer: When at work? Totally serious. When off-work? Childlike and flighty.
• Fair Cop: Outside the vigilante group, this very handsome young man works as a high-ranked police commisioner. This is vital in his path, where the specific plan that he develops to first unmask and then kill Suetsugu heavily depends on his position as a policeman.
• Fiery Redhead: Averted, he's quite level-headed unless he's off-work or in front of a plate of sweet dumplings. He does have strong emotions, but tries to keep them on check for the sake of everyone.
• Shipper on Deck: He comes off as this from pretty much the beginning in Eduard's route, as he sees that Saori (or better said, "Kaname") is a good influence on his best friend.
  • He also ships Makoto/"Kaname", again from before Saori is revealed to be a girl. In his opinion, "he (Makoto) fell in love with the person, not the gender"
  • He and Eduard are kind-of Saori/Yuzuki fanboys in the latter's route.
  • In the last CG before Okita's Sweet Ending, Ukyo is pretty much pumping his first up when Saori and her boyfriend are reunited and about to kiss.
• Spanner in the Works: In Makoto's path, he asks the Edo Vigilantes for help to find out if Makoto has become a Serial Killer or not, leading to them finding out that his brother Toru has framed him.
• Tattoo as Character Type: The left side of Ukyo's body plus his left shoulder and arm have red tattoos. They're more often than not covered by his clothes, however, and when uncovered they resemble tribal ones.
• The Tease: Love, loves teasing Saori in his route and in others'.
• Weapon of Choice: A simple katana.

Eduard

"The time of judgement has come for you"

• Amnesiac Lover: Eduard really can't remember how he lived before coming to Japan as a child. Him recovering his memories becomes a huge drive of his route's plot as a whole.
• Childhood Friends: Not just with Ukyo, but with Natsume from Ninja Assassin.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Implied to have this, and the fact that he has amnesia doesn't help. It turns out that he was at first well-raised by his kind and relatively well-off mother, then she died and he was all alone, and then he became a Tyke Bomb for a group of Dutch assassins known as the "Red Roses" (which Willem also was a member of), and at some point he was used as a scapegoat and targeted for elimination by them. The 12-year-old Eduard had to flee as far as he could, collapsing almost dead at the entrance of Ukyo's village, where a pre-teen Ukyo found him and took him in. All of this caused him to have Trauma-Induced Amnesia, which started to be undone when he found Willem again.
• Dark-Skinned Blond: Rather justified, he's a full-blooded Dutch man who came to Japan as a youngster.
• The Gadfly: At times he manages to tease Saori and leave her completely, absolutely flabbergasted. i.e., in his route he once talks about a female friend who used to kiss him whenever he got hurt, causing Saori to get jealous... And said friend was the guard dog of his and Ukyo's village.
• Innocently Insensitive: He truly doesn't seem to notice when he's acting too chummy with other people, due to his lack of social skills.
• Manchurian Agent: It's looks like Eduard's Trauma-Induced Amnesia may be a mix of the real thing and a sort-of hypnosis coming from the Red Roses group, which began to be undone when Willem performed the "trigger": shooting an unloaded gun at him. In a subversion Eduard did not exactly reset to the person he used to be, rather he managed to resist the conditioning itself after it seemed he'd give in, and after seemingly siding with Willem, he decided to fight back.
• Mighty Whitey: Averted, his foreigner condition doesn't always give him an advantage compared to the others. In fact, he's said to be popular with women due to his beauty, but he's still the victim of lots of prejudices because he's a non-Japanese man in an almost completely isolated territory.
• No Social Skills: At times Eduard is genuinely unaware of how stand-offish or awkward he comes off to others in his route, and especially to Saori since he treats her like a girl and that makes her think he'll blow her cover, when he has no intentions to do so. He does seem to slowly learn from experience, however.
• Parental Abandonment: As Eduard recalls his past, he also recovers his few memories of his mother. He says that she was a kind woman who raised her on his own (and he has zero memories of his dad), but she died young and then he was taken in by the Red Roses group.
• The Quiet One: He's so quiet, it even creeps Saori out a little at the start.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: He's the only member of the Vigilantes who wears Western clothes, as it befits his position as a foreigner.
• Shipper on Deck: Just like Ukyo supports his potential relationship with the Player Character, Eduard will support a prospect match up between Saori and his Big Brother Mentor. He knows from the beginning that Saori is a girl, but had he not known or had Ukyo fallen for a living Kaname, he probably wouldn't have minded anyway as long as Ukyo was happy.. In Yuzuki's own route, he also supports him and "Kaname" alongside Ukyo.
• The Tragic Rose: Roses are associated with him, and he's implied to have gone through LOTS of suffer and heartbreak when young.
• Weapon of Choice: A Western-style Sword Cane.
• What Beautiful Eyes!: His Purple Eyes completely capture Saori's attention.

Yuzuki Hirano

"Heaven may show mercy, but I will not."

• Arranged Marriage: Yuzuki's eldest brother Asahi is about to go through one with a woman from a rich family, while his second brother Yusahi is married to a lady who works in the Family Business. At the start of his route Yuzuki is being pressured into getting into an arranged union with a rich girl who already likes him.
• Berserk Button: Both women and people who betray his trust. Which is why he feels thoroughly betrayed when either Saori tells him that she's a girl (in his route) or Makoto is believed to be a murderer (in Makoto's).
• Beware the Nice Ones: In Makoto's route, he gets immensely angry when Makoto decides to take Shintaro outta a mission that will involve dealing with his Face-Heel Turn-ed mentor, Toru.
• Bi the Way: According to Souji and Aoi (from Ninja Assassin), Yuzuki is the kind of person to fall for someone for their person, not their gender. (Plus they ship him with Saori from before they learn she's a girl, explicitly saying that there's nothing wrong with two men in love.) Yuzuki himself confirms it when he's romanced and his dislike of women lessens thanks to Character Development.
• Broken Pedestal: In Makoto's route, Makoto becomes this to Yuzuki when he believes that his leader is a Serial Killer and loses his faith. Though when Wakasa and Kinshirou prove Makoto's innocence, he immediately apologizes and does what he can to compensate.
• Character Tics: Cleaning his hands with a handkerchief when he touches something he doesn't like, or someone he doesn't care for touches him.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Yuzuki is both an Heroic Bastard and a Son of a Whore - his mother was not just Hazuki Hirano's mistress, but a very beautiful hooker from the Red Light District who raised him there in his early years. He was taken in by the Hiranos when very young, and while his father and half-brothers were and still are very kind to him, his stepmother walked out on them, the rest of his family and many others treated him like crap. So he trained as a ninja in the Iga region, under the watching eye of the guys from Ninja Assassin (especially Aoi, Souji and Sion), and joined the vigilantes to become a worthy person..
• Dude Looks Like a Lady: To the point that he refers to himself as "the prettiest-looking guy" in the group, second to "Kaname", and before her arrival he was the one who dressed up as a woman if needed.
• He-Man Woman Hater: It's implied in some routes that Yuzuki views women (with the exception of Haru) as manipulative and deceitful. It becomes quite an issue in his route, logically. He turns out to be the "tragic" type since he was traumatized by his prostitute mother's abandonment, though with help of Saori, Aoi and Souji he begins to work past it.
• It's Personal: Towards Suetsugu's partner Tokaiya, who has caused lotsa trouble to his beloved merchant father.
• Mistaken for Gay: Invoked and exploited by him in his route, when he claims to have fallen for "Kaname" to get his well-intentioned but nagging father and brothers off his back regarding an Arranged Marriage. (Though he later clears it up.) Naturally, the "boy" he chooses to do this with happens to be a Sweet Polly Oliver...
• Nice Guy: A very gentle and kind young man who always has a soft smile on his face. He shows a much more complex side in his own route, however, which often involves him being not so nice. But even in his harshest days, his kind nature can't be completely hidden: when Saori explains the exact reason why she deceived him and everyone with her Sweet Polly Oliver deal, he does calm down enough to agree to keep the facade a little longer when he could've perfectly exposed her.
• Princely Young Man: A Nice Guy type, as the youngest son of the very respected and rich merchant Hazuki Hirano. In fact, part of his motivation to be a vigilante is to keep his family and the Family Business safe.
• Stepford Smiler: And holy shit, how. His route shows that he's very much the "person who is all smiles but is actually very hollow and depressed underneath" type.
• Weapon of Choice: Twin katanas.

Shintaro

"First, you lost your virtue. Now you'll lose your life"

• Ambiguously Brown: It's not said why he's more tanned than the others, though this is probably because he trains a lot.
• Boisterous Bruiser: He's the most Hot Blooded of the Vigilante group and believes that good matches are ways to communicate between fighters.
• Broken Pedestal: In both his and Makoto's route, it's revealed that Makoto's older brother Toru saved Shintaro's life and taught him swordmanship. So when Shintaro finds out about "Sir Toru"'s Face-Heel Turn in Makoto's route, he is both shocked and in severe denial at first. It's somewhat less dramatic in Shintaro's own route, but still very much there since Toru is the Big Bad of said path and facing him plays a huge part in the plot.
• Cannot Talk to Women: Out of shyness, rather than anything else. It's really cute, though at times Saori believes that he won't trust her after he learns that she's a girl; when this happens, he has to reassure her that it's just because he doesn't know how to deal with girls.
• Combat Medic: He's familiar with the basics of Western medicine, which is quite useful sometimes.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Shintaro was a ninja from the Iga region, who once worked for a local family. When he failed a mission, his employers were all murdered and he barely managed to escape in a boat that arrived to the Dejima harbor in Nagasaki. In deep shock for his loss, he got ready to drown himself in the sea — but Toru and Makoto were passing by and saw him. Toru taunted him to make him react and gave him a Curb-Stomp Battle, scarring him on the cheek... and then took him in as his apprentice.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: A Good Scar on his cheek. Toru gave it to him in in an attempt to bring him out of his suicidal Heroic B.S.O.D..
• Heir to the Dojo: He looks like this (his sprites have him wearing hakama similar to those used by kendo practitioners), but it's subverted because he owns the local dojo rather than just being the heir to it.
• The Reliable One: He's considered as this among the group, with even Makoto putting all his trust in the guy. If this doesn't happen, it's a sign that something's very wrong or his former mentor Toru is involved.
• Weapon of Choice: Another one who favors katanas.

Kagura

"Sorry, but it looks like playtime is over"

• Beware the Quiet Ones: Kagura is kind and calm when he's not fighting, and a brutal Blood Knight when he is. Because Homura, his far more blunt and borderline Ax-Crazy Split Personality, is the one on the front. He was specifically "born" to deal with the most unpleasant parts of vigilante life and protect Kagura, whom he sees as his Only Friend, from them.
• Dark and Troubled Past: A teenaged Kagura was a member of a group of assassins that attacked a ninja village to kill everyone there. Things backfired badly when the Sole Survivor of the village, Wakasa (the one from Ninja Assassin), fought back and killed all of them save for Kagura, who was found by Makoto and Shintaro and taken in by them. The trauma coming from this is what caused the birth of Kagura's Split Personality, Homura, who has taken up the "mission" to protect Kagura's frail mind by taking charge during missions.
• Death Seeker: As a result of "something" he did in the past, Kagura thoroughly loathes himself and wants to die. The explanation is under "Dark and Troubled Past".
• Devoted to You: Homura has this for Kagura, taking many risks and doing many questionable things to keep him safe. Then, when Saori actually asks him if he has any other desires for himself other than Kagura's safety, he's at quite the loss.
• Disabled Love Interest: Can be this to Saori, since he has an eyepatch covering an apparently injured eye. Subverted: the eye is still there... the eyepatch is a sort-of Power Limiter for Homura.
• Eyepatch of Power: He covers his right eye with a spiffy-looking one. Whenever he removes it, it reveals a red eye contrasting with his non-covered green one. Then things get REAL bad... For his enemies.
• Foreshadowing: If Kagura is chosen as the instructor/love interest, not only he's rather shocked and at first tries to disuade Saori, but the team's reaction (save for Makoto) is a Mass "Oh, Crap!". This shall be a hint that there's more than meets the eye regarding Kagura as a whole.
  • Actually, AHomura shows up as early as in Asagi's route, where Kagura joins Asagi and "Kaname" in a mission and at some point Asagi lets him out so he'll speak to "Kaname".
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Kagura's route states that he has a very, very low opinion of himself due to his Dark and Troubled Past. Regarding his "relationship" with Homura, Kagura tells Saori that he doesn't hate him, but believes both of them are tainted and should die.
• Knight Templar Big Brother: In a way. Being born from Kagura's past trauma and taking the current one upon himself, during Kagura's path Homura becomes increasingly paranoid and overprotective and not just because Kagura's prospect death would be his own. When Makoto plays a Batman Gambit to confirm his suspicions about Homura's intentions, Homura gets so angry over this that he attacks Makoto for it and only Saori's intervention stops him.
• Please Kill Me If It Satisfies You: Kagura has a huge Heroic B.S.O.D. when he identifies Wakasa as not only the Sole Survivor of the village he and his original companions destroyed, but as the man who subjected said companions to a Cruel and Unusual Death. When he and Homura are more stable, the two reach an agreement and ask Wakasa to kill them... but Wakasa refuses, saying tht even if he cannot fully forgive them, he has learned with time (and with the help of his fellow Edo Vigilantes and a girl who's implied to be the MC from Ninja Assassin) that it's best to live through even if it means carrying the guilt of having taken lives.
• Shipper on Deck: Surprisingly, during Yoshiyuki's route Kagura gets invested in Saori's deals with him and supports a prospect relationship between the two. And this is before everyone learn Saori is a Bifauxnen and not a boy.
• Shop Keeper: A normally rather calm man, whose specific day time job is taking care of the Meiko Salon. He's often coaching Saori/"Kaname" on how to do said work with him, too.
• Trademark Favorite Food: He really, really, REALLY loves sweets. And especially chocolate.
• Undying Loyalty: Has this for Makoto whom he owes his life to, referring to him as "my lord" and talking almost dreamily about him at times. The closest to his faith wavering takes place when Makoto is believed to be a Serial Killer, and even then he still wants to believe in Makoto's innocence.
• Visible Silence: He... uses lots of ellipses... when he speaks... When Homura is in control, however, he drops it completely and speaks far more bluntly.
• Walking Spoiler: It's a little hard to talk about Kagura without mentioning Homura aka his Split Personality.
• Weapon of Choice: A set of Wolverine Claws.

The Anti-Shogunate Revolutionaries

In General

• Anti-Villain: The story shows them as troubled individuals who have good intentions at heart, but want to reach their goals via violent methods.
• Demoted to Extra: As the Shadow Vigilantes and the White Roses come into the plot and become direct antagonists, the Revolutionaries fall on the wayside save for Zeyo -- and in these routes Zeyo is NOT a member of their league. They don't completely disappear, however.
• Everyone Has Standards: They're clearly disgusted by Suetsugu's greed, and even if they have to work for him at times, they don't approve of his behavior.
• Villain Has a Point: They aren't exactly wrong about the corruption and stagnation in the Shogunate itself. The Vigilantes themselves acknowledge that their methods are wrong, but the reasons behind them aren't.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: They want to reform and change Japan to purge its corruption. Via bloody rebellions, if needed. (Save for Zeyo, and not always)

Toru

"For Nagasaki's sake, I will destroy Nagasaki!"

• The Ace: Toru was pretty much his family's golden child as he was blessed with smarts, strength, beauty, charisma, etc. No wonder his younger brother Makoto, despite having his own share of merits, feels that even now he cannot really compare.
• Affectionate Nickname: His best friend Tsubaki calls him "Silver Star"
• Aloof Big Brother: As said below, he's one to none other than Makoto Nakagawa. On the other hand, while his brother neither hates Toru nor wants him dead, he resents him because he's had to be The Dutiful Son ever since he ran away and he also must live up to the high standards that Toru set.
• Ascended Extra: To a background chara and ally of Suetsugu, to a Big Bad Duumvirate member in Kagura's path (and later again in Sakamoto's), to the actual Big Bad in two routes (Shintaro's and Makoto's), to a full-fledged Love Interest with his own story mode.
• Awesomeness By Analysis: Toru has an extremely sharp eye for detail, which is how he found out that Saori was undercover as a prostitute when they met and later recognized her when she was dressed up as a boy.
• Big Bad: Of Makoto's's route ( since he's his older brother and their plans and viewpoints clash) and Shintaro's (as his mix of Broken Pedestal and Evil Mentor.)
• Big Bad Duumvirate: In Kagura's and Sakamoto's's romantic routes, via partnering with Willem and Tsubaki
• Bodyguard Betrayal: In Yuzuki Hirano's route not only he doesn't lift a finger to defend Suetsugu when Saori and Yuzuki come for him, but when Suetsugu is mortally wounded, he laughs at the other man's dying pleas and finishes him off.
• Cain and Abel: He has a younger brother that he cares for, but does not get along with. Said brother? Makoto, who hadn't seen him in several years and is not happy when he recognizes Toru as an ally of Suetsugu.
• Combat Pragmatist: Toru is not just a skilled swordsman, but a quite dirty fighter when needed. i.e., when Saori and Yuzuki face him at the end of the latter's route, he doesn't hesitate to use a bomb and giving Yuzuki quite the burns in his arm.
• Cool Mask: He always initially shows up wearing a lovely black one. Here he is, when unmasked.
• Dating Catwoman: Toru is very attracted to Saori and, in his route, she falls for him. But if he's the love interest, he directly opposes her and the Vigilantes...
• For Want of a Nail: In-story, Toru's route begins when Makoto decides that there's no time to give "Kaname" proper training, so Saori is to join the group from the very beginning...
• Karma Houdini: Unlike Suetsugu, he often escapes from the heroes. Actually subverted: He's captured at the end of Shintaro's Makoto's, and his own routes. The Blissfully Yours semi-sequel of Makoto's path has him ultimately escaping with Tsubaki's help, whereas he stays imprisoned in Shintaro's, and whether he gets away or not in his route depends on which ending is chosen.
• Kick the Dog:
  • In Makoto's route, he kills two innocent women who have crushes on Makoto, and later two completely unrelated passerbies, to frame Makoto for serial murder and force him to talk to him.
  • In Kagura's route, he tricks a desperate Saori into a deal where he's supposed to give her a medicine that could help Kagura and Homura to merge in peace... but then he and Willem capture her and try to force feed it to her instead.
• Kick the Son of a Bitch: Does it twice to Suetsugu:
  • In Ritsu's route, he murders the tycoon when he's jailed and about to be trialed.
  • In Yuzuki's route, he just stands and smirks as Yuzuki and Saori fight him, and once he's mortally injured by Saori, Toru calls Suetsugu pathetic and gives him the finishing blow.
• Knight Templar Big Brother: Despite being an Aloof Big Brother to Makoto, Toru's own route shows that he loves his little brother deeply and one of his motivations is protecting him.
• Love at First Sight: With Saori, throwing yet another wrench in his relationship with his younger brother. It's logically given more focus in his route, where he meets Saori when she's pulling a Dirty Harriet mission, protects her from Suetsugu by tricking him into thinking he's having sex with her behind a closed door, and later actually searches for the "unnamed" prostitute he spoke to in Nagasaki because he's that fascinated by her pluck and by her not fully yielding to him.
• Love Makes You Evil: At least a part of his motivations include his affection for Nagasaki, "the city that Makoto loves", and the love he has for his younger brother. Even if he has to burn down the city and frame him for murder to keep him safe.
• Master Swordsman: Probably one of the best sword fighters in the whole story.
• Necessarily Evil: He claims to be like this when confronted by Makoto and Saori in the first's route, saying that he works with Willem and Suetsugu for the sake of Nagasaki. He's telling the truth.
• Pragmatic Villainy: He may be an opponent and in cahoots with Suetsugu, but he doesn't seem to like fighting and killing without an actual reason. In Kagura's path, when Suetsugu tries to get him to hurt Saori and Kagura, he refuses and says his sword is not for such things.
• Promoted to Love Interest: He's shown as a villain (especially in Makoto's and Shintaro's routes), but also gets his own path where he shows different sides of his personality and his motivations are discussed.
• The Reveal: Toru's true nature is... He's a Well-Intentioned Extremist who genuinely thinks the Shogunate is so thoroughly corrupt, he must take it down and rebuild it. This why he left the Vigilantes (which he helped found, but later saw as useless against the Crapsaccharine World), allied with the rich and powerful Willem and Suetsugu (though he plans to eventually backstab Suetsugu when he's no longer useful) and, in Makoto's route, is not above murdering four innocents and kidnapping Saori: he wants to get him, Shintaro and Saori to join his cause.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here!: Attempts this in Shintaro's route, planning to leave Japan in one of Willem's trading ships.
• Shipper on Deck: Not as openly as others, but still there. If Tsubaki is Saori's love interest, when he finds out he'll be pretty impressed with Tsubaki's taste in women and support him and Saori.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: Everything in Toru's path points at him and Saori becoming this, since he's an Anti-Villain and not only she's a vigilante, but she priorizes her loyalties to the group and to Nagasaki over their love, no matter how much it hurts her... Subverted: while Toru is captured, judged and exiled, both of his endings have him and Saori ultimately reunited in one way or another.
• Strong Family Resemblance: The Cool Mask not only hides Toru's features, but also how he looks like an older version of his loved/hated little brother Makoto - especially regarding their near identical eyes and jawlines. Saori lampshades it when she sees him unmasked, being almost terrified at how similar their features are.
• The Tease: He tends to tease Saori quite a bit in their path, often via double entendres.
• Villainous Breakdown:
  • He suffers a big one at the end of Makoto's route, when he's surrounded by the Vigilantes and loses to Saori and Makoto. At the end he's left a sort-of shadow of the proud man he is, wondering why has he lost when his only desire is to protect the Nagasaki that his brother loves.
  • He goes through another in Shintaro's route, when his former pupil not only rejects his We Can Rule Together proposal but fights back with all his might.
• Villainous Friendship: He has this with Tsubaki Kusunoki: they genuinely appreciate one another as persons, Toru saved Tsubaki's life in the past, and they share the desire to destroy the Tokugawa government to cleanse Japan from its corruption.
• Weapon of Choice: Also fights with katanas
• We Can Rule Together: Makes such offers to his brother Makoto, his former disciple Shintaro, and his prospect lover Saori.
• You Got Spunk: In Makoto's route, Saori finds herself cornered by Suetsugu, Toru and Willem. Toru confronts her on being Makoto's girlfriend and tells her to be his lover instead, and when Saori not only pushes him away but openly says she loves Makoto he's very impressed.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: To Suetsugu, in Ritsu's route. Noticeable because in other routes, the Vigilantes are the ones who do him in, and in this time it SEEMED that he'd survive and be thrown in jail, but Toru would have nothing of that.

Tsubaki Kusunoki

"Help me make the world a better place!"

• Affably Evil: He's always calm, soft-spoken, in control of himself...
• All of the Other Reindeer: He's been discriminated for being half-Dutch AND the son of a prostitute.
• Ascended Extra: He goes from being seen only in Toru's path and Makoto's Blissfully Yours mini-sequel, to having his own romance route, and then to becoming the Big Bad of the Shinsengumi's routes and to him and Toru being the Big Bad Duumvirate of Sakamoto's path.
• Badass Bookworm: He's a very knowledgeable doctor and a just as capable fighter.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Played with in his route since he's a snarky Manipulative Bastard and he often toys with Saori's emotions and thoughts, which make her react passionately to his presence.
• Big Bad: In Hijikata's path, as said above, after Suetsugu gets Demoted to Extra and suddenly killed off.
• Confusion Fu: When Eduard and Saori fight him in Toru's route, they note that his fighting style relies on how hard to predict his attacks are. It takes Shintaro's intervention to get the advantage.
• Dating Catwoman: He's not exactly a friend of the Vigilantes despite respecting them, so he and Saori will be this if he's the chosen lover.
• For Want of a Nail: Rather than beginning with Saori picking an instructor: Tsubaki's route starts with him and Toru briefly kidnapping Saori before she gets the chance, then sending her back with the group unharmed. This is because Tsubaki wanted to directly talk to her: he happened to witness Kaname's death and Saori's decision to become him, so him and Toru see her as a potential ally or at least a link with the Vigilantes.
• Graceful Loser: Whenever he's defeated, he takes it calmly and even shows quite the admiration for his rivals. i.e., in Hijikata's route he willingly gives Hijikata the medicine he urgently needs right before he's taken into custody, as a "prize" for having entertained him. (With Zeyo implying that he had always intended to give it to Hijikata, whether he won or not.)
• Honey Trap: He uses himself as this in his route, intending to get Saori to love him so he can use her potential affections to his benefit. But by the time he reveals it and an understandably heartbroken Saori calls him out, his feigned feelings have become real...
• Hospital Hottie: A very, very handsome doctor.
• Manipulative Bastard: Very crafty and good with words, and very willing to use that for his benefit. i.e., in Hijikata's route he attempts to use a medicine that Hijikata desperately needs as a bargain item to sway him to his side, and in his own he tries to set Saori as his Unwitting Pawn.
• My Greatest Failure: He says in his route that he witnessed Kaname's murder and the destruction of the village he died for, and that he feels bad for not being able to save anyone else.
• Not So Above It All: In the From Winter With Love event, Tsubaki shows a surprisingly competitive side.
• Real Men Wear Pink: He's got an excellent sense of aesthetics and is very, very good with stereotypically girly stuff like make-up, hair-care, etc. Justified: he was raised in a high-class brothel, so he learned such things from his prostitute mother and her co-workers.
• Shipper on Deck: In his best friend Toru's route, he supports a prospect relationship between him and Saori. Tsubaki believes that Toru is the kind of man who'd only fall in love with a very special woman, and when he meets Saori he realizes that she can become the special girl who can esnare Toru's heart.
• Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: In his route, he tells Saori that she's foolish for thinking he's handsome and for believing that she can save the world.
• So Beautiful, It's a Curse: A more justified than the standard version: Tsubaki is aware of his physical beauty, but he detests it because his red hair, pale skin and almost-golden hazel eyes are the proof of his Dutch blood, which has caused him lots of pain. If Saori tells him that he's handsome anyway, he's shocked and dismissive at first, but also genuinely touched.
• Villainous Friendship: He and Toru appreciate one another and get along sincerely well. Tsubaki explains to Saori it's because Toru risked his life in the past to help him so he owes him big time, and it's properly seen in a Spin-Off event.
• Weapon of Choice: A sansetsukon or three-section staff.
• We Can Rule Together: While Toru is more into straight-up action and forcing his brother Makoto, Saori and/or his once-pupil Shintaro to join him, Tsubaki aspires to sway the Vigilantes to his cause without needing to fight. As such, his route has him asking Saori to be his contact with the group, using the girl's potential feelings for him to his advantage.
• You Got Spunk: He's drawn to Saori for her sincerity and her willigness to speak her mind no matter

Zeyo Sakamoto

A new dawn is comin' to Japan!

• Absolute Cleavage: A Rare Male Example, which lets him show his lovely pecs and abs.
• Ascended Extra: Until October 2017, he was mostly seen in Tsubaki, Okita and Hijikata's routes and the sequel to Makoto's. But he got his own in November.
• Big Entrance: He starts his route by smashing through the door of the Vigilantes' reunion office, before happily greeting the group and totally ignoring Saori reaching for her kusarigama and Makoto's huge annoyance. Ukyo and Asagi lampshade this by complaining about Zeyo startling everyone with his arrival, with Zeyo admitting that he totally did it on purpose.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Some of the post-chapter skits show that, when off-work, Zeyo is a very cheerful and almost childish individual. But from what the story shows, he's a fearsome individual and more in control than his cheery outlook lets people see, since he completely drops the jokester facade when things get serious.
• Cool Shades: Tends to wear those. Heck, the player can purchase  a similar pair at the start of his path!
• Depending on the Writer: Despite working with Toru and Tsubaki, Zeyo's own plans change a bit depending on the route he appears in. In Tsubaki and Hijikata's routes he is the first's full-blooded supporter (albeit less ruthless than them), but in Okita's own he has interests that involve both parties and shows sincere sympathy for Okita's Ill Boy's condition, while his romance route has him allying himself with the Vigilantes from the start and being willing to fight Toru and Tsubaki if it's needed to bring the Shogunate down without a bloody and messy rebellion, and in later routes he's a full-blooded Intrepid Merchant and a Vigilante ally from the very beginning.
• Everyone Has Standards: According to Okita and Tsubaki's routes, he supports the latter's cause and understands his reasons but draws the line at magnicide, and by its end goes through a Heel–Face Turn. In his own route, he tells Saori that he wants to talk to Nobuyoshi Tokugawa and let him know what people want for a new era, rather than directly attacking him; the last part is all about him and Saori travelling to Edo to get an audience with the Shogun and having to confront Toru and Tsubaki over their intentions.
• Forgotten Friend, New Foe: Towards the Vigilantes, in Toru and Tsubaki's routes. It turns out he was a founding member who left very early (so much that Kagura, Eduard and Yuzuki have no idea of who he is, while Shintaro is rather troubled) to pursue his own methods of justice. He still admits that he isn't as ruthless as Toru and Tsubaki are, however.
• For Want of a Nail: Zeyo's route begins when he willingly shows up at the Vigilantes' doorstep and Makoto decides to assign "Kaname" as his partner so "he" can keep tabs on him.
• Guile Hero: The real Ryoma Sakamoto was both a powerful fighter and a promising politician. His fictional counterpart gets the chance to be this through and through in his own romance route, since his biggest desire is to end the decadent Shogunate without starting a civil war over it.
• The Gunslinger: Like both Willem and the real-life samurai that inspired him, Zeyo is a skilled gun user. He even discusses the pros and cons of this when Hijikata shows up and attacks him and "Kaname". 
• Historical-Domain Character : A quite fictionalized version of the famous samurai Ryoma Sakamoto.
• Innocent Cohabitation: Early in Zeyo's route, Makoto gives "Kaname" a specific task: to keep watch on him. As such, she's set to move into his house - and by that point, he is clearly aware that "Kaname" is actually Saori and has become her Secret Keeper already. So part of the early "tension" between them is centered on how long this situation will last.
• Intrepid Merchant: From Yoshiyuki's route onwards, he's shown as this and as the leader of the Kaientai -- a whole group of them! Truth in Television: the Kaientai really existed and Ryoma Sakamoto was one of its founders.
• No Sense of Personal Space: Zeyo is always up-on-people's faces and spaces, which annoys Saori a little when they meet.
• Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: The cheerful, sociable Zeyo and the gentle, patient Saori are quite the genderflipped example.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Ryoma Sakamoto was assassinated few before the Meiji Restoration properly began. This fictional expy of his manages to live through his ordeals and in his route, he and Saori earn themselves a completely happy ending.

The Shinsengumi

In General

• Badass: They're legendarily good fighters, and the game gives them the chance to show it off in their routes.
• Beleaguered Assistant: They often act as the Shogun's bodyguards, and since Nobuyoshi is extremely energetic and loves pulling King Incognito stunts...
• Sharp-Dressed Man: They wear white uniforms with dark capes, gray gloves and black boots
• The Shinsengumi: But of course.

Toshi Hijikata

"Here comes the dramatic ending!"

• A Day in the Limelight: He and Soushirou get a Spoin-Off story for themselves, depicting what they were doing as they got ready to be the Shogun's bodyguards AND how they met Zeyo
• Amazon Chaser: He at first tells "Kaname" "You Got Spunk!", but when Saori openly confirms to him that she's a woman (he had noticed before, but wanted her to tell him herself), he's even more impressed. In his own words: "I like women who are bold"
• Ambiguously Brown: He's quite more dark-skinned than the average character of this game.
• Ascended Extra: From being a background character in Tsubaki's route and Makoto's secondary one, to also getting his own.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Probably one of the straightest examples here, and lampshaded more than once.
• Berserk Button: He doesn't like being teased, and especially not about his more superstitious side.
  • More seriously speaking, he really hates anything and anyone who is a threat to the Shogunate and the peace. Especially if his boss, the Shogun, is involved. This is why he reacts so badly to Zeyo's presence: he's been on the man's tracks, believes him to be a huge potential terrorist, and will do near anything to stop him and his plans.
• Brutal Honesty: This man has no brain-to-mouth filter and always says what's on his mind, and at times Okita has to pull him back.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: If the That's what I call Summer Event is to be believed... for such a serious-looking military man, he seems to be quite into fortune telling. He's VERY embarrassed when teased about it.
• The Comically Serious: He comes off as this in more slice-of-life situations, like when Makoto has him and Okita help out at the Meiko Salon.
• For Want of a Nail: Hijikata's path starts with him and Okita dropping by the Meiko Salon right when "Kaname" is about to choose a mentor, and then by Hijikata directly telling Makoto to let him guide "this man".
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Hijikata is extremely prone to get flared up and jump into conclusions.
• Healthcare Motivation: Someone in his circle of friends (later confirmed to be Okita) is seriously ill, but Japanese doctors cannot help them. Hijikata has learned that Western meds may be able to do something, so he's desperately looking for a specific medicine... and Tsubaki has a big dose handy, which he tries to use to sway Hijikata to his cause. Hijikata doesn't take the bait, but he admits to Saori that had she not appeared and slapped him to interrupt him, he would've been very tempted to accept.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: He and Okita are very good and close friends.
• Historical-Domain Character: Well, yes.
• Seppuku:
  • Mentioned for laughs in That's what I call Summer, as he tells Asagi "disembowel yourself!" when the other man teases him too much. His profile has the trope as one of his "likes" (according to his companion Okita) and mentions that he's a skillful kaishakunnin (again, according to Okita). This Okita phrase sums all up: "Just so you know, Toshi's hobby is ritual suicide, so be careful, Saori."
  • According to Hijikata himself in his own route, the Shinsengumi has a set of very strict rules. If a member of the group breaks them, he is to commit seppuku on the spot.
  • This reaches Overly Long Gag levels in the event story From Winter with Love, where he becomes immensely grumpy due to the cold and pretty much threatens almost anyone he talks to with forcing them to go through it.
• Shipper on Deck: In Okita's route, he's implied to be this to him and Saori. One of the most meaningful talks he has with her is the one where he asks Saori to become his Ill Boy best friend's "reason to live".
• Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist: Both he and Okita are introduced this in Tsubaki and Zeyo's paths, since they've been on the latter's track for a while already. In the latter's route he even has to defend Saori from him, since Hijikata mistakes "Kaname" as one of his accomplices and attacks her.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Justified, the real Hijikata was very good-looking.
• Training From Hell: He thinks "Kaname" is weak but spirited and plans to shape "him" into a tough warrior in all senses.
• Those Two Guys: He and Okita tend to be this when they show up in other routes.
• You Got Spunk: When he angers Saori by calling her weak at the beginning, if the player makes her stand up for herself, he'll like her spirited reply. He says that only Okita has been combative towards him and praises "Kaname" for standing her ground.
• You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Dark purple hair, more exactly.

Soushirou Okita

"This is for justice, which the Shinsengumi upholds!"

• Ascended Extra: He was mostly seen in Hijikata and Tsubaki's paths, then got his own route in October 2017.
• Badass Adorable: This super cute and girly-looking swordsman is one of the best fighters in the whole game, period.
• Bash Brothers: Okita and Hijikata are near unseparable, and they often fight together.
• Big Brother Mentor: Out of Saori's potential mentors/boyfriends, he and Ukyo take this approach. Especially after Saori tells him about Kaname.
• Death Seeker: In Okita's own route, Hijikata implies that Okita's biggest ambition is to die at the service of his beloved Shinsengumi rather than of his tuberculosis. He promptly asks "Kaname" to help him find a reason to keep on living.
• Dude Looks Like a Lady: It's Okita, of course he will be.
• For Want of a Nail: Okita's path starts just like Hijikata's, but instead of asking Makoto to give him the honor of training "Kaname", Hijikata says that Okita will do it instead.
• Heterosexual Life Partners: As said above, he and Hijikata are very good and close friends.
• Historical Domain Character: Again, yes.
• Ill Boy: He's implied to have a delicate health and is seen coughing in Hijikata's route. Justified: The real Okita died of tuberculosis before the Meiji Restoration was fully over. It's fully confirmed in his path: "Sick Episode" adds more details. But he and Saori earn their happy ending in his route: he doesn't get fully cured, but Tsubaki (through Zeyo) does give him a medicine that will at least help him live longer.
• It's Not You, It's Me: Since Okita is not expected to live even one year more, he's been pretty much cutting off his emotional ties to everyone. In Hijikata's words, he pretends to be okay and keeps people at arms' length so no one will suffer when he dies.
• Multicolored Hair: His long hair is black and blue/green, tied with red ribbons.
• Shipper on Deck: Not only he deduces Saori's secret on his own, but he totally ships her with Hijikata in the latter's route. Implied to be a Shipper with an Agenda, since he's seriously ill and wants to entrust Hijikata to Saori in case he passes away.
• Sick Episode: Okita's illness flares up halfway in the series and he spends half of his route's Chapter 5 unconscious and bedridden after he and Saori kill Suetsugu, so Saori takes care of him. For worse, before collapsing Saori sees him coughing up Blood From the Mouth.
• Stepford Smiler: The promotional image for his route says that there's a "secret behind his playful smile". In his route Saori notes that he smiles all the time but there's something odd about said smile, and during the Sick Episode incident she feels horrible for not doing something about it before Okita passed out of his illness. Okita himself thinks that he has given up on anything similar to love, and is even smiling when he tells Saori that he'll be lucky if he lives another year.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: He and Hijikata squabble often, but they always have each other's backs.

Other Love Interests

Ritsu

The truth will bring you to justice!

• Bare-Fisted Monk: Unlike the Vigilantes, he fights barehanded. He's implied to have borderline Super Strength, at least enough to break thick wooden bars and try taking on Toru barehanded.
• Dating Catwoman: Toyed with in his route, since Ritsu wants to capture the Vigilantes and Saori, as "Kaname", is one of them... but Ritsu must not find out about it, or she'll have to "silence" him.
• Demoted to Extra: Since Ritsu was for a long time the only love interest that wasn't a member of either Vigilantes, Shinsengumi or Revolutionaries, he barely showed up in their routes. Until Yoshiyuki's route, where the official arrival of the Kaientai fleet led by Zeyo becomes BIG news, and from then on Ritsu keeps showing up as a source of news. (i.e, he had quite the big role in Asuka's path)
• First Guy Wins: Out of all the prospect boyfriends, Ritsu is the first one who appears onscreen.
• For Want of a Nail: In-story, his path begin with Saori being unable to choose among the prospect instructors, and asking Makoto for some time to take such an important decision. The Vigilantes decide to take turns helping "Kaname" out, and then she meets Ritsu...

• Freudian Excuse: Ritsu's younger brother, whom he raised after their parents' deaths, was killed by the Vigilantes for having seen their faces and potentially being able to reveal who they are. Ritsu is deeply angry and resents them for it, plus he feels guilty for not having done enough for his brother' sake before his death.
• Guile Hero: Ritsu is a mix of Intrepid Reporter and Knowledge Broker who really, really want to play this role. His biggest goals are to expose Suetsugu's evil and find out the identities of the Vigilantes.
• Heroic Build: When Saori takes a ride on his back, she realizes that underneath his clothes, he's really freaking ripped.
• Intrepid Reporter: He makes yen as the editor/owner/reporter of a local tabloid.
• Knowledge Broker: If there's someone who knows about lots of vital info in Nagasaki, it's generally him.
• Locked Out of the Loop: He is friends with the members of the Vigilante group and also a pupil of Shintaro's dojo, yet he doesn't know about the Vigilantes' identities. Him finding out could be a very, very bad thing, since the honor code of the group would mark him for death like it happened to his (Ritsu's) little brother, and logically it becomes a huge issue if the player chooses him as the Love Interest. In the end of his route, he finds out and collaborates with them, then he joins the group after realizing that they have the same goals and desires. He hasn't fully forgiven them, but he acknowledges that they're Not So Different.
• Muggle Best Friend: He's a pretty good friend of Shintaro and Ukyo, and eventually befriends Saori, but he doesn't know that they're Vigilantes... aka the ones he despises the most, aside of Suetsugu.
• Piggyback Cute: Once he does this for Saori when she hurts her ankle... Ironically, this happens after he almost catches her and the Vigilantes, and Saori has just dressed up as a girl to protect herself.
• Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist: He hates Suetsugu as much as the Vigilantes do, but he also has a very cynical impression of the Vigilantes themselves since he also considers them murderers after they silenced his brother, and aims to make justice within the law. Hence why he chases after the group.
• You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Bright green, in his case. TWO shades of green, even!