Aishiteruze Baby - Characters

Characters

Kippei Katakura (片倉結平, Katakura Kippei?)

Voiced by: Daisuke Fujita

Kippei is a 17 year old promiscuous high school student, well-known for his playboy habits. However, due to his friendly personality, he is very popular at school. One day, his 5-year-old cousin, Yuzuyu, is suddenly placed in his care. At first, Kippei is unsure of how to take care of his cousin. When he realizes that taking care of Yuzuyu is a full time job, he drops his promiscuous ways. As the story progresses, Kippei matures quickly into a responsible "parent," making sure Yuzuyu is his top priority. Not only does Kippei wake up early every day to make Yuzuyu lunch, he walks her to and from her preschool. In addition, he cares for Yuzuyu's psychological well-being in the absence of her mother. Meanwhile, Kippei also pursues his love interest, Tokunaga Kokoro, whom he finds to be a great woman. Eventually, Kippei, realizing how lonely Kokoro is living by herself, asks his family for her to move in with them, to which they quickly agree. Near the end of the series, Yuzuyu's mother returns to take Yuzuyu back. Despite his attachment to Yuzuyu, Kippei understands that she needs her mother and reluctantly says goodbye. At the end of volume seven, years have passed and Kokoro is still living with Kippei. The manga ends with Yuzuyu's letter to Kippei, thanking him for taking care of her when she was young.

Yuzuyu Sakashita (坂下 ゆずゆ, Sakashita Yuzuyu?)

Voiced by: Miyū Tsuzurahara

Yuzuyu ("Yuzu" for short) is a bubbly little 5-year-old girl. Having been abandoned by her mother, Yuzuyu begins to adapt to her new life with Kippei. As the story progresses, Yuzuyu grows very attached to Kippei and becomes overprotective of him. When Yuzuyu meets Kokoro, she is scared Kokoro will take Kippei away from her. However, she eventually warms up to Kokoro and they become friends. Throughout the series, Yuzuyu struggles with the absence of her mother and is often seen crying herself to sleep. Yuzuyu tries her best in hopes that her mother will one day come back for her. This conflicts with her wish to stay with Kippei. At the end of volume seven, Yuzuyu is a happy teenager who has reunited with her childhood friend, Shouta.

Kokoro Tokunaga (徳永 心, Tokunaga Kokoro?)

Voiced by: Fumina Hara

Kokoro is a pretty classmate of Kippei. Because she lost her mother at a young age, she has a quiet personality. Her father quickly remarried and left Kokoro to fend for herself in a luxurious apartment. Unfortunately, she felt extremely lonely living by herself with no one to rely on. Kokoro initially despises Kippei for his promiscuous ways. However, after seeing how gentle he is and how much he cares for Yuzuyu, Kokoro begins to fall in love with him. Kokoro sympathizes with Yuzuyu and understands Kippei's responsibility for Yuzuyu. As such, she lets him get away with a lot of idiotic behaviors. At the end of volume six, Kokoro has a brief moment where she believes she's pregnant, only to find out that it was a false alarm. However, she admits to Kippei that she had hoped she was because it would mean that she would be able to spend more time with him. Soon after, Kokoro moves in with Kippei's family. At the end of the manga, it is presumed that Kokoro and Kippei got married and are still living under the same roof.

Misako Katakura (片倉 三沙子, Katakura Misako?)

Kippei's mother. She is a school crossing guard, among other things. She teaches Kippei how to make onigiri (rice-balls). She is the older sister of Aunt Miyako.

Reiko Katakura (片倉 鈴子, Katakura Reiko?)

Voiced by: Kumiko Endou

Better known as Nee-chan (or "Sis" in the English version), Reiko is the bold and controlling sister of Kippei. She is a cosmetologist and everyone in Kippei's family follows her orders. Her secret is that she cannot have any children. She is known for her stylish outfits and nails.

Miyako Sakashita (坂下 都, Sakashita Miyako?)

Yuzuyu's mother. Her husband had died recently and taking care of Yuzuyu by herself was more than she could handle. She admits to Kippei that she once struck Yuzuyu and it is inferred that this is what caused her to leave. She says she intends to come back once she becomes a proper mother to Yuzuyu. In the end of the manga, she is shown being the caretaker of Yuzuyu. She is the younger sister of Misako.

Satsuki Katakura (片倉 皐, Katakura Satsuki?)

Voiced by: Masami Suzuki

Satsuki is Kippei's 12-year-old brother. He is 156 cm tall. He seems emotionless and very smart, as well as mature for his age. Although he doesn't like children, he gets along with Yuzuyu very well. It is assumed that Ayumi and Satsuki are in a relationship, near the end of the story.

Aki Kagami (鏡 亜希, Kagami Aki?) and Mai Motoki (元木 舞, Motoki Mai?)

Voiced by: Maki Saitō (Aki) and Fuyuka Ōura (Mai)

Kokoro's friends. They usually show a bitter attitude towards Kippei and don't approve much of Kokoro and Kippei's relationship, especially Aki. But in reality they just really want what is best for Kokoro. Aki is in love with Shin.

Shouta Nashiya (ナシヤ翔太, Nashiya Shōta?)

Voiced by: Shun Miyazato

One of Yuzuyu's best friends and her first love. Kippei is unhappy that Yuzuyu has a crush on him. When Shouta first meets Yuzuyu, the two become instant friends and begin to do everything together. Shouta loves his family dearly, however he was abused by his mother for some time. When Yuzuyu witnessed Shouta being hit, she began to cry and scream, and the entire preschool, as well as the parents, found out about him and his mother. Kippei is greatly affected by Shouta's being abused and tries to help by talking to the child's mother. After receiving a concussion from his mother, which results in a trip to the hospital, his parents decide to go into family counseling and move in with Shouta's grandparents for more support. When he leaves, he promises Yuzuyu that he will always be her friend. While separated, they contact each other with many letters so that their friendship will never end. Eventually he and Yuzuyu meet again as teenagers.

Miki Sakashita (坂下ミキ, Sakashita Miki?)

Voiced by: Mika Itō

Miki is Yuzuyu's 14-year-old cousin from her father's side. Volume 4 of the manga is mostly Miki's story. In the manga, she carries a knife, which was changed to a bike chain in the anime. Miki attended a prestigious school where she witnessed her teacher beating up a boy. When she told on her teacher, everything backfired. She was harassed by her peers and teacher, but refused to tell her parents. She tried to take Yuzuyu away from the Katakura residence in order to replace herself, then attempt suicide. (In the anime she intends to jump from a building, in the manga she uses a knife.) In the end, everything is resolved with her and her parents. From the scars and burns on her wrists, it is obvious that Miki engaged in self-harm, though this has likely stopped since most of her issues have been resolved. She appears again in Volume 6. Voiced by: Mika Itō

Marika (まりか?) and Ken (健?)

Voiced by: Aoi Yabusaki (Marika) and Yuutaro Motoshiro (Ken)

Yuzuyu's friends from preschool. Marika can be quite stuck-up for a five-year-old and has a big crush on Kippei, often asking who girls he shows up at the pre-school with are, she is Yuzuyu's best friend. Ken is kind and strong. They are all good friends.

Shin Tabata (田端 芯, Tabata Shin?)

Voiced by: Makoto Ueki

Kippei's friend and classmate. He and Aki have feelings for each other.

Natsumi (ナッツ, Natsumi?)

Voiced by: Akiko Kawase

Called "Nattsu" for short, she is Kippei's former "girlfriend" (more of a "friend with benefits" since there is evidence that they have had sexual intercourse in the past). Nattsu has strong feelings for Kippei despite missing the way they used to hang out in past. She is implied to have held-feelings for Kippei for some time, though she initially had no interest in having a serious relationship. She starts to recognize her feelings when Kippei became a dependable and responsible person, which also caused him to become serious about Kokoro.

Aya Oga (大賀 綾, Ōga Aya?) and Akari Oga (大賀 あかり, Ōga Akari?)

Akari and Aya are more or less in the same position as Kippei and Yuzuyu - Aya and Akari's parents work all day forcing Akari to take care of her sister, who is Yuzuyu's classmate and friend. Akari is Kippei's classmate. Akari confiding in Kippei, among other things, results in trouble. They only appear in the manga.

Ayumi Kubota (久保田 あゆみ, Kubota Ayumi?)

Voiced by: Saeko Chiba

Ayumi is Satsuki's classmate and works part-time as a model. She is 160 centimeters tall, four centimeters taller than Satsuki. She is secretly in love with him. Due to various rumors around the school, Ayumi begins to hate herself because she seems to possess traits that Satsuki is rumored to dislike. However, after confessing her love to him, Satsuki tells her that he does not mind any of her traits. She is seen eating dinner at the Katakura house and is presumed to be Satsuki's girlfriend.

Itagaki (板垣?)

Itagaki is a boy from Kippei's school and has a crush on Kokoro. He confesses his love to her and even forces a kiss on her. Kokoro later becomes scared and afraid of people touching her, including Kippei. When everything is resolved during the School Trip, Itagaki warns Kippei that he will kill him if anything happens to Kokoro. After this, Itagaki no longer appears in the manga, but is assumed to appear in two episodes of the anime, though the appearances are different.