Slow Step - Characters

Characters

Minatsu Nakazato (中里 美夏, Nakazato Minatsu?) / Maria Sudō (須藤 麻里亜, Sudō Maria?)

Voiced by: Minami Takayama

A student at Asaoka High School and pitching ace for the softball club. She is the object of affection of both her classmate Shū Akiba and Coach Yamazakura. As her disguised alter ego Maria Sudō, she evades some local gangsters and is pursued by Naoto Kadomatsu, who lives in the same apartment building. Her father is a lesser-known pro wrestler. She tends to be curt and somewhat rough in her manners. In the anime, she falls for and marries Yamazakura sensei. Her favorite phrases include "Hey now" (おいおい, Oi oi?) and "How annoying" (あー、めんどくせ, Aa, mendokuse?).

Shū Akiba (秋葉 習, Akiba Shū?)

Voiced by: Kappei Yamaguchi

A boy in the same class as Minatsu and a member of the Asaoka High School boxing club. His father is a company president and he has a light-hearted, somewhat irresponsible personality. He is in love with Minatsu, and in rivalry with Naoto Kadomatsu joins the boxing club, working hard to try to beat him in order to win Minatsu's affection.

Naoto Kadomatsu (門松 直人, Kadomatsu Naoto?)

Voiced by: Ryō Horikawa

A third-year student at Jōsei High School and a member of its boxing club. He lives in the same apartment building as Minatsu but attends a different school, in a different grade. He is a high school boxing champion. He falls in love at first sight with Minatsu's alter ego Maria, and becomes Shū's rival in boxing and in trying to win Minatsu's affections after learning that Maria and Minatsu are the same person.

Kango Yamazakura (山桜監悟, Yamazakura Kango?)

Voiced by: Akira Kamiya

A teacher at Asaoka High School and advisor to both the softball and boxing clubs. While in college, he worked toward becoming a professional boxer but gave up this dream after his sister died, in order to take care of his sister's daughter, Chika. He has a preoccupation with the female behind, and frequently gives unwanted attention to female students at the school. At the end of the anime series, he and Minatsu are married.

Ayako Sawamura

Voiced by: Hiroko Emori

A rough, aloof girl who is the only person who can catch Minatsu's pitching. She has a crush on Coach Yamazakura, and manages to date him by agreeing to join the softball club. After she is rejected by Yamazakura, she takes a hiatus from softball but soon returns for the team rather than for Yamazakura. She ends up with new teacher, Somei, who falls for her once she founds out that she is one of the only women who he is not deathly afraid of other than his mother.

Chika Tanaka (田中知香, Tanaka Chika?)

Voiced by: Chika Sakamoto

Yamazakura's orphaned niece. Even though she's an elementary school student, she is very reliable and cooks nearly every meal for Yamazakura. She really likes Minatsu and hopes she and Yamazakura get together eventually.