Hanako-kun Wiki • Minamoto Teru • Hanako • Yashiro Nene • Mitsuba Sousuke • Yugi Tsukasa • Yako • Tsuchigomori • Yokoo and Satou
References
Background
Minamoto Kou currently attends Kamome Gakuen's middle school division as a third-year. He is the younger brother of Minamoto Teru and has a little sister named Minamoto Tiara. As a young child and descendant of the Minamoto clan, he aims to become an exorcist as strong as his older brother. However, due to his lack of skill to the point of being burned by the rateijou, he is unable to perform any high-level exorcism. But due to some unintended events, he decided to lessen his yearning to exorcise. However, when it comes to protecting others, he is willing to use his force or his strength.
At home, he deals with all the housekeeping and cooking for his other two siblings. He has high aptitude in cooking and sometimes cleans after Teru's disasters. However, he can't match up to his older's brother intellect as seen by his studying for the final exams. He is perceived as a caring and high-spirited individual, but when it comes to meeting someone new, he often has a standoffish or violent approach if that person has ulterior intentions.
Relationships
Minamoto Teru
Teru is Kou's older brother, and Kou has always looked up to him. The two of them are very close, and Teru cares deeply for his younger brother and vice versa. When Kou was little, his goal was to be an exorcist as great, or even greater than his brother.
Kou trusts Teru very much and takes his words to heart, which was why he believed and accepted Teru's order that he must expel any of the Seven Mysteries should he ever encounter any of them.
However, after seeing him in battle with Hanako, he grew to doubt if the things he'd been taught all his life was really right, and stood up to Teru for perhaps the first time.
Even after this, the two continue to have a positive relationship, and Teru gains a new understanding for his little brother.
Kou is revealed to do all of the housework after their mother's death, while Teru is out doing exorcism work. Teru believes that due to Kou's kindness and friendship with supernaturals, it would be difficult for him to carry out his exorcist duties. However, he comes to terms with Kou's passion to follow in his footsteps.
Hanako
Kou first met Hanako when he tried to exorcise him because he believed him to be an evil spirit and that he was a threat to the students attending the school. After a while, Kou started to believe that Hanako was not the evil spirit he was expecting, and the two started to become friends. Hanako nearly stopped the friendship when he threatened Kou, but when Teru attacked Hanako, Kou still defended him. Kou informed Teru that Hanako is likely not as evil as they thought, and that if Hanako turned out to be evil, Kou would take responsibility himself. Kou's defense surprised Hanako, and the two formed an unlikely friendship. The two still bicker a lot at times, but still deeply care about each other.
Yashiro Nene
Almost immediately after the two met, Kou developed a crush on Nene, and was often shown blushing and getting flustered whenever Nene is around. Their relationship goes beyond just a crush however, and the two are very good friends. Kou is quick to defend Nene when others tease her, and is shown to be very supportive of her. They get along well. Kou also wants Nene to be happy and safe, and would do anything to expand her shortened lifespan.
However, Kou's crush on Nene seems to have dissipated in the more recent chapters, as he does not blush or get flustered around her anymore.
Mitsuba Sousuke
At first, Kou and Mitsuba did not get along, as Kou found Mitsuba's attitude annoying while Mitsuba would continuously insult him, accusing him of being a pervert and calling him nicknames such as "Hella-Lame, Traffic-Safety-Earring Boy,” and generally being rude towards him. However, the two end up becoming very close friends, with Kou doing anything so that Mitsuba can achieve his wish of becoming human again .
In order to let Mitsuba pass on to the afterlife, Kou and Mitsuba try to figure out what Mitsuba wanted to take a picture of before he died. During this, Kou finds out Mitsuba's reason behind his haunting, they quickly come to an understanding. After learning about Mitsuba’s ostracization and faked personality to fit in when he was alive, Kou assured him that he'd remember "Mitsuba Sousuke" as someone who's "cocky, looks like a girl, sarcastic, selfish, has an annoying voice, obsessed with his camera, goes emo sometimes, and is only fake nice,” and assured Mitsuba that he only needed to be himself to make friends. Kou admits that Mitsuba has a warped personality, but blushes as Kou says that he doesn’t hate it.
When Mitsuba asks if they would have been friends if he were still alive, Kou responds, can’t they be friends even if he’s dead? Mitsuba takes a picture of Kou, and when Kou asks what he took a picture of, Mitsuba responds, “something important to me… maybe?”
Their time together is cut short after Tsukasa appears, killing Mitsuba’s ghost. Kou is furious and attempts to fight Tsukasa and continues to do so even after he’s injured. Kou is forced to watch Mitsuba turn into a warped supernatural. Mitsuba calls for him, using “Minamoto-kun” as Mitsuba transforms, dropping the rude nicknames.
After Hanako subdues Mitsuba’s warped form, Kou holds the remains of Mitsuba’s ghost in his arms as he begs for Mitsuba to come back. Kou processes the photos that Mitsuba took that day, finding the picture Mitsuba took of him on the rooftop. Kou recalls their conversation, and cries.
At their reunion in the Mirror Hell boundary, Kou is enraged when Tsukasa explains that he remade a clone of Mitsuba from his remains, screaming that Mitsuba wasn’t Tsukasa’s toy and attempts to attack Tsukasa. Kou was shocked to find out that Mitsuba has no memory of him. Kou gives Mitsuba the gardening book in hopes of getting Mitsuba to remember his past, since the book contains pictures he took when the original Mitsuba was alive.
In the Picture Perfect Arc, Kou and Mitsuba are seen in Chapter 47 in the school building, Mitsuba wanting to look at the shooting stars. Kou confronts Mitsuba about him knowing the way to get out of the fake world created by Shijima Mei, but is interrupted by Mitsuba revealing his true form. Mitsuba explains to Kou how he learned about his original self from when the original Mitsuba was alive. Mitsuba says he is envious of his past self, and how he hates that Kou only cares about the original Mitsuba rather than him—a fake with only parts of the original’s soul. Kou tries to deny this, but is knocked down by Mitsuba smashing down a window. Mitsuba tells Kou it was fun to hang out with his classmates, and that since he’s happy in the fake world, Kou should be too, and that if Kou pretended it was real then they could be happy there together.
Mitsuba holds out his hand, asking if they could be friends again. Kou rejects this, telling Mitsuba that he could never find happiness in a fake world, upsetting Mitsuba. The two engage in a physical fight. When they stop, Kou tells him that it’s wrong for him to spend his life trying to replicate the original Mitsuba when he isn’t. Kou claims he can make Mitsuba’s wishes of being alive true in the real world, only angering Mitsuba more. Mitsuba yells at Kou, asking with what power he could to make his wishes come true and wishes that the people he loved were also dead so he wouldn’t feel so alone. Mitsuba screams, asking how could something like him be understood by a human like Kou.
In response, Kou grabs Mitsuba’s hand, telling Mitsuba that in that case, Kou should die too, so they could stay together forever. Kou’s impulsive and naive nature is demonstrated through his desperateness to comfort and help Mitsuba, and he proceeds to fall out of the building while holding onto Mitsuba. Mitsuba quickly cushions Kou as they hit the ground, shocked by Kou’s willingness to sacrifice himself. By the end of the Picture Perfect Arc, their relationship has grown significantly as Mitsuba and Kou gain mutual understanding of eachother’s circumstances. Even though Mitsuba is shown to be afraid of Hanako, Mitsuba still tries to protect Kou from him.
In Chapter 65, Mitsuba shows growing concern for Kou with his offstandish behavior. Mitsuba tries to inquire to Kou about what’s bothering him, but before he can, Natsuhiko is heard in the distance- cutting their talk short.
Kou is with Mitsuba during the beginning of the severance and witnesses Mitsuba falling away into shards with the rest of the supernaturals.
During their reunion in the beginning of the Nightlife Arc, Kou is overwhelmed with happiness with seeing his friend back and okay. Mitsuba replies that he’s not okay at all, but grabs Kou’s wrist and insists that he come with him. Kou tries to ask about what Mitsuba meant by not okay, but Mitsuba replies that he’ll only tell Kou if he takes him somewhere. Kou asserts that he’ll give Mitsuba “a date to die for,” to which Mitsuba giggles and calls Kou a simpleton under his breath.
To Mitsuba's disappointment, Kou decides to play red light, green light and build sandcastles. Trying to find the best place to bring Mitsuba, Kou texts Nene, Akane, Aoi, and Teru on places to go during the nightlife. They assume Kou is going on a romantic date with someone. While Kou struggles to find an available place, Mitsuba spots some bright and colorful lights in the distance and decides he wants to go there.
They follow the lights and enter an aquarium, where they engage in banter and compete with each other on who could find the biggest fish. After looking at some more animals, Mitsuba gains an affinity for penguins and tries to go through the glass to catch it as Kou holds him back. When Mitsuba wants a keychain from a gachapon, Kou is annoyed but gives Mitsuba the money. Mitsuba is disappointed when he receives a keychain of a giant isopod, and claims Kou won the jackpot when Kou receives the penguin keychain.
Kou immediately offers the penguin keychain to Mitsuba, saying “You wanted this one, right? Let’s trade.” Kou’s immediate offer to Mitsuba demonstrates his strong selflessness and knowledge of what makes Mitsuba happy. After accepting the keychain while joking with Kou and saying that Kou is creepy when he’s nice, Mitsuba laughs, saying, “This is pretty fun!” Kou is surprised by Mitsuba’s sudden joy, agreeing while blushing and turning his head away as Mitsuba smiles at the penguin keychain.
Kou reminds Mitsuba of their deal; Mitsuba would tell Kou what was bothering him if he’s satisfied with where they went. As Mitsuba is about to answer, the fish in the aquarium attack, revealing themselves and the patrons at the aquarium as supernaturals and ghosts. Kou responds by grabbing Mitsuba’s hand to escape, but Mitsuba falls apart, apologizing and saying that he doesn’t think he can move anymore.
Mitsuba wakes up where Kou has brought the both of them to a safe part of the aquarium. Kou claims that before they can escape, Mitsuba needs to explain what happened to him. Mitsuba confides in Kou about what happened during their time apart, and that his supernatural state can only be sustained by eating other supernatural’s hearts and that he is tired of it. Kou tries to comfort Mitsuba, but Mitsuba asks Kou for a favor; to exorcise him.
Though Mitsuba quickly attempts to play it off as a joke and change the subject, Kou cuts him off, saying that what Mitsuba said wasn’t really a joke and is angered at Mitsuba. Kou leaves momentarily to kill a supernatural fish, harvesting its heart and commanding Mitsuba to eat it so he can heal. When Mitsuba refuses, Kou only gets angrier in his desperateness to help Mitsuba become whole. Kou’s idea of what is good for Mitsuba overshadows Mitsuba’s rejections of to eat the heart, and he pins Mitsuba down, fighting with him on eating it. Mitsuba bites him and says it’s Kou’s fault, staring at Kou’s bloody hand as he says he’s been holding back. Kou realizes that it is not just supernaturals that Mitsuba can eat, but instead of being afraid, he asks why Mitsuba didn’t just tell him from the start, asking if he’s so weak and unreliable that Mitsuba would rather trust Tsukasa instead of him.
Mitsuba turns to yell, but freezes as he sees Kou crying. Mitsuba immediately apologizes, trying to comfort Kou, but Kou yells to not look at him. Kou offers the heart again, to which Mitsuba reluctantly eats in order to make Kou feel better. Mitsuba rubs Kou’s head, comforting him and asking what’s wrong. Kou replies that Mitsuba was being so stupid it made him cry.
Kou tells Mitsuba that, no matter how much of a bastard or a monster Mitsuba is, it would bother Kou if he was gone. Mitsuba teases that Kou would be lonely if he was gone. When Kou remains silent and looks at Mitsuba instead of immediately denying it, Mitsuba is shocked.
After Kou cries for a bit, he looks up to see Mitsuba grinning at him mischievously, and teases Kou again on the reason for his crying being funny. Mitsuba says that he’s glad the last person he met up with was Kou, although it would be easier to be killed by a supernatural, he knew Kou would feel regret over it, demonstrating his understanding of Kou’s feelings. Mitsuba then deflects, saying that Kou would be regretful over anyone dying like that.
Kou accuses Mitsuba of being a masochist, agreeing to exorcise him under the condition that Mitsuba beats him in a competition to kill the most supernatural fish. However, Kou’s bet backfires on him when Mitsuba kills more fish than him. They agree to a different condition; whoever can kill the large stringray.
Kou ends up killing the stingray, and Mitsuba’s wish of being exorcise is unfulfilled. While leaving the aquarium, Mitsuba piggy-backs Kou as they leave. When Mitsuba says there’s no reason for him to stay, Kou tells Mitsuba that they could go around the upcoming school festival together, and that it was a promise. Although Mitsuba teases him for not having anyone else to go with, he smiles, swinging around on Kou’s back light-heartedly.
Yugi Tsukasa
Kou holds a grudge against Tsukasa for his actions towards Mitsuba. He has referred to Tsukasa as "someone he will never forgive".
Yako
While Yako was initially hostile towards him, the two seems to have grown closer after she finds out that Kou had lost a friend due to the alteration of rumors. Yako ordered him to call her "Nee-san".
Tsuchigomori
Being one of Kou's teachers, they were familiar even before Tsuchigomori revealed himself as the curator of the 4 PM Bookstacks.
Though he was wary of Tsuchigomori at first when he turned out to be supernatural, Kou seems to hold some respect towards him. Kou constantly refers to Tsuchigomori as "Spider face", much to his chagrin.
Yokoo and Satou
Yokoo and Satou are Kou's friends, and they've been classmates since the first year of middle school. The three are very close, and Kou worries about them often when the two are dragged into some supernatural accident.