character profiles. Name: Mitsuru Shimura Age: 28 Birthdate: May 8th Height: 5'9" First Appearance: Chapter One Mitsuru used to be the resident gopher accountant at Happy Time Greeting Card Company. He secretly yearned to become a professional photographer, even though his father told him he'd never make any money that way. He sent in a portfolio to a photography company under his boss' nose, and got accepted. He immediately quit his job and started working full-time at K-P. His first solo job was photographing an up-and-coming model, Shizuka Enoki, whom he has started dating. Could she really be the love of his life? Mitsuru is generally an easy-going guy, but he gets stressed-out a lot. To unwind, he and his friends like to go to the local ramen shop or their favorite bar. He has a cat named Tonbo, and lives alone in a small apartment. When he's with Shizuka, he gets very nervous, since she's the first girlfriend he's had in years. Mitsuru is oblivious to the fact that Ryo thinks he's cute. For more information on Mitsuru's family, click here!   Name: Shuuichi Watanabe Age: 27 Birthdate: October 2nd Height: 5'11" First Appearance: Chapter One Watanabe (everyone calls him by his last name) worked with Mitsuru in the accounting department. While Mitsuru is off at K-P, Watanabe stays behind to . . . well, no one really knows what he does, since nobody ever sees him actually at his desk. He's perfectly content at his job . . . whatever it is Watanabe is outgoing, and claims to be quite the ladies' man. He likes to go out and drink, dance at clubs, and tries to pick up chicks in front of train stations--it usually doesn't work. If one were to look in his little black book, all they would find would be his mother's address. He can be a bit of a jerk and make bad jokes, but deep down he's got a serious side. He knows that Ryo has feelings for Mitsuru, and tries to get her to open up about it.   Name: Ryo Maeda Age: 26 Birthdate: January 18th Height: 5'5" First Appearance: Chapter One Ryo works as a secretary in the accounting department at Happy Time. She works very diligently yet still finds time to hang out with Mitsuru and Watanabe after work. Ryo's a big manga fan and has a huge collection at her parents' home, where she lives with her folks, and younger brother and sister. For more info on her family, click here. Ryo is a bit timid, but if you get a couple of drinks in her, she opens up. She doesn't have many female friends, nor does she openly pursue men (at least not like Watanabe pursues women!). She knows she's not 'bad-looking,' but she doesn't go out of her way to get all dolled up to go out. Ryo has a huge crush on Mitsuru, but is way too shy to mention anything about it to his face. She's afraid that she's missed her chance since Mitsuru is now dating Shizuka.   Name: Takehito Yamaoka Age: 54 Birthdate: November 29th Height: 5'7" First Appearance: Chapter One Mr. Yamaoka is (was) Mitsuru, Watanabe, and Ryo's boss at Happy Time. He's a bit bumbling at best, but he's fairly good-natured. His office is usually in some sort of messy state, and can't seem to keep track of important papers. He thought Mitsuru was a great worker, but instead of giving him a pat on the back, he usually gave him extra assignments that sometimes took their toll on our main character's well-being. He reluctantly let Mitsuru quit. Yamaoka has a wife and a daughter who is still in high school. At least, we think he does. There was a photo of them on his desk at one point, but it may have gotten lost with those spreadsheets.   Name: Tonbo Age: 5 Birthdate: Unknown Height: Regular, slightly overweight cat height. First Appearance: Chapter One Tonbo is Mitsuru's only family in the city (the rest of Mitsuru's family lives a few hours away). Mitsuru adopted Tonbo from a neighbor whose cat had kittens when he was about to go out on his own. Tonbo's an easygoing cat, but like most cats, is sometimes aloof and grouchy. He can smell BS a mile away, and while he may not talk, he does have ways of getting his point across to his owner--for example, Tonbo will do anything to get Shizuka away from his daddy. When Mitsuru is away, Tonbo likes to climb up on top of the bathtub and peek out a little window and watch as people go by. Sometimes he gets stuck in Mitsuru's closet, but, like most other cats, will make it seem like he did it on purpose.   Name: Ted Nakamura Age: 35 Birthdate: March 3rd Height: 5'10" (although it may vary depending on how high his hair is spiked up) First Appearance: Chapter Two Ted is the co-owner/boss of K-P Imaging, an independent photography company. His partner is Yasushi Kawamoto. He hires Mitsuru after looking at a portfolio Mitsuru sent into the company. Ted was born in California to a Japanese father and American mother. He moved back to Japan with his dad when his parents divorced, but still goes by his American given name (his Japanese name is Tadashi). Ted is super laid-back, and fully believes in individual artistic expression. He also has a not-so-secret obsession with anything cute! If you were to look at his desk, you'd see it covered with Sanrio merchandise, Pinky dolls, and anything else with big eyes and smiles. Some people may find it odd that a 35-year-old would be into such a thing . . . but to Ted, it's perfectly normal.   Name: Yasushi Kawamoto Age: 38 Birthdate: August 28th Height: 5'8" First Appearance: Chapter Two Yasushi is the co-founder/boss of K-P, and Ted's partner. He helps interview Mitsuru when he goes in for the job. Yasushi is laid-back as well as Ted, but is a little bit more down-to-earth and more focused. Basically, he's the one who has to hide the Hello Kitty plushies from Ted when they're out!   Name: Yoshi Nagase Age: 23 Birthdate: August 22nd Height: 5'7" First Appearance: Chapter Two Yoshi works at K-P. He's fresh out of college and this is his first job. He's Ted's gopher (but doesn't get shafted nearly as much as Mitsuru did at Happy Time!). he answers the phones, checks Ted's e-mail when he's away, and helps plan outings. He's still coming into his own as a photographer. Yoshi loves Japanese hip-hop and rap, and usually dresses in oversized T-Shirts and jeans. He loves K-P's casual dress code. He'd like to get a tattoo, but he's afraid of needles.   Name: Hiroshi Asano Age: 34 Birthdate: November 16th Height: 5'8" First Appearance: Chapter Two Asano works for K-P. He's got a bit of a shady past as he used to be with the paparazzi, and would chase around celebrities snapping candid shots of them. An incident that happened a year or so ago made him give up that life, and now he works with Ted and Yasushi. Asano is a great photographer, but he's quiet and aloof; he also has a short temper and can be very crabby. He lives alone and prefers to be left that way. He has a scar on his lower lip from a fist fight. (Coincidentally, Asano first showed up in my first web comic, TV CIRCUIT. You can find out just how he got that scar by reading it here!) Asano is constantly warning Mitsuru about letting his newfound fame with Shizuka get to his head, but he knows it's falling on deaf ears.   Name: Kato (first name unknown) Age: 45 Birthdate: October 31st Height: 5'10" First Appearance: Chapter Three Kato is model Shizuka Enoki's manager, and helped choose Mitsuru to take photos of his top model, Shizuka. He wants Shizuka to succeed in the entertainment business, and will do anything to make sure she stays on top. Kato is a shrewd businessman whose freetime is filled with wine tastings and young women.   Name: Shizuka Enoki Age: 23 Birthdate: June 9th Height: 5'6" First Appearance: Chapter Three Shizuka Enoki is an up-and-coming model who got her first really big break by doing a beer ad. After working with Mitsuru during a photo shoot, she apparently takes a liking to him and contacts him later that week to take him out to lunch, as a thank-you for boosting her popularity. She confesses that she has feelings for him, and they start to go out together. This garners a lot of press as she's getting more popular, and she's eating it up. She apparently owes her manager some money, and is hoping Mitsuru might be able to 'help her out' . . . Shizuka is a bit over-flirtatious at times. She loves the ko-gal look and always keeps her tan perfect, even in winter months. She loves to shop, go to clubs, and drink. She got interested in modeling at the age of 15.   Name: Ayato Murakami Age: 24 Birthdate: May 14th Height: 5'7" First Appearance: Chapter Three Ayato is a wanna-be DJ without a steady day-job. He can't afford up-to-date equipment so he only gets a few gigs a month. He's very close to Shizuka. He doesn't seem to approve of her seeing Mitsuru . . . . Ayato seems to be the equivalent of a male ko-gal. He's got the tan and the dyed hair. His music collection is one of his most prized-possessions. A note on his first appearance: Ayato was first seen in the background of chapter 3, even though we are not fully introduced to him until chapter 4.   Name: Eiko Suzuki Age: 23 Birthdate: April 1st Height: 5'6" First Appearance: Chapter Five Eiko met Watanabe through an online dating service. They met up on Christmas Eve in the morning and spent the day together before joining Mitsuru & Co. for some karaoke. Apparently she's easy to talk to, because Watanabe has spilled the beans on some touchy subjects to her! Eiko is incredibly bubbly. She loves karaoke and driving around (and according to her profile online [ch. 4, page 22], she wants to have fun with a trendy guy). She seems to get buddy-buddy pretty quickly, as she can't keep her hands off of Watanabe, and constantly asks nosy questions.