Kouichi Shindou (進藤 晃一 Shindō Kōichi?) is a supporting character in the series. He is Izumi Miyamura's only best friend in junior high and the boyfriend of Chika Ichijou.
Appearance[]
Kouichi is a tall, lean young man with medium-length spiky hair that flicks outwards at the ends where it is parted on the right side with a prominent cowlick (where Izumi Miyamura certainly think that he's an idiot) sticking up in the middle and lime-green eyes.
Personality[]
Kouichi is shown to have a very kind and upbeat personality who is always seen smiling and he was very popular in middle school, where he befriended Izumi Miyamura in junior high school when many others outcasted him. At first, he was very forgetful, and it took him many tries before he gets Miyamura's name right (this occurred in one scene - in the manga, he gets it right every time after chapter 18). Kouichi stood up for Izumi when Makio Tanihara told him he was bad news and should not hang around him due to his depressing personality and many piercings. He lets Makio know that Izumi's depressing personality is due to how Makio's friends treat him. Kouichi sees Izumi as a fascinatin1g person and stays by his side, and they become best friends. Kouichi is the person Izumi believes changed him to feel free to be himself around others.
History[]
Kouichi attended the same junior high school as Izumi Miyamura and Makio Tanihara before Kouichi and Izumi attended different high schools: Izumi will go to Katagiri High School and Kouichi will attend Yasaka High School because his parents want him to set his goals higher.
Synopsis[]
Kouichi doesn't have a good track record in school, repeating his third high school year multiple times. The situation doesn't seem to get any better, given that he mentions that he'll have to repeat again at Christmas. It's suggested that his poor academic performance is part of the reason why Chika Ichijou's parents despise him.
Relationships[]
Chika Ichijou[]
Kouichi and Chika began dating after Kouichi confessed to her and she immediately responded with "Ok". Chika seems unphased by all the other girls that flock around Kouichi and has no problem with them giving him chocolate for Valentine's or him giving them graduation gifts. Due to Kouichi being one year behind her, during graduation, she promises to wait one year for him.
While talking to Izumi Miyamura, Kouichi once stated that he had devoted 60% of his time to Chika. Her parents disapprove of their relationship as they think Kouichi, who had to repeat his second year, is not an appropriate person for her. How she treats Kouichi has been heavily influenced by Miyamura, which is now much more forceful. Instead of asking Kouichi to stop smoking, she slaps the cigarette out of his mouth, and, along with Miyamura, they force Kouichi to eat cheese to get him over his aversion to it (Chapter 266 in the Webcomic).
Izumi Miyamura[]
Izumi was Kouichi's best friend in junior high school with whom he had an unusual friendship. Despite how Miyamura treats him, usually with both physical and emotional abuse, Kouichi thinks of Miyamura as his best friend. He is somewhat infatuated with Miyamura, knowing things like his measurements, etc. He knows Miyamura well, even better than Kyouko Hori.
Makio Tanihara[]
Tanihara and Kouichi are friends from junior high school. They had a slight falling out after Kouichi began spending more time with Izumi Miyamura, but they continued their friendship through high school. After Miyamura is added to their group, Tanihara plays the straight-man role, trying to keep Kouichi (and Miyamura) in check. He sometimes gets tutoring from Kouichi and is described as a quick learner once it's explained to him.
Trivia[]
- In the original webcomic, Kouichi is a smoker. This gets excised in the manga remake.
Quotes[]
References[]
- ↑ Horimiya Manga: Chapter 19 (p. 8).