Makoto Takiya works as a computer programmer at Jigokumeguri System Engineering Inc., a colleague and friend of Kobayashi. Professionally, he appears as an average office worker, clad in a white button-down shirt, dark slacks, blue necktie, and brown leather shoes. At home, he sheds this persona, embracing his otaku identity with glasses featuring swirled lenses, developing buck teeth, and adopting a higher-pitched voice.

Fundamentally good-natured and even-tempered, Takiya handles surprises calmly and readily helps others. As a closet otaku, his passion erupts loudly when discussing maids, cosplay, or video games, especially when intoxicated, leading to enthusiastic rants where he might label Tohru’s outfit as "cosplay." Beyond programming, he creates manga and games like the "Water Dragon Shrine" series, selling them at Comiket, sometimes recruiting Kobayashi and Tohru to assist at his booth.

His life shifts dramatically when he takes in Fafnir, a dragon. Bonding over shared loves for video games, cooking, literature, and magical girls, they forge a close friendship, leading Fafnir to accept the nickname "Faf-kun." Takiya navigates situations involving Fafnir, like convincing him to host Takiya's parents through a video game challenge. He also supports other dragons, suggesting Fafnir create treasure via doujinshi and advising Tohru to nurse Kobayashi.

Takiya is among the few humans privy to the dragons' true nature, regularly interacting with them. He witnesses curses at maid cafés, discusses Kobayashi’s back problems, and attends dragon gatherings like out-of-season flower viewings, remaining unfazed by the supernatural while maintaining his helpful demeanor. An implied backstory, detailed in "This Guy Is Not From Another World," suggests he was summoned to the dragons' world as the child hero "Kiyama," where he apologized to the dragon Telne for severing her left horn with the sword Shin, later broken.

He consistently ends his sentences with the distinctive phrase "-de yansu."