TV-Series
Description
Ooji Karasuma is a student in class 2-C at Yagami High School and the object of Tenma Tsukamoto's affection. He is a quiet, expressionless young man with short black hair cut in a bowl style and dark eyes. Born on October 28, he keeps largely to himself and is often seen staring out of the classroom window, and his classmates regard him as strange, distant, and difficult to read. He speaks very little, usually in short, matter-of-fact phrases, which reinforces the impression that he lives in his own world.
His most distinctive personal trait is his devotion to curry, his favorite food; when asked to choose between Tenma and curry, he unhesitatingly chooses curry. He also has eccentric habits, such as dressing as a kappa on rainy days, which plays on the Japanese word for raincoat. Despite his detached manner, he is talented in several areas. Under the pen name Nijou Jou, he works as a professional manga artist, a fact he keeps hidden from most of his classmates. He plays electric guitar in a school band and is a capable soccer player, having been part of a national team that won a cup. He also possesses remarkable reflexes, allowing him to evade flying objects, including Tenma's arrow-shaped letters and Kenji Harima's Hurricane Kick.
In the story, Karasuma serves as the target of Tenma's persistent romantic efforts. He receives a love letter from her written on a long scroll, reads it twice looking for a name, and remarks only on the curry she mentions, apparently unaware of her feelings for him. For much of the series he seems indifferent, but his detachment is not the full picture. Behind his poker face, he shows genuine concern for Tenma in subtle ways and is protective of her wellbeing. He also carries a private reason for keeping his distance: he suffers from a disease that gradually erases his memories, and he is set to transfer to the United States at the start of his third year. Knowing that he will eventually lose his memories of her, he hides his feelings in order to spare her pain.
His relationship with Tenma develops slowly. Although he initially treats her with the same flat remoteness he shows everyone else, her persistent efforts gradually bring them closer. His connection to Tenma also places him in an indirect rivalry with Kenji Harima, who is in love with Tenma and, unknown to Karasuma, resents his classmate as a rival. The two also intersect in the manga world, since Karasuma works professionally under his pseudonym while Harima is an aspiring artist; Karasuma regards this as a straightforward professional matter. Later in the series, during a confrontation with Harima, he openly and uncharacteristically shouts that he is in love with Tenma, confirming that his feelings are genuine despite his usual silence. When his memory loss begins to take hold, Tenma decides to stay with him and eventually devotes herself to studying medicine, and the two remain together even as he continues to suffer from his condition.
Karasuma's character is defined by the gap between his surface blankness and his inner care. He is intelligent and accomplished, yet emotionally reserved to the point of appearing oblivious. His motivation is shaped largely by his illness: he distances himself from Tenma to protect her, expresses his feelings only when circumstances force them out, and in the end accepts her support even as his memories fade. His notable abilities, including agility, artistic talent, musicianship, and athletic skill, coexist with a personality that rarely displays them openly, making him one of the most enigmatic figures in the series.
His most distinctive personal trait is his devotion to curry, his favorite food; when asked to choose between Tenma and curry, he unhesitatingly chooses curry. He also has eccentric habits, such as dressing as a kappa on rainy days, which plays on the Japanese word for raincoat. Despite his detached manner, he is talented in several areas. Under the pen name Nijou Jou, he works as a professional manga artist, a fact he keeps hidden from most of his classmates. He plays electric guitar in a school band and is a capable soccer player, having been part of a national team that won a cup. He also possesses remarkable reflexes, allowing him to evade flying objects, including Tenma's arrow-shaped letters and Kenji Harima's Hurricane Kick.
In the story, Karasuma serves as the target of Tenma's persistent romantic efforts. He receives a love letter from her written on a long scroll, reads it twice looking for a name, and remarks only on the curry she mentions, apparently unaware of her feelings for him. For much of the series he seems indifferent, but his detachment is not the full picture. Behind his poker face, he shows genuine concern for Tenma in subtle ways and is protective of her wellbeing. He also carries a private reason for keeping his distance: he suffers from a disease that gradually erases his memories, and he is set to transfer to the United States at the start of his third year. Knowing that he will eventually lose his memories of her, he hides his feelings in order to spare her pain.
His relationship with Tenma develops slowly. Although he initially treats her with the same flat remoteness he shows everyone else, her persistent efforts gradually bring them closer. His connection to Tenma also places him in an indirect rivalry with Kenji Harima, who is in love with Tenma and, unknown to Karasuma, resents his classmate as a rival. The two also intersect in the manga world, since Karasuma works professionally under his pseudonym while Harima is an aspiring artist; Karasuma regards this as a straightforward professional matter. Later in the series, during a confrontation with Harima, he openly and uncharacteristically shouts that he is in love with Tenma, confirming that his feelings are genuine despite his usual silence. When his memory loss begins to take hold, Tenma decides to stay with him and eventually devotes herself to studying medicine, and the two remain together even as he continues to suffer from his condition.
Karasuma's character is defined by the gap between his surface blankness and his inner care. He is intelligent and accomplished, yet emotionally reserved to the point of appearing oblivious. His motivation is shaped largely by his illness: he distances himself from Tenma to protect her, expresses his feelings only when circumstances force them out, and in the end accepts her support even as his memories fade. His notable abilities, including agility, artistic talent, musicianship, and athletic skill, coexist with a personality that rarely displays them openly, making him one of the most enigmatic figures in the series.