Kenji Kuroyanagi is the divorced father of Tetsuko "Alice" Arisugawa. His ex-wife, the writer Kayo Arisugawa, retained custody of Alice following the separation. Alice now lives with her mother and uses her mother's surname, which resulted in her adopting the new nickname "Alice" instead of one derived from Kenji's surname. Kenji's absence from the household contributes to Alice's difficulties adjusting to her new environment. His character design features perpetually closed eyes.