Tsubaki Iwanome manages Materials Compiling Group No. 3 in the Shinjuku Police Department's community safety division, directly overseeing jurisdictional aspects of the Phantom Solitaire investigation. He sports medium-length blond hair (dyed from black) and multiple facial piercings: earlobe, helix, conch, and studs above and below his right eyebrow. While he occasionally uses glasses at home, he opts for contact lenses or nothing while working. Professionally, he favors brightly colored, non-traditional attire like bright blue shirts paired with red or camouflage trousers, diverging from standard uniforms. However, he conforms to business suits when assuming formal leadership roles within the reorganized Phantom Solitaire case. His personality projects a flamboyant, sociable exterior, acting as a gregarious counterpoint to his reserved colleague Kōzaburō Arase during investigations. This congeniality serves as a strategic tool for gathering information, sometimes involving feigned loud intoxication at Youtoukorou bar while remaining sober. Beneath this facade lies intense dedication to his duties and a fierce commitment to fulfilling the will of his deceased former superior, Miyabi Hosorogi, whose goals he pursues within a police system he views as corrupt. He maintains careful emotional control to navigate hostility, though rare moments—like violently seizing the Corpse God during a fortunetelling—reveal deeper, volatile emotions tied to Hosorogi's death and institutional decay. He describes his collaborative skill as "matching gears," emphasizing operational adaptability despite friction. Profound loyalty to Hosorogi drives his actions. This dedication leads him to shoulder risks personally, exemplified during the Hifuki Mushi incident where he ceased using civilians as vessels after learning the entity's truth. His resolve to take this role himself, reinforced after a physical confrontation with Arase, subsequently prevented further Hifuki Mushi manifestations using ordinary hosts. Trivia notes include subjection to numerous arranged marriage proposals, a preference for Marlboro cigarettes, and his creation of many Shinjuku troublemakers' monikers, which he defensively upholds if criticized as "weird." Within the Lemmings Incident, he appears at Youtoukorou bar feigning drunkenness, inquiring about Clarissa's unusual shift and probing connections to the Shakuzawa Building fire and its supernatural skeletons. His playful but inappropriate behavior toward a waitress leads to a physical confrontation with Deathclaw Saya. He later collaborates with Arase at crime scenes, analyzing cases like the "Human Knot" victims with broken limbs. His development shows increased strategic conformity, adopting formal suits to navigate police politics, while the Hifuki Mushi encounter underscores his shift toward personal accountability in protecting civilians.