Tanaka attends Sakakino High as the male class representative for class 1-3. He shares a middle school background with Yuuki Ashikaga, Taisuke Sawanaga, and Hikari Kuroda, maintaining a close post-middle school friendship with Taisuke. Tanaka harbors a significant, unspoken romantic interest in the female class representative, Setsuna Kiyoura.

He possesses notable height, frequently depicted through visual framing that cuts off around his shoulders, obscuring his face. His communication is minimalistic, primarily relying on grunts interpreted by others rather than full sentences.

Tanaka participates in the Judo club, where he sustained a fractured arm injury before the school festival during training. This injury necessitated Makoto Itou replacing him as a festival preparation committee member in certain story routes and the anime adaptation.

The character uniquely possesses two distinct given names across media: designated "Ichiro" for the anime and introduced as "Hisoka" by Mathers Numakichi for *Cross Days*. "Ichiro" translates to "first son," "Hisoka" means "thick," and his surname references the Tanaka clan.