About “Special A” in a few words:

Special A is a romantic comedy anime and manga series written and illustrated by Maki Minami. The story follows Hikari Hanazono, a competitive student who is always striving to be the best, as she competes academically and romantically with her rival and classmate, Kei Takishima. The series features a cast of lovable and eccentric characters, each with their own unique personality and quirks.

Meet the characters from Special A

Hikari Hanazono

Oh man Hikari is pure, loud heart energy — she’s the kind of fierce, hilarious bundle who never stops trying to beat Kei and usually ends up tripping over her own feet while doing it. Super competitive, ridiculously hardworking, and weirdly sentimental about tiny trophies and old notebooks (also she totally cries at commercials sometimes — don’t tell anyone). She’s brave and stubborn in the best way, always rushing into things for the people she cares about, but will also make you a suspiciously perfect bento at 3 a.m. Sometimes she’s petulant and dramatic, sometimes annoyingly zen, which is a little confusing but also the best.

Kei Takishima

Kei is the chilly, annoyingly competent type who somehow does everything perfectly and then expects the world to follow suit — except he secretly melts whenever Hikari does her dramatic flails. Brilliant, composed, scary-smart, and ridiculously protective, he’s the textbook “super capable childhood friend” but also has this soft, embarrassing streak (like he’ll rescue a stray kitten and pretend he didn’t). He comes off formal and almost robotic but has a tiny, very human jealousy corner that pops up at inconvenient times. Honestly, he could be a dictator or a rom-com lead, sometimes both in the same episode.

Akira Toudou

Akira is that tall, quiet storm who looks like trouble but is actually the caring type with weirdly precise morals — very serious, very intense, but also kind of awkward with romance. He’s all about honor and doing the right thing, the dependable “third seat” who can punch your lights out and then make tea for your grandmother, no lie. He acts distant and mysterious but has these tiny, goofy hobbies (like collecting old keys? or was it bookmarks? I forget) that totally humanize him. Stoic exterior, soft interior, possibly smells like library books and hot chocolate, depending on the chapter.

Tadashi Karino

Tadashi is tiny, snarky, and relentless — the pocket-sized strategist who will plot three moves ahead and then snack his feelings away. He’s sarcastic but loyal to a fault, loud about food preferences and quiet about his actual feelings, which makes him simultaneously hilarious and annoying (in the best way). He hoards snacks like evidence and will defend friends with tactical brilliance and weirdly tender pep talks. Sometimes he’s all bravado and sometimes he cries at rom-coms, and both are true, it’s canon in my head.

Ryuu Tsuji

Ryuu is smooth, charming, and a total flirt but also the most unexpectedly sincere person when it counts — think carefree smile, very dramatic hair, and loyalty that will shock you. He jokes around a lot and loves attention, maybe a bit vain, but he helps people without making a big deal out of it (secret softie alert). He’s into hobbies that change every season (one week storms of poetry, the next week a sudden spatula obsession), which is wildly endearing and confusing. He can be annoying and adorable at the same time and honestly that’s the whole appeal.

Megumi Yamamoto

Megumi is tiny and sweet and often seems like a calm breeze but is actually quietly sharp and stubborn — like a porcelain teacup that will smack you if you drop it. She’s the kind person who remembers everyone’s birthdays and has a pile of plushies she claims are “for research,” plus a habit of misplacing keys in the freezer. Shy but steady, she makes the group feel softer and somehow stronger, the kind of friend who listens and then gives you the perfect practical advice you didn’t know you needed. Also, I’m 90% sure she owns an alarming number of notebooks and a questionable taste in socks.

Jun Yamamoto

Jun is the cool older-sibling vibe who’s low-key obsessive about perfection (hair, schedule, bench-press form — all meticulously maintained) but will also binge terrible reality TV at 2 a.m. on a dare. He’s competent, calm, and a little smug, the type who organizes everything and then disappears to play video games or feed his mysterious pet (frog? tortoise? both?). Protective of Megumi and quietly very loyal, he hides a goofy humor behind that neat haircut and it’s honestly the cutest. Sometimes he’s annoyingly sensible and sometimes he’s a chaotic midnight prankster, pick a mood and he’ll deliver.