Ritsu Onodera

Name: Ritsu Onodera Age: 26

Appearance:: Ritsu has light brown hair and long bangs that frame the sides of his face. He has wide, green eyes and fair skin. He is described as being very attractive and having a "vogue body type", with high hips and a small face with perfect features. Ritsu does not like smiling for a long time though it is often required during company parties, stating how it makes his jaws hurt. Like most male characters in the series, Ritsu is relatively tall at 5 ft 8. However, similar to most of the couples of the series, he is significantly shorter than his lover, Masamune.

Orientation: Gay - only attracted to men Relationship: Committed boyfriend to his boss Masamune Takano {his unrequited/long-lost middle and highschool crush}

Job: Shoujo manga editor at Marukawa Publishing's Emerald Department {Ritsu wanted to work as a literature editor again but he left his father's literature company and winds up in another somehow in manga editing- coincidentally all the employees that work in Emerald Department happen to be regarded by staff as handsome guys for some reason.}

Personality: When he was younger, he was shy, hopeful, kind and gentle. He worked up the courage to confess to Masamune and was heartbroken when he believed Masamune was mocking his feelings, causing him to develop a more negative realistic outlook on both life and love.

His peers' constant belittlement of him as having no talent and only riding the coattails of his father has also hurt both him and his pride. However, he is no longer the pushover he was in the past and rather than take their comments, does his best to prove his worth by working in a different company. He is hardworking, prideful and sincere. While he can be short tempered, he does show he cares for people and tries to cheer them up, such as in episode 3 where he tries to cheer up a tired depressed manga artist stressing over her deadline. He hates when people look at him due to his father's influence (either trying to cozy up to him or belittle him) and wants to prove his efforts above all else. He grew up with a love for literature so at first he wanted to work in a literature company and was surprised when he ended up working at a manga company but does seem to grow somewhat interested in shojo manga, though he does not always understand some of the tropes.

In regards to his relationship with Masamune, he was so traumatized by the misunderstanding between them that led to their breakup that initially he can't remember much of it or even recognize Masamune when they remeet. He shows contempt at the idea of falling for him again, but slowly seems to be rekindling his feelings against his desire not to. When Yokozawa asked Ritsu if he loved Masamune, Ritsu began to blush and replied that he does, confirming that he has fallen in love with Masamune again, though not completely. While Ritsu repeatedly denies being in love with Masamune, when Haitini and Nao both try to interfere with their relationship Ritsu claims to himself that he already has someone he loves, Masamune. After admitting that he does love Masamune again, Ritsu tries to learn more about him, something that Masamune admits makes him happy.

Backstory: After a few concerns with his old job (due to his colleague's belief that he was 'riding his father's coattails' in the company), Ritsu decides switch jobs to a literature department at Marukawa Publishing. Due to what appeared to be a mistake in his employment contract, he becomes assigned to work on shoujo manga, which disappoints him since he had never done anything other than literature and had no interest in shoujo manga. He is also upset because he knows very little about editing manga. He pleads with General Affairs to try to re-assign him to the literature department to no avail.

After meeting his boss, Takano Masamune, he wants to tell Masamune that he wants to quit due to little knowledge in such a department and field work. However, he decides to continue with manga and give it his best after being called 'useless' in the job by Masamune, much to his anger. Ritsu later finds out that his father had him placed in the shoujo manga department instead of literature during his transfer to the company, deliberately having him switched for unknown reasons. This leaves him confused as to why he would do that.

Ritsu later decides to stay and work with shoujo manga so he can gain success and prove to others that he is not riding on his parents' coattails and can be a great manga editor based on his own personal skills and hard work. Ritsu usually tells himself that he will quit working at Marukawa as many of the workers like to pick on him for being a "newbie" or that he frequently butts heads with Takano.

Relationships: Masamune Takano is Ritsu's current boss, first love, and they were once neighbors in the same apartment until Ritsu moved in with him.en years prior to the storyline, after Ritsu went off to study abroad, Masamune attempted to find him, but was never able to do so due to knowing Ritsu under a false name. Ten years passed and Ritsu ends up working at Marukawa Publishing's Emerald department where Masamune is his boss. Neither of them realize who the other is because, due to his parent's divorce, Takano's last name had been changed and Ritsu had been using his actual name which Takano didn't know. Also, since ten years had passed, two naturally looked different than they had in high school. Takano had changed his hairstyle, and the previously shy Ritsu had a more confident, combative demeanor. After finding out that his new boss is his former lover, he adamantly assures Takano that he will never have such feelings for him again, although Takano vows that he will make him fall in love with him again.

Though Ritsu acts like he hates Takano's advances, he deeply cares for him, even if he has yet to admit it. He often makes this apparent when he becomes worried about his health. For example, after Takano catches a cold, he rushes to buy him medicine and attempts to cook for him.

Ritsu's Mother Ritsu and his mom have somewhat cold and distant relationship. She arranged an engagement between Ritsu and his childhood friend An despite his protests that he didn't wish for a marriage, Despite knowing her son's feelings, she often nags him to spend more time with An, often resulting in Ritsu refusing and claiming that he has work to do first.

After Ritsu repeatedly refuses to accept the marriage, she asks Ritsu if he already has someone he loves. Ritsu is unable to give her a clear answer. When An later cancels the engagement herself, with the excuse that she can never love Ritsu as her husband, she calls Ritsu in a fury. She angrily demands to know why An would cancel the engagement, resulting in Ritsu hanging up on her. Ritsu usually tries to avoid her calls or personal contact with her.