KAZUKI / KEITA
Genders: Male / Male
Focus Level: 2

Kazuki and Keita quickly become best friends when Keita unexpectedly joins the school.  At first, Kazuki seems fairly normal - boring, even.  But with time, it turns out that Kazuki has a secret or two he's keeping from Keita...

I like how these two support each other.  Kazuki is the classic nice guy who deserves to have someone, but his job (*cough* Principal *cough*) gets in the way.  Keita brings out a playful side of Kazuki that otherwise isn't there.  And Kazuki provides the supportive base that Keita needs.

AKABANE
(ie, Dr. Jackal)
Gender: Male
Focus Level: 4

Jackal's always smiling and cheerful-looking, and typically has his eyes closed... unless he's serious, at which point run far, far away and hide until he's un-serious again.

He kills without remorse, and never lets anyone in on his plans. People are temporary partners and allies, or they are enemies - one or the other - they are never friends. His goals in life are to be amused and test his limits (which he has never reached) by finding strong opponents to fight. Oh, and he hides scalpels in his body. -_-;; ...Why oh why do I like the psychotic ones?

BAN / GINJI
Genders: Male / Male
Focus Level: 4

When they first met, Ginji was still the Thunder Emperor, and they were deadly rivals. Now, Ban and Ginji are partners. They've gone through hell and back together, and their faith in each other is unshakeable. If they think the other is in trouble, they'll do anything to help them. ...And they have a tendency to end up in suggestive positions with each other in official art from the anime. XD

SAWADA SHIN
Gender: Male
Focus Level: 4

Good looking and intelligent, it's hard to imagine how Shin ended up with the idiots in his class. In the past, Shin made the mistake of punching out a teacher at another school, so when he was transferred, he ended up in his current class. With Yankumi as his teacher, though, he doesn't seem to mind...

Shin puts on a tough-guy front, but underneath it is a deep loyalty to his friends, and the willpower to protect them.

HIROSHI
Gender: Male
Focus Level: 2

Hiroshi is Shuichi's best friend. He's very intelligent, and was destined to end up going to something like medical school, but gave up on it to follow his dreams of becoming a rock star. He's protective of Shuichi, who seems to get hurt with alarming regularity in his relationship with Yuki Eiri. Hiroshi is a good friend to have on your side.

SHUUICHI X YUKI EIRI
Genders: Male / Male
Focus Level: 2

This pairing would interest me more if Yuki wasn't such a bastard and Shuuichi wasn't quite so clingy... Still, I enjoyed watching their relationship grow, and I find them a cute couple. Yuki needs someone like Shuuichi, who's stubborn and won't give up. And Shuuichi needs someone who won't cater to his every whim. =3

LACUS
(ie, Lux)
Gender: Female
Focus Level: 2

Lacus has pink hair, is polite, kind, and useless for anything but support... And I like her anyway. I began the series convinced I'd hate her, but my views quickly shifted. Y'see, there was this other pink-haired girl in the series who annoyed me like no one has managed to do before or since. Compared to her, Lacus was a breath of fresh air. She's supportive to the people who most desperately need someone like her, and knows the realities of war.

KIRA / ATHRUN
Genders: Male / Male
Focus Level: 3

I could have been completely, utterly obsessed with this pairing if I'd managed to get through more of the series. These two were once best friends, but Athrun left with his family for another colony. When they meet again years later, they're deadly enemies on opposite sides. The tragedy of the two is heartbreaking, and I wish I had been able to see it possibly resolved...

DUO
Gender: Male
Focus Level: 3

Everyone's favorite pilot, Duo stole the hearts of fan across the world. He's surprisingly complex, and is more than his cheerful nature suggests. Underlying it are some hard issues. He's lived off his wits for most of his life, and unlike all the other pilots, was the only one without formal training.

I want to see Duo with his hair down!!

DUO / HEERO
Genders: Male / Male
Focus Level: 5

Like many Gundam Wing fans, I heard about the pairing of Heero x Duo well before ever watching the show. I began watching because I was curious about them. I was actually disappointed by the lack of evidence in the series itself for the pairing. The more you look for conclusive evidence, expecting it to be there, the less you see.

But the fandom, combined with a re-watching of the series, did eventually convince me of their pairing potential, and I began to really like the pair.

SANO / MIZUKI
Genders: Male / Female
Focus Level: 2

Mizuki has a crush on her idol, the famous high jumper, Sano Izumi. She's so determined to meet him that she dresses like a boy to enter Sano's all-boy high school. Because of Mizuki's caring and determination, Sano begins the high jump again, and slowly warms up to her. What she doesn't know is Sano realized almost upon their first meeting she was a girl...

Their relationship is cute and great to read right before bed.

TATSUKI
Gender: Male
Focus Level: 3

Tatsuki was a relatively normal, happy kid. Then he made friends with his cousin, Kotarou, and now he can see the afterimages of recently passed events. But not just any events - violent, tragic deaths are what he most commonly sees. When he tries to tell people, they think he's crazy.

Many years later, Tatsuki has retreated within himself. He hates being touched (as touch allows him to see things), and has apparently learned martial arts somewhere along to way to protect himself. He never smiles, never laughs, and hides his emotions behind a mask of indifference.

Tatsuki's a tragic character in many ways, as its his own attitude which has a tendency to push people away. You wish you could give him a hug and tell him it'll be alright.

KOTAROU / TATSUKI
Genders: Male / Male
Focus Level: 4

This one is technically incest, but happily I'm able to ignore the fact that they're cousins most of the time. Anyway, I could explain it away in a fanfic, if need be.

Kotarou and Tatsuki were best friends when they were little. More than anything, Tatsuki wanted to keep Kotarou smiling forever, so whenever Kotarou was in trouble, Tatsuki protected him. But then, Kotarou activated/gave Tatsuki the "gift" of post-cognition, ie, he's able to see events that have just passed.

When Kotarou sees Tatsuki many years later, Tatsuki seems to hate him. But just like when they were little, Tatsuki goes through hell and back to protect Kotarou. What does it mean?

What it means for this yaoi-minded fangirl is love! *lol*

SHINOBU
Gender: Male
Focus Level: 4

Shinobu has the face of an angel and the morals of a demon. He grew up in a highly competitive household, and despite being the youngest, quickly endeared himself through his polite manners, ruthless cunning, and cutting intelligence. Soon, Shinobu was next in line to inherit instead of the eldest son.

Shinobu knows how to manipulate people to get what he wants. He gathers blackmail material on everyone at school, and nearly succeeds in fixing the school election his first year there so his choice of Student President will win. Students live in fear of his wrath.

He's calmed down a little since then, but he'll still manipulate people to his will (especially Mitsuru), and he runs a betting pool. And people still do whatever they can to avoid his anger.

SHINOBU / MITSURU
Genders: Male / Male
Focus Level: 4

Mitsuru gets a lot of attention from the ladies for his charm and good looks. Shinobu doesn't gather quite as many followers simply because he's been at boys schools all his life. But neither of them seem serious about the ladies in their lives (Shinobu usually dates three at a time), and it's easy to imagine the two boys perhaps swinging the other way, too...

Mitsuru is, frankly, the only person on earth who Shinobu has any respect for. He considers himself in Mitsuru's debt, and will make references to it every once in awhile. It's not a bad debt, just a reminder of past services rendered...

SAI
Gender: Male
Focus Level: 4

Sai is a centuries old ghost, who couldn't move on because he wants to play more Go. He finds an answer in Hikaru, a boy who's never touched Go before in his life.

I loved reading about Sai. He was always desperate to play more Go, and would pester Hikaru until he agreed. Sai was a major source of humor in the series.

AKIRA / HIKARU
Genders: Male / Male
Focus Level: 5

They meet when Sai wants to play a game of Go, and Hikaru picks Akira because he's his age. Little does Hikaru know the lifetime of rivalry the single game will spark...

Akira chases after the boy who knows nothing about Go, yet plays like a genius. When Akira learns Hikaru himself isn't all that good, Akira stops chasing... only to be chased in return by Hikaru.

I love the push and pull of their relationship, and their obsession with the other. They're constantly chasing, until one day they're finally equals.

DAICHI / HIMEKO
Genders: Male / Female
Focus Level: 2

When Himeko gets the magic ribbon from her magic-world counterpart, Daichi is one of the only one to find out about it. He seems like a brat and a bully at first, but over time, Himeko is able to see the kind boy underneath.

My focus on these characters has long since passed, but they make it onto the list because I did like them a lot at one time, and would probably still be amused by them if I re-watched the series.

ARIMA / MIYAZAWA
Genders: Male / Female
Focus Level: 2

Miyazawa Yukino loves attention. She creates an image at school, which she works very hard to maintain. Then Arima arrives. He's even more perfect than her, and she hates him for stealing attention away from her.

When he finds out how she really is, though, he blackmails her into helping him with his schoolwork. After some tears and misunderstands, she finds out she likes Arima, and Arima likes her.

They're an adorable couple. Arima needs someone like Yukino to break him out of the perfect mask he maintains.

SHINKOUHYOU
Gender: Male
Focus Level: 2

Shinkouhyou's voice actor is Ishida Akira, who also does Xellos from Slayers, so I automatically glomped onto his character.

Shinkouhyou is odd. He's very, very powerful - one of the most powerful beings in existence. But he rarely gets involved, preferring to watch and play with people from a distance.

HOWL
Gender: Male
Focus Level: 2

The one scene from the book that I really, really wanted them to keep in the movie was of Howl's disastrous hair coloring effort. *cackle* So I was relieved when they kept it!

Howl is charming, seductive, relatively laid back... and a coward who avoids his responsibilities whenever possible. He also has no heart. No, literally. These traits are emphasized a bit more in the book (as are some other negative traits not present in the movie), but brought out at least a little in Miyazaki's film. It was cute to see him in action. =3

SOPHIE / HOWL
Genders: Female / Male
Focus Level: 3

Sophie briefly meets Howl in the market before the Witch of the Waste's visit turns Sophie into an old woman. Sophie leaves and stumbles across a moving castle... Howl's home. There, she forcefully becomes the new cleaning lady. ^_^

The romance between Howl and Sophie proves that looks are only skin deep, and only those who look further are worth the effort.

HISOKA
Gender: Male
Focus Level: 5

Hisoka's cheerful demeanor hides the cold, uncaring assassin underneath. His goal in life is to be challenged and fight stronger opponents, but doesn't object to a little mindless bloodshed either.  He's a trickster at heart, who isn't happy unless he's being entertained.

Never, ever underestimate Hisoka! He's a trickster to the core, who'll use his ability to confuse to its advantage in battle. But... wow, does he look hot with his hair down... O.O

KILLUA / GON
Genders: Male / Male
Focus Level: 5

Despite Gon's overly cheerful manner and ability to get along with anyone, he never had human friends growing up. His playground was the nearby forest, where he got to know all the animals within. On the other hand, Killua, due to his family's line of work, was never allowed friends.

When these two meet, they become instant best friends. The bond only deepens with time, and they both face severe trials to stay with each other.  They're a very cute pair! =3