Tsukune Aono (青野 月音 Aono Tsukune?) is the male protagonist of the series who is mistakenly enrolled in Yōkai Academy. He soon meets Moka Akashiya, a vampire who takes an interest in him due to the sweet taste of his blood (an ongoing gag that occurs throughout the series with her catching Tsukune off-guard and biting him on the neck). Fearful for his life and ready to leave the school, it is only his affection for Moka that gets him to continue attending Yōkai Academy. Though he has no special powers of his own, he constantly risks his life to protect his friends. Later on, he acquires vampiric abilities, then ghoul-based powers (the latter of which puts his humanity in jeopardy), but allowing him to fight toe-to-toe with almost any supernatural foe. Tsukune is voiced by Daisuke Kishio in the drama CDs and anime.
Though ordinary and often cowardly in the beginning, Tsukune's willingness to protect his friends without thinking twice about it earns him many new companions and the affection of the girls surrounding him. He is both gentle and understanding, and displays great courage when his friends are threatened. Later in the series, Tsukune is infused with Moka's blood and starts to undergo changes, such as gaining vampire fighting skills when him or one of his friends is threatened. At first, Moka feels responsible for this, but Tsukune says that he doesn't blame her for his transformation. After he and Inner Moka defeat a monster, she tells what is going to happen to him.
[edit]Moka Akashiya
Main article: Moka Akashiya
Moka Akashiya (赤夜 萌香 Akashiya Moka?) is the first person Tsukune meets when he sets foot in Yōkai Academy. Exceptionally sweet and kind, Moka is a vampire, and takes a liking to Tsukune after ingesting the latter’s blood, becoming addicted in doing so. When the rosario around her neck is removed, the seal keeping her true nature is released. Cold and arrogant, "Inner" Moka is a completely different entity from the kind and loving "Outer" Moka, going so far as to specifically remind Tsukune to "be kind to the other Moka". Tsukune is the only one able to remove the rosario around Moka's neck. Both Mokas are voiced by Nana Mizuki in the drama CDs and anime.
Revealed in an omake, she loves tomato juice, but prefers Tsukune's blood. Her name is perhaps a pun on the word "mocha", as well as reflecting her split personalities, as mocha is a combination of coffee (representing Inner Moka) and cocoa (representing Outer Moka, as well as being the namesake of her half-sister).
[edit]Kurumu Kurono
Voiced by: Misato Fukuen
Kurumu Kurono (黒乃 胡夢 Kurono Kurumu?) is a succubus who was introduced in the second chapter of the manga and episode 2 of the first anime adaptation (she was seen in episode 1 but was never introduced). She was initally a rival to Moka, being jealous of why she is more popular than her. After she was badly beaten during a fight with Inner Moka, Tsukune persuades Inner Moka to spare her, and as a result, Kurumu not only became friends with the pair, but also becomes infatuated with Tsukune and makes a decision that he will be her "Destined One". A running gag in both series is when she uses her large breasts to seduce Tsukune, which, more often than not, makes his nose bleed and causes him to suffocate. She also attempts to use baked sweets laced with love potions to secure his affections, though they never seem to reach him. In an omake, Kurumu reveals she has a serious weakness for sweets to the extent that she once ate poisoned cookies she made and planned to give to Moka. Kurumu's mother is Ageha Kurono, who appears during the start of the school festival under the belief that Tsukune is her daughter's fiancé. She has a habit of saying "Yahoo-hoo!" and "Bow-wow!" when excited, and always somehow manages to interfere with any tender moment between Tsukune and Moka, often by appearing when least expected.
While she does continue to tease and try to seduce Tsukune, it is clear that she possesses true and honest feelings for him, as she has been shown to be willing to risk her life for him numerous times throughout the anime and manga. Kurumu is also shown to be a kind and soft-hearted girl who loves her rivals for Tsukune like sisters, tenderly comforting and supporting them in their moments of sadness as well as defending them when they are in danger. This was toned down in the anime, where she is the more typical "flirt" character, though the kind-heartedness is still present and in reality, she is actually an innocent character.
Being a succubus, Kurumu possesses powers of "Allure" (called "Charm" in the anime), which she can use to hypnotize males. According to legend, if a succubus kisses a male, he will become her permanent slave. Kurumu sports a pair of bat wings, tail, and razor-sharp nails in her true form, and has notable feats of superhuman strength (seen when carrying people during flight and slicing trees in half). Later on, Kurumu displays further powers employing the use of strong illusions, once doing so to wrap vines around a slug yōkai who was blackmailing to take ecchi pictures of her. Despite being sealed, Inner Moka was stunned that Kurumu displayed such power, as the power of illusions is usually displayed by higher-ranked succubi. In the second manga serialization, she is learning basic witchcraft to help with the strength of her illusions and along with Mizore and she was trained by Ginei during the summer break in hand-to-hand combat in an effort for the two to become strong enough to overcome Inner Moka in a fight. She is roughly the second strongest female in the Newspaper Club, although many consider her and Mizore to be about par level overall. She and Mizore have a joint attack called the "Black and White" duet.
[edit]Yukari Sendo
Voiced by: Kimiko Koyama
Yukari Sendo (仙童 紫 Sendō Yukari?) is one of the smartest students at Yōkai Academy, and the youngest at age 11. She is a witch and always wears a typical witch costume (consisting of a hat and cape), which is considered by some students to be a violation of the school rules, and frequently ends her sentences with "desū" (ですぅ?), which roughly translates to "it is". As a witch, she has problems with her classmates discriminating against her (in the series, witches are viewed as "border beings", those that are something between humans and the supernatural, as it is impossible to tell their difference by appearance alone). Despite ranking #1 on the examinations, she was a lonely prankster before meeting Tsukune and Moka. She initially hates Tsukune, claiming that she has fallen in love with Moka, and uses her magical powers to try to drive them apart. However, after both Tsukune and Moka save her from bullying classmates, she falls for him too. Her obsession with both has driven her to try to create a three-way relationship between them. She is the only girl of the group to actually kiss Tsukune. Yukari has, on occasion, developed some bizarre items, often leading to hilarious results or farfetched situations. Items she has developed includes the Horehore-kun ("Mr. Love-Love") voodoo doll, Growing Drops (すくすくドロップ, Sukusuku Droppu?), and Ishin Denshin. Her parents, both highly skilled and adept in magic, appear during the start of the school festival seen in the anime adaptation, when they repair the torn-up academy.
[edit]Mizore Shirayuki
Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya
Mizore Shirayuki (白雪 みぞれ Shirayuki Mizore?) is a yuki-onna. Frequently seen with a lollipop in her mouth (yuki-onna are vulnerable to warm climates; doing so keeps their bodies cool), Mizore returns to school after a delayed absence and was first portrayed as a lonely, somewhat depressed, and misunderstood girl. She becomes infatuated with Tsukune, going so far as to create her own journal/scrapbook with all of his newspaper articles. In the past, she confessed her love to a teacher until he began taking advantage of her, freezing him as a result. With the incident and rumors spreading about her, Mizore made it hard for herself to trust anyone, but took a liking to Tsukune, believing he was just as miserable as she was. She eventually regains her sense of trust after Tsukune intervenes when the same teacher returns to kill her. Unfortunately, this leads Mizore to stalk Tsukune on a daily basis (from around 340 spying locations, according to her). In her first appearance, she sports long hair, but cuts it short following the incident.
Keeping in line with her kind, Mizore has the ability to control snow and ice at will, and while doing so, shapes claws of ice around her hands (her hair often becomes ice on rare occasions). She can also make almost perfect copies (albeit fragile) of herself and others with it as well, often used as decoys or reinforcements in the manga and she is very powerful when she uses it. Her ice claws become more powerful after her training with Gin and obtains the ability to freeze any body of water around her.
A running gag in the series is that Mizore always appears unexpectedly in the oddest locations (under tables, behind doors, the ceiling, bushes, even in the bathroom), and throws ice-based projectiles to disrupt any sort of tender moment Tsukune is having with any other girl. Mizore's mother is Tsurara Shirayuki, who appears during the start of the school festival under the belief that Tsukune is her daughter's boyfriend, while her unnamed father appears in the second anime adaptation. Her family name translates to "White Snow" and her given name translates to "Sleet", in reference to her yōkai powers.
[edit]Ginei Morioka
Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki
Ginei Morioka (森丘 銀影 Morioka Gin'ei?), commonly referred to as "Gin", is a werewolf who speaks in an Osakan dialect and is the president of the Newspaper Club. He is a shameless peeping tom who began as an antagonist to Tsukune, but becomes somewhat of a senior to him and his friends. Though he ceases his schemes (so other students will stop calling him a pervert), his affections lie with Moka. It should be noted he has no second thoughts about trying to impress other girls. While working in the club, he tends to leave all the work to his subordinates, including the distribution of the paper. Ginrei has proven himself a loyal friend and has provided the group with helpful information, often acting as the pervert. It is shown he has feelings for Sun. In his first year at Yōkai Academy, all he did was fight. Because of this, he was known the "Rabid Dog" until Sun put him in his place by being his opponent.
As a werewolf, when a full moon shines brightly, his abilities are heightened to the point where his speed exceeds even Moka in her super-vampire state, he is also the first enemy that Inner Moka hasn't outright beaten in a fight; in fact, that only reason he lost at all was simply because the moon was covered by clouds just as he was about to attack. While werewolves in general are stated to have their power wax and wane with the lunar cycle, it is unknown if all werewolves receive this much of an increase. Regardless, Ginrei is still exceptionally fast, even when the moon is not full, able to land dozens of blows in a singe pass against Kuyo. He is widely regarded as one of the strongest top-tier yōkai at the school by the other students but he doesn't really care about it, preferring to keep out of the limelight.
In the second manga serialization, it is revealed he was Kurumu and Mizore's sparring instructor, groping them at every session which upsets them to no end. When he was framed for ripping clothes at school, he took the blame in order to prevent another student from getting in trouble and purposely insulted her so she could move on. He is also good friends with Sun, the original Newspaper Club president. He also has a past with the Karate Club's leader and is currently facing off with Fairy Tale. He eventually beats them with the help of Hiyari. In the end, he gets jealous that Sun is only talking to Tsukune and gives Sun her bankbook, saying he found it.
[edit]Ruby Tojo
Voiced by: Saeko Chiba
Ruby Tojo (橙条 瑠妃 Tōjō Rubi?) is a witch from the human world, who was part of a plot to destroy mankind as a response to a large garbage dump polluting her mistress' sanctuary. Her hate for humans stems from a car accident caused by a human drunk driver that took her parents' lives while the family was vacationing in the human world. Upon remembering the kind of love her parents had given her, she attempts to persuade her mistress to call off her plan, but to no avail, as her mistress was bent on destroying the human world. She disappears after her mistress is defeated and put to rest. Ruby reappears when Tsukune becomes out of control as a ghoul, and helps the exorcist in sealing his abilities. She now resides at Yōkai Academy as the board chairman's aide and continues to work for him in the second manga serialization. Despite not being an official student, she receives permission to become a member of the Newspaper Club. Exclusively in the anime, a running gag involves her randomly switching positions to help the school. When asked why, she states "many many things" have happened, though it is believed these are orders from the chairman as a debt of gratitude for providing her with a new magic wand.
In an omake, the reason Ruby works under the board chairman is because of her infatuation with Tsukune, and by working at the academy, she could be near him. The anime omits the presence of her master or the inclusion of her parents, drastically changing the events surrounding her, including the reasons behind her return. Much of Ruby's magic revolves around a motif of ravens and flora, both as familiars and alternate forms for her to take. Apparently, Ruby has shown that she is a masochist and the biggest pervert of them all during a training exercise for Tsukune to control his yōkai powers, even admitting to Tsukune being her "toy".
[edit]Kokoa Shuzen
Voiced by: Chiwa Saitō
Introduced in the second manga serialization and anime adaptation, Kokoa Shuzen (朱染 心愛 Shuzen Kokoa?, English manga: "Koko") (pronounced Ko-ko-ah) is the younger half-sister of Moka Akashiya. Bearing a similar appearance to Moka with her green eyes, except for her orange hair and her "uncool" vampire attitude, she arrives as a first-year student to Yōkai Academy. Like her sister, Kokoa is also a vampire, but her powers are not sealed and does not carry the same level of supernatural strength that Moka possesses. To compensate for it, she has a pet bat named Kou that can transform into a variety of weapons and wields it with enough strength to make herself formidable.
Kokoa despises Moka for sealing away her inner personality, whom she adores and loves. Before Moka left to study at the academy and prior to her receiving the rosario, the sisters often clashed with one another, although Kokoa could never defeat Moka in a duel. She constantly attacks Moka, in hopes of drawing out the "Inner Moka", and feels angry that Tsukune has the ability to unlock Moka's true nature and begrudgingly accepts the presence of her sealed sister. Unlike Moka, Kokoa harbors a deep-seated fear of their older sister Kalua Shuzen. Known as the kindest amongst their family, Kalua continuously babies Kokoa and has a "smile of an angel", something Kokoa is frightened of. Also, in the final episode of Rosario + Vampire Capu2, Kokoa has started to have feelings for Tsukune when he was getting beaten up by her father and gradually accepts him as a friend. As a parallel to her sisters, Kokoa's name may be an intended pun on the word "cocoa"
[edit]Nazo Koumori
Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu
Called "Kou-chan" (こーちゃん?) in the manga, Nazo Koumori (謎こうもり Nazo Kōmori?, English manga: "Batty") was originally a birthday gift from Kokoa to Moka. According to Kokoa, he is a shapeshifting bat that can transform into any weapon the wielder desires depending on how he is squeezed. However, he weighs 100 kilograms, and since Moka did not have superhuman strength when she was 10 years old, Kou-chan ended up with Kokoa. In the anime, he acts as the narrator and occasionally covers up various shots of fanservice (done in the television broadcast, while the DVD version is uncensored), and also appears to state the exact duration of a fight. In the manga, various bats of similar design are used to give information on the various yōkai encountered at the academy.
In the anime's second season, Nazo takes a more active part in the story as Kokoa's pet (much to the characters' surprise, since all believed he was simply a narrator), possessing the ability to transform itself into a variety of blunt weapons and in one instance, a rapier. In one episode, Nazo took the guise of a student named Kotaro Ijuin (伊集院光太郎 Ijyūin Kōtarō?), and his powers as Kotaro allow him to use hypnosis through the uttering of a specific word (Je t'aime, the French phrase for "I love you"), specifically to that of an incubus. He frequently ends his sentences with "dechū" (…でちゅー?, Translated as "Squee" in Funimation's subs).
[edit]Sun Otonashi
Appearing only in the manga, Sun Otonashi (音無 燦 Otonashi Sun?), also known as Sun-senpai, is a graduate of the school and the former president of the Newspaper Club. She rarely speaks and carries around a sketch book to write on instead of talking. She was the one who taught Ginei how to use a camera and stopped him from fighting everyone in his first year. She lives with Marin, who found her after she had nowhere to go. She is a Siren who has a perfect song of protection. However her true power lies in her offensive ultrasonic which slowly breaks her opponent's body internally. Gin has remarked that Sun's sketch book is actually her power limiter. Sun is also called the "Strongest Of The Generations" in Yōkai Academy. She is shown admiring Tsukune.
[edit]Staff and Alumni
Bus Driver (運転士さん?)
Voiced by: Chō (Drama CD), Norihiro Inoue
A mysterious, unnamed bus driver who seems to know more than he reveals and constantly shows up to offer advice to Tsukune, he is usually portrayed smoking a cigar. He is the one who requests the board chairman help keep Tsukune's ghoulish nature at bay. It is unknown if the bus driver is human or a yōkai, but he does have an extensive knowledge in the supernatural, having identified Ishigami's Lilith Mirror as the cause of the uproar during the school festival. He happens to know the Chairman (one of the Dark lords) personally and has the same glowing orb eyes as the latter. He also knows that Tsukune is a human.
Shizuka Nekonome (猫目 静 Nekonome Shizuka?)
Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue
Shizuka Nekonome is a nekomusume (cat lady) and Tsukune and Moka's homeroom teacher. She is also the advisor for the Newspaper Club. Nekonome is rather carefree in her attitude and somewhat oblivious to certain things. The manga reveals she likes to eat raw fish, but specifically, as shown in the omake, goldfish. Her animated counterpart does not seem to show any hatred towards humans, unlike the rest of the teachers in the school. This is particularly shown prior to Tsukune's execution incident, when she worries about his fate and argues how the school was built to promote human relationships with yōkai and vice versa. She is also said to own a villa in the human world.
Ririko Kagome (籠女 李々子 Kagome Ririko?)
Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa
Ririko Kagome is a bespectacled math teacher at Yōkai Academy. Seemingly innocent and deeply concerned for her students' grades, she offers private lessons to anyone willing, though at a price. In the dark recesses of her chambers, she becomes a lamia, with the head and torso of a beautiful woman, but the body of a serpent, and uses her abilities to drain students' emotions in exchange for knowledge, which is done through a flower-like appendage on her tail. She also seems to have a fetish for S&M outfits. Ririko is only lascivious to males; any girls that need lessons are made to dress up in maid outfits and serve her tea. It is important to note that unlike other antagonists, she is not inherently evil, but rather very passionate about the education of the academy's students as well as the status between teachers and students.
In the manga, Ririko tries to enslave Tsukune when he is forced to have tutoring by her in order to correct his failing grades in math, and when Moka attempts to rescue him, Tsukune snaps out of Ririko's control long enough to remove Moka's rosario. Naturally, Inner Moka is easily able to defeat Ririko. She reappears later (apparently not holding a grudge) to warn Tsukune and Moka about Okuto Kotsubo.
Hitomi Ishigami (石神 ひとみ Ishigami Hitomi?)
Ishigami is the art teacher at Yōkai Academy, and is the legendary gorgon Medusa, with her braided hair standing in for the snakes of a gorgon. Her bite can instantly turn its victim into stone, but she lacks to ability to turn people into stone with a gaze. Ishigami has a desire to turn any attractive female student into stone to add her to Ishigami's collection of living art, but is stopped by Tsukune and Moka, resulting in her immediate sacking from the faculty. Ishigami returns, secretly informing the Student Police Committee of Tsukune's human nature, but immediately leaves the scene when the head of the Student Police is soundly defeated.
In the final chapters of the first series, Ishigami reveals it was she who gave Kyoko, Tsukune's cousin, the Lilith Mirror with the intention of stealing his soul and the added bonus of releasing all the students into their monster state through the powers of the artifact in order to create an uproar that will destroy the school. She states how death and destruction is the purest form of art. Ishigami is defeated a second time and arrested.
Tenmei Mikogami (御子神 典明 Mikogami Tenmei?)
Voiced by: Masaharu Satou
Mikogami is a mysterious exorcist who is an old friend of the bus driver (and having the same strange eyes as the latter) and the dean of Yōkai Academy. He is always seen hooded beneath his garments and possesses extremely strong, anti-demonic powers, having the ability to seal Tsukune's ghoul nature using a "Holy Lock".
Mikogami is, in fact, one of the three Dark Lords (Hell Kings in the English manga), the founders of Yōkai Academy, and the ones who placed a barrier separating the human world from the supernatural world. He carries the Rosary of Judgement, which is used to make barriers, and is also aware Tsukune is human, but allows him to stay at the academy in exchange for performing favors and tasks, including rooting out members of ANTI-THESIS. He seems to also be immortal (or at least in possession of very strong regenerative abilities), having been severely wounded (impaled in the back by the leader of ANTI-THESIS) but recovering after.
Okuto Kotsubo (小壷 奥人 Kotsubo Okuto?)
Voiced by: Yasuyuki Kase
The physical education teacher at Yōkai Academy and a kraken. Mizore once confessed to Kotsubo she liked him and he tried to take advantage of her, resulting in the latter freezing him. When he returns, Kotsubo effortlessly attempts to pin the injuries of two students on Mizore to have her expelled and tries to kill her. With the help of Moka's blood infusion and the borrowed vampire power, Tsukune soundly defeats him and exposes the truth to the whole school.
Apsara (亜婦皿 Apusara?)
Voiced by: Kyoko Hikami
Appearing exclusively in the anime, Apsara is the Indian cooking teacher of Yōkai Academy and, as her name implies, an apsara. Her favorite dish is curry and is very passionate about the dish. Unfortunately, her curry takes a side-effect of turning anyone who eats it into a "curry zombie". She is later defeated by Inner Moka.
Tsurara Shirayuki (白雪 つらら Shirayuki Tsurara?)
Voiced by: Yuko Minaguchi
Tsurara is Mizore's mother. Like her daughter, she is very shy and serene, including the tendency to hide behind corners and having a lollipop in her mouth. She comes to the Academy's festival under the belief from her daughter's stories that Tsukune is Mizore's boyfriend. She has a bad habit of making sharp ice spears when she gets emotional. Tsurara is also an avid gun collector, with a wide variety of handguns and rifles stored in her home, once dreaming of becoming a spy.
Exclusively in Rosario + Vampire Capu2, Tsurara and Ageha hold a long grudge against one another, being rivals for the affection of a student during their days as students at Yōkai Academy. She also runs a ski resort in the human world. Due to having a long-time grudge against Ageha, she is similar to the Goldie Hawn character Helen from the Robert Zemeckis film Death Becomes Her.
Ageha Kurono (黒乃 アゲハ Kurono Ageha?)
Voiced by: Chieko Honda
Ageha is Kurumu's mother and appears during the start of the school festival under the belief that Tsukune is her daughter's fiancé, going so far as to allow him to "jump" her daughter anytime he wants. She also has a large chest like her daughter, Kurumu, and according to Tsukune, her breasts are softer than Kurumu's. Exclusively in Rosario + Vampire Capu2, Ageha and Tsurara hold a long grudge against one another, being rivals for the affection of a student during their days as students at Yōkai Academy. Due to having a long-time grudge against Tsurara, she is similar to the Meryl Streep character Madeline from the Robert Zemeckis film Death Becomes Her.
Fujiko Sendo (仙童 不二子 Sendō Fujiko?)
Yukari's mother who appears in chapter 24 of the second serialization alongside Tsurara and Ageha to aid their daughters in an athletic carnival. She had a short appearance in the first series at the school festival. Because she does not have any lines of speech in the manga, the anime renders her as indefinitely mute, only using a wide array of expressions to communicate.
[edit]Public Safety Committee
The Public Safety Committee (公安委員会 Kōan'iinkai?, English manga: "Student Police") is group of enforcers on school grounds charged with protecting the academy. These members use their status to their advantage, similar to hall monitors, and anyone who opposes them is delivered swift punishment through methods of imprisonment and torture. They collect tribute and bribes from clubs and if they do not pay, they will be shut down. The Public Safety Committee have a long-standing rivalry with the Newspaper Club. According to Deshi (anime only), she, Kuyo, a bespectacled male who becomes a cerberus, and a tall, sadistic male who becomes a golem are referred to as the Student Police's Four Kings.
Kuyo (九曜 Kuyō?)
Voiced by: Shuichi Ikeda
Kuyo is the head of the Public Safety Committee who enforces the group's rules with a tyrannical and sadistic iron fist, going so far to state if someone goes against him, they are against the school. He is a yōko (a demon fox) bearing four tails and has many fire-based abilities, including the ablilty to take on a hybrid form between his human and yōkai appearance. He believes yōkai and humans will always remain enemies, claiming friendship between the two only occurs in fairy tales. He and the other members of the Student Police decimated the previous Newspaper Club, leaving Gin the only remaining member.
Keito (蛍糸?)
Voiced by: Yukana Nogami
Keito is a spider-woman ordered by Kuyo to keep an eye on the Newspaper Club (to make sure it wasn't doing anything the Public Safety Committee considered "illegal"). Her animated incarnation places her in charge of a rival "Super Newspaper Club" which would have replaced the current one. Keito also has 3 underlings, whose names are Tonko Oniyama, Shijimi Chono, and Sumae Mizuno. The three girls were all insect monsters who were made servants by her venom, and all of whom were members of past clubs who the Public Safety Committee shut down; she also wanted to add Kurumu to her clique.
Deshiko Deshi (でし でし子 Deshi Deshiko?)
Voiced by: Saori Goto
Deshiko is a red-haired member of the Public Safety Committee. She appears as a generic member in the manga, but her role is expanded in the anime and in the second season, she becomes the first girl on campus to fall under Koumori (as Kotaro)'s hypnosis. She is perhaps classified as a Jiang Shi and may be an homage to Lei-Lei of Darkstalkers, as Capcom is one of the anime's sponsors.