Jirō Yakuin

* Anime
* Manga

****Jirō Yakuin**** (薬院 次郎, *Yakuin Jirō*?) is the main male protagonist of More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers manga series. He is forced to pair up with Akari Watanabe in the couples training, and his main goal is to pair up with his childhood friend Shiori Sakurazaka that he will do anything to reach his goal, even acting as a newlywed with Akari.

## Appearance

Jirō is a tall, young man with scruffy, dark-blue hair and red eyes.

He usually wears a standard school uniform which consists of a light blue collared shirt, dark blue slacks with a brown belt, and brown shoes. Unlike the other male students, Jirō's uniform is usually complete with a blue necktie.

## Personality

Prior to the main events of the series, Jirō used to be a cheerful and sociable boy in grade school with many friends. He was also more physically active and was considered to be one of the fastest runners in his school.

Although he initially replicated this behavior in middle school, Jirō slowly changed after string of a incidents involving his friend, Shiori Sakurazaka, which resulted in him becoming more meek, careful, and sensitive with regards to his actions. Finally, an unfortunate misunderstanding with Shiori during what was supposed to be a confession of love to her had completely shattered his self-esteem, which caused him to gradually retreat into the background and end up becoming unsociable. As noted by multiple characters including himself, he would often run away from the possibility of failure because he didn't want to embarrass himself. Around the time he reached high school, Jirō did not have many friends and is barely known by his fellow classmates. He would often spend his free time alone or with Sadaharu playing video games.

The events from his middle school life and the subsequent lack of social interactions has caused Jirō to develop a notoriously high-strung personality. When interacting with acquaintances or people he barely knows, Jirō is often shown as nervous or even scared to some degree. This also applies to people he knows well such as Shiori and Akari as he would struggle to strike up a conversation with them without coming off as anxious or awkward. If caught in certain situations, Jirō would even display shocked or angry expressions that are considered amusing by some characters. For example, Akari would constantly tease Jirō because he would always overreact in response and she found it hilarious. Perhaps worst of all, Jirō's antisocial behavior has stunted his ability to interact with girls on a romantic level and despite his internal desire to have one, he never had a girlfriend in his entire life. Prior to the start of the series, Sadaharu appears to be the only person that Jirō can converse with comfortably. Although Jirō does gradually improve his ability to interact with others as time went on, he would still act anxious if he was forced to interact with acquaintances.

Jirō lacks self-confidence and has an inferiority complex, often comparing himself unfavourably to other boys, particularly Minami. Jirō does not like being in predicaments where he will need to interact with others or be the center of attention for the fear that he may be judged. During his time working at the café, he preferred to work in the back as he did not want to interact with the customers. Jirō's perception of himself is so negative, that he even acts distant towards certain people out of fear that they will be judged for being around him. While this is not applicable to Sadaharu due to being longtime friends with him, this type of behavior is especially evident with Akari due to her reputation as a beautiful girl in and out of school. As a result, he would not call her by her first name in front of her friends and avoids being with her in public despite the fact that Akari has stated that she did not care what others think of her relationship with him. During his middle school years, Jirō also distanced himself from Shiori after overhearing his fellow students gossip over their relationship with each other. These fears began to fade after the sports festival, where he competed as a last-minute replacement for the injured Mei on the track team.

Ironically, while Jirō is afraid to be judged, he himself has been prone to misjudge others and often jumps to the wrong conclusion about others' motives or backgrounds.

Jirō reclusive lifestyle and introverted personality has given him a reputation of being a slacker. Although not lazy in the traditional sense because he will do things when asked, Jirō is evidently not proactive as he would rather spend his days playing video games instead of doing something more productive. Consequently, some characters, including Jirō himself, find that he is the weaker link between himself and Akari as the latter is more experienced with cooking, thus leaving Jirō to do the more menial and less stressful chores. However, spending time with Akari has helped Jirō to become more proactive. After withdrawing from changing partners, Jirō promised himself that he would support Akari more as her "husband", after realizing that she had been doing most of the work alone, including cooking, housework, and gaining points. Among other things, Jirō started to learn how to cook. He became quite skilled at making omelettes, as acknowledged by Akari.

While he lost most of his outgoing traits, Jirō's caring and kind nature has remained unchanged since his childhood. It especially resurfaces with Akari after he starts to warm up to her. This trait is why Shiori fell in love with him in grade school and why he has become a strong emotional support pillar for Akari. On top of his constant concern for the emotional well-being of his friends, Jirō is also helpful and is not one to normally refuse requests, no matter how ridiculous they may be.

While Jirō's kindness is perhaps one of the most positive attributes of his personality, there are also times where this trait has acted as a hindrance. This is mostly shown in his desire to keep everyone happy if there is a dilemma that involves him having to make a difficult decision. When faced with a situation where no matter what choice he makes would cause emotional distress to someone he cares about, Jirō would rather be indecisive which would prolong the situation further. Additionally, Jirō appears to have a habit of accepting blame under circumstances where it is not his fault and he would profusely apologize for it because he believed it would be the quickest way to avoid making things worse.

## Relationships

### Shiori Sakurazaka

Shiori is Jirō's childhood friend and crush. Unbeknownst to him, she also has feelings for him. Unfortunately, back in middle school when Jirō was going to confess, Shiori said that they should be friends forever, not realizing that she had just friend zoned (**come to regard (someone) solely as a friend, despite their unreciprocated romantic or sexual interest**) Jirō, so he started to call her by her last name (**Sakurazaka**).

### Akari Watanabe

Initially, Akari and Jirō were not on good terms as Akari was popular while Jirō was an outcast. The latter also had a preconceived opinion about her due to her flashy side (they, however, later proved to be wrong). When they were paired up, Akari was violent and threatening towards him until she realized that their partnership could cost them points if they didn't get along. However, as the story progresses, Jirō starts to care more and more about Akari, and vice versa. He becomes her emotional support who's always there for her when she needs help. Later on, both start to feel torn about their feelings for each other and the people they initially loved (Shiori/Minami).

After Tenjin cancelled their meeting at the festival last minute, Akari becomes disappointed with him, especially after she saw him with Shiori at the festival. However, she also found herself a bit relieved due to her growing feelings for Jirō. After being comforted by Jirō that very evening, she realizes that he, unlike Minami, has always been there for her. From then on, Akari became less active in pursuing Tenjin. In chapter 33, Akari officially admits that she doesn't love Tenjin anymore but instead has fallen in love with Jirō. Knowing that she needs to be more proactive than before if she doesn't want to lose Jirō, she starts to care even more for and even make advances on him.

Jirō also finds himself struggling with his feelings for Akari, finding it increasingly difficult to let her go despite his affection for Shiori. When he's about to switch partners with Shiori, they ultimately decide against it as Shiori realizes how conflicted Jirō is about leaving Akari. After realizing that he had left Akari to do most of the housework alone, he vows to support her more, leading to an even closer relationship between the two. After the sports festival, he realizes that he has fallen in love with her, and that already for quite some time.

Akari plays a significant role in Jirō's character growth, helping him become less tense around people, particularly girls, and more proactive and confident in himself. Thanks to her, he becomes less of a homebody and starts exercising every day with her.

Both had their first kiss with each other.

### Sadaharu Kamo

As best friends, Sadaharu and Jirō get along well due their shared interest in video games and inability to socialize with girls. Prior to the start of the series, Sadaharu is the only person that Jirō can talk to normally and share his feelings with. Jirō sometimes would find Sadaharu's eccentric/perverse behavior off-putting especially when they are in the presence of others. Sadaharu on the other hand would sometimes pry on Jirō over his partnership with Akari and even ask inappropriate questions about their "love life." Nonetheless, Sadaharu does display concern over his friend regarding his indecisiveness and situations regarding Akari and Shiori. Sadaharu would also provide Jirō with advice but it often comes across as cryptic leaving Jirō to wonder what he is talking about.

### Minami Tenjin

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### Ōmae

Ōmae and Jirō were classmates in grade school. They used to be friends then. However, after Ōmae moved in middle school, they lost contact and drifted apart. Even though they go to the same high school, they never spoke to each other. The last time they did was in grade school. According to Jirō, they wouldn't have spoken to each other had it not been for the relay. When Ōmae spotted Jirō when the latter's class was out celebrating, he decided to rekindle their friendship and asked for Jirō's number. He told Jirō to send him a message if ever he felt like it.

### Shū Terafune

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### Takeshita & Jun Wajiro

At the start of the school year, Jirō had limited interaction with Takeshita and Jun due to Jirō spending more time playing video games than hanging out with his classmates. However, after the sports festival, Jirō grew closer to them, especially with Takeshita. During their victory party following their win during the sports festival, Jirō and Takeshita bonded over their similar interest in online games. When Ōmae called Jirō over after the said party, Takeshita mistakenly thought he was picking on Jirō. He confronted Ōmae and chastised him for trying to bully his friend.

## Etymology

* The name **Jirō** means "next" (次) (**ji**) and "son" (郎) (**rō**).
* Jirō's surname **Yakuin** means "medicine, drug" (薬) (**yaku**) and "hospital" (院) (**in**).

## Trivia

* Like most of the characters, Jirō's surname is derived from the name of a Japanese train station; Yakuin Station or Yakuin-ōdōri Station.
	+ Jirō's given name is also derived from a Japanese train station; Jirōmaru Station.
	+ He and Minami hold the distinction of the being the only characters to have both their given names and surnames taken from Japanese train stations.
* Jirō is revealed to be 18 years old in Chapter 1. He is currently the only character whose age is known.
* Jirō's favourite ice cream flavor was initially chocolate, but he switched over to vanilla after spending time with Akari.
* Jirō was both Akari's and Shiori's first kiss.
* Jirō is the only character who has appeared in every chapter of the manga.
* Jirō is one of the few characters to appear in every episode of the anime along with Akari, Shiori, and Sadaharu.

## References

1. ↑ *More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers* Manga — Vol. 1 Chapter 1 (p. 3).