Mukai Naoya

* Anime
* Manga

**Mukai Naoya**「向むか井い 直なお也や?」is the male protagonist of the *Kanojo mo Kanojo* series.

With Saki Saki as his first girlfriend, whom he had feelings for since grade school, Naoya later accepts Minase Nagisa as his second girlfriend at Saki's reluctant permission, effectively two-timing his first girlfriend. A steadfast and persistent man with morally challenging relationships at stake, he caught the attention of Hoshizaki Rika and Kiryuu Shino, and his daily life and activities also included them in addition to his girlfriends.

Through the course of time, Naoya defended himself and his relationships with steadfast conviction, against Rika's attempt at getting him all for herself and Shino's plan to untie the two-timing relationships.

## Appearance

Naoya appears to be a tall young man with medium-length black hair & gray eyes. According to Hoshizaki Risa, he is handsome.

## Personality

Naoya is considered to be a very straightforward and outgoing person. His straightforward personality is very explicit and knows no bounds; Naoya is straightforward regardless of his situation, be it in front of a mass crowd or in private with his girlfriends. Additionally, Naoya can be considered slightly selfish for he openly asks his first girlfriend, Saki Saki, whether he can two-time her and go out with Minase Nagisa.

Despite his two-timing behavior, Naoya would do his best to keep himself to only two girlfriends, as seen by constantly rejecting and fending off Hoshizaki Mirika despite her persistent behavior to gain his affection. He also would protect his relationship from all compromise, as seen with Mirika and later Shino who tried to expose his two-timing relationships.

The straightforward personality also roots into Naoya's persistence, repeatedly asking Saki out until she finally give in over many years. It also introduced his restraint, in which he refrains from laying hands on the girls (his girlfriends, Rika and Shino), no matter how suggestive the situation may have been.

Kindhearted to a fault, Naoya’s greatest weakness is his unyielding respect for hard-working girls with persistence, honesty and dedication to their beliefs. This is precisely what attracted him to Nagisa in spite of him already having gone steady with Saki, and what compelled him to protect Mirika, an active threat to his relationship with Saki and Nagisa, when her father threatened to deleted the hard work and dedication of her MeTube channel.

Naoya is also studious, such that he has no hobbies except studying when he has free time although this may not have given great results as he cannot even be in the top 5 of his class. Naoya's studying habits have been visibly shown in moments where he is in the living room or in his room, and he would stop what he is doing if the people around him asked for his attention.

## Background

Before the start of the story, he had already liked Saki Saki. To the point where he would constantly confess to her even though she would usually reject him. Minase Nagisa sees him confess to her and hears about his persistence, and starts to fall for him. After he passes the entrance exam, it is assumed that is when he starts dating Saki Saki.

However, Nagisa, now one of his classmates, confessed to him, and unable to reject her, Naoya proposed that he date both Saki and Nagisa, convincing Saki to accept the offer and move in together, starting a two-time relationship.

## Etymology

* **Mukai** means "yonder, facing, beyond, confront, defy, tend toward, approach" (向) (**muka**) and "well, mine shaft, pit" (井) (**i**).
* **Naoya** means "straight, direct" (直) (**nao**) and "to be, also" (也) (**ya**).

## Trivia

* His first kiss was taken by Mirika.
* Nagisa later kissed him as well, but it was a kiss on the cheek though.
* His second kiss was taken by Shino.
* Saki Saki finally gave him a proper kiss on their trip to the beach during the summer vacation.
* On the day of the tests, Nagisa kissed him to give him confidence.
* As of chapter 108, Naoya has been kissed by all four of the heroines.
* In chapter 131, Naoya accepted Shino as his third girlfriend.
* In chapter 142, Naoya accepted Mirika as his fourth girlfriend.
* Despite to claim himself for never lying, Mirika is the only girl that Naoya has been lying to, to make her give up on him.

## References

1. ↑ Volume 4
2. ↑ Chapter 2