Oota

**Oota** (太田, *Ōta*?, sometimes written **Ohta**) is the deuteragonist of *Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge*. He is Tanaka's best friend. Some might even say they were more than that.

## Appearance

Oota is a tall person with long, light brown hair kept in a neat ponytail at the back of his head. He has two pieces of hair that are left out of his ponytail, each brushed to different sides of his face. His iris colour is undeterminable. Multiple characters have noted him to look intimidating and mature for his age. He is strong, as evidenced by his ability to carry Tanaka around their school without any issue and to do other difficult tasks.

In Chapter 40 of the manga, he is shown to have well-defined abs.

## Personality

Oota is a serious and kind guy. He is the one who always looks after Tanaka. Oota is pretty much Tanaka's caretaker, always assisting him with different school activities, making sure he gets to class on time, and even carrying him when necessary. He is very capable and responsible, though he occasionally jumps to conclusions relatively quickly. He seems to be patient despite Tanaka's incredibly listless behavior. He is an optimist and is always encouraging people no matter the circumstances.

## History

Oota and Echizen grew up as next-door-neighbors and childhood friends. Oota stated that Echizen used to come over to his house to eat his mother's homemade donuts when she was young, and that his mother was sad that she had not come to visit lately. It is unsure how they drifted apart, but it's probable that they attended different junior high schools.

In Chapter 140.1, it is shown that at the start of the school year, Oota had difficulty befriending his classmates due to his intimidating demeanor. However, this changed after he started taking notice of Tanaka. One day, Oota found Tanaka lying on the ground in a patch of sunlight. Oota decided to carry him to their next class because he didn't want him to be late. Seeing this display of kindness, Shimura and Katou realized that they had misjudged Oota, and helped him carry Tanaka's belongings to the next class. In the present, Oota reflects that his friendship with Tanaka has helped him grow closer to all their classmates.

## Etymology

The surname **Oota** (太田?) means "big" and "rice paddy", together meaning “big rice paddy”.

* Both his name and Tanaka's are a play or pun on each other. **Tanaka** (田中?) means "dweller in the rice paddy", which refers how Tanaka is dependent on Oota and has him carry him around.

## Trivia

* Oota enjoys cleaning and cooking. Tanaka has noted on several occasions that Oota would make the perfect housewife.
* Oota's English voice actor is Andrew Love.
* Oota is really strong and fast due to carrying Tanaka all day.
* Oota has a great fondness for sweets. He has shown to become angry when sweets are wasted, such as when Miyano told him that Echizen had let her homemade cookies go bad. He also respects Shiraishi for being a highly skilled confectioner. Additionally, he dislikes bitter things such as dark chocolate and black coffee.
* Oota is afraid of ghosts.
* Oota sometimes uses his sister’s scrunchie to tie his hair up in the morning when washing his face.
* Oota Day is an unofficial holiday on May 8, created by Tanaka to show his appreciation for Oota.
* In Chapter 49 of the manga, it is revealed that Oota's father passed away when Oota was young. Oota doesn't want to burden his mother, so he limits his spending on sweets to 3000 yen per month.
* Oota's favorite kind of steamed bun is azuki (red bean) buns.