Hideto Shibata

*"Listen, Kento, you are not capable of being Mei-sama's butler, so you must make a decision. You can either give up now, or... you can go to Britain."*
—Hideto Shibata to Kento.

## Hideto Shibata

Hideto Shibata's first appearance in the series.

## Butler Information

### Aliases

Old Man (by Kento)
Kento's Grandfather (by Mei)
Grandfather

### Affiliations

Redford Family
Hongo Family

## Miscellaneous Information

### Hair Color

Brown (young)
White (current)

### Friends

Kintaro Hongo
Shutaro Hongo
Mei's Mother
Mei Hongo

### Hobbies

Enjoying drinking tea, either alone or with the Shinonome Family, playing chess with Shutaro.

### Butler Skills

Analyzing situations.

**Hideto Shibata**, also known as "**Old Man Shibata**" or "**Kento's Grandfather**", is a recurring character in *Mei-chan no Shitsuji* and mostly a supportive character but can be seen having a background role at certain times and the main protagonist of the manga *Mikado Boy*, where the story happens to be during his younger days as a schoolboy joining a certain club. He is the father of Maria Redford and Chris Redford, as well being the grandfather of the Shibata Brothers. When Kento decided to leave outside of the Hongo Estate, Hideto decided to took him under his wings and acted as his grandson's mentor. They both lived in a small house inside a little, calm village with a school Kento used to frequent for his studies.

Hideto was a former S-Rank butler working for the Redford Ducal Residence, where he was the second headbutler of the residence he worked for but loved and married Clare Redford, the duke's daughter and went back to Japan to work for the Hongo Estate's first generation of butlers. He will also be the one to sent Kento in England, to see his uncle Chris for his butlership path. He is also the owner of a small restaurant focused on udon noodles, with one of the part-time workers being Nakata Tanaka.

## Personality

Hideto is often portrayed as a quiet and humble gentleman, a typical personality trait in the most skilled butlers (especially the S-Rank butlers). He remains very composed at most times, including critical situations such as Mei's house being destroyed by explosives or analyzing a poison arrow that was aimed at Mei's head. Both his children, Maria and Chris, also inherited his calm composure (although Maria is the most silent and calm of the two, given Chris is very narcissist and egocentric). However, there are times when Hideto loses his composures and either goes into an emotional breakdown/outburst out of his character, even being emotionally moved by Mei's request to Kintaro spare Hideto's failure or when he belittled his grandson Rihito for pinching a sleeping Mei's cheek.

## Appearances

### Physical Appearances

#### Current Appearance

Like many most of the butlers in the manga series, Hideto is a very tall man with a thin build though remains little less taller than his two grandsons, Rihito and Kento, who also inherited his height and body structure (though Kento became tall much late due to being younger than his brother). His overall appearance gives the energy of an "sage elderly man", which is acknowledge by various characters in the series. Hideto is easy to be recognizable with his composed face with his small round glasses. Due to his age, his hair is completely white and has a small mustache similar to his master, Kintaro Hongo. He is usually seen wearing a dark brown coat with a suit and a tie underneath, occasionally he would wear what seems to be a slouch hat when he goes outside. Hideto is known to have a sharp eyesight when calm or serious, which means something caught his attention. This trait also was passed down to his children and grandchildren, who are also gifted with sharp sightness.

#### Younger Appearance

During his younger years, his hair was darker, possibly brown and his height was much smaller but slightly taller than a young Kento. He wore an academic uniform, similar to a military uniform for young boys. His face was very similar to his grandsons, most likely Rihito, and his hair was brown.

## Butler Skills

### Overview

There is little known information concerning Hideto's skills as a butler in his younger years but it can be easily assumed he was among the best of his time: he used to be a S-Ranked butler with a Golden S Badge, only the most skilled and talented butlers can possess such badge. During his younger years as Mikado Boy, he was able to use some degree of martial arts and could use a single kick to completely knock down a grown man. Hideto's martial art prowess is also a trait both his grandsons inherited as well, though Kento is the most prominent one to use his fighting skills as seen when he kicked grown adults several times as a teenager.

## Relationships

### Family & Relatives

* **Shibata-Redford Family**:
	+ **Clare Redford**: The lady he formerly served, only to fall in love with her. Knowing their union is forbiden, they ran away from her father.
	+ **Chris Redford**: His son, who is the twin brother of Maria. Hideto possibly loves his children equally, even though Chris doesn't seem to share the feeling. Hideto also doesn't seem to engage into a mutual conversation with Chris, as seen when his son claims his father is "heartless as ever".
	+ **Maria Redford**: His daughter, who is the twin sister of Chris. Though their relationship is unknown since none have made mention of it. Hideto possibly loves his children equally.
	+ **Rihito Shibata**: His oldest grandson. Rihito respects deeply his grandfather, though he sometimes think Hideto is exaggerating at certain moments.
	+ **Kento Shibata**: His youngest grandson. Kento lived with grandfather's house until he decided to depart on the path of butlerhood. Although Kento calls his old man's attitude "grouchy", he still respect him.

### Allies & Friends

* **Kintaro Hongo**: His former 2nd master, who is a great friend with. They often contact each others and have long conversations about various topics, most notably the future of Mei and the Shibata siblings. Hideto remains extremely loyal to his former master, despite being a retired butler.

### Others & Neutrals

* **Duke Redford**: Clare's father and Hideto's former master. Both possibly respect each others, though the duke was also possibly infuriated at Hideto to have eloped with Clare for a long time.

## Gallery

Hideto facing a young and distraught Mei.Close up on Hideto's face.A closer look on Hideto's eyes, known to have a sharp sight.Hideto talking to his youngest grandson, sitting in front of his noodle shop.A doodle of Hideto.
## Quotes

*"Sensei, can you please put this matter aside for the moment..."*
—Hideto Shibata to Nakamoto.
*"Kento... right now you are unfit to serve Mei-sama's butler. Decide now. Will you give up here, or will you..."*
—Hideto to his grandson, Kento.
*"This is Duke Redford's Residence. Here you will learn through experience and acquire the skills you could not obtain in school."*
—Hideto explaining to his grandson about the Ducal Residence.
*"It is finally in sight. This is the Residence of Duke Redford."*
—Hideto announces that they are arriving at the residence.

## Trivia

* Similar to most recurring and minor characters, he was completely omitted from the television adaptation.