Kodaka Hasegawa

## Character Overview

**Kodaka Hasegawa** (羽瀬川 小鷹, *Hasegawa Kodaka*) is the main protagonist of *Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai*. He is the second member and co-founder of the Neighbors' club. He was notorious for being a delinquent and bullying many of his peers. However, such claims are false and the reason why he has such a bad reputation is due to his hair; he is actually a very soft-spoken and polite individual.

### Appearance

Kodaka is half-British as evidenced by his dirty-blond hair - his most distinct feature - which he inherited from his late mother. Meanwhile, his face is that of his father's, masking his foreign lineage and being mistakenly identified as somewhat intimidating and unapproachable. Kodaka's eye color is dark-gray.

Due to his appearance, Kodaka would often create an angry or scary face, sometimes unintentionally, that would make the students around him scatter away whenever he wants to explain something or when he tries to act nice to another student. Kodaka is also well aware of this, and he will even exploit this when needed.

Kodaka's most frequent outfit is his school uniform and only to him, prefers to roll up his pants. When not in school, Kodaka would dress more casually, usually a T-shirt and medium length pants. Throughout the series, Kodaka is seen constantly wearing a necklace around his neck.

### Personality

Despite his looks, Kodaka is actually a calm and collected individual who is soft-spoken and kind-hearted. Kodaka would have initially called Yozora and Sena by their last names if not for the two demanding he calls them by their first names instantly. Kodaka would remain calm even when provoked or angry and is one of the few among his club members who are still trying to get friends.

Kodaka's desire to find friends is substantial. An example is when Sena hands the Tokimeki Memorial based game to him, and he spends the entire playthrough hanging out with the supporting male character (who's also the childhood friend) rather than talking to the girls and is completely satisfied with the bad end that results because it means he still has that friend. However, Kodaka's efforts in socializing with real people often backfire because his expression is usually enough to frighten them even before he can state his intentions to befriend someone.

Kodaka has a great amount of patience as he does not allow rage to get the best of him whenever someone badmouths or insults him. Kodaka also scolds others whenever necessary, as shown when he reprimands Sena for being too arrogant despite being bullied by several men and also pins the blame on them. During this time, it is also shown that Kodaka sometimes relies on his misguided appearance to protect others by either threatening or scaring the perpetrators as he does not favor violence to sort out conflicts despite being more than capable in dealing with them physically if need be.

Whenever someone recognizes Kodaka more as a person with depth rather than a delinquent just in appearance, he treats them with the appropriate respect in the case of Yukimura, Aoi, and Hinata.

Kodaka is hot and cold when it comes to his club-mates, as he endeavors to maintain good relations between all while dismissing their romantic feelings for him (though he has always pointed out what some of the girl's quotes that he himself said he did not hear but yet the Light Novels was narrated from his point of view). For example, he repeatedly invites the other club members to "group" outings when asked by more than one for a one-on-one "date," much to their dismay. Later in the anime, Kodaka will sometimes say out loud something seemingly meant only as an internal monologue that is very flattering to one of his club-mates, such as when he compared Rika to "a single wildflower, blooming on a hill." While it's most probable that these feelings are genuine, it's also likely that he only pretends to say them by accident so that he can avoid taking responsibility for the sentiment expressed.

Above all else, Kodaka treasures the Neighbor's Club and its members. In his quest for happiness, he initially made sure to maintain the status quo in their club which usually includes them engaging in activities they assume would help them get friends, such as playing video games or going on field trips, all the while unsure of whether or not he should consider his clubmates as - already - friends of his own. Furthermore, Kodaka tends to gloss over issues such as when his childhood friendship with Yozora and his engagement with Sena was made known to the rest of the club. This resistance to change is mostly rooted in his fear that if anything were to change within them, their relationships - or potentially the entire club - could all fall apart.

After "befriending" Rika, Kodaka tries to no longer feign ignorance to the feelings expressed by others towards him. As a result, Kodaka acknowledges these feelings from his club-mates though he still does exert some amount of effort into it, resulting in embarrassment. Still, Kodaka is careful with the words he chooses in complying with these feelings expressed towards him.

Kodaka has stated in the light novels that he is scared of change and has been ignoring and deceiving himself to prevent it, as pointed out by Rika.

Kodaka also has a sense of humor that only he can comprehend as he does tell jokes and made-up stories with confidence, being able to share it proudly with his fellow club members which they don't find humorous or even amusing (except for Maria). His confidence towards his humor never wavered despite his club-mates' exquisite reaction towards it as shown when the club was discussing their plans for their school's cultural festival. When Yozora erased *comedy show* as a proposal for their role in the cultural festival, Kodaka protested, while the others remarked that it was a good move, much to Kodaka's dismay.

In the light novels, his reactions are more low-key and he has a tendency to snark.

Kodaka also enjoys reading *shōnen* manga.

### Nicknames

* Taka (By Yozora in the past)
* An-chan (By Kobato)
* Aniki (By Yukimura)
* Onii-chan (By Maria and Kate)
* New Student (By Yozora)
* Hawk (In the "Monster Hunter" game)
* Blond Thug (students)
* Bro (By Kobato, Yukimura and Kate)
* Big bro (By Maria)
* Stupid Perverted Disgusting Molesting Peeping Tom Freak Boy (By Sena)
* Big Brother
* Rouga Veiheim Zeiris

## Abilities

### Intelligence

Although he is not as academically strong as Yozora or Sena, Kodaka's grades are actually above-average, with English being one of his best subjects (justified, considering he is half-British). He is considered to be the sole voice of reason in the club and often tries to talk sense into his fellow club members.

Kodaka is not very familiar with technology, a prime example being that he (along with Yozora) was completely unaware of his own cell phone's infrared capabilities. He also claims that he is not into using computers, nor does he understand the ins and outs of console gaming, as he frequently loses to his opponents.

It is revealed in the anime that Kodaka is actually not as romantically dense as shown. He pretends to misinterpret things or that he just never heard what the person had said to avoid any awkwardness rising within the club. He is aware of the growing affections of the girls around him, but to keep the Neighbor's Club together, he pretends that he doesn't notice anything.

Kodaka is also a quick thinker capable of reasoning with anyone in order to avoid worsening the situation. Even so, Rika is the one who has seen through all of Kodaka's reasoning.

### Physical Prowess

Due to his hair, Kodaka was often subjugated to bad rumors and bullying when he was young. As such, he has developed a strong body. In the light novels, he states that he is able to handle multiple attackers at once. Despite this, Kodaka only fights when he has to and would rather find a more peaceful solution, if at all possible.

Kodaka was also strong enough to hold multiple bags of items and walk long distances while showing little fatigue.

### Domestic Abilities

Due to both of his parents being perpetually (for all intents and purposes) absent, Kodaka has become a parental figure in his house, being able to cook meals, clean and generally perform many domestic chores.

Kodaka particularly enjoys cooking. He is able to cook rather delicious and non-traditional dishes, such as paella. However, this hobby can be too engrossed, as shown when he went to a supermarket and was staring at the cooking pans and knives.

### Other Abilities

Kodaka is a good swimmer (although he is not as good as Kobato). However, he is good enough to teach Sena how to swim. Kodaka also proclaimed that he can tell funny jokes or scary stories, but other than Maria, most of the others do not share that view.

In the anime, it is revealed that Kodaka is also able to fish.

## Trivia

* Kodaka and Kobato's surname, Hasegawa (羽瀬川) literally means "Shallow River of Feathers"
* Kodaka's name in Japanese (小鷹), means "Little Hawk".
* For a moment at the start of the series, Kodaka thinks he might be the hero in a supernatural *shōnen* genre show.
* Kodaka's first friend and best friend was Yozora.

* In season 2 of the anime, Kodaka's hair color lightens.
* Kodaka has seen most of the female characters naked, including Kobato, Sena, Yukimura, Yozora, Rika, Maria, Kate and the student council members.
	+ Kodaka has seen Sena naked twice.
* Kodaka has a habit of patting someone on the head, whether it's an act of gratitude, cheering someone up, or simply to calm someone down.
* Kodaka is a fan of the manga adaptation of the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" series, where his favorite commanders are Zhang Liao and Wei Yan.
* Kodaka's phone number is 0908192XXXX.

## Quotes

* *"Eh? What'd you say?"* (probably Kodaka's catchphrase)
* "*――――Sora?*" (Kodaka discovering Yozora's true identity, in Volume 3)
* *"I absolutely cannot let her finish that sentence. If she did, I'd, we'd... have no choice but to move on. And moving on... means changing. That is an incredibly scary thing. It's truly terrifying, like moving from a bright, warm room into a world of darkness that leaves you completely blind. It's not just me either. I'm sure it's the same for Yozora, Sena, Yukimura, and Rika too. Those words are ones that could bring about an irreversible change that would shake the Neighbors Club itself. That change would truly be irreversible—— it can't even be compared to trivial problems like a memory from 10 years ago, or a prearranged marriage."* (Kodaka showing his fear of change, in Volume 6)
* *"...But I knew what those words lost in the wind really were. I'd known what they were for a long, long time now."* (Kodaka knowing all along the true relationship between the members of the Neighbors Club, in Volume 7)
* *"Looks like our sad youth has yet to end"* (The ending line of NEXT)

## References

1. ↑ LN Vol. 7, ch. 17
2. ↑ Episode 9
3. ↑ Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai OVA
4. ↑ LN Vol. 1, ch. 2
5. ↑ LN Vol. 3, ch. 14
6. ↑ Season 2, episode 1
7. ↑ LN Vol. 3, ch. 10,11
8. ↑ LN Vol. 2, ch. 5
9. ↑ Episode 12