Sousuke Shima

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**Sosuke Shima** (志摩 聡介, *Shima Sōsuke*?) is one of the main characters in Skip and Loafer series.

## Appearance

Sosuke is a tall young man who has blond hair and usually is seen with a blond sweater on. He keeps a smile on his face most of the time even while being pestered to join the drama club by Kanechika.

## Personality

Sosuke is Mitsumi's classmate. He is urban, smart, and good-looking. He is a nice person who is kind to everyone, but he does not show his true feelings and has a somewhat elusive side. He becomes close to Mitsumi after an incident at the entrance ceremony, and is influenced by her hard work in everything, contrary to himself.

## Relationships

### Familial

* **Mother:** When he was a child their relationship was wholesome, but due to his mother and father constantly arguing, he decides he wanted to make her happy by pursuing acting— something Shima's mother always wanted him to do. Eventually his mother became over-bearing and over-demanding of Shima. In chapter 46, there is a flashback to when his mother slapped Shima (as a child) repeatedly and proceeded to ask him, “Why did I raise such an embarrassing child?” His childhood trauma ultimately caused him to hyper-fixate on other people, becoming a “people-pleaser”, rendering him unable to make decisions for himself.

### Non-familial

* **Mitsumi Iwakura**: They clicked quickly and became friends by meeting on the subway the first day of school, later on he finds out that Mitsumi has a crush with him and propose her to date. As friends they always were supportive and tried to improve each other, but when they started dating things did not work out as expected. In the actual course of the history Shima is starting to deeply think about how he really feels about Mitsumi, if he just like her as friend or more. Eventually, the two agree to remain as friends; however, as Mitsumi continues on with her life, Shima is stuck in introspection and begins to self-contemplate his own actions and behavior.
* **Ririka Saijyo:** She is one of the few childhod friend of Shima, their relationship has been portrayed as difficult. They worked together in the child acting industry. It is not very clear but Shima feels sorrow and pity towards her, he feels in debt because he involved her in some past incidents that directly affected not only his career but specially hers.

## Etymology

The name 志摩 聡介, which can be romanized as *"Shima Sōsuke,”* is a Japanese name with deep etymological roots.
* The surname **"志摩” (Shima)** is derived from the Shima Peninsula, which is a region located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. It is believed that the name originates from the Ainu word “simap” which means "place where something stands," referring to the mountainous terrain of the peninsula.

* The given name **"聡介" (Sosuke)** is a combination of two kanji characters. The first character "聡" (Satoshi) means "wise" or "intelligent," while the second character "介" (Suke) means "to help" or "to mediate." Together, the name can be interpreted as "a wise person who helps others" or "a wise mediator."

In Japanese culture, names are often chosen based on the meaning of the kanji characters used in them. The combination of the characters in "志摩 聡介" creates a name that conveys intelligence and helpfulness.