Hiroshi Kido

Hiroshi initially defines himself through mediocrity. His school results are consistently average, and he is frustrated that he cannot identify an obvious talent that distinguishes him. Rather than feeling comfortably ordinary, he interprets his lack of exceptional results as evidence that he has little to be proud of.

Seeing Handa work changes that perspective. Handa's talent is obvious, but Hiroshi also witnesses the exhausting amount of practice behind it. The realization undermines his assumption that exceptional people simply possess abilities unavailable to everyone else and gives him a reason to put sustained effort into something himself.

Hiroshi is also responsible and helpful. As one of the older young people around Handa, he is more capable of looking after practical matters than Naru and the children, and he gradually develops a clearer sense of the adult life he wants to build.

Hiroshi develops a serious interest in cooking and begins working toward attending culinary school outside the island. Cooking gives him a field in which effort can produce visible improvement, making it especially important after years of thinking of himself as average at everything.

He does not possess Handa's established professional expertise, and his storyline does not depend on suddenly discovering effortless genius. His progress instead comes through choosing a direction and working at it consistently.

Growing up in the Gotō Islands also gives Hiroshi the practical independence common among the village's young people. He can assist with everyday tasks and navigate local life in ways that contrast with Handa's initial helplessness.

Hiroshi provides one of the clearest examples of Handa influencing an island resident rather than simply being changed by them. He initially sees himself as a thoroughly average student, symbolized by the uniformly middling marks on his report card.

After observing how relentlessly Handa practices calligraphy, Hiroshi realizes that the accomplished artist he sees did not reach his level without effort. This prompts him to reconsider his own passivity and begin working seriously instead of treating mediocrity as an unavoidable personal trait.

His eventual goal of entering culinary school gives that change a practical direction. Later developments follow Hiroshi as his culinary ambitions begin taking him beyond the familiar environment of the island, turning the motivation he gained from Handa into an independent path toward adulthood.

Yuujirou Kido is Hiroshi's father and the village chief. Hiroshi grows up in a household closely connected to community life, though his personal ambitions eventually require him to think about a future beyond the island.

Tomoko Kido is Hiroshi's mother. Together with Yuujirou Kido, she provides the family environment in which Hiroshi lives while attending high school.

Sei Handa becomes an important source of motivation for Hiroshi. Watching Handa practice until exhaustion changes Hiroshi's assumptions about talent and inspires him to put serious effort into his own future.

Naru Kotoishi, Miwa Yamamura and Tamako Arai are younger members of the island social circle surrounding Hiroshi. As one of the older youths, he is commonly addressed with the familiar "Hiro-nii."