Shinichi Kaneda

Shinichi is outgoing, good-natured and approachable. He talks easily with people and acts as a social bridge for Yuu, who initially has difficulty believing that someone might simply enjoy spending time with him.

Although physically weak compared with the fighters around him, Shinichi is not spineless. He tries to protect friends when he can and remains involved even after discovering how dangerous Yuu's nighttime life has become.

His uncomplicated friendliness is particularly important to Yuu because it is not based on the Thug Hunter reputation. Shinichi values him as a classmate and friend before fully understanding what he does on the streets.

Shinichi has no established martial-arts training and is explicitly far less capable in a fight than Yuu, Masaki or Shougo.

His strengths are social rather than combative. He can defuse situations through quick thinking, communicate easily with classmates and help Yuu navigate social situations that make him uncomfortable.

He also shows courage by remaining near dangerous situations despite knowing that he cannot physically dominate them.

Shinichi meets Yuu outside school and begins talking to him casually. Their friendship gives Yuu access to a normal teenage social circle at roughly the same time that street fighting is giving him a different form of belonging.

He initially does not realize that his quiet classmate is the feared Thug Hunter. Learning about Yuu's fighting forces him to reconcile the anxious boy he knows personally with the figure delinquents discuss on the streets.

As Yuu's conflicts escalate, Shinichi remains an important reminder that Yuu's life does not have to consist entirely of combat.

Yuu Kamishiro is Shinichi's closest friend. Shinichi befriends Yuu Kamishiro without demanding that he become more socially confident first and remains loyal after learning about his street fights.

Mai Izawa is Shinichi and Yuu's classmate and part of their social circle.

Shougo Midorikawa becomes another friend through Yuu despite being far more involved in fighting than Shinichi.

Masaki Izawa is an older figure within the street group Shinichi encounters through Yuu and Mai.