Suzu Kanade

Suzu is cheerful, affectionate, trusting, and unusually open-minded toward supernatural beings. Whereas exorcist ninja are trained to regard dangerous ayakashi as threats, Suzu instinctively looks for the possibility that an ayakashi may simply be lonely, mischievous, or misunderstood. She has maintained this attitude since childhood, when she regularly played with spirits that other people could not see.

That openness is also one of her greatest weaknesses. Suzu's tendency to assume good intentions can leave her vulnerable to ayakashi that deliberately exploit her sympathy. Matsuri frequently criticizes her lack of caution, especially because her concentrated haku makes devouring her a direct path to greater power for malicious spirits.

Suzu is emotionally straightforward about most things but becomes much more embarrassed where Matsuri is concerned. She has romantic feelings for him before the beginning of the story and continues to regard him as the same person after Shirogane changes his body. Matsuri's transformation complicates the physical and social side of their relationship rather than eliminating Suzu's attraction.

As the story progresses, Suzu becomes increasingly frustrated with being treated only as someone who needs protection. She trains so that Matsuri does not have to carry every supernatural danger alone, and her approach to power remains consistent with her personality: rather than learning exorcism primarily to destroy ayakashi, she develops techniques that let her communicate with, restrain, protect, and fight alongside them.

Suzu is an Ayakashi Medium, a rare human born with exceptionally large quantities of haku, the life force on which ayakashi feed. This energy allows her to see supernatural beings naturally and makes her presence unusually attractive to them. Weak ayakashi may simply gather around her, while stronger ones can seek to consume her to increase their own power.

Her haku is not merely passive. Suzu gradually learns to manipulate it directly under the guidance of Garaku Utagawa. One of her earliest developed techniques is the creation of an Omokage, a remotely controlled duplicate of herself formed from supernatural energy. Unlike an ordinary illusion, the duplicate can move independently under her direction and lets Suzu act at a distance.

She also learns to channel haku into origami, turning folded paper into supernatural projectiles and tools. Because her energy reserves are abnormally high, even relatively simple techniques can become potent when supplied with enough of her power.

Suzu possesses a strong intuitive connection with ayakashi. She can perceive their emotional states unusually well and often succeeds in calming spirits that exorcist ninja would prefer to attack directly. This affinity becomes increasingly important as the series expands from isolated encounters with spirits into conflicts over the relationship between humans and ayakashi.

Suzu's power eventually develops beyond the conventional definition of an Ayakashi Medium. After absorbing and inheriting an enormous concentration of ayakashi power, she becomes recognized as the new King of Ayakashi, giving her authority and abilities that fundamentally change her position within the supernatural world.

Suzu begins the series as Matsuri's childhood friend and the primary person he wants to protect. When they were young, her friendliness toward ayakashi helped Matsuri overcome his own fear of them. Years later, Matsuri's training as an exorcist ninja produces the opposite problem: he becomes highly suspicious of spirits because he understands how dangerous Suzu's haku makes her.

The central conflict begins when Shirogane approaches Suzu intending to devour her. Matsuri intervenes and manages to seal most of Shirogane's enormous power inside a scroll. Before the sealing is completed, however, Shirogane casts the Gender Swap Technique on Matsuri, transforming his body from male to female. Suzu refuses to treat the transformation as a reason to abandon her feelings, and the search for a way to undo it becomes intertwined with their developing romance.

Suzu's role quickly broadens beyond the initial triangle between herself, Matsuri, and Shirogane. Her compassion toward ayakashi repeatedly places her in situations where exorcism is not the best answer, encouraging Matsuri to reconsider the hard distinction he has drawn between friendly and dangerous spirits.

She also begins training under Garaku because she does not want Matsuri to be solely responsible for her safety. The development of Omokage and haku-infused origami marks her transition from protected civilian to supernatural combatant and mediator.

Later conflicts reveal that Suzu's extraordinary haku is connected to a much larger cycle involving powerful ayakashi. Her eventual recognition as the new King of Ayakashi places her at the center of disputes over whether humans and ayakashi can truly coexist, forcing her to defend the peaceful relationships she had believed possible since childhood.

Matsuri Kazamaki is Suzu's childhood friend, protector, and principal romantic interest. She first helps Matsuri Kazamaki overcome his childhood fear of ayakashi by showing him that not every spirit is hostile. Their closeness gradually weakens when Matsuri's exorcist training makes him increasingly protective and suspicious of ayakashi, but neither loses their underlying affection.

[Matsuri Kazamaki's transformation into a girl complicates their relationship without changing Suzu's feelings. She remains physically and romantically attracted to Matsuri and becomes increasingly willing to confront what that means rather than treating restoration of his male body as a prerequisite for loving him.](#spoiler)

Shirogane initially approaches Suzu as prey, believing that consuming the haku of an Ayakashi Medium will increase his power enormously. After most of his strength is sealed, Shirogane remains near her and Matsuri while seeking opportunities to recover it. Their relationship gradually becomes far more complicated than predator and target.

Garaku Utagawa becomes Suzu's supernatural instructor. Recognizing that her power cannot remain entirely unmanaged, Garaku Utagawa teaches her how to form an Omokage and channel her haku into usable techniques.

Yayoi Toba is one of Suzu's closest school friends. Yayoi Toba is energetic and physically affectionate, frequently teasing Suzu and Matsuri without initially knowing the supernatural circumstances surrounding them.

Lucy Tsukioka is another of Suzu's closest classmates. Lucy Tsukioka's fascination with aliens and conspiracy theories becomes ironic once she is surrounded by genuine supernatural events that she initially insists must have extraterrestrial explanations.

Ritta Kanade is Suzu's younger brother. Ritta Kanade does not initially know Matsuri's original sex and develops a crush on Matsuri's female form.

Mr. Kanade and Mrs. Kanade are Suzu's parents and operate the family café, Melody Bell. Their household provides one of the ordinary spaces around which Suzu's human life continues despite the supernatural conflicts surrounding her.