| “ | The fact that you're her and you're my fiance is the only saving grace of my birth and my existence. Aoi-chan, I'm really glad that you're here as my fiance. I love you, Aoi-chan. | „ |
| ~ Kaoru confesses his love to Aoi |
Kaoru Hanabishi is the male lead in the anime/manga series Ai Yori Aoshi. He is a college student and a runaway member of the Hanabishi clan, who was engaged to his childhood friend, Aoi Sakuraba. Even after he left, however, Aoi was willing to do whatever it took to be by his side and eventually reunites with him. The main drama of the story revolves around the obstacles that stand in the way of Kaoru and Aoi's happy life together and their efforts to overcome these.
He is voiced by Sōichirō Hoshi in the Japanese version of the anime and Dave Wittenberg in the English version, the former of whom also voices Kira Yamato and Goro Akechi.
Appearance[]
Kaoru is a tall young man in his early twenties with brown hair and eyes. His appearance overall is very similar to that of his mother's. His back is covered with the scars his grandfather inflicted on him every time he disobeyed the family. The majority of the time, he is seen wearing casual clothes, though he changes his attire quite frequently.
Personality[]
| “ | This is bad. And I thought I was used to being alone. So why is it that I feel so lonely? | „ |
| ~ Kaoru realises he hates being alone |
His given name 'Kaoru', translates as fragrant as his personality is gentle and kind, something that hasn't changed ever since he was young. He is known for his courteous actions among the female characters, which has caused them all (with the exception of Miyabi) to fall for him at some point; however, he can also be abrupt and let them know when something is wrong. He also isn't above teasing at times, such as when he tells Aoi that she was drooling while sleeping when they were on the train, only to reveal afterwards that he was joking. He generally refers to girls with the honorific -chan, the only exceptions being Miyabi, whom he refers to as 'Miss Miyabi', and Tina, whom he simply calls by her name.
Despite his kindness, Kaoru has a tendency to keep his emotions to himself. This is due to the emotional and physical abuse he suffered under his grandfather while being the heir of the Hanabishi family. After his grandfather burned all of his mother's possessions except the good luck charm he was able to save (for which his grandfather beat him for his disobedience), Kaoru left the family and swore to never return. When he first arrived in Tokyo, he was deeply broken as a result of the abuse he suffered, as well as the fact that he had no-one in the world to call his family anymore, but eventually put a happy facade to hide his pain. After Aoi comes back into his life, however, Kaoru realises that he doesn't want to be alone again, and feels broken when he gets separated from her.
Kaoru is shown to sometimes have perverted fantasies about Aoi and is attracted to her from practically the moment they reunite. Kaoru falls in love with Aoi as he spends more time with her, confessing his love to her when they revisit his old apartment, which reduces her to tears as she wasn't sure how he really felt about her until then. It's then that he confesses to have loved her for quite a while, but had trouble putting it into words. He even goes so far as to say that Aoi is his reason for living, as well as the sole reason he's happy to have been born into the Hanabishi family.
While not as explicit about it, Kaoru often shows that he can be just as stubborn as Aoi when it comes to their relationship. An example of this is when he works several part-time jobs in order to get the money to pay for a white dress for Aoi's birthday, though these efforts proved to be pointless as she is revealed later to have bought it herself. Another example is when he stands up to Aoi's father (who has held a grudge against Kaoru ever since he left the Hanabishis and broke Aoi's heart) when their marriage is in danger of being called off, efforts that convinced Aoi's father to accept Kaoru, though he adds that he hasn't forgiven him. While he has shown attraction to other girls on occasion, most notably Tina, he is always quick to shake it off, reminding himself that Aoi is his one and only love and the other girls around him are just friends.
Kaoru is also prone to a mixture of anger and depression whenever he's reminded of his past. When the Sakuraba household residents make a traditional Japanese cafe for the cultural festival at Kaoru's university, the group end up wearing kimonos, something that angers Kaoru as he had made a vow to never wear traditional Japanese clothing again after leaving the Hanabishi household (ironically, he never seems to have any problems with Aoi always wearing a kimono). Fortunately, Aoi is easily able to tell whenever he's in pain, and reminds him that he can talk to her about anything, something he is very thankful for.
Gallery[]
