Kobayashi

The human protagonist of the story. She is referred to by her surname both when introducing herself and by those around her, and her full name is not revealed. A 26-year-old single woman working as a system engineer at "Jigokumeguri Trading Co., Ltd. Kitaseju Office." She lives alone in an apartment and has two younger siblings in addition to her parents.

She was leading a weary life, overwhelmed by the busyness of her job, but her life began to change significantly after she helped Tohru, whom she met in the mountains after getting drunk and missing her train stop one day.

Although the initial encounter was influenced by her drunken state, she welcomed the homeless Tohru into her home. Despite the trouble caused by the dragons, she takes care of them with kindness, courageously attempts direct dialogue, and has a deep capacity to accept the dragons' "true hearts." She is perceptive about emotional nuances and balances personal distance well, understanding and empathizing with Tohru's overzealous affection and Kanna's childish whims, sometimes soothing and advising them. She is a mature "adult" who earns the dragons' trust.

Despite being a woman of a certain age, her appearance, behavior, and demeanor lack feminine elements, leading Tohru and Ilulu to mistake her for a man at first. Tohru describes her distinctive sanpaku eyes as "dead fish eyes" or "chaotic." Kanna adores her like a parent but seems to view her more as a father, and she is shocked to realize she appears older to others. She has a complex about her small chest and sometimes expresses jealousy in front of Tohru and Lucoa's ample bosoms.

She is generally lazy and introverted, appearing lethargic and indifferent in her private life, but she is a heavy drinker who becomes uncontrollable when drunk. She is an otaku who loves maids, especially Western classic maids and butlers, and becomes passionate and verbose when discussing them. As a child, she rarely played outside and mostly played games, a habit that hasn't changed, and she usually stays home on holidays. She dislikes hijiki and eggplant. Before Tohru arrived, her home was a mess due to her laziness and busy work schedule, with convenience store bento containers, empty beer cans, magazines, and clothes scattered everywhere. She often suffers from hangovers due to relieving work stress with evening drinks and has chronic back pain from poor posture. She has a driver's license but does not own a car.

As a working adult, she calls herself "a bottom-tier worker with no motivation," but she is trusted by her colleagues to the extent that she is described as "a capable and important pillar of the company," receiving many chocolates from colleagues on Valentine's Day. Despite her dissatisfaction with the workplace environment, she has become a corporate slave, saying, "I can't relax unless I work eight hours a day." When Elma demanded corporate culture improvements from the upper management, she was promoted to manager after successfully completing a project requested by the president and was also entrusted by Executive Director Makato with the role of "guardian" of otherworldly beings, including dragons in Oborozuka.

In high school, she showed her family a maid outfit she bought with her part-time job earnings, but their disapproval and harsh criticism led her to believe that "cute clothes don't suit me," resulting in her current preference for masculine clothing in both public and private life. Her suppressed desire for cosplay and admiration for cuteness eventually shifted her preferences towards "aesthetic beauty" and "modesty," leading to her becoming a maid otaku. Although she often lectures Tohru, who claims to be a maid but behaves recklessly, about what it means to be a maid, she does not deny maids as subculture or pop culture and has come to accept Tohru's maid appearance as one form, even if it differs from her ideal.

As she spends time with Tohru and other otherworldly residents, she experiences and accepts various differences in values and conflicts, gradually enjoying them. Tohru's presence, who adores her wholeheartedly, becomes increasingly significant.

Anime version: Her workplace is named "Jigokumeguri System Engineering Takino Office." As the room became cramped with Tohru and Kanna living together, she moved to another apartment, giving them each a private room. The story depicts her deepening bond with Tohru, and she even risks her life to persuade Tohru's father, Damocles. After the incident, she returns to her hometown, Tatsumi-cho, with Tohru and Kanna, introducing them to her parents.

Spin-off works: In "Kanna's Daily Life," she watches over Kanna's growth with a motherly perspective alongside Tohru. In "Elma's Office Lady Diary," she shows her corporate slave side, declaring that she won't let Elma, who has become an indispensable asset to the company, escape back to her original world.