At one point, an English language version of the manga was licensed for distribution in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment under the title Nymphet, but the Los Angeles–based company ultimately decided not to publish it due to controversies over its content.
His enthusiasm, positive-thinking, hands-on attitude, and emotional attachment to his students have made it difficult for him to maintain professional objectivity on occasion, often resulting in his butting heads with strict fellow teacher, Sae Shirai, whose distant, traditional teaching style is the polar opposite of his own.
In his struggle to come to terms with the demands of his job and become a better educator, he has found an ally in his attractive coworker and direct senior, Kyōko Hōin, who has been an endless source of practical advice, teaching suggestions, and moral support.
[2] His tendency to overthink and overanalyze things,[7] obliviousness to female romantic interest, and his inability to read a person's mood have not proven beneficial, either,[8] as evidenced by his ongoing attempts to start conversations or engage in discussions with Shirai in spite of her dislike for him.
Though they had developed a kind of affectionate working relationship — with Rin subtly using her influence over the other students to help him maintain classroom discipline, among other things[10] — in a dramatic confrontation with her towards the end of his first school year, he was forced to acknowledge the existence of a strong attraction to her.
[17] Over the next two years, Rin's personality and reputation experienced a dramatic shift: she went from being silent and emotionless to the rebellious, de facto leader of her class who would not hesitate to stand up to adults by using her intelligence and exploiting her status as an "innocent" minor to outsmart and outmaneuver them.
As might be expected of a child of her age, Rin displayed her affection for Aoki mostly through merciless teasing, though her flirtatious nature and vast carnal knowledge invariably resulted in her antics bordering on sexual harassment.
[17] While Kuro's attitude improved somewhat in the ensuing years, her friendship with Rin changed dramatically: the admiration and respect she developed for the strength of character that emerged in her friend eventually gave rise to an intimate attraction.
[23] One quality of hers that has not changed in the intervening years, however, is her obsession with following the latest, expensive fashion trends, a vice which the wealth of the Kagami family, combined with her only child status and a loving yet overworked and absent mother, has allowed her to indulge in to no end.
[23] She often wears clothing in the Lolita style, sometimes combined with nekomimi ears and tail, and has claimed in the past that she purposely chose to attend a public school because of the restrictions on her wardrobe a private one's dress code would have imposed upon her.
[17] Though Kuro frequently serves as Rin "partner in crime" due to their comparable levels of sexual knowledge and mutual disdain for authority figures and adults in general, their opinions differ radically when it comes to Daisuke Aoki.
The open contempt she shows for him stems from the erroneous notion that he is a phony, i.e. that any praise he offers or concern for the happiness and well-being of his students he demonstrates is part of either an attempt to flatter kids into his authority[23] or a facetious prerequisite of his job as an educator.
[23] Kuro's growing concerns over changes in Rin's pattern of behavior led to a dramatic confrontation between her and Aoki during which she, without betraying any confidences, stated in no uncertain terms her belief that he cannot banish her friend's demons simply because he is incapable of providing her with the romantic love she wants from him.
[30] Though prompted by Rin a short time later into revealing her secret crush on him — which Mimi tearfully did in spite of her fear about adversely affecting their relationship — she was surprised when her friend gave her permission to follow her heart with her blessing.
Though initially amused by the wide-eyed enthusiasm and naïveté with which he approached his job, Aoki's good nature and sincerity slowly grew on her and she developed a fierce crush on him, an attraction that was not diminished in the slightest by her later, accidental discovery that he is a virgin.
Though she initially used her then-recently acquired knowledge that Shirai was the daughter of the board of education to manipulate her into cosplaying during the school's athletic meet while serving as one of the event's coordinators,[19][31] Hōin later took advantage of that fact to help her get out of attending a teacher's workshop the principal was insisting she participate in.
While he initially believed that his mother's reluctance to leave with him to begin a new life elsewhere and willingness to endure all the verbal and psychological abuse was for his sake, he eventually learned that she was doing it in order to ensure her own continued security and well-being, not his.
[12] Despite the fact that she never quite managed to help him completely let go of the anger and hatred within him,[5] Reiji's newfound family succeeded in silencing his inner demons and he finally found some measure of peace in his troubled life, one which, unfortunately, was not to last.
[20] Recently, Reiji's dedication to Rin has taken a more sinister turn: plagued by nightmares, still wrestling with the anger and hatred from his traumatic childhood, and unable to fully cope with his lover's death, he has begun showing signs of projecting his feelings for Aki onto her daughter and subtly grooming her to take her mother's place when she comes of age.
[5] Though he appears to be aware of his inner darkness to a certain extent — at least enough to encourage Mimi Usa to never lose hope and succumb to her inner demons as he did to his — it remains to be seen if Reiji will eventually succeed in dispelling his delusion that Rin is his only chance at salvation, redemption, and a normal life,[30] or whether it will one day consume him utterly and end up destroying them both.
Quiet and studious in her youth, Shirai's years of exposure to her mother's endless criticism[8] combined with being written off as gloomy, serious, and plain by her peers without a second thought caused her to become embittered, asocial, and resentful of the world.
[23] Not only did this result in her adopting a highly disciplined, traditional, no-nonsense teaching style — one which clashes horribly with the enthusiastic, positive-thinking approach of Daisuke Aoki and causes them to butt heads on just about every topic imaginable — it all but eliminated any semblance of a social life as she has neither had sexual relations nor even dated anyone despite being nearly thirty years old, the former of which remains a tremendous bone of contention for her.
[7][30] After exploding at Kuro Kagami for mocking Aoki for being a virgin (unintentionally betraying her own status as one to him in the process),[7] Shirai was completely taken aback when the young girl approached her a short time later, offering her not only fashion tips and suggestions on improving her appearance but also professing great interest in being her friend by dubbing her "Shiro-chan".
Seeking to make amends by wearing a white hairpin previously given to her as a gift by Kuro, Shirai was privately flattered when her admirer demonstrated her acceptance of the apologetic gesture by beating up a male student who made a disparaging remark about her appearance,[23] the event marking something of a turning point for her.
Though hardly transformed into a social animal by the experience, Shirai has shown signs of softening somewhat, once to the extent where she broke her own rules concerning physical contact between students and teachers by offering a comforting hug to a heartbroken Kuro at an athletic meet.
[12] Despite the fact that her decision to become a single mother had turned her into the black sheep of the family, the kind-hearted Aki never harbored any resentment towards them or her child's father, believing it better to forgive and forget than risk living a life consumed by anger and hatred.
Upon learning that the amount of money needed to keep her alive for several months could be used to provide for Rin for many years to come, she decided to make the second great sacrifice of her life for the sake of her child by foregoing treatment in order to be able to financially support her daughter and kept her illness secret from everyone for some time.
Rarely flustered, he is the senior of Sae Shirai and has a visible soft spot for her, often offering insight to Hōin concerning their mutual colleague's behavior, background, and mindset in his usual, laidback style without coming off as defensive or biased.
Though not alive, he nevertheless is important, having served as, among other things, a stand-in for Daisuke Aoki for Rin to practice her seduction and kissing techniques on[35] and a strategically placed prop in a naughty photo she sent to him as a Christmas present using her cell phone.
Though she often had her hands full dealing with the three girls' antics, she was visibly relieved and moved with joy when Rin, as a benevolent, albeit unexpected, result of Kuro's attempt at playing "dress-up", finally emerged from the stuporic state she had been in since her mother's death and began speaking to and interacting with others.