While, technically, Haruki is the most prominent male character in this show, he does not tend to stand out in looks or style. Towa serves as a foil to Haruki with his long hair, cute face, and lax take on the school’s uniform policy. He stands out and definitely likes the attention. Towa is popular with the ladies in terms of looks and demeanor, and who can say no to his cheeky smile? His personality is A+, but he’s certainly not wanting in the looks department.

Without Towa, the pacing of this show might be a little too slow. Not only is Towa the instigator for his and his best friend’s relationships, but he also adds a sense of fun and lightheartedness. The other three members of the main cast act in respectful and restrained manners, very conscious of how they might negatively affect others and worried about their feelings being a bother. When Towa sees an awkward or tender moment, he can’t help but call attention to it or try to make it worse for the person suffering. We can’t help but laugh as Towa forces his shy friend who is in denial of his feelings to spend more time with his secret crush. It’s great for comedy, but he also helps move the story along when the other students are too afraid to make moves on their own. Even when it seems like he’s bullying his shyer friends, he truly has their best interests at heart.

He may not be the best or the brightest, but Towa is not one to skirt responsibility to force others to do things for him. Occasionally, he’ll lose focus and spend the day following a ‘suspected boyfriend’ around, but he also is quick to volunteer alongside a friend in order to ease their burdens. When Haruki is roped into helping the student council with the Sports Festival, Towa just invites himself along. When asked to represent his class Towa ends up in all events because, as he says, “… you could call me dependable.” When asked to help, he really can’t turn people down on simple favors. When it comes to his closest relationships, though, he works hard to set their minds at ease. After somewhat pressuring his crush and class representative into a three-legged race as his partner, Towa creates a whole training regimen for her and works every day to help her overcome her lack of ability and embarrassment. Towa isn’t the type of person to ask for more than he’s willing to give, and his desire to be reliable is a great trait.

One thing that sets Towa apart from any other character in the show is just how much he’s into physical affection. And we don’t mean the stereotypical playboy who’s very familiar with the ladies, we mean a guy who can’t stop himself from hugging people who make him happy. Haruki describes him as a guy who “… just always had trouble with personal space, whether they’re girls or not.” Several times throughout Konbini Kareshi, Towa suddenly throws himself on his best friend when overcome with gratitude or love. He easily grabs Mami’s hand and shoulders when he wants to tell her personal things she doesn’t want to hear. Despite his touchy-feely way with friends, Towa doesn’t act like this with his upperclassmen or girls he doesn’t know. Even though it’s embarrassing and sometimes uncomfortable for Towa’s friends, you can tell these gestures are full of genuine emotion!

Towa’s arguably best trait is often confused for a bad habit. His friends are often made uncomfortable by the things he says and take them as insults or simply teasing. Towa enjoys seeing his friends embarrassed and accepts this. In actuality, though, Towa is just expressing how he feels not caring what it might sound like or worrying if he should be embarrassed by his feelings. To him, hiding what he wants to tell someone is much harder than being honest. He does have trouble understanding boundaries or how he might be inconveniencing others sometimes due to this. Towa’s crush finds him insufferable for the way he goes on about liking her or finding her cute, yet Towa just feels these things so strongly he has to let them out. He doesn’t see a point in not letting others know how he feels because he knows that, otherwise, the situation won’t change. You never have to wonder where you stand with Towa because he will constantly tell you he wants to be with you and that he likes you.