Shouta Shimizu is a midnight occult civil servant from the Chiyoda Ward office. We don’t see much of him until later episodes when he’s sent to be the representative from the Chiyoda Ward office for a joint investigation with Arata Miyako from the Shinjuku Ward Office and Satoru Kanoichi from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Nocturnal Culture and Environment Division. He’s usually seen as a pretty happy and peppy guy, unwilling to really argue with others. However, his backstory isn’t revealed at all to us and we’re left in the dark about his experiences with Anothers. We don’t know how he even got into this line of work.

What makes him number ten on the Most Interesting Character list is the fact that he’s in a few key episodes with some main characters, but hardly any information is given about him! In episode 9, when he, Arata, and Satoru are checking out the dream demon, he tries to keep the peace between Arata and Satoru and doesn’t do a great job of it. Instead, he just follows Satoru’s lead when he puts Arata up to the challenge of getting the demon out. It’s unknown whether this is because he wants to see Arata’s skills in action or because he is just a willing follower. Later, in episodes 10 and 11, he also willingly follows Satoru’s lead, so he might just not like conflict. Still, even insights into Satoru’s past have been a LITTLE revealed by the end of episode 12, so why hasn’t Shouta’s? It’s still quite a mystery and piques our interest just enough to place him at number ten.

Izumi Matsuno is a high school student and Arata’s friend. She’s cute, very friendly, and doesn’t even realize the existence of Anothers until one called Azazel drags her down to Hell to use her arms in his ritual to bring back his lover. So what makes her interesting enough to put her at spot number nine? Well, it’s that not only does she appear in multiple episodes, she’s also got an interesting relationship with Arata and some other key members of the Midnight Occult Civil Servants in Shinjuku.

One thing that isn’t ever made clear from the series is whether or not Izumi has a crush or not on Arata. It can definitely be viewed that way between their interactions and closeness, but nothing really develops between them. Still, the way she handles herself before and after she’s kidnapped is impressive. Plus, to be honest, that moment in episode 7 where she flings herself into Arata’s arms is super cute and definitely makes some of us think there might be more that could develop between them. But, with the series finale coming up, little time is left to see what could become of them and so we’re left with our curiosity about the girl known as Izumi.

As a civil servant for the Shinjuku Ward Midnight Occult division, we see a lot of Kyouichi Sakaki. At first, we think that he might be some kind of playboy as he uses Seo’s picture to ward off other women. However, as the first half of the series goes on, Kyouichi’s working on something secretly and starts getting into mischief. Even Arata is being dragged into it! The way this pretty boy manipulates others while still being so completely likeable and relatable makes him an interesting character.

Kyouichi has a sister and she’s been missing for years now. In fact, he joined the Midnight Civil Servants because he believed an Another had taken his sister. He’s been researching all on his own for years, and once Arata joins with his ‘Ears of Sand.’ Kyouichi knows that he’s got to do whatever he can to find his sister, even if it’s making a deal with the Aztec god of calamity himself. Unlike other characters in the anime, Kyouichi’s backstory comes full circle as they find and release his sister from Azazel’s clutches in episode 7. Basically, all his mystery and part of what makes him interesting has been resolved, so he’s ended up a bit further down the list at number eight.

The first Another on the list is the demon Azazel. While he’s been secretly working in the background over several episodes, the first time we really get a sense for him is episode 6 with the Missing Girls Case. He’s directly responsible for kidnapping Kyouichi’s older sister as well as many other girls over the years in preparation for creating a body to revive his past love. His appearance is quite human, but he also keeps the air of a being that’s distinctly not human. The fact that he’s been kidnapping girls for over seventeen years and there’s nothing that the Shinjuku Ward Civil Servants can do to stop his ritual is quite an intriguing aspect to the series as well.

His specific arc only spans two episodes, but they cover his backstory in depth and give us a deeper connection to a demon who’s committing these atrocious acts. It’s quite easy to understand that while he’s an Another, he’s also a being with deep feelings and is trying to do something that he thinks is good, even though the methods and actions are oh so obviously *wrong*. He makes the list at number 7 because he’s an interesting character overall with a fleshed out backstory and actually gets to show us that, while Arata has the “Ears of Sand”, they can’t always help him and can work against him because some Anothers just cannot be reasoned with.

One of the very first Anothers that we meet in Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin is none other than the tengu Taroubou Yotsuya. His story is particularly interesting as he falls in love with the angel, Adiel, and plans to elope with her. However, once the other tengu and angels see them together, misunderstandings ensue as they chase the two throughout the city. When the Civil Servants get involved, its Arata who steps in to defend the Anothers from his fellow humans and temporarily smooth things over between the humans, tengu, and angels. Arata gains Taroubou’s respect when he says that he thinks Taroubou and Adiel make a nice couple and that others shouldn’t meddle in their romance.

What places Taroubou at number six is that he’s cool, he’s handsome, and he respects and wants to help Arata for some reason. In the anime, he’s the first to ask Arata for his name and even comes to his aid later on in episode 11. How he and Adiel fell in love is also a mystery and makes him quite an interesting character.

Satoru’s a character we all love to hate while sympathizing with him. He doesn’t really appear until later on in the series, but it’s immediately apparent that he doesn’t like Arata, the main character, and seeks out any chance to prove that he’s right and that his ways are better than Arata’s. The scar on his eye adds another level of charm and intrigue to his character as it was given to him while dealing with Anothers.

It’s quite understandable why he’s taken to being so realistic when dealing with Anothers, but it also is one of his faults. This is especially apparent in episode 11 as he very nearly gets Japan destroyed because of his hatred for Anothers. He absolutely hates that the government had sided with Arata during that specific ordeal in episodes 10 and 11, but it’s unclear whether it’s truly affected him in any way. He has tons of potential for being a good guy we love to hate, but we just don’t know much about him!

Compared to the rest of the characters in the series, Seo is *the* most expressive and interesting character. Immediately, from episode 1, we see Arata very nearly mistake him for a woman due to his feminine features, Kyouichi brags that he used his picture to rebuff women, and find out that he’s actually half-British. Since he’s an inventor, we always see lots of scenes where he’s either inventing or researching something for use in their work with Anothers. He’s very caring about his team and is quick to come to their aid.

The anime doesn’t really go into Seo’s background or story, which is really a shame. He’s quite a polarizing character as he cares about using Arata’s “Ears of Sand” for good while also trying to keep in mind that Arata is very impressionable and might go down the wrong path if someone isn’t there to guide him. His likability combined with his mysterious background makes him one of the most interesting characters in the series and earns him the number four spot.

Many might have overlooked this character, but we think that he deserves the number three spot for a variety of reasons. First, this old tengu was the very first Another to address Arata as the Abe no Seimei. Whether this is because he has the “Ears of Sand” or he could tell that he’s a blood descendent is unknown. However, he looks at Arata like he has more that he wants to say to him, but doesn’t get the chance because Arata faints! How does he know Arata? What was his connection to the Abe no Seimei? Did he influence Taroubou to help Arata in episode 11?

So many things are unknown about this tengu. While the anime doesn’t make him seem too terribly important, it doesn’t make sense to introduce him in the first episode and never revisit him again! There’s got to be more in store for him and Arata. We just haven’t seen it yet!

This may have surprised some, but the number two spot goes to none other than Arata! As the main protagonist, his story’s got to be pretty interesting, right? Arata seems like an incredibly plain character… until he realizes that he has an ability called the “Ears of Sand” which allows him to communicate with Anothers! He’s the only one with an actual ability like this that we know of in the entire series. However, his ability isn’t the only thing that makes him interesting.

Arata’s interactions with humans and Anothers make him incredibly likable and interesting. Things don’t always go Arata’s way or even how he plans them to. Sometimes, his ability actually gets him into more of a pickle than he was before, like when he couldn't reason with Pandora, and it wasn’t helpful in the least when he dealt with Azazel. The point is, the guy has faults and that just makes him even more lovable as a character. There’s still more to Arata than we’re privy to and his relationship to Abe no Seimei. Plus, we all want to know if he’s going to get together with someone!

The trickster god, the God of Calamity, Kohaku… These are all names given to the Another known as Huehuecoyotl. How exactly did he think Arata was Abe no Seimei? Why is he so attached to both Arata and Abe no Seimei? What kind of relationship did he have with Abe no Seimei? There are so many questions left unsaid!

What’s more, Kohaku, as Arata calls him, is quite a free spirit. He doesn’t blindly follow Arata or purposefully tried to get in his way. Sure, he helps his other Another friends and tries to play small tricks on Arata, but he’s a trickster god! The relationship between him and Arata really is special, though. We see a bit of that in episode eight when Kohaku talks about the first time he met Abe no Seimei. Still, what kind of relationship do *they* have? And is Kohaku even a guy? Based on the anime, we’re not entirely convinced either way. Each time we learn something new about Kohaku, another three questions pop up. That’s why Kohaku gets the top spot on the list!