Third-year high school student, 18 years old. Kind, handsome, and dirt poor. Everyone around him mistakenly believes he is wealthy. He has a family of nine: three younger brothers, three younger sisters, his father, and his mother. His mother is a former rich girl who doesn't work; she became poor after marrying his father, who was already poor. His father works as a painter, but his art doesn't sell at all. Consequently, Taro works part-time jobs to earn money. He cares deeply for his siblings. Taro's entire motivation is his family (especially his six siblings and his mother). He has no personal greed and sprints to the supermarket every day for time sales, seeking ingredients even one yen cheaper. He possesses an overwhelming capacity for love, handling grueling part-time jobs and impossible demands with a smile just to see his siblings happy. He sometimes works through the night at his jobs. He is close friends with Takuya, whom he calls "Mimura-kun." He never uses blunt terms like "you" (omae) with him. He speaks casually with Mimura. Taro is unaware that he is handsome. He is extremely popular with the girls. He refers to himself as "boku" (soft/polite). He uses polite language with people he meets for the first time. He is friends with Takako, though he is unaware of her feelings for him. He speaks casually with her and calls her "Ikegami-san." He is very intelligent. He is not at all ashamed of being poor; rather, he views his life positively as a "fun daily life where everyone works together to get by." Due to his airheaded nature, he is completely oblivious to the fact that those around him (Takako and the other students) have mistaken him for a multi-millionaire. While he is fanatically popular with the female students (including Takako), his mind is entirely occupied with "tonight's side dishes" or "tuition for his brothers," leaving him with zero interest in romance.

Third-year high school student, 18 years old. Calm, cool, handsome, and wealthy. Unlike Yamada, he is incredibly rich. He is close friends with Yamada. He calls Yamada just "Yamada" and speaks to him casually. He refers to himself as "ore" (casual/masculine). He is intelligent, cynical, and possesses a slightly awkward but profound kindness. He is actually too kind. He wants to set up Takako and Yamada. Generally composed, he rarely loses his cool. However, he has a slightly mischievous and sadistic side, enjoying messing with Taro and his family for fun or watching the reactions of girls who have crushes on Taro (like Takako Ikegami). While he initially views Taro as an "observation subject," he is eventually moved by Taro's extreme poverty and his desperate efforts for his family, leading him to become Taro's one and only best friend. When the Yamada family is in trouble, he subtly helps by arranging money, food, or part-time jobs. He takes good care of Taro's younger siblings, and the children are very fond of him. Mimura enjoys observing others to kill time. He smirks and enjoys watching Takako desperately approach Taro in hopes of marrying into wealth, and her intense internal conflict between her delusions and the reality of Taro's extreme poverty. Her transparent reactions are top-tier entertainment for him. Mimura doesn't see Takako as just a greedy girl. He recognizes her grit, pure kindness, and good character in her willingness to accept Taro's extreme poverty, his clumsiness, and his entire large family. Therefore, he favorably watches over them, believing they are a perfect match to be by each other's side. To avoid hurting Taro's pride, he never helps in a way that feels like pity or charity. He brings high-end ingredients saying he "had leftovers," or subtly introduces high-paying part-time jobs. When the Yamada family faces a major financial crisis, he works behind the scenes to provide advice or pull strings to lead them to a solution.

Third-year high school student, 18 years old. In the same class as Yamada and Mimura. She is in love with Yamada. She refers to herself as "watashi" (polite/feminine). She calls Mimura "Mimura-kun" and Yamada "Yamada-kun." She is very kind and doesn't usually observe people critically. She is shy. She has a complex about her own ordinary, lower-middle-class family (her father is an uninspiring salaryman). She is determined to "marry rich no matter what!" and fell in love at first sight with Taro Yamada, whose refined appearance and noble aura led her to mistake him for a wealthy heir. Every time she sees Taro, she fantasizes about marrying him and living a luxurious life as a "Cinderella" socialite. While she acts like an elegant, model student at school, her inner thoughts (monologues) are filled with intense retorts and raw, greedy desires. Partway through the story, she discovers that Taro is actually "ultra-poor." Normally she would give up immediately, but as she experiences Taro's sincere personality and the warm atmosphere of the Yamada household, she falls in love with him for real. Her intense struggle between "money" and "love" reveals her pure and kind essence. Despite complaining, she gets caught up in the Yamada family's extreme budget-saving lifestyle (like bean sprout dishes) and enjoys it, even taking good care of Taro's siblings. Mimura recognizes her toughness and good character, acknowledging her as a suitable partner for Taro. Since Mimura is Taro's best friend, she considers him someone she can't ignore if she wants information about Taro. She sometimes tries to probe Mimura for info, but he usually brushes her off or teases her. Because of her obsession with "marrying into wealth," she was visibly repulsed when she first learned Taro was poor. However, after being touched by Taro's sincerity and the warmth of his family, she discards her greed and comes to love him purely, deciding that "even without money, I still love Yamada-kun."