The following is a list of characters from the series, S.A.
The series focuses on Hikari Hanazono, a high school student who holds the second overall position at the elite Hakusen Academy, and her tireless efforts to challenge and hopefully defeat Kei Takishima, the first ranked student and Hikari's rival since childhood, while unaware that Kei is in love with her. Together, they form the Special A class, consisting of the seven top-ranked students of their school, along with their childhood friends Akira Toudou, Tadashi Karino, Megumi and Jun Yamamoto, and Ryuu Tsuji.
Special A Students
Hikari is the protagonist of the story. She holds the 2nd position in school for having the best grades. Self-proclaimed as Kei Takishima's greatest rival, she is determined to beat him in any kind of competition. Stubborn, proud, hard headed, kind, and good-spirited, Hikari never backs down from a challenge, especially one from Kei, and cannot turn away from someone who asks for her help. Though she has never beaten Kei at anything, she constantly looks for opportunities to surpass him and is generally unfazed when he defeats her. While she is good at sports and academics, Hikari is notably very bad at teaching and cooking. She is too strong at times, even breaking things in the process. Although she can handle her own in a fight (often against boys), Kei, nonetheless, gets irritated whenever she puts herself in danger.
A kindhearted girl who always worries about others, Hikari sometimes lacks common sense and tends to be unaware towards how people regard her. Her optimistic personality, straightforwardness, and tendency to always see the good in people prevents her from realizing how harsh and cold the real world can be sometimes. Although Hikari is rather sensitive to others, she is quite dense when it comes to love. She is oblivious to the romantic feelings Kei has for her, though everyone else knows that Kei is in love with her. In volume four, Hikari begins to fall in love with Kei, though she does not realize it until volume 6. Hikari felt that if she conveyed her feelings she would lose against Kei, believing that it is all a competition. They eventually admit they are in love with each other and become a couple in chapter 53.
Kei is ranked 1st in school, Kei is the son of the CEO of Takishima Corporation, but has been shown to be running parts of it. Handsome, calm, armed with a photographic memory, and the ability to do anything on the first try, Kei is seen as the "perfect" man. However, he is seen to carry an enormous amount of pressure due to his status as heir to the Takishima Corp. He has been Hikari's undefeated rival since childhood, he likes to refer to her as "Miss Second Place", which never fails to provoke her. He usually prefers to do things on his own until Hikari shows him how much fun it can be to work together with others. Kei loves Hikari, a fact that he does not deny, and has loved her since they were children. It always bothers him whenever Hikari pushes herself too hard or causes trouble, but her strong will and determination are the reasons why he admires and respects her. He makes several attempts to express his feelings to Hikari, though is usually thwarted by some sort of misunderstanding on Hikari's part. Kei eventually confesses to her openly in chapter 32 but Hikari, somewhat realizing she may actually be in love with him, mistakes it as a competition. Later on in chapter 52 Hikari reveals that she reciprocates his feelings; the two start dating and become a couple in the following chapter.
Jun is ranked 3rd in school and is Megumi's younger twin brother. The son of a music producer and a talented singer, Jun loves music more than anything else, and is a gifted violinist. Usually quiet and kindhearted, Jun has a split personality which he has concealed from everyone except Megumi and Ryuu. Triggered whenever he is kissed by a girl or receives a lot of affection, he becomes irresistible to nearly all women and is able to charm them effortlessly. His split personality resulted from an hypnotism program that Jun watched as a child and first emerged when he was still in grade six. During a date with a girl, he changed and all the other girls around him became mesmerized by him; this led the girl Jun was dating to hate him and call him disgusting. After he begins dating Sakura, Jun's alternate personality emerges whenever he sees her; however, because Sakura accepts him regardless of his personalities, Jun is able to reciprocate her feelings for him. The only thing that can bring Jun back to his original self is by losing consciousness.