Kou is a cheerful, direct, and impulsive individual who often jumps into situations headfirst without fully thinking them through. Though reckless at times, he shows significant growth and maturity as the series progresses.

Despite his loud and brash demeanor, Kou is genuinely kind and caring. He is sometimes misjudged as a delinquent due to his outspoken nature, but in reality, he values politeness and respect. This is evident in his first encounter with Hanako, where despite preparing for a confrontation he still took the time to greet Nene politely and warn her about the potential danger.

Kou has a strong sense of justice and is willing to challenge his own beliefs when presented with new perspectives. Initially, he viewed Hanako as an enemy due to his family’s teachings that all supernaturals should be exorcised. However, through his own experiences, he revised his opinion and ultimately became friends with Hanako, despite the disapproval of his older brother, Teru.

Loyalty is one of Kou’s defining traits he is deeply devoted to his friends and will risk himself to protect and support them in any way he can. However, his impulsiveness and emotional nature often lead to mistakes, as he tends to act first and think later, sometimes getting himself into dangerous situations as a result.

Kou is a tall teenage boy with short, spiky dirty blond hair, light blue eyes, and two distinct protruding canine teeth, giving him a slightly mischievous look. Due to his loud personality and rough exterior, he is often mistaken for a delinquent, contributing to his relative unpopularity despite his kind-hearted nature.

He wears a black shirt underneath his teal Kamome Academy Middle School uniform, which features brown stripes. His uniform jacket is sometimes left unbuttoned, giving him a more relaxed appearance. He also wears a cream-and-brown striped tie, though he often leaves it hanging untied around his neck. Additionally, he wears a red sweatband on his right wrist.

One of his most recognizable accessories is his red traffic-safety amulet (omamori), which he wears as an ear piercing on his right ear. This charm is believed to provide protection and good fortune.

As an exorcist, Kou carries his raiteijou, a spirit staff, with him at all times. When not in use, he disguises it as a black umbrella to blend in. However, Hanako has sealed its full power, preventing Kou from fully utilizing it.

In an altered timeline caused by Mirai, the third Clock Keeper and representative of School Mystery No. 1, Kou was temporarily aged into adulthood. Unlike other humans who became elderly, Kou’s spiritual lineage as a Minamoto limited the effects, instead making him appear as a young adult.

His older form bears a strong resemblance to his older brother, Teru, a fact noted by Akane. His transformation causes Nene to momentarily consider him as her type, though she quickly dissuades herself from developing feelings based on his appearance alone. Hanako, who fears Teru’s exorcist abilities, is visibly unsettled by Kou’s older appearance, mistaking him for an even greater threat.

Kou is born into the prestigious Minamoto Clan, a long lineage of powerful exorcists dedicated to eliminating supernatural threats. Since childhood, he has been trained in exorcism, learning various purification techniques and combat skills under his older brother, Teru.

However, despite his family’s rigid stance on spirits, Kou begins to question the morality of exorcism after encountering Hanako and Mitsuba. Unlike his strict older brother, Kou develops his own beliefs, struggling to balance his exorcist duties with his growing empathy for supernatural beings.

His journey throughout the series focuses on his internal conflict should he follow his family’s path or forge his own way of coexisting with spirits?

Seeing Supernaturals
As a member of the Minamoto Clan, an ancient family of exorcists, Kou possesses the innate ability to see and interact with supernatural beings. Unlike ordinary humans, who can only perceive supernaturals if they summon them, Kou can see, touch, and communicate with them freely, making him highly attuned to the supernatural world.

Spirit Staff and Lightning
Kou wields a raiteijou, a spirit staff that allows him to channel his spiritual energy into lightning, which is highly effective against supernatural entities. However, despite his potential, he has little understanding of how to properly control its power. Due to this lack of mastery, he often ends up electrocuting himself whenever he attempts to use it, making his exorcist skills somewhat unreliable compared to those of his older brother, Teru. Despite these setbacks, Kou continues to train and develop his abilities, determined to grow into a stronger exorcist.

Minamoto Kou’s character arc revolves around identity, morality, and the struggle between tradition and personal beliefs. Unlike his strict exorcist brother, Teru, Kou chooses to understand spirits rather than destroy them, making him a bridge between humans and supernatural beings.

His friendship with Mitsuba is one of the most emotional storylines in Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun, as he struggles with the pain of losing someone he wants to protect. Whether Kou fully embraces his exorcist lineage or carves a new path for himself remains one of the most compelling questions of his character journey.

With his courage, compassion, and inner conflict, Kou represents the heart of the series, proving that not all exorcists see spirits as enemies and not all spirits are beyond saving.