User:KrebMarkt/Little House with an Orange Roof

Plot
A man comes home one day to have his wife give him divorce papers. A woman comes home with her daughters to her new apartment one day to find a woman she doesn’t know wrapped in a towel coming out of the shower. They both get conned by the same real estate conman on the same house, a 4LDK. So now the man, his two sons, the woman, and her two daughters live in the same house. (Source: M-U)

Ninomiya Family

 * Shoutarou (二ノ宮 正太郎 - Ninomiya Shoutarou)
 * The hard working father. Because he believed a happy family came from working hard and providing for his family, leading to rarely being at home, his wife divorced him and returned to her lover before him (Though he is still on good terms with his parents-in-law, where they apologized to him on their daughter's behalf ). Being extremely depressed, he goes out of his way to buy a house in hopes to winning her back, only to be in shock to find out he is now living with another family after being scammed. He is very kind hearted and will always do what ever he can to help the people around him, even when he is supposed to be doing something else (ie: giving directions to an elderly couple when he was playing baseball ). After realizing that he was wrong about working hard to have a happy family he now spends more time at home and playing with his kids , yet after missing too many days and an important meeting he was demoted and transferred to the Shougetsu Department as Section Chief . Because of his hard work it is revealed that he was able to get his previous employment from the bottom of the barrel to the group's #1 business and 4th best performance in only 9 months . At the beginning of the series he was dedicated to the idea of getting his wife back, but as of recent chapters he has given up on that idea and has been falling in love with Natsumi, nearly kissing multiple times yet incidences always prevented that (calling it an "unrequited love"), but where as of Chapter 24 they finally kissed. However, even though she keeps pushing him away without a reason, he admits he wishes to marry her. He has a habit of touching his glasses when nervous.


 * Yota (陽太　Youta)
 * The oldest son. He enjoys playing sports, mostly seen playing with a soccer ball. He doesn't get along with Rina but likes Natsumi, even once letting it slip out to his father that she would be a great mother.


 * Ryota (亮太　Ryouta)
 * The youngest son. Unlike his older brother and Rina, he gets along very well with Luna where ever since the incident they are usually inseparable. They also go to the same school and often wish that their families would become a family. In earlier chapters he has shown to be very depressed at the fact that his mother left them, not wanting to accept a hug from Natsumi since she wasn't his mother (but quickly agrees after she suggests giving him hugs till his mother comes back) and ran to the train station in hopes of seeing her . However, after returning from seeing his mother he is now more open and sometimes planning with Luna on getting their parents to get married.

Okajima Family

 * Natsumi
 * A lovely young mother who divorced only a week before the series started . After that she swore off men and the idea of remarrying because of the incidences with her ex-husband and would cheat on her every night. At first she hated the idea of living with Shoutarou but has since warmed up to him and his family, in a way taking the role of a mother to his sons from cooking and taking them to school. She is also warming up to Shoutarou to the fact it is obvious she has feelings for him, but because of her belief that she doesn't need a man often denies this and will usually believe any bad rumor about him . However, as of chapter 24 she and Shoutarou finally kiss. Her sister Harumi has depicted her as the "dependent type" where she is not used to living without the support of someone as she is not able to work at a proper job, but as of recently has gotten a job, as her daughters, have become models for a family magazines that is managed by her sister. It is later revealed that she is still technically married to her husband , the reason being because her mother-in-law is threatening to take away Natsumi's daughters if she divorces her son. So at this time, for the sake of her daughters she stops herself from going along with her feelings towards Shoutarou. Though after her mother visited and gave her comforting words, she decided to face her in-laws and get the divorced finalized while Shoutarou is on his trip.


 * Rina
 * The older sister. She is more stuck up and the most against the idea of the two families living together, often stating that the Ninomiya family should move out or charging Shoutarou for anything that their mother does for them (cooking, transportation, etc. Though it was revealed it was Harumi's idea to do so) . Unlike her sister and Ryota, she doesn't get along with Yota. Often yelling at him, stating that he should walk three meters behind her, and is annoyed when anyone states that they look like a couple. Later through the series, she has shown signs of warming up to them, but denies this and tries to keep up her usual attitude. She recently has seen Shotarou as a friend after he acted as her guardian for a Teen Model audition her father didn't come for.


 * Luna
 * The youngest daughter. Unlike her sister and Yota, she gets along with Ryota to where they are rarely seen not together. She has a liking for animals and is usually seen with their dog Happy riding on her head. She, like Ryota, likes the idea of her mother and his father to get married so they could be a family and not be "strangers" as her mother often says.


 * Harumi
 * Natsumi's younger sister and more level headed. She sees herself as the guardian deity at the beginning and takes it upon herself to make sure the two families can live in that house. However, she often encourages the idea of her sister to marry Shoutarou. She is now currently working as her sister's manager. She has a habit of smoking, even though both Natsumi and Shoutarou tell her not to.


 * Happy
 * A Beagle puppy the family won in the Neighborhood Athletic Meet, where Natsumi was first against the idea (more at the fact that she didn't see them as a family than to have the dog). Yet after seeing the son of the other family that was entered into the contest hurts animals to release stress she changed her mind. The puppy is usually found riding on top of Luna's head.

Others

 * Mr. Conman
 * Yet named, he was the man who conned Natsumi and Shoutarou into purchasing the same house. In chapter 10 it is revealed he is actually very well known to the police who have been trying to capture him for some time. Natsumi and Shoutarou nearly caught him but he was able to jump to a boat just as it was leaving. He stated to them he did it as he sees that they would be the perfect couple and was playing cupid (most likely a lie) and that they should just get married.


 * Female Neighbors
 * Yet named, there are usually four seen, a semi overweight one, one with frilled hair and glasses, an older woman with big glasses and a young pink haired one. Each one has their own view on the predicament between Natsumi and Shoutarou. The older woman usually sees it as disgusting and like Shoutarou has a habit of touching her glasses.


 * Male Neighbors
 * They are often seen around the neighborhood. They usually comment how lucky Shoutarou is to get to live with a beauty like Natsumi and all of them have a crush on her, even one that is already married.


 * President Shogetsu
 * An elderly yet beautiful woman who runs the Department Shoutarou now works for. It was stated she personally scouted him for his talent and assures that her company is safe in his hands . She likes him so much that she wishes that her daughter Satsuki to marry him so as to keep him in their control.


 * Satsuki Shogetsu
 * A very beautiful woman, daughter to the President of the Shogetsu Department store and heiress to the Shogetsu family. She is displayed as being a deviant, wishing to marry Shoutarou only because it would put her as next inline to inherit the estate. She is placed as his partner as Section Chief and at first thought of him as nothing more than an untrustworthy man, but this quickly changed as during an earthquake he saved her from a falling statue, suggesting she might actually have real feelings for him. However, after seeing he lives with and is in love with Natsumi she gets extremely jealous, often thinking of Natsumi as nothing more than a "third-rate woman". So she is currently planning with her mother to have Shoutarou break up with Natsumi so she could seduce him, even telling the other guys that Natsumi wants a "pushy guy". She often pretends to be Natsumi's friend while at the club, though still detests her. She often comments to Natsumi that she will seduce Shoutarou, even asking for help from her.


 * Mother-in-law
 * Also known as Mrs. Yano, and is the mother-in-law to Natsumi and mother to her ex-husband. She thinks highly of her son, even ignoring the fact that he constantly cheated on Natsumi, stating it was alright for such a successful man as himself, and blaming the failure of the marriage on Natsumi, stating he had to cheat since the marriage was boring. She refuses to have Natsumi officially divorce her son, burning the divorce papers, and threatening to take away Rina and Luna if she does.

Manga
This series is written and illustrated by Noriyuki Yamahana and was serialized in Shueisha monthly seinen Business Jump magazine. The serial chapters were collected in eight tankōbon, the first one released on August 19, 2005, and the last one one February 19, 2008.