Ryu Katsunaga

Ryu Katsunaga is Kota Sagano's best friend and roommate from the police academy.

He is the type to completely switch personalities, depending on whether he is at work or spending his free time. This is a trait he shares with seemingly all officers who work at Oto Police Office.

He is first introduced as Kota's accomplice, who has come to work on Yui Sendo's case against her father, at what seems to be by Kota's request. It is later revealed, that they are in fact very close friends. He knows of Kota being married to Kako, and supports the matrimony fully, especially as he now has a new subject he can use to tease Kota.

Appearance
Ryu is a young, relatively tall man, 24 years of age. He's got dark, presumably black hair, and what appears to be dark brown eyes. He's also got a beauty mark underneath his right eye.

Personality
Whilst putting on a mask of utter professionality at work, outside of it he is noted to be a complete sleezebag by Kota. he is flirty by nature, giving off the impression that he would "[...] take anyone that breathes". As a matter of fact, he is not just flirty, but seems to enjoy teasing the people around him no matter who they are. He has especially got himself set on teasing Kota and Mikado Yaguchi, the two perfect victims of his playful demeanour. For Kota, his approach is putting words into his mouth and making assumptions about his love life just to get a reaction out of him. When it comes to Mikado, he showers her with compliments that could possibly come from a genuine place, just so he can see her twist and turn in her skin, embarrassed and taken aback by his forwardness.

The final pages of Case. 62 reveal that he has got himself another perfect teasing victim in Heisuke Okami.

Background
Not much is known of Ryu's background, other than that he is the eldest of three children- he has two younger sisters. While the older one of the pair of young women is a very brilliant college student, the younger one is a complete ditz. He seems to have a good relationship with both of them.

He is the same age as Kota, and the two met at the police academy, where they were roommates. During their time at the academy they became such close friends that by the time they got separated from each other, they both became a bit wistful at first.

Ryu got transferred to the Oto Police Department in October, the same month in which Kota has his birthday. Once Ryu found out the news of his transfer, he got excited, knowing that he would finally get to officially work as Kota's colleague.

Relationships
An in-depth overview of all Ryu's relationships can be found here.

Ryu and Kota are best friends since their days in the police academy. The two share a deep bond and know each other very well. Their dynamic seems to be that of Kota being the more serious one, while Ryu is the more playful friend, often teasing Kota about different things, such as his relationship with Kako or him having a protégé in Heisuke.

As Ryu is someone easy to get along with, he is quick to befriend all of Kako's friends. Of note are his relationships with Heisuke and Mikado. As the former ends up following the same career path as he, Ryu is happy to tease Heisuke whenever he gets the chance.

His relationship with Mikado in particular is quite charged, as he clocked her as "his type" the moment he saw her. He then proceeded to give her love advice and flirt with her to his heart's content, and whenever he sees her, he seems to always make sure to tease her. The two keep in contact even when Mikado's an adult, and get along well. Whether or not Ryu is serious about pursuing Mikado romantically is never revealed, and when asked about it, Mikado gets embarrassed and denies such accusations (almost too strongly).

Quotes
(To Kota) "If complementing a girl is harrassment, we're all guilty! Haven't you heard? Earth is a planet for lovers!"

(To Jiro, about Mikado) "You turned her down? What a waste... If I was in high school, I'd be all over her..."undefined