Minamoto Kou

Minamoto Kou (源光) is a student at Kamome Academy's Middle School Division, and a member of a renowned family of exorcists, the Minamoto Clan.

Appearance
Kou is a tall boy with short, spiky blond hair and blue eyes. He has two protruding canine teeth. He is not currently very popular because he gives off the feeling of a delinquent.

He wears a black shirt underneath his Kamome Middle School uniform, which is sometimes left unbuttoned and his tie hanging untied around his neck. He always wears a traffic safety amulet as a piercing on his right ear.

Kou always brings the raiteijou―a spirit staff around with him as a weapon, and covers it in black cloth when he is not using it. Currently, Kou cannot use the staff's full power because it has been sealed by Hanako.

Personality
Kou is cheerful, direct, and tends to jump into things headfirst without thinking it through. He has been shown to grow more mature as the series progresses.

He is often misjudged as a bit of a delinquent or rude, but this is actually not the case. He is rash and loud, but is simultaneously very kind and caring. He makes a distinct effort to be polite to girls, and even when he was about to face off with Hanako upon their first meeting he took the time to be polite to Nene and warn her about the perceived danger.

He was also kind and open minded enough to revise his opinion on Hanako, and became friends with him. This was despite the pressure from his older brother to exorcise the ghost, and his long held belief that supernaturals are bad.

He is very loyal to his friends and helps them in any way he can. He is also easily flustered and sometimes makes mistakes due to rushing into things too quickly.

The Boy Exorcist
Kou appears from the roof as Nene and Hanako are chatting, jumping down and boldly announcing his arrival ( Nene mistakes him for a beautiful man showing up for her, of course ). He carries his staff that is covered in a black cloth. After Hanako recognizes Kou as being part of the infamous Minamoto Clan ( who are known for exorcising supernaturals ), and filling Nene in on it, Kou declares he will excorcise Hanako, as that is the calling of all the boys born into the clan.

Kou jumps up and lands a hit on Hanako’s shoulder with his staff, while Hanako calmly remarks that he doesn’t think Kou can pull it off. Just then, a surge of energy zaps him, and seemingly paralyze, he falls over. Kou goes on to explain how his staff works — the raiteijou is a staff that turns the user’s spirit energy into lightning that can effectively counter evil, or in this case Hanako. Kou goes in for a finishing blow, but Nene jumps in between the two. Startled and a little flustered, they introduce themselves to eachother. Nene defends Hanako, saying he’s a good supernatural. Kou grabs Nene by the shoulders saying she has it all wrong, and that Hanako is a diabolical spirit that took somebody’s life. He shouts that she being fooled and that she’ll just be another victim, but is cut off by Hanako, who had his knife to Kou’s neck. Hanako then declares he cannot let himself be exorcised.

They swing at each other again, Kou firing another blast of spirit energy, but Hanako is seemingly unphased by it now. He asks for the staff, saying he may let Kou go. He doesn’t back down, shouting that he isn’t going to run. He swiftly got taken down by Hanako, and flicked in the face.

He then quickly seals the staff, and remarks how Kou zapped himself every time he fired one at Hanako. Kou is embarrassed that he noticed. Hanako smiles and says that he could become a great exorcist, and he looks forward to being exorcised by him, which Kou is confused by. Hanako then delivers a final punch to the gut that knocks Kou out. He calls Hanako a jerk as he’s punched, and falls to the floor. Nene worries about the both of them, but is reassured that Kou’ll be fine, he’s pretty tough and that he’ll come back.

Minamoto Teru
Teru is Kou's older brother, and Kou has always looked up to him. The two of them are very close, and Teru cares deeply for his younger brother and vice versa. When Kou was little, his goal was to be an exorcist as great, or even greater than his brother.

Kou trusts Teru very much and takes his words to heart, which was why he believed and accepted Teru's order that he must expel any of the Seven Mysteries should he ever encounter any of them.

However, after seeing him in battle with Hanako, he grew to doubt if the things he'd been taught all his life was really right, and stood up to Teru for perhaps the first time.

Even after this, the two continue to have a positive relationship, and Teru gains a new understanding for his little brother.

Hanako
Kou first met Hanako when he tried to exorcise him because he believed him to be an evil spirit and that he was a threat to the students at the school. After a while, Kou started to believe that Hanako was not the evil spirit he was expecting, and the two started to become friends. Hanako nearly stopped the friendship when he threatened Kou, but when Teru attacked Hanako, Kou still defended him. Kou informed Teru that Hanako is likely not as evil as they thought, and that if Hanako turned out to be evil, Kou would take responsibility himself. Kou's defense surprised Hanako, and the two formed an unlikely friendship.

Yashiro Nene
Almost immediately after they met, Kou developed a crush on Nene, and is often shown blushing and getting flustered around her. Their relationship goes beyond just a crush however, and the two are very good friends. Kou is quick to defend Nene when others tease her, and is very supportive of her. They get along well, and Kou wants Nene to be happy and safe.

Mitsuba Sousuke
At first, Kou and Mitsuba did not get along, as Kou finds his attitude annoying and Mitsuba continuously insulted him, calling him a "Hella-Lame, Traffic-Safety-Earring Boy" and generally being rude.

However, once he finds out Mitsuba's reason behind his haunting, they quickly came to an understanding. Hearing about how Mitsuba was bullied in the past and how he tried to fake a personality to fit in better yet ending up being forgotten either way, Kou assured him that he'd remember "Mitsuba Sousuke" as someone who's "cocky, looks like a girl, sarcastic, selfish, has an annoying voice, obsessed with his camera, goes emo sometimes, and is only fake nice", and that he only needed to be himself to make friends.

When Mitsuba asked if they would have been friends if he were still alive, Kou responded that it didn't matter if he's dead, and that they could still be friends. Mitsuba also took a picture of him, and when asked what photo he took, he answered that it was "something important" to him.

Even though Mitsuba initially irritated him, Kou sympathized with him and genuinely tried to befriend him. After Mitsuba's disappearance, Kou is often shown thinking back to the incident, as he deeply regrets not being able to do anything to prevent it.

At their reunion in the Mirror Hell boundary, Kou was shocked to find out that Mitsuba has no memory of him. He gives Mitsuba the gardening club's photobook with pictures Mitsuba himself took, and insisted he remember his name. Currently, he seems to be trying to find a way to "save" Mitsuba.

Yugi Tsukasa
Kou holds a grudge against Tsukasa for his actions towards Mitsuba. He has referred to Tsukasa as "someone he can't forgive".

Yako
While Yako was initially hostile towards him, the two seems to have grown closer after she finds out that Kou had lost a friend due to the alteration of rumors. Yako ordered him to call her "Nee-san".

Tsuchigomori
Being Kou's homeroom teacher, they were familiar even before Tsuchigomori revealed himself as the curator of the 4PM Bookstacks.

Though he was wary of Tsuchigomori at first when he turned out to be a supernatural, Kou seems to hold some respect towards him. Kou constantly refers to Tsuchigomori as "Spiderface", much to his chagrin.

Yokoo and Satou
Yokoo and Satou are Kou's friends, and they've been classmates since the first year of middle school. The three are very close, and Kou worries about them often when the two are dragged into some supernatural accident.

Minamoto Clan Exorcist
Being from a clan of exorcists, Kou is able to see supernaturals and interact with them, unlike normal human beings. He is also able to use the raiteijou to perform exorcism, though it's been mentioned that he's pretty weak, and his skills aren't quite as advanced as his brother's yet.

Trivia

 * His favorite snack is sweet potato jellies.
 * Apparently, he doesn't have any concerns.
 * Kou's preferred type is someone with a cute smile.
 * He is skilled at cooking, and does all the chores at home.