Ikuo Takabayashi

"It's not fair for her to force her own ideas on the rest of us! You must have so many things you wanna know, Kouichi."

- Ikuo Takabayashi talks to Kouichi about the Curse.

Ikuo Takabayashi was a student from class 3-3, at Yomiyama North Middle School. His grandparents, Kensaku and Keiko, own Sakitani Kinenkan. He never appeared in the manga, though he was mentioned indirectly by Yuuya.

Plot
A quiet boy who sat in the back of the class, Ikuo Takabayashi was frequently absent from school due to his weak heart. In "Pic Monkey he was among the students who welcomed Kouichi to Class 3 on his first day.

Ikuo was one of the students Izumi pulled into the all class meeting to discuss her new countermeasures. In "Build Limbs", when Kouichi asked him and Mochizuki to walk home with him, Ikuo was willing to tell him the truth, saying how he didn't like how Izumi Akazawa was handling the situation. Before he could reveal anything, however, he immediately had a heart attack and died. He is one of the "Deaths of June."

He later appears in Kouichi's nightmare in "Body Paint", accusing Kouichi of causing his death, suggesting Kouichi felt guilty about it.

In the manga, his death is off-screen and is only mentioned by Yuuya, who received this news in a phone call. Unlike the anime, in the manga, his death was the catalyst for the class ignoring Kouichi, rather than being caused by it.

Personality
Ikuo is a rather quiet boy, but he seems to get along with the rest of the class. He reveals in "Rough Sketch" that he wants to be a runner, but he has a heart condition that makes that dream impossible. He also shows great courage - he alone is willing to tell Kouichi Sakakibara the reason why everyone was ignoring him and Mei, even though he knew what would likely happen if he did.

Appearance
He has short greenish-brown hair, green eyes and freckles. He doesn't appear at all in the manga, and his name is only mentioned once in passing. His school uniform consists of a white shirt and a blue vest instead of a blazer.

Trivia

 * He is ranked C in Another characters ranking.
 * His home address is 7-10 Tobiicho Yomiyama City.
 * His first name, Ikuo, means "fragrant man".
 * He and Yuuya Mochizuki are friends in the anime, but only passing acquaintances in the manga and novel. His role is more or less given to Yamada in the film, though other than the location of their deaths the two characters have little in common.
 * Ikuo died on June 4th.
 * He does not appear in the manga, but is mentioned. His role is vastly expanded in the anime.
 * In Chapter 8 Page 1 Kouichi refers to Takabayashi as "Her." This is a fan translation error, however, as the official English release uses his correct gender.

Gallery
Main article:Ikuo Takabayashi/Image Gallery