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 is a student from class 3-3, at Yomiyama North Middle School. His grandparents, Kensaku and Keiko, own Sakitani Kinenkan. In the manga he is only mentioned, at his death.

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.

Plot
He was born with a weak heart, and doesn't talk much to people. He is also frequently absent from school. In Episode 1 he was standing around Kouichi Sakakibara along with some other classmates. In Episode 5, when Kouichi asked him and Mochizuki to walk home with him, Takabayashi is willing to tell him the truth, saying how he didn't like how Izumi Akazawa was handling the situation. Before he can reveal anything, however, he immediately has a heart attack and dies. He is one of the "Deaths of June".

He later appears in Kouichi's nightmare in episode 9,  claiming that his death was Kouichi's fault.

In the manga his death is off-screen and is only mentioned by Yuuya, who received this news from a phone call.



Gallery
Main article:Ikuo Takabayashi/Image Gallery 

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.
 * Ikuo died on June 6th.
 * 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, as the official English release uses his correct gender.