Ren Sakakibara

Ren Sakakibara is a student in Class 3-A in Kunugigaoka Junior High School and one of the Five Virtuosos. He is also the Student Council secretary.

Appearance
Ren has black hair (brown in the anime) that is fashioned into a kariage (clipped) hairstyle and dark, almond-shaped eyes and fair skin. Like Asano, he is considered extremely attractive. His hair is flipped to the side.

Personality
Like the other Virtuoso, Ren is an arrogant person. He also appears to be rather narcissistic. However, he isn't rude and comes across as quiet, which may stem from his affinity with poetry and the humanities. He's flirtatious, and often uses his knowledge in poetry to flirt with girls. He normally doesn't take part in the Class E bashing and it's possible that he holds a degree of respect for their abilities (as shown during the first finals arc where he complimented Yukiko Kanzaki for her ability to understand the words). Out of all of the Virtuoso, Ren is arguably the nicest.

Abilities
Poetry and Humanities: Ren's specialty. He has been described as a shrewd poet and is very talented in this field. He often uses modified poems to sweeten his words when talking to girls showing that he holds vast knowledge in this field.

Relationships

 * Yukiko Kanzaki: Ren's Class E academic rival for Japanese. Unlike the other Virtuosos, who looked down upon their academic rivals in Class E, he appeared to show a degree of respect for her abilities. He is attracted to her beauty and is shown to flirt with her constantly when interacting with her, much to her uneasiness, and the annoyance of Tomohito Sugino.


 * Gakushū Asano: Ren's friend and fellow Virtuoso. It is noted that these two stand on more equal ground due to both being on the student council in addition to their grades. It is hinted that these two are close friends considering the fact that Asano refers to him by his first name and responds the most to him, and the fact that he seems to hold the most confidence in Asano and his abilities. Ren is also noted to be rather casual towards Asano.

Trivia

 * According to the Graduation Album, Ren gets into the modelling business while attending university.
 * Even in college, he was still a philanderer, creating a situation that almost resulted in bloodshed. After being lectured to by Asano, he has fixed his ways.
 * According to the Character Book, the number of women Ren has been in a relationship with exceeds Maehara’s record, making him 1st place in the school.
 * The Character Book also explicitly states that Ren is one of the only ones who speaks with Asano as an equal. This is because of his academic ability, financial strength, and level of motivation, which have given him high status in the school.