Shun Hashimoto

Shun Hashimoto (橋本 駿 Hashimoto Shun) is a main character in The Stranger by the Beach and Stranger in the Spring Breeze. He is one of the main characters, alongside Mio Chibana.

Appearance
Shun possesses short and messy taupe hair with bangs. His eyes are a similar mousy shade.

Button-up shirts and polos covered with a cardigan are his signature outfits. If not this, zippered hoodies and sweaters are also worn under a light jacket or trench coat. Occasionally he dons a pair of glasses when writing his manuscripts and in public to avoid recognition. Because of the effort exerted into his job, he's repeatedly described as exhausted-looking, but it's also stated that he’s “feminine” looking by one of his classmates, which is part of the reason he became so self conscious in expressing his sexuality.

Personality
Shun works relentlessly when needed, which might contribute to why he views his life so pessimistically. He’s commonly seen working on his writing up until the deadline, sacrificing rest and failing to properly take care of himself in the process. This is due to procrastination on his part. Shun bottles up his identity to protect himself from the loss of friends. He speaks bluntly and mostly without a filter, but can also be polite and sweet when need be or when he wants to. Despite his generally calm exterior, he becomes flustered quite easily. He’s especially introspective and tends to overanalyze things, particularly his relationship with Mio.

Stranger by the Beach
Shun lives with his grandmother on an island in Okinawa. Due to his failed arranged marriage with his ex-fiancé Sakurako, he escapes from his family and lives on the island for three years. Shun struggles with internalized homophobia; he experiences flashbacks/dreams of his past where his sexuality is unaccepted by individuals such as his classmate Wada-kun and his parents.

His first appearance is him wondering who Mio Chibana is and why he always sits by the sea. Speaking with him, Shun then eats together with Mio, Shun's grandmother, with Eri and Suzu. He learns that Mio is heading to an orphanage across the mainland in the morning.

Winning an award for his novel, Shun receives a postcard saying "congratulations" from Mio and then little else over the three years apart. Seeing that Eri has arranged for Mio to return and move in with him, in contrast to Shun's happiness at being together, Shun considers the lack of contact over the three years and raises that Mio using the phone was not a hard thing to do.

With Sakurako - the woman he was arranged to marry - returning, Shun mentions that he and Mio are dating. He considers her letter regarding his father's health but answers that he has no feelings for Sakurako herself. With Mio upset since he felt Shun was about to give Sakurako a goodbye kiss as she requested, Shun tries to help the situation. With stating that there is food not working, Shun asks that his grandmother please not come into the bedroom until tomorrow morning.

Having liked Mio more then he knows after they sleep together, Shun decides he will also head home to see his family in Hokkaido. With Mio saying he will call now that he has a phone, Shun asks for Mio to come there with him then questions whether he wants to stay holed up on the island as he did.

Stranger in the Spring Breeze
Onboard a plane with Mio after the events of Stranger by the Sea, Shun thinks back to his childhood. Whilst he is anxious about traveling to his parents, he notices that Mio is stressing about the crowds, so he takes his hand, but Mio quickly becomes uncomfortable since he notices people talking about them. They stay in a hotel for the night, and the next morning Mio leaves to grab some things for Shun but finds a young boy with his father who's collapsed on the beach. Mio helps them out and gets invited back to their house, which turns out to be Shun's parent's house.

Shun eventually meets up with Mio after receiving a call from his mother's phone, confused about why he's in his house, and is surprised by the appearance of Fumi, his supposed younger brother. Yuriko confirms that Fumi was adopted and Shun is reluctant to become close with him. Shun and Mio move in with his parents and clean up another house they own, which shows how wealthy Shun's family used to be. They stay in this house but eat meals with Shun's family at their main house, and Fumi often sleeps in their room. After they settle in, Mio picks up multiple jobs and starts doing housework, such as cooking, cleaning, and laundry, helping Yuriko.

Shun's next book turns out to be a hit, and his family including Mio are constantly bombarded by fans. Due to his newfound popularity, Shun decides to take a break from writing and hardly ever leaves the house. After a five year timeskip, Mio and Shun are still happily living together with Shun's parents, while Fumi is going through his "rebellious" stage and is found out to be in love with Sakurako, Shun's ex-fiancé. Shun is a little bit depressed since he hasn't really left the house, and since Mio has been so busy with his job and housework they don't spend much time together.

Mio Chibana
Shun takes an interest in Mio after seeing him sitting alone watching the sea at night. He tries to talk to him, but at first Mio ignores him and is reluctant to speak. Eventually he cracks and spends the night eating dinner with Shun, his grandmother, Eri, and Suzu. The next day, Mio leaves to an orphanage on the main island of Okinawa. Three years later, Mio shows up and moves in with Shun with the help of Eri, however Shun does not match his excited energy since they barely spoke during the three years he was gone. Whilst they lived together, Shun was reluctant against physical contact. This is completely put to the side after Sakurako's arrival. and Shun re-affirms his relationship with Mio. During the events of Stranger in the Spring Breeze, they move to northern Japan together to live with Shun's parents and adopted brother. Despite Mio saying that he is not good with crowds, Shun notices that he is good with kids, after seeing how he interacts with Fumi.

Shun's Grandmother
Living with her, Shun assists with deliveries and general tasks to help out. Sometimes he works at her restaurant, where eventually Mio begins work as well. Miyako is accepting of Shun's sexuality and his relationship with Mio.

Eri
Shun and Eri lived together with Miyako, Shun's grandmother, before Eri moves nearby with Suzu. They still remain close friends and keep in contact as usual. Eri is presumed to be a lesbian, and is in a healthy relationship with Suzu, as Mio mentions.

Sakurako
Sakurako was Shun's childhood friend, and loved him so much that she was arranged to have a marriage with him. Eventually she realizes that Shun doesn't return her feelings, since he tells her that he isn't interested in girls. During Stranger by the Sea, she comes to the island where Shun lives to try and win him back, however, she eventually gives up on him when Mio tells her he loves Shun. She gives Shun a letter that claims his father is seriously ill to try and convince him to return to the mainland, which is eventually proven false.

Yuriko Hashimoto
Yuriko is Shun's mother. She is married to Shun's unnamed father, and adopted mother to Fumi. She takes in both Mio and Shun and doesn't mind that they moved in, and cries when they mention wanting to move out. She is generally accepting of Shun's sexuality and relationship with Mio. Shun's father is either not accepting of or is indifferent towards their relationship, telling them to show affection only when it's just the two of them. It's assumed that Shun left home and was reluctant to return because he thought his father hated him because of his sexuality.

Etymology

 * The name Shun means "fast" (駿).
 * Shun's surname Hashimoto means "bridge" (橋) (hashi) and "base, root, origin, source" (本) (moto).

Trivia

 * Shun's debut novel earns him a prestigious award, in which Mio Chibana congratulates him on through a postcard.
 * Shun considers himself an expert in stress.
 * There's a high chance Shun developed depression after he took a break from writing.
 * He usually uses the phrase "The moon looks beautiful tonight" to tell Mio he loves him instead of saying it directly.
 * He owns a plain white shirt that says DESTROY in capital letters.
 * Shun is not very good with children.
 * His MBTI personality type has been voted as INTP on the personality database.