#beniko

Kumiko: is his childhood sweetheart whose family moved away from Konoha when they were still very young. Ryuuta promised her to become a ninja so he could travel and find her again so they could get married. As he grew up, he did not forget that promise and it become the biggest motivator in his life, which somehow he eventually manages to fullfill when he does indeed meet Kumiko again - but she has lived her life in the meantime, having found a different partner and starting a family. It broke Ryuuta's heart, but they had an extensive talk about it, and they mutually agreed to remain friends afterwards, with Kumiko encouraging to pursue his other connections, those being:

Rie: Went to the same classes as him once he decided to become a ninja, and was generally viewed as a prodigy, which did go to her head a little bit. She's pretty cocky and confident, though she's also spoiled and doesn't like losing. That's why she tends to keep her real thoughts and feelings hidden behind a bold exterior, and why her feelings towards Ryuuta are an everlasting unspoken - they are a little more one-sided from her side than she likes, and so if she doesn't verbalize them, she can't get rejected. Easy maths! Ryuuta has a certain fondness for her, but he ultimately can't see a real future with her, hence why he has to reject her in the end but takes great care to respect her walls (kinda hard to reject somebody who has never uttered a word on it after all, but he deals with it). She takes it lightheartedly in front of him, but in the privacy of her home she's deeply upset about it.

Beniko: The eventual winner. She's from Suna with a curated public image of something like a femme fatale, and she and Ryuuta met via various events and missions. There was always something between them, but this too was left unspoken sind Ryuuta remained focused on Kumiko. Beniko was aware of that, so unlike Rie, who didn't confess because she's a scared spoiled baby, Beniko did it out of emotional awareness, not wanting to put additional strain on Ryuuta since well, she could live without him. She was convinced that he'd pick Rie in the end, given that Beniko and Ryuuta are a few years apart and Rie is closer to his own age, and Beniko isn't from his village (she thought that after searching for somebody for about 20 years, he would not be willing to enter a relationship with somebody who also isn't immediately around) - so she was a bit surprised but delighted when Ryuuta asked her to be in an official relationship.

Enonoka (エノノカ): 100 cm Cikapasi (チカパシ): 100 cm Asirpa (アシㇼパ): 120 cm Chōkichi (長吉) 134 cm Beniko (紅子): 141 cm Yamada (山田): 152 cm Yōyanke (ヨーヤンケ): 161 cm Tsukishima Hajime (月島 基): 164 cm Yamada Fumie (山田 フミエ): 167 cm Shiraishi Yoshitake (白石 由竹): 170 cm Ogata Hyakunosuke (尾形 百之助): 171 cm Koito Otonoshin (鯉登 音之進): 173 cm Sugimoto Saichi(杉元 佐一) : 175 cm Kiroranke/Yulbars (キロランケ/Юлбарс): 184 cm Tanigaki Genjirō (谷垣 源次郎): 185 cm Gansoku Maiharu (岩息 舞治): 193 cm

Extra:

The Arisaka is drawn as 128 cm long without the bayonet and as almost 160 cm long with it.

The Russian guys that attack Sugimoto during his circus show are 180 cm, 185 cm and 187 cm.

HOW TRUSTWORTHY ARE THESE DATA?

Now... Noda, in his fanbook, didn’t give heights, he just tells us if the characters are taller, shorter or of the same height as some others.

However, as you can see, if we add the old and the new heights given by the anime settei, they match with Noda’s prospect, so I'll say the anime is accurate enough.

1 Cikapasi (100 cm according to the anime) 2 Asirpa (120 cm according to the anime) 3 Nagakura Shinpachi, Ienaga Kano (160 cm according to the anime) 4 Henmi Kazuo, Inkaramat, Anehata Shiton 5 Tsukishima Hajime (164 cm according to the anime) 6 Nikaidō Kōhei, Nikaidō Yōhei, Okuyama Kantarō 7 Kadokura Toshiyuki 8 Kirawus 9 Hijikata Toshizō, Usami Tokishige, Sofia (168 cm according to the anime) 10 Shiraishi Yoshitake (170 cm according to the anime) 11 Ogata Hyakunosuke (171 cm according to the anime) 12 Edogai Yasaku 13 Tsurumi Tokushirō, Koito Otonoshin (173 cm according to the anime) 14 Sugimoto Saichi, Toni Anji, Wilk (175 cm according to the anime) 15 Vasily 16 Nihei Tetsuzō 17 Kikuta Mokutarō 18 Kiroranke/Yulbars (184 cm according to the anime) 19 Tanigaki Genjirō, Ariko Rikimatsu (185 cm according to the anime) 20 Ushiyama Tatsuma (188 cm according to the anime)