Otogi Katsura and Toki Ninomae spend Fall in Love, You False Angels each managing a carefully built public face. Rai Futagami is the one who cuts straight through that dynamic — and, in a story built almost entirely around masks, he’s the one major character who doesn’t wear one. Known around school as the most popular guy in his year, Futagami ends up forming a triangle with Otogi and Toki. Here’s what makes him work, and what he adds to a story that’s otherwise all about the gap between the public self and the real one.
New to the series? Start here:
→ Fall in Love, You False Angels: Story, Cast & 2027 Anime
The One Guy Without a Mask
Where Otogi and Toki are each running a full-time performance, Futagami just doesn’t operate that way. He’s friendly with everyone, and whatever he’s feeling tends to show up on his face immediately. When he thinks Otogi is cute, he tells her so, directly, no games attached. When he likes someone, he goes after it honestly instead of circling the subject. Standing next to two people who’ve built their entire social existence around image management, Futagami’s total lack of a filter is what makes him stand out. There’s a nice bit of trivia in this, too: “Heart-Shot Angel,” the nickname Otogi is known by around school, was actually coined by Futagami himself — a very on-brand move for a guy who says exactly what he’s thinking.
Get to know the other two corners of the triangle:
→ Fall in Love, You False Angels: The Real Otogi Katsura
→ Fall in Love, You False Angels: The Real Toki Ninomae
What Makes Him Feel Like an Actual Teenager
Futagami’s biggest strength as a character is exactly how imperfect he is. He works up the nerve to go after the person he likes, then loses his nerve halfway there. He overthinks things. He panics. He isn’t smooth or strategic about any of it. That clumsiness is precisely what makes him read as a real teenager rather than a romantic archetype — next to Otogi and Toki’s performed perfection, Futagami’s appeal comes from the simple fact that there’s no performance to speak of.
The Night in Volume 6
Futagami’s defining moment comes during a group trip in volume 6. Alone with Otogi one night, he does everything he can to lighten the mood and make her laugh — even though, deep down, he already knows how things are going to end. He keeps trying anyway, right up until there’s nothing left to try. What follows isn’t a grand, self-sacrificing gesture. It’s Futagami quietly closing that chapter on his own terms, choosing to keep moving rather than let the moment define him. It’s one of the most honest scenes in the entire series — not because it’s dramatic, but because of how plainly he lets himself feel it and move forward anyway.
His Relationship with Toki
Early on, there’s real tension between Futagami and Toki, with Otogi caught in the middle. But that tension starts to shift after the volume 6 trip. It’s not quite a friendship — not yet, anyway — but something like mutual respect starts creeping in, two guys who’ve each taken the other seriously for the first time. Where that goes is one of the more quietly satisfying threads to keep an eye on as the story continues.
Why Futagami Makes This Story More Honest
Whatever happiness Otogi and Toki eventually find together doesn’t come at Futagami’s expense — and that distinction matters. It works because Futagami put his real feelings on the line and accepted the outcome instead of letting things stay unresolved, which in turn lets Otogi and Toki face things honestly instead of dodging them. Having a character like Futagami in the mix is a big part of why Fall in Love, You False Angels reads as more than a straightforward “will they, won’t they” — everyone involved actually shows up for the hard conversation.
Curious about the 2027 anime?
→ Fall in Love, You False Angels Gets a 2027 TV Anime: MAPPA Confirmed as Studio
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