Takagi is one of the main protagonists of the series. He is one of Mashiro's classmates, and after discovering Mashiro's talent as an artist, he proposes that they publish a manga together. Although Mashiro refuses, the two soon come to work together. Takagi is a writer who specializes in unorthodox storylines and writes them into their manga. The two start working under the pen name "Muto Ashirogi" (亜城木 夢叶 Ashirogi Muto?); Takagi himself is often called Shujin (シュージン Shūjin?). He eventually dates and marries Azuki's best friend Kaya Miyoshi. He shares a rivalry with his former classmate Aiko Iwase. He was voiced by Shinnosuke Tachibana in the flash web-comic, and is voiced by Satoshi Hino in the anime.