The archetypical "kimagure" (whimsical) character, Madoka is secretly in love with Kyōsuke, and is best friends with Hikaru Hiyama (who is also in love with Kyōsuke). Madoka is described as having an adult allure despite being in junior high school.[citation needed]
When she first meets Kyōsuke, she appears to be a pretty and sweet girl. This, however, is in stark contrast to her personality at school, where she is aloof and feared by both the male and female students as a sukeban or a reputed juvenile delinquent. In the TV series she is nicknamed "Madoka the Pick" due to her ability to wield a guitar pick like a shuriken. Despite her "punk" reputation, Madoka is also shown to excel at various activities both scholarly and athletic. She is able to earn high marks in school and still work part-time at Cafe ABCB (pronounced "ah-ba kah-bu").[citation needed]
Madoka's parents are kind-hearted but workaholic professional musicians often touring outside Japan, so she lives in a large house with her older sister. After her sister gets married and goes to live abroad with her husband, Madoka lives there alone. The story involves the eventual shedding of her tough exterior after she becomes Kyōsuke's friend, as evidenced by the changes in her life after she meets him. She gives up smoking because of him, and in the manga other characters note that she becomes friendlier and does better academically following Kyōsuke's arrival.[citation needed]
As revealed in the last episode of the anime (which occurred near the end of the manga run), Madoka also holds a special place in her heart for a mysterious man whom she met under a tree in the past. Madoka drastically changed her appearance starting 6 years before, after her encounter with present-day time travelling Kyosuke, who in fact was stating his preferences based on the present-day Madoka. In the end, Madoka still did not know that Kyosuke was the mysterious man, but senses a connection to him.