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Main Characters[]

Recette[]

File:Recettear Recette 9440.gif

Capitalism, ho!

The hero of our tale and the character you play as. Recette is a young girl who, up until now, had practically not a care in the world as her father took care of everything. He's run off to go "be a hero", however, leaving her alone... and apparently saddled with the debt of a massive loan he took out from Terme Finance! Now it falls to Recette to pay back the debt, using her house as an item store.

Recette can be a little "air-headed" at times, but she's also very sincere. Despite the hardship placed in front of her, she never seems to lose her sunny disposition.


Cquote1

 A darkly handsome evil overlord? In this day and age? Are you kidding?

Cquote2
  • Gosh Darn It to Heck: "What the Heckles?" is probably the closest that Recette even comes close to swearing in this game.
  • Improbable Age: Recette is maybe 13 years old at oldest and opens up her own business. Justified though due to her Disappeared Dad leaving her no real choice and having Tear to guide her.
  • Meaningful Name: Amongst other meanings, "Recette" in French can means "receipt" or "takings".
  • The Messiah: Recette: reforming villains left and right by sheer force of adorability.
  • Parental Abandonment: Recette's father left home on an adventure and never came back. It's not clear what happened to her mother.
    • In Lapis Ruins, Recette abandons her own father in the dungeon after feeling too embarrassed at her father's terrible state.
    • In the ending theme, Recette gives someone (apparently Louie, since he's the one who frequently reminds her of her father) a sandwich her mother made.
  • The Pollyanna
  • Shipper on Deck: Subverted, she feels Griff is in love with Tear and actively says she doesn't want that to happen.
  • Sweet Tooth: Though she pales in comparison to Tielle.
  • Wise Beyond Their Years
  • Young Entrepreneur

Tear[]

File:Recettear Tear 1841.gif

Merde... really now...

Recette's straight-laced, long-suffering fairy advisor. She's the one who has been sent to collect on the loan Recette's father has seemingly skipped out on. Seeing that Recette had no way of paying her back immediately, Tear is the one who suggested starting the item shop. There are times she wonders if this was such a good idea, though...

Tear is a fairy, not a human. As such, she doesn't really think like a human and there are times when the behavior of Recette or others absolutely mystifies her. She's cool and analytical, but she isn't cruel; she seems to honestly want to help Recette, in addition to getting the loan repaid.


  • Bare Your Midriff
  • Becoming the Mask: While she was sent by Terme Finance to help Recette with her debt, this was nothing but a cover for her main duty, which was to gather information in Pensee and report it back to Avall. Once she got the relevant information, she realized no mortal should know about it and focused on taking care of Recette.
  • Beleaguered Assistant: Starts out as one, but relaxes her attitude a bit once Recette's gotten a hold of things.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Her most common attitude, acting as a foil to Recette and everyone else.
  • Fairy Companion/Exposition Fairy: To Recette. In fact, Fairy Companions were specifically bred by The Fair Folk; upon being genocided by humanity due to them being....TheFairFolk. Facing extinction, they recreated themselves into something; anything that humanity would find useful and not kill off. This involved inhuman breeding, training, and banishing of anyone who showed aspects of the old ways.
    • Is kind of this for adventurers in the dungeons.
    • Was this to Avall until she stopped reporting back to him.
  • Foreign Cuss Word: "Merde", which Tear likes to say when Recette or others are being particularly frustrating.
  • Gratuitous French
  • Insistent Terminology: Tear is a loan shark. She just doesn't like being referred to as one.
  • Loan Shark: Subverted. Tear is essentially a loan shark, but she's committed to helping Recette pay off her father's debts and even gives her the idea of starting an item shop. However, she still won't bat an eye at repossessing Recette's house and kicking her to the street if she can't pay up in time.
  • Meganekko
  • The Mole: See Becoming the Mask.
  • Only Sane Man


Adventurers[]

Louie[]

File:Recettear Louie 5708.gif

You guys are pretty new at all of this too, huh?

A newly-arrived adventurer who Recette soon befriends. In a different sort of tale, Louie may well have been our protagonist - brave, earnest, loyal and trustworthy, he's everything you could want from a swordsman. Too bad he's also dead broke and doesn't seem likely to be any less broke anytime soon.

Louie is the first adventurer you get, and he fights with a sword & shield. His repertoire of special moves is a bit limited, but if you can help him out with equipment he can become quite formidable!


  • Denial of Diagonal Attack: Louie has a wide attack arc to compensate for this.
  • The Ditz: It's no surprise that he and Recette get along well and drive Tear crazy.
  • Expy: Gameplay wise, of Link (2-D)
  • Heroic Wannabe
  • Idiot Hero: Emphasis on "idiot."
  • Jack of All Stats: He's right in the middle in terms of speed, range, and power, though his shield and wide attack range also make him perfect for beginners.
  • Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Louie has the ability to block certain attacks with his shield.
  • Meaningful Name: Louie's name in the original Japanese is "Lui", which can stand in for both "Louis" (as more or less translated in English) or "Lui": "Him", as in, "that generic guy".
  • Perpetual Poverty: Eventually he resorts to eating plants growing around the town square.
  • Scarf of Asskicking: Potentially. He tends to request scarves and other cold-weather items, and his True Card has a piece of his muffler attached.
  • Ship Tease: His true card says he'll be with Recette forever, that said, just say with a straight face that there's no chance he might have a crush on her.
  • Sword Beam: Signature attack for Louie once he's leveled up a bit.

Charme[]

File:Recettear Charme 303.gif

So. Your treasures, valuables, and assorted shiny bits. I'll be taking them, if you please.

The self-titled "Lady Thief", Charme is a bit of an enigma. She's a self-admitted cutpurse who'll steal from any "berk" who she thinks is an easy mark, but she takes a liking to Recette (after getting her behind handed to her) and seems to be a nice person at heart (if one with a moral framework that can only be described as "loose"). She also seems to have a thing for using her ill-gotten gains to fund trips to the local pub...

Charme is a dagger-wielding thief. In dungeons, she's a bit faster than other characters (and can equip shoes that allow her to go even faster), can sprint by double-tapping a direction, and possesses several unique skills that she's apparently picked up from her life of crime.


Caillou[]

File:Recettear Caillou 8132.gif

Awwww maaaan, you gotta be... ahem. Well, yes, that's acceptable.

Caillou is, at first glance, simply a young boy in odd-looking clothes. You call him a "boy" at your own peril, however - despite his age, Caillou is an accomplished magician and is very proud of his achievements. Even though he's young, he speaks and acts in a fashion far beyond his years (usually), and seems to expect to be treated like an adult in kind. He finds it just a little hard to believe that someone like Recette could be nearly as successful as he is, though...

Caillou is a magic-user, and thus controls fairly differently than the other adventurers. He's a bit fragile, but his repretoire of special attacks is unmatched, and his magic staves work quite differently from most other weapons, too!


  • Beam Spam: His signature attack.
  • Black Mage
  • Cute Shotaro Boy: He hates being treated like a child even though he has shown some childish tendencies.
  • Emergency Weapon: Caillou's standard attack is downright pitiful, but does return some of the damage done as MP.
  • Genius' Sweet Tooth
  • Insufferable Genius: Is charitably this, or not-so-charitably just a Jerkass.
  • More Dakka: Caillou can hold down the ability key to spam one of his magic in a cone, though it runs on mana to keep him restricted.
  • Running Gag: Caillou will never believe Recette's claims that she is the owner of the store.
Cquote1

 You dare make a fool out of me?! You must think I'm just some idiot kid... You expect me to believe someone as SHORT as you owns this establishment?!

Cquote2

Tielle[]

File:Recettear Tielle 2783.gif

That's right, I need to find sis!

Tielle is that rarest of things - an elven child. Roughly Recette's age, she came to Pensee with her older sister, but after a trip to a certain dungeon, has gotten lost... and she may have trouble trusting strangers in her fear.

Tielle is an archer, and thus all of her attacks hit the enemy from range. If she takes time to prepare (by you holding down the attack button), she can even perform some very impressive trick shots... that can cause a lot of damage!


  • The Archer: Has the obligatory Multishot, trick arrows and ability to single handedly bring down a Rain of Arrows.
  • Badass Adorable: Anybody who can do what she can with a bow has to be Badass and she's definitely adorable. One of her abilities is even named "Cuterage!"
  • Beam Spam: Her signature attack.
  • Big Eater: Especially when it comes to sweets.
  • Charged Attack: Tielle's bow is a hold-type charge, with 6 power levels (0-5). At 0, the arrow travels a short distance and then falls to the ground. at 1, it flies in the fired direction indefinitely, at 2 she shoots 3 arrows as such, at 3, 5 arrows, at 4, 5 arrows in front of her and one behind her, and at 5, 5 in front, 3 behind.
    • She gets a 7th level when she enters "Berserk Mode": 5 arrows on both sides with a slight power increase. She also charges a lot faster when berserked, going from 0-6 in less than 3 seconds.
  • Cowardly Boss: The fight with Tielle has the adventurer chasing her down through three different rooms while clearing a path through various crates to reach her, after which Tielle runs off to the next room. The last room is where the adventurer gets to fight her proper. Justified as Tielle is lost in the dungeon at the time and understandably scared.
  • Defeat Equals Friendship/Playable
  • Determinator: Unlike the other character bosses, who generally know when to quit, Tielle forces you to wound her almost fatally before collapsing.
  • Hair Decorations: Tielle's flowers.
  • Redemption Demotion: Tielle loses most of her hitpoints once she decides to work for you, but she at least has the decency to keep all of her special moves and gains another one after about five levels.
  • Sweet Tooth: She apparently subsists on nothing but sweets in huge quantities.
  • Wake Up Call Boss: After several bosses with predictable movement and little health to make up for their weakness, in comes a three-stage battle! Once you survive through her arrow barrage, you get to fight her directly, who boasts a ridiculously great health bar for her size, and has instant reaction that allows her to attack you faster than your attack actually completes its animation. The infinitely-respawning, rock-throwing kobolds throughout the whole battle don't help the situation either.

Elan[]

File:Recettear Elan 1198.gif

Then whatcha standin' around here for?

Elan is a somewhat gruff but good-natured aspiring priest who focuses on training his body as well as his mind. He seems to have an attachment to the Pensee orphanage, and tries his best to make the lives of the children there better. He seems attached to one former orphan in particular...

In combat, Elan is purely a brawler - all he needs are his fists, helped along by gloves. He can land quite a few blows faster than anyone else Recette can hire, but it means getting pretty close to your foes!


  • Gentle Giant: His dialog portrait[1] towers over everyone else, yet he's a priest in training who spends what little money he has on presents for orphans and even wants to run an orphanage himself.
  • Good Old Fisticuffs: His Weapon of Choice.
  • Meaningful Name: "Elan" is French for "spirit" or "zeal", and can also mean "momentum" or "running up".
  • Never Live It Down: In-Universe, it's only about the fifth time meeting Elan buying sweets for orphans, discussing his (insane) training regimen, or how he's a priest in training that Tear finally realizes that Elan's not so bad in spite of coming across him running up a bar tab he couldn't pay the first time she met him.
  • Perpetual Poverty: Elan is at one point noted to be even worse off than Louie, and not just with bar tabs - Elan's shopping budget is much, much lower.
  • Shoryuken: A favored move of Elan's.
  • Warrior Monk

Nagi[]

File:Recettear Nagi 5398.gif

Oh, don't worry. My sense of direction is excellent.

Nagi is a young woman from a country located far to the east of Pensee. Exactly how she ended up so far from home is a bit of a mystery, even to her, although many suspect it has something to do with her sense of direction... either way, she's still a welcome sight in Pensee due to her calm, polite demeanor and willingness to help others.

Nagi uses spears in combat. This gives her the greatest reach of all the adventurers, but also means the arc of her attack is the narrowest by far. Still, she has several unique abilities, and can wear all but the heaviest of armors.


Cquote1
Cquote2
      • She later admits she was wrong in that regard.
    • Recette and Tear actually express shock when Nagi somehow manages to find the store.
    • Later in the bar, Recette and Tear notice how Nagi is wearing clothes that are very 'eastern' (she is wearing a kimono). It dawns upon them that she might actually be much more 'lost' than they first guessed...
Cquote1

 Recette: {Jokingly} You didn't get so lost that you ended up here, right?

Tear: Oh, do not be cruel. Even Nagi could not manage that.

Nagi: {After a long pause} Ah, well...

Cquote2
    • Further hinted at in a different cutscene - Nagi mentions she's not much good at using a knife and fork yet. Maybe she's used to chopsticks?

Griff[]

File:Recettear Griff 5991.gif

... How happily, moronically innocent young humans are.


Arma[]

File:Recettear Arma 9144.gif

"Missarma". Negative. Arma.


  • Brainwashed and Crazy: In the Lapis Ruins storyline by Avall.
  • Dungeon Master
  • Emotionless Girl
  • Golem
  • Meaningful Name: Arma's name complements another fellow Golem and final boss of the story mode, Geddon. It also means "weapon" in several languages.
  • More Dakka: Some of Arma's equipment allows her to spam bullets in a large range as her standard attack.
  • Purposefully Overpowered: Arma's various weapons give her a wide range of attack options with impressive stats, and several even recreate the special attacks of other adventurers while being based on a quickly-recharging ammo bar with no significant nerf. In fact, her only real drawback is she joins you last, yet starts at level 1. On the other hand, she's your reward for clearing every adventuring challenge save the Brutal Bonus Level, so this was probably intentional.
  • Robot Girl
  • This Is a Drill: One of her weapons.
  • Wave Motion Gun: Arma's special attack. You can only fire it once, and it consumes all your SP; you need to completely refill your SP bar to fire again.


Other Characters[]

Guild Master[]

File:Recettear Guildmaster 1176.gif

Alright, little lady! Give 'em your all!

The master of the Merchant's Guild, and one of Recette's most important allies. He oversees the activities of all the merchants in the city, and handles wholesaling of items to anyone registered with the Guild. Staying on his good side is probably a wise idea, but he's naturally rather protective of Recette in any case. He even keeps the guild open late at night, although that might be in part to avoid going home...


Alouette[]

File:Recettear Alouette 3786.gif

This confirms it! You are indeed worthy of being my rival!

The self-proclaimed rival to Recette. Alouette is the wealthy daughter of the head of the retail chain Big Bash. She has a taste for the finer things in life and will not hesitate to remind Recette of this, addressing her as a plebian and peasant.

Although she calls Recette her rival, Alouette appears to have little grasp around the concept of rivalry and will often stop by to aid Recette's store with acts of charity.


  • Hostile Show Takeover: Attempted to do so when the main storyline finishes, but she was only able to describe the post-game content.
  • Noblewoman's Laugh: Alouette does her best twelve year old imitation of this at every opportunity.
  • Rich Bitch: Players will love her precisely for this reason. You can present ridiculously high prices for already ridiculously pricey items, and she is always ready to pay for it.
    • She's also the only customer who will gravitate towards treasures without explicitly asking for them.
  • The Rival: Appeared to be this to Recette in their initial encounter. However there are no game mechanics that actually have her compete against Recette, and in fact she will be your favorite customer as she buys at some of the highest percentages. The subversion is intentional in the end since what Alouette really wants is a friend, not a rival.
  • Tsundere: To Recette, Type A. She is nothing but tsundere in the Lapis Ruins storyline.

Prime[]

File:Recettear Prime 1699.gif

Shyeah, yeah, what's up?

The self-proclaimed guardian to Alouette. She has quite the history with Alouette's family and owes a great deal of gratitude to Alouette's father. As acting guardian, she often acts as the voice of reason to her young charge.

While she, like Tear, is a fairy, she seems to have a better grasp on human concepts. In particular she has a fondness for biting sarcasm which she delights in using at every opportunity.


  • Deadpan Snarker: Even moreso than Tear, and she's rather blunt about it too.
  • Fairy Companion / Exposition Fairy: For Alouette. Subverted in that she's not contracted to Alouette, and is in fact Free. However, she helps Alouette out due to respect to her father, who freed her. Also, it's probably not a good idea to advertise that she's not Bound.
  • Only Sane Man: For Alouette.

Euria[]

File:Recettear Euria 4004.gif

Ain't there some rich, foolish adventurer out there with more money than good sense?

A conniving young scam artist with an eye on the world's riches, Euria just set up shop in Pensee. She has a reputation for cleaning out the wallets of countless rich clueless marks and won't accept anything less. She has set her sights on our heroine Recette who has recently come into quite a bit of money.

Despite her underhanded nature, rare treasures lie buried among her many trinkets, but only if Euria is feeling particularly generous.


Avall[]

The head of Terme Finance, and the man Recette owes her debt to.

  • Big Bad: Technically this, since he's the one forcing Recette to pay a ridiculously huge sum in a short amount of time. He plays this straight in the Lapis Ruins storyline in which his Evil Plan is to control the power of the dungeons. The debt was also a lie to give Tear an opening to gather information about the dungeons.
  • Complete Monster: Is after power, and is willing to do anything, anything to get it.
Cquote1

  "Those who attempted it are now bleeding out of their eye sockets, but it doesn't matter. They were successful and now I have full control over this terminal.

Cquote2
  • Xanatos Gambit: If Recette fails to pay her debt, he gets a new shop to expand his business with. If she does succeed in paying it off, than, through Tear's reports, he'll have all the information he needs to take control of the world's dungeons, and by extension, the world.
  1. All of which appear to be scaled correctly against each other, save fairies, who seem to get sized up
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