Characters:

Hasukawa Kazuya --This is the main character of the story, a young man with rather spectacular bad luck. Hasukawa, dubbed "Suka-chan" by Shun, his roommate in room 210 ("Suka-chan", derived from part of his name, means "little nothing"), is a likeable young man who enters Ryokuto Academy a couple of months late because of a hospitalization due to an ulcer. The reason for his unclear? His first love, a lovely young lady named Sumire, has married his older brother, Kazuhiro, and unable to bear living under the same roof as Sumire and his brother, Suka-chan goes to live in the dorms. Unfortunately, he doesn't really escape Kazuhiro, as Kazuhiro is the student body's nurse and in charge of the infirmary, a fact that embarrasses Suka-chan enough that he makes his brother swear never to reveal they are related.

I like Suka-chan very well -- he's far from perfect, and is, in almost all respects, a fairly normal boy. He's fairly serious-minded, but has a temper that he sometimes has difficulty keeping under control. He has empathy and sympathy for others, has a very good heart, and a solid sense of right and wrong. He's dependable and loyal, and would do anything for another, and to protect those he cares for. He wears his heart on his sleeve, something that frequently gets him into trouble with his sempai, Shinobu and Mitsuru, who tease him constantly because it's so easy.  :-) Suka-chan simply doesn't take it lying down, though; he fights back, which earns him his sempai's respect. He's not gorgeous, but he is attractive, with short red hair and big rose-colored eyes, and he looks quite nice in track shorts.  ;-)  I was lucky enough to get the fansubs, and I kept wondering why he sounded familiar -- he's also the seiyuu for Urameshi Yuusuke in YYH, Shin in Yoroiden Samurai Troopers, Naoe Nagi in Weiss Kruez, Sakaguchi Hajime in Please Save My Earth, Clef in Rayearth, Chihaya in Earthian, and Elam/Eram in Legend of Arslan.

Ikeda Mitsuru -- One of Suka-chan's sempai, a student a year ahead of him and at the beginning of the series, Greenwood's dorm president.

Ah, Mitsuru.  :-)

Mitsuru is a real bishounen, a tall, slim young man with violet eyes and short blond hair. Eye candy, but much more than that. Mitsuru is a genuinely nice guy, albeit in a sometimes rough, teasing way. He's very appealing visually and personality wise; girls find him irresistable and wait outside the school gates for a single look at him. He's friendly, talkative, open, and has a definite mischevous bent. He appears to be a very good dorm president, looking after his friends, and we see him tutoring Suka-chan to help him get caught up (though he's not above whapping Suka-chan with a rolled up magazine when he gets frustrated with him), and later, Shun. He's good natured and not prone to violence or vengeance, though he is quite the martial arts pro. He has a voracious appetite, and frequently steals food from Suka-chan and anyone else's tray he can reach.  He thinks it's in Suka-chan's best interest to "toughen him up", and so goes about it by teasing and trying to get Suka-chan to relax a bit and not be so serious.  He lives next door to Suka-chan and Shun in room 211 with his own roommate, Shinobu.

Tezuka Shinobu -- Suka-chan's sempai, one year ahead of him, student body president, and roommate to Mitsuru.

:::Sigh::: :-)

Bishounen. It bears repeating. Bishounen. He's a very tall, handsome young man with lavender hair and pale grey eyes. Very appealing, like Mitsuru, but without the friendliness and warmth.  He's cool and aloof, intelligent, and calculating.  He seems to view everything/everyone with detached amusement, as if all their scramblings are somewhat beneath him.  He's very self-controlled, and when he gets angry, it's like liquid nitrogen.  He's manipulative, and as Mitsuru once says, doesn't like to get his hands dirty; he isn't above blackmail to obtain what he wants.  He's also head of almost all the gambling that goes on in Greenwood (and they seem to bet on *everything*).  All his classmates are quite intimidated by him, and with good reason, as he can be ruthless in obtaining what he wants.  He also is quite strong in psychic ability, which plays a part in one of the OVAs.  Doesn't sound like that nice a guy, but he's quite charismatic, and generally works for the common good of his friends.  He's generally the brains behind everything, and is utterly self-confident.  He appears very cold and distant, but given his psychotic sister, I think any sign of weakness would've gotten him killed, and so the cold politeness is, I think, a defense mechanism.  When I first heard his voice, I thought, oh, man, I *know* him.  Sure enough, his seiyuu is Seki Toshihiko, who was also in the following roles:  Ai noKusabi--Riki; Bastard!--Karu Su; Evangelion--Asuka's father; Gensou Maden Saiyuuki--Genjou Sanjou (enough reason alone to make me see if fansubs are available yet); Gundam Wing--Duo Maxwell; Juubei Ninpouchou [Ninja Scroll]--Yurimaru; Please Save My Earth--Yakushimaru Mikuro and tons more, I know, but those are the ones I've seen.

Kisaragi Shun -- Suka-chan's roommate and best friend, the same age and in the same grade.

Two words for Shun:  genki, and kawaii.  :-)

You simply can't NOT like Shun. He's utterly adorable.  He's always cheerful and easygoing, and seems to make friends instantly, no matter where he is.  He's a very relaxed guy, and doesn't seem to take school that seriously---he's frequently asking his sempai to watch movies in their room.  He's very curious about the lives of his friends, and is a bit of a gossip, though he doesn't have a malicious bone in his body.  He's very loyal to both Suka-chan and Mitsuru (he's in their company a *lot*), and I think he'd do almost anything to help either of them.  He's very loving of his younger brother, Reina.  He admires Shinobu, but is clearly intimidated by him.  Shun doesn't look quite like anyone else in Greenwood.  He has long pink hair and light brown eyes, and looks, for all intents and purposes, like a rather tomboyish young girl, down to the clothes and mannerisms.  This causes quite the mixup in the first episode  :-)  If you get the sub, and think he sounds familiar; he does -- his seiyuu also did Nuriko of FY.  :-)
 

Pairings:
Watching this with a slasher's eye, I can see several possible pairings here.
 
Shinobu/Mitsuru or Mitsuru/Shinobu
This one is the most obvious, at least to me, and the very few fanfics I've found seem to focus on this pairing. Shinobu and Mitsuru are very close; best friends. They seem to be opposite sides of the same coin -- Shinobu aloof and distant, Mitsuru bright and sunny. They obviously care for and trust one another; when Shinobu tells Mitsuru to go someplace or do something, Mitsuru generally complies without question. They respect and stand up for one another. I think they complement one another very well. Personally, I'd think Mitsuru would top; Shinobu needs a chance to let go and stop being constantly in control.
Here's a screen cap from the OVA that makes our slashy little hearts so happy:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/1467/kiss.htm

Mitsuru/Suka
I have no problem with this pairing. They get along quite well, in spite of Mitsuru's often-rough teasing, which infuriates Suka. Their sempai/kouhai relationship is solid. They would both drop everything to help the other. In the fifth and sixth OVAs, Mitsuru worries about Suka, and he and Shun follow Suka around to make certain he's all right. Mitsuru invites Suka home for the Christmas break, and we see a bit of Mitsuru's home life (not enough, damn it!). There's enough contrast and complement between their natures to make things interesting. I think I've read one fanfic with this pairing, but I can't remember where I found it, unfortunately. In matters of top and bottom, I think Mitsuru would top.

Mitsuru/Shun
I can see this if I squint just a little. Mitsuru and Shun seem to hang out together, and Shun's easy-going and cheerful nature make it hard not to like him. Shun's cute and smart, but not as smart as his sempai, and quite obviously likes and respects Mitsuru. They have a good sempai/kouhai relationship. I'd suspect that Mitsuru would top, though a little part of me would like to see a surprisingly toppish Shun.  :-)

Suka/Shun or Shun/Suka
I can see this. Shun and Suka are roommates and best friends, as well. They seem to hang out together quite a bit, and Shun is always dragging Suka off to shop or do fun stuff. Shun's sunny nature is the opposite of Suka's more serious one, and I'd think they'd make a good pairing, though probably only for the duration of school; I don't think it would last much longer than that, as Shun seems more open to new experiences. I'd think either could top; they could switch.  :-)

Shinobu/Suka
Hmm.  Maybe.  Shinobu likes Suka, and Suka likes and respects Shinobu, but without Mitsuru to tie them together, I think it unlikely that Shinobu would've paid much attention to Suka; they're simply too different.  Shinobu's detachment and often callous treatment of others is completely different than Suka's warmth and empathy. Shinobu is calculating while Suka impulsive. Of course, they say opposites attract, but in this, I think it wouldn't necessarily. One could write it, and make it believable, but I'd think it would be a one-shot, not a continuing relationship. If it did happen, Shinobu would *definitely* top.

Links
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/1467/romance.htm

Comments:
This is one of my favorite animes, though my favorite is a three-way tie between Rurouni Kenshin and Escaflowne and Fushigi Yuugi.  Greenwood is a simple little anime -- no swords, no mecha, no magical girls with magical powers, no fate, no destiny, no saving the world.  It's simply about a boys school, Ryokuto Academy, and the residents of one of the dorms there, Ryokurin Ryou, or as they call it, Greenwood Hall.  It's gentle, humorous, and showcases the oddities of a handful of students with affection.  You won't find big action scenes here, just small, self-contained stories that highlight the interaction between the characters.  It's a refreshing change from the big action epics like Gundam Wing, or the battle/fighting stories like YYH or Flame of Recca.