Akebi's Sailor Uniform

Akebi's Sailor Uniform
Cover of the first manga volume
明日ちゃんのセーラー服
(Akebi-chan no Sērāfuku)
GenreSlice of life[1]
Manga
Written byHiro
Published byShueisha
ImprintYoung Jump Comics
MagazineTonari no Young Jump
Original runAugust 2, 2016 – present
Volumes15
Anime television series
Directed byMiyuki Kuroki
Written byRino Yamazaki
Music byKana Utatane
StudioCloverWorks
Licensed by
Original networkTokyo MX, GTV, GYT, BS11, MBS, BS Asahi
English network
Original run January 9, 2022 – March 27, 2022
Episodes12

Akebi's Sailor Uniform (Japanese: 明日ちゃんのセーラー服, Hepburn: Akebi-chan no Sērāfuku) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro. It has been serialized online via Shueisha's Tonari no Young Jump website since August 2016, with the chapters collected in fifteen tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation produced by CloverWorks aired from January to March 2022.

Plot

Throughout her young life, Komichi has always adored sailor attire (being inspired by her idol Miki Fukumoto), even going so far as to have her mother Yuwa make a sailor-style school uniform for her when she enters middle school. When she gets accepted to her mother's old private school Roubai Girls' Academy, she is delighted that she'll get to wear her homemade uniform; once arriving at her new school, she is surprised to find out that Roubai's dress code no longer uses sailor uniforms and have been replaced with blazers instead. Despite the circumstances, the school's headmistress happily makes an exception and allows her to wear the traditional sailor uniform. As she goes through her years of early adolescence, even experiencing some struggles along the way, she meets and befriends many of her school peers and enjoys her school life.

Characters

Roubai Academy Class 1-3

Komichi Akebi (明日 小路, Akebi Komichi)
Voiced by: Manatsu Murakami[2] (Japanese); Megan Shipman[3] (English)
Seat 1: A first year middle school student/the titular protagonist and is a graduate of Futaba Elementary School who has recently been accepted to the elite all-girls' Roubai Academy, the same school her mother Yuwa attended when she was her age; since she was a child, she has had a fascination for sailor attire as well as sailor school uniforms. She eventually gets her mother to make her one, an exact replica to her mother's school uniform, for her first day of school. Once she arrives at the school's entrance ceremony, she at first feels out of place due to her sailor school uniform, which happens to be Roubai Academy's original dress code from when Yuwa was a student there. Meanwhile, the other students are wearing blazer-styled school uniforms instead. Despite the misunderstanding, Komichi is happily given permission by the principal to wear the sailor uniform, making her the only student in the school and her class to wear the school's original uniform design. While she attends her new school and living out her adolescent years, she hopes to make hundreds of friends. At the school, she quickly becomes popular for her extroverted personality and joins the school's drama club. She is fond of performing gymnastics tricks thanks to her flexible body.
Touko Usagihara (兎原 透子, Usagihara Tōko)
Voiced by: Akari Kitō[2] (Japanese); Kristi Rothrock (English)
Seat 2: A mischievous student who is originally from Tokyo. She is Kizaki's dormmate, and befriends Komichi on her first day. A member of the softball club, Usagihara is known among her classmates for cooking and baking various food for her schoolmates, having a kitchen in her dormitory, as well as her poor grades. She went to the same cram school as Tatsumori.
Minoru Ohkuma (大熊 実, Ōkuma Minoru)
Voiced by: Konomi Kohara[4] (Japanese); Brittney Karbowski (English)
Seat 3: An inquisitive girl. Ohkuma does not like socializing, preferring instead to take notes of people while observing them in the hopes of using it in the future. She also takes notes of various wild animals she sees. In the anime, she shares a dorm with Togeguchi.
Neko Kamimoku (神黙 根子, Kamimoku Neko)
Voiced by: Miku Itō[4] (Japanese); Dani Chambers (English)
Seat 4: A girl with the tendency to sleep a lot. She is Usagihara's roommate and belongs to the archery club.
Erika Kizaki (木崎 江利花, Kizaki Erika)
Voiced by: Sora Amamiya[2] (Japanese); Suzie Yeung[3] (English)
Seat 5: A girl from Tokyo and the first person who Komichi meets on her first day of school, quickly becoming her best friend. She hails from a rich family as her family back at home owns and lives in a mansion. When feeling nervous or anxious, she has a habit of using her nail clippers, saying that the sound of the clippers are a therapeutic relief for her; she has learned many hobbies, such as playing the violin, piano, and horseback riding, but ultimately joins the climbing club.
Tomono Kojou (古城 智乃, Kojō Tomono)
Voiced by: Shion Wakayama[2] (Japanese); Kate Bristol, Meg McClain (Young) (English)
Seat 6: A shy, quiet girl with glasses who is originally from Nagano Prefecture. She is a bookworm and thus a member of the literature club.
Riona Shijou (四条 璃生奈, Shijō Riona)
Voiced by: Azusa Tadokoro[4] (Japanese); Amber Lee Connors (English)
Seat 7: A self-conscious girl who used to play tennis.
Ai Tatsumori (龍守 逢, Tatsumori Ai)
Voiced by: Mariya Ise[4] (Japanese); Felecia Angelle (English)
Seat 8: A studious, serious student. She is the class vice president and a member of the track club.
Kei Tanigawa (谷川 景, Tanigawa Kei)
Voiced by: Akira Sekine[4] (Japanese); Madeleine Morris (English)
Seat 9: The class president. She gives off the aura of a tough, no-nonsense student and thus is somewhat unpopular, but Komichi befriends her anyway. She is a member of the photography club, as well as the best student in the class academically.
Ayumi Tougeguchi (峠口 鮎美, Tōgeguchi Ayumi)
Voiced by: Shiori Mikami[4] (Japanese); Kelsey Maher (English)
Seat 10: A loner girl and Ohkuma's roommate. She has twin-tailed hair. Tougeguchi suffers from severe anxiety to the point of taking medication, which Komichi assists her with. She is a member of the table tennis club.
Mai Togano (戸鹿野 舞衣, Togano Mai)
Voiced by: Haruka Shiraishi[4] (Japanese); Katelyn Barr (English)
Seat 11: A girl in the basketball club.
Yasuko Nawashiro (苗代 靖子, Nawashiro Yasuko)
Voiced by: Kaede Hondo[4] (Japanese); Bryn Apprill (English)
Seat 12: A friendly, popular girl in the school's volleyball club.
Riri Minakami (水上 りり, Minakami Riri)
Voiced by: Yui Ishikawa[4] (Japanese); Dawn M. Bennett (English)
Seat 13: A girl from Kansai and a member of the swim team. She is playful and competitive, but does not perform well academically.
Hotaru Hiraiwa (平岩 蛍, Hiraiwa Hotaru)
Voiced by: Momo Asakura[4] (Japanese); Lizzie Freeman (English)
Seat 14: A sweet and soft-spoken girl in Komichi's class with the height of a grade schooler, making her one of the shortest students in her class.
Oshizu Hebimori (蛇森 生静, Hebimori Oshizu)
Voiced by: Mitsuho Kambe[4] (Japanese); Michelle Rojas (English)
Seat 15: A girl with a penchant for punk rock and Togano's roommate. Despite her love for music, she initially cannot read music, though she eventually learns the guitar.
Hitomi Washio (鷲尾 瞳, Washio Hitomi)
Voiced by: Shizuka Ishigami[4] (Japanese); Morgan Garrett (English)
Seat 16: A tall, stoic girl whose only interest is volleyball, and is thus a member of the volleyball club. She is subsequently Nawashiro's best friend.

Others

Yuwa Akebi (明日 ユワ, Akebi Yuwa)
Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa[5] (Japanese); Erica Schroeder[3] (English)
Komichi and Kao's mother and Sato's wife. She is an alumna of Roubai Girls Academy; Yuwa can be seen in an old photograph with two of her friends wearing Roubai Academy's original sailor school uniform, which inspired Komichi to have Yuwa create her a sailor uniform of her own.
Kao Akebi (明日 花緒, Akebi Kao)
Voiced by: Misaki Kuno[5] (Japanese); Tia Ballard[3] (English)
Komichi's younger sister and a third grader who attends elementary school.
Sato Akebi (明日 サト, Akebi Sato)
Voiced by: Satoshi Mikami[5] (Japanese); David Wald (English)
Komichi and Kao's father and Yuwa's husband who is usually away on business, but he does make time to see his family whenever he does not have to work.
Miki Fukumoto (福元 幹, Fukumoto Miki)
Voiced by: Shuka Saitō[5] (Japanese); Amanda Lee (English)
An idol that Komichi deeply admires. Her use of a sailor uniform in a water bottle ad is what inspired Komichi to adopt a sailor uniform.

Production

Akebi's Sailor Uniform is author Hiro's first work published by Shueisha. Around half year before the end of his previous work, Yumekuri, he was reached out to by the editorial department of Weekly Young Jump. He knew that it would be impossible for him to carry out a weekly serialization and therefore had little interest in working with Young Jump. He however still had a meeting with them and surprisingly found out they could provide options other than weekly serialization.[6][7]

Hiro and Young Jump entered in talks about crafting a school story after showing them school-themed artwork, which included prototypes of several characters.[8] He intended to set the story in high school, but changed it to middle school, finding it a better setting for making discoveries about life.[6][8] Komichi Akebi was not planned to be the main character of the series, whose focus would instead go randomly from a character to another in an anthology of stories, but Hiro decided ultimately to make her the protagonist and give her a social personality to share the focus with the rest.[6] Hiro created her character arc by inspiration of his mother, who once told him how Japanese school uniforms like her own used to be home made.[8] He and his editor Hachi Okuma later came up with the plot point of her wearing a different school uniform from the rest of her class.[6]

Hiro writes the story without fixed plans, wanting it to develop naturally.[7] He took inspiration from own experiences in his freshman year in college, which were reflected in Komichi meeting classmates from all over Japan from the first time.[7] He also read many shōjo manga in preparation, but consciously tried to avoid usual tropes and motifs of the genre.[9] In order to draw the detailed artwork of the characters' movements, he studied videos of gymnastics and ballet, counting on his previous experience as an animator.[6] He also studied Japanese idol music videos, including one by singer and voice actress Manatsu Murakami, who would voice the main character in the anime series.[7]

He helped choose the main character's voice actress during the production of the anime, deeming Manatsu Murakami ideal. Murakami, who described herself as strikingly similar to Komichi in personality and interests, although not in background, strongly identified with the character after reading the manga, to the point of crying in joy when she was confirmed for the role.[7] She also became close to Sora Amamiya and Akari Kitō, who played Komichi's main two friends, and to Hiro himself, who coached her briefly on how to play the character.[7][10] Both Hiro and Murakami described the experience working in the production as similar to Komichi knowing her classmates within the story.[7] Aside from Murakami, several other members of the cast, like Kitō, Amamiya, Shion Wakayama and Shuka Saitō, became fans of the manga.[9][11][12][13]

Media

Manga

Akebi's Sailor Uniform is written and illustrated by Hiro. The series began serialization in Shueisha's Tonari no Young Jump website on August 2, 2016.[14] The first volume was released on April 19, 2017.[15] As of May 19, 2025, fifteen volumes have been released.[16]

Volumes

No. Japanese release date Japanese ISBN
1April 19, 2017[15]978-4-08-890671-3
  • Prologue
  • Chapters 1–6
2October 19, 2017[17]978-4-08-890765-9
  • Chapters 7–13
  • Bonus Chapter
3May 18, 2018[18]978-4-08-891016-1
  • Side A
  • Side B
  • Chapters 14–19
  • Bonus Chapter
4November 19, 2018[19]978-4-08-891115-1
  • Chapters 20–25
  • Bonus Chapter
5May 17, 2019[20]978-4-08-891223-3
  • Chapters 26–33
6November 19, 2019[21]978-4-08-891384-1
  • Chapters 35–38
  • Bonus Chapter
7August 19, 2020[22]978-4-08-891549-4
  • Chapters 39–43
  • Bonus Chapter
8April 19, 2021[23]978-4-08-891777-1
  • Chapters 44–50
  • Bonus Chapter
9October 19, 2021[24]978-4-08-892102-0
  • Chapters 51–54
  • Bonus Chapter
10June 17, 2022[25]978-4-08-892275-1
  • Chapters 55–60
  • Bonus Chapter
11March 17, 2023[26]978-4-08-892538-7
  • Chapters 61–65
12October 19, 2023[27]978-4-08-892826-5
  • Chapters 66–70
13April 18, 2024[28]978-4-08-893222-4
  • Chapters 71–75
14October 18, 2024[29]978-4-08-893431-0
  • Chapters 76–80
15May 19, 2025[16]978-4-08-893641-3
  • Chapters 81–84
  • Bonus Chapter

Anime

An anime television series adaptation by CloverWorks was announced on March 26, 2021. Miyuki Kuroki directed the series, while Rino Yamazaki wrote and oversaw the series' scripts. The character designs were provided by Megumi Kouno.[30] Kana Utatane composed the series's music. It aired from January 9 to March 27, 2022, on Tokyo MX and other networks.[2][31][a] The 16 main cast members, under the name Rōbai Gakuen Chūtōbu 1-nen 3-kumi (蠟梅学園中等部1年3組), performed the opening theme song "Hajimari no Setsuna" (はじまりのセツナ; The First Moment), while Manatsu Murakami (credited as Komichi Akebi) performed the ending theme song "Baton".[5][32] "Kaze ni Makasete" (風にまかせて; Leave it to the Wind) by Manatsu Murakami (credited as Komichi Akebi) was used as the ending theme song for episode 4.[33] A cover of the Spitz song "Cherry" (チェリー) sung by Mitsuho Kambe (the voice of Oshizu Hebimori) is featured in episode 7. Funimation streamed the series outside of Asia.[34] Muse Communication licensed the series in Southeast Asia.[35]

On January 27, 2022, Funimation announced the series would receive an English dub, which premiered on January 29.[3]

Episodes

No.Title [36][37]Directed by [36]Storyboarded by [36]Original release date [38]
1"The Sailor Uniform I Always Wanted"
Transliteration: "Akogare no Sērāfuku" (Japanese: あこがれのセーラー服)		Miyuki Kuroki
Haruka Tsuzuki		Miyuki KurokiJanuary 9, 2022 (2022-01-09)
Komichi Akebi is an energetic and friendly girl who has recently finished elementary school, and thus desires to make many friends at Roubai Academy. As she will attend an all-girls school, she aims to accomplish her dream of wearing a sailor-style school uniform, following in the footsteps of her favorite idol, Miki Fukumoto. Komichi shares a special bond with her little sister Kao, who expresses her sadness at the fact that she will see her less. The night before, Komichi's mother Yuwa finishes tailoring the uniform, delighting Komichi. However, in Roubai's entrance ceremony the next day, Yuwa and Komichi quickly realize that every other student is wearing a blazer based attire. Although the academy headmaster permits the use of the sailor uniform, Komichi contemplates switching over to the blazer uniform, but Kao convinces her to not be ashamed of being herself. As such, Komichi arrives to school early in the morning wearing the sailor uniform, and meets her classmate, Erika Kizaki. Seeing that she also has unusual habits (such as clipping her nails to relieve stress) and is sitting next to her in class, Komichi befriends Kizaki almost immediately.
2"See You Tomorrow"
Transliteration: "Mata Ashita" (Japanese: また明日)		Makoto KatōMakoto KatōJanuary 16, 2022 (2022-01-16)
Having never had to introduce herself before, as she attended elementary school by herself, Komichi overdoes her introduction to the class. She also takes notes during everyone else's introductions in order to use it to make friends later. During lunch with Kizaki, she meets with two other classmates: Tomono Kojou, a shy girl with glasses, and Touko Usagihara, a mischievous girl who quickly strikes up conversation with her, much to Kizaki's chagrin. Komichi learns that many students who live out of town, like in Tokyo, have to move to the dorms, with Usagihara and Kizaki being neighbors. At Usagihara's persistence, Komichi simulates a motion that Miki uses in one of her music videos involving putting lip balm in a unique way, enthralling the other three girls. After playing with them after school, Komichi returns home to find her father Sato having arrived from out-of-town work. Sato initially fakes sleeping with Kao due to not knowing how to talk to Komichi after a long absence. Sato and Komichi eventually converse about her first day in school, and Komichi expresses excitement for the next day to Sato.
3"Have You Decided on a Club?"
Transliteration: "Bukatsu wa Mō Kimeta?" (Japanese: 部活はもう決めた？)		Takahiro HaradaShōko NakamuraJanuary 23, 2022 (2022-01-23)
Komichi receives invitations to multiple clubs upon demonstrating her talents, but is unable to decide. Komichi exclaims to the class representative, Kei Tanigawa, that she likes her legs, and asks her to show more of them. Embarrassed, Tanigawa refuses, and advises Komichi to decide for a club soon. Later that day, as Komichi and Tanigawa listen to music, Komichi tells Tanigawa to take pictures of her legs. On her way home, Tanigawa privately admires Komichi's straightforward behavior. Empowered by her boldness, Tanigawa takes sensual pictures of herself, only to mistakenly send Komichi a photo when her mother startles her. Komichi commends her photography skills, and swears not to show it to anyone. The next day, Komichi tours around the school with Kojou in the hopes of finding a club to join. They take shelter from the rain, where Komichi finds a book in Kojou's blazer. Kojou tells her it was for her literature club, and asks her to read it for her. Kojou falls asleep to Komichi's reading, and she later wakes up to express her gratitude. Tanigawa and Komichi reveal to the class the following day that they respectively joined the photography and drama clubs.
4"My Image?"
Transliteration: "Watashi no Imēji?" (Japanese: 私のイメージ？)		Haruka TsuzukiMiyuki KurokiJanuary 30, 2022 (2022-01-30)
Komichi accompanies Tanigawa around school to take photos of their friends during club activities as part of Tanigawa's photography club pamphlet. Tanigawa also asks Komichi to be a model for the pamphlet and capture her in her "natural state". Tanigawa instructs Komichi on posing, though Tanigawa feels that the photos do not emphasize Komichi's character. As they walk back, a stray baseball nearly hits them and stains Komichi's uniform. Usagihara apologizes and offers them to wash their clothes in her dorm. Usagihara invites them to her dorm room, where she gives Komichi a dress to wear and bakes pastries for the duo. Usagihara also gifts pastries to her dormmates, and Komichi admires her extroverted personality. Komichi then tries her hand at baking but fails to her dismay, while Tanigawa takes candid photos of Komichi that accurately depict her character. Komichi later flips through the pages of Tanigawa's completed pamphlet alongside Kao, which contains her photos and those of their friends.
5"I Want to Learn Lots"
Transliteration: "Ippai Shiritai Natte" (Japanese: いっぱい知りたいなって)		Yoshihisa MatsumotoYuki YaseFebruary 6, 2022 (2022-02-06)
Minoru Ohkuma, another classmate in Komichi's classroom, is a nature enthusiast. As she wanders around the woods, she finds Komichi and her sister, and admires her from afar. She remembers the day they met, and over the days, discovered how Komichi is equally adept to animals. After Komichi and Ohkuma set free a Japanese rat snake they found on the school hallway, Ohkuma reveals to Komichi her investigation handbook, where she documents information about the animals she sees. Komichi tells her that she also has a notebook where she takes notes of her classmates, and they agree to study their friends, ending in multiple comical and awkward situations. Ayumi Tougeguchi, Ohkuma's roommate, is currently in possession of Komichi's handkerchief, and goes to the rooftop to vent her anger for being unable to talk to Komichi. Ohkuma and Komichi find her, and as the latter runs towards Tougeguchi, she recalls when Komichi gave the handkerchief to her. Komichi embraces her, glad to learn the identity of the girl of her past. She tells Tougeguchi how happy she is to talk to her, and Tougeguchi leaves, flattered. Komichi thanks Ohkuma for the experience, and they agree to observe insects some other day as they embrace.
6"There's No School Tomorrow, Right?"
Transliteration: "Ashita, Oyasumi ja Nai Desu ka" (Japanese: 明日、お休みじゃないですか)		Takayuki KikuchiTakayuki KikuchiFebruary 13, 2022 (2022-02-13)
Overflowing with confidence, Komichi expresses her desire to invite a friend over to their house to Kao. However, throughout the school week, Komichi cannot bring herself to ask Kizaki, resorting to stalk her around the school instead. On Friday, Kizaki finally asks Komichi if she wants to tell her something, and while she does not invite her to her house, they do agree on going fishing. The next day, Komichi arrives at the lake, and "saves" Kizaki from drowning, proving to be talented swimmer. They clear up the misunderstanding, and begin fishing. Kizaki manages to snag a fish, so Komichi jumps in and assists her in capturing it. Arriving on shore, they take multiple pictures and videos of themselves, before releasing the fish back into the lake. Komichi offers Kizaki her home to get changed, where her mother and sister receive her warmly. As they bathe, Komichi expresses her jealousy to Kizaki of her family, for calling Kizaki by her first name. After their bath, Kao flusters Komichi when she shows Kizaki embarrassing videos of her. Yuwa drives them all to Kizaki's house, where Kizaki shouts Komichi's first name as they leave, telling her to call her by her first name as well. Back home, Komichi joyfully views videos of that day in bed.
7"Please Let Me Hear It"
Transliteration: "Kikasete Kudasai" (Japanese: 聴かせてください)		MoaangMoaangFebruary 20, 2022 (2022-02-20)[b]
Oshizu Hebimori, another girl in Komichi's class, overhears some girls playing with an electric guitar. While reading from a music magazine, Komichi finds her. When Komichi asks her if she knows how play instruments, she lies and says that she knows how to play the guitar, prompting Komichi to ask her to play for her sometime. As she arrives in her dorm, Hebimori plucks a few strings on her father's guitar, and begins to teach herself how to play. However, sometime later, Hebimori reveals to her roommate Mai Togano that she is having trouble teaching herself how to play, and keeping up with school. Togano encourages Hebimori, telling her to start small, like she was when learning to play basketball. She continues to practice until one morning, she finally asks Komichi to follow her to the music room. Before she can play, however, they listen to Kizaki play beautifully on the piano. Feeling inadequate, Hebimori reveals to Komichi that she does not know how to play, but Komichi stops her from leaving, telling her that she wants to hear nonetheless. Hebimori plays and sings the song she practiced beautifully, delighting Komichi, who gives her a standing ovation. Back in her room, Hebimori continues practicing, explaining to Togano that she plans on giving Komichi an even better performance next time.
8"I Want to Win Next Time"
Transliteration: "Tsugi wa Kachitai" (Japanese: 次は勝ちたい)		Yōsuke YamamotoTatsuyuki NagaiFebruary 27, 2022 (2022-02-27)

The results for their recent exams are released, and Komichi is proud of her result. Ai Tatsumori, frustrated that she came in second place to Tanigawa's perfect score, announces that they will choose the members for the different sports teams for the upcoming sports festival. Komichi is selected as a member of the Cheer and Swim team. However, Riri Minikami is selected as the Swim club anchor. Kizaki objects, so Tatsumori agrees for a race between them. After class, Minakami wagers with Komichi, telling her that they will have to trade their uniforms if she wins their race. The day of the race arrives, and Komichi manages to keep up with Minakami. Despite her efforts, however, she narrowly loses. Minakami congratulates her, telling her she was bluffing about the uniform, as she wanted her to take the race seriously. Back in the classroom, Minakami tells the others that she will not compete unless she improves her grades. She reveals that Tatsumori agreed to help her, as Tatsumori, blushing, presents her with a special study guide she made for her. Back home, Yuwa has finished Komichi's summer uniform. Sato agrees that it looks good on her, delighting her. Komichi spins around in her uniform, imitating Miki.

In a post-credits scene, Kao is in Komichi's room, trying on her uniforms. Komichi finds her, and Kao expresses her disappointment for not looking cool in them like Komichi does. Komichi comforts her, and tells her that they will fit her when she grows older. Instead, she puts on Kao only her scarf for now, and Kao is delighted at how cute she looks.
9"Ready... Up!"
Transliteration: "Se～no!" (Japanese: せ～のっ！)		Nozomu KamiyaKōji MasunariMarch 6, 2022 (2022-03-06)
Komichi meets up with Kizaki, Kojou, and Usagihara at the mall to buy materials for their upcoming festival. As Komichi has visited the mall before, she sees herself as their guide, but gets a little nervous when she sees Usagihara leading the girls around mall. They then go to a bookstore, where Kizaki sees a book she is interested in. Kojou tells her that it is the same book she was reading before and offers to lend her her copy of it. She tells the girls of her beloved handmade bookmark, given to her when she was little by her mother. As they head outside, Kojou opens her book, only to find her bookmark is missing. After being unable to find it, Kojou tells the girls to stop worrying about it, which they reluctantly agree to. However, Komichi spots the bookmark tied to a balloon outside. When Kojou unties the knot, however, a strong gust of wind blows the balloon into a nearby tree branch. Komichi and the other girls help her reach it, which she does after Komichi thrusts her upwards and catches her as she falls. As they rejoice, it starts to rain, and while they play outside, they witness a beautiful partition in the clouds that allows sunrays through, a phenomenon present in Kojou's book.
10"Fight On! Fight On!"
Transliteration: "Faito! Faito!" (Japanese: ファイト！ファイト！)		Haruka TsuzukiEri IreiMarch 13, 2022 (2022-03-13)
Summer classes are heralded with the sports festival. Komichi, Tanigawa, Neko Kamimoku, and Yasuko Nawashiro form the class' cheerleading team, complete with pom-poms, and decide to cheer everyone while they practice. They go to cheer Ohkuma and Tougeguchi, the table tennis representatives, but find themselves completely uncoordinated, prompting Tougeguchi to successfully give them impromptu reasons. Reinvigorated, they spend the day cheering for everyone else in the class. Meanwhile, Kizaki practices tennis with Riona Shijou, a girl who used to play tennis but stopped two years prior. As a result, her skills have deteriorated and she has put on weight which she is self-conscious about. Seeing Shijou look at Komichi's slender figure with envy, Kizaki prods her to substitute on the cheer team to overcome her insecurities, much to her dismay. After seeing a recording of her poor performance, Shijou becomes determined to try again and manages to do significantly better, reinvigorating her tennis drive. Later, Komichi attends drama club, where the president gives her a sheet of paper that shocks her.
11"Sharing This Time... With Everyone..."
Transliteration: "Onaji Jikan... Minna to..." (Japanese: 同じ時間…みんなと…)		Shin'ichirō UshijimaTakahiro MiuraMarch 20, 2022 (2022-03-20)
As revealed on the sheet of paper, Komichi is scheduled to perform a song and dance number for the school as part of the sports festival's after party; she chooses a song by Miki. Later, Kizaki fantasizes about performing the piano to Komichi's performance, especially after Usagihara suggests it. Usagihara herself struggles along with Komichi to improve their equally poor volleyball skills. Unable to reserve a room at Roubai to practice, Komichi manages to secure the gym at her old elementary school. The teammates, as well as Kao (whom Komichi agreed to take along after realizing she feels as lonely as she used to back then), go there the next day. Elated at having friends in the school with her for the first time, Komichi practices longer and harder than usual, significantly improving. This is only further improved when it is revealed that Usagihara invited the entire class to join them, overwhelming Komichi with emotion. Kizaki ends up having to pass, however, due to her committing to performing the song. Komichi returns to school the next day determined to win the sports festival.
12"I'm Not Alone"
Transliteration: "Hitori ja Nain da" (Japanese: ひとりじゃないんだ)		Miyuki Kuroki
Haruka Tsuzuki		Miyuki Kuroki
Haruka Tsuzuki		March 27, 2022 (2022-03-27)

In front of everyone in the school, Komichi performs an interpretive dance during the festival. Dancing to a Miki song being played on the piano by Kizaki, all her classmates from below notice that her dance moves resemble her cheering moves during the festival as a member of the cheer squad, helping them perform well with her encouragement. They all reminisce on how Komichi cheered for them not mattering their performance. Particularly, Hiraiwa remembers how she performed poorly in her badminton match, but Komichi swiftly encouraged her not to cry, helping her do much better in her basketball match. Gaining encouragement from the support of her friends, Komichi is able to execute a long leap and mid-air flip in her choreography. Kizaki herself reflects on how much she admires Komichi, and how important she was in helping her rediscover her love of music. As the song ends, both Komichi and Kizaki are given a standing ovation by the audience. The next day, as Komichi wakes up, she glances at her sailor uniform hanging from her window, and wonders if everything was just a delightful dream. She arrives early to school, where in their classroom, Kizaki happily glances at her, as their friends begin arriving for class.

In a post-credits scene a picture of Komichi with all her classmates from class 1-3 is shown, after being awarded the first place in the festival.

Reception

Mercedez Clewis from Anime News Network called the series, which she described as "a coming-of-age story about a teenager just being passionate", her favorite show of the season. Clewis revealed she wept of joy with the series' final episode, which she give five stars out of five.[39] Allen Moody from THEM Anime Reviews gave the series 4/5 stars, praising its energetic, pleasant story, which he considered an "affirming show", although he felt a lack of comic relief. Commenting on popular accusations that the show contained foot fetishism, he found the series' visual fixation on feet mild and non-sexual.[40] Gracie Qu from Anitrendz gave the series an 82/100, calling it a "gorgeously rendered anime that depicts girls’ friendships in a way that I haven't yet experienced in an anime". She praised its high-quality animation, visual storytelling, character development and interactions, finding them particularly authentic, as well as an exploration of "light and dark of puberty". Qu similarly noted the series' usage of feet as a narrative resource rather than fetish.[41]

Boston Bastard Brigade gave the series 4,5 out of 5. While they criticized a lack of plot, they found the story highly relatable, especially by female viewers. They praised the visuals and animation, noting its "movie-level quality" and expressing, "there are not enough words to describe how radiant CloverWorks's animation is in this series".[42] Lewis Williamson from Honey's Anime called the series a "joywful watch", noting its character development, animation and soundtrack. He found no sexualization in the series' controversial focus on feet, although he commented it might be offputting for some viewers.[43] Ragashingo's review stated, "it was a true delight to watch, and I think it will be well regarded as one of the better pure slice of life anime yet produced". Aside from the animation, they praised the series' development of all its characters, as well as its ability to make their interactions feel authentic and natural. They also addressed accusations of the series allegedly sexualizing young girls, stating "I think these accusations are complete nonsense. That they say far more about the commentator than they do the show."[44]

Double-sama's review of the series focused on its large cast and their interactions, acknowledging "they’re all unique and are generally given time to shine". He gave it the best art of the 2022 anime season, and one of the best animations. He considered it an underrated series.[45] By March 2023, the series has over one million copies in circulation.[46]

See also

  • Super Cub, a light novel series also illustrated by Hiro

Notes

  1. ^ Tokyo MX lists the series premiere at 24:30 on January 8, 2022, which is effectively 12:30 a.m. JST on January 9.
  2. ^ This episode aired at 12:32 a.m. JST, 2 minutes after the original air time.

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