, is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and illustrated by Mao Nanami. The series was serialized in

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

's ''

Dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Greece and West Africa, and ...

'' between July 2011 and May 2016, with the series later being compiled into twelve ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes released between December 2011 and August 2016. The series is currently published digitally in English by Kodansha Comics. An

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series adaptation directed by Takashi Naoya and animated by

Hoods Entertainment is a Japanese animation studio that was established in February 2009. Works Television series *''The Qwaser of Stigmata'' (2010) *''The Qwaser of Stigmata II'' (2011) *'' Manyū Hiken-chō'' (2011) *''Mysterious Girlfriend X'' (2012) *''Fantas ...

aired from April 4 to June 20, 2018 on AnichU programming block. A second season aired from January 8 to March 26, 2019.

Plot

High-school student Hikari Tsutsui is unpopular with classmates for his ''

otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, particularly in anime, manga, video games, or computers. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in ''Manga Burikko''. may be used as a pejorativ ...

'' behavior. One day, he is assigned to pool cleaning duty for being late and is paired with the beautiful but unreputable troublemaker Iroha Igarashi. When Iroha asks if he would like to be in a relationship with her, Hikari agrees. However, there is a catch: Iroha will be moving in six months because of her father's work and she will be transferring to another school.

Characters

; : :Portrayed by:

Ayami Nakajo is a Japanese-British actress and model who is affiliated with Ten Carat. Biography Early life Nakajō was born in Abeno-ku, Osaka in 1997. Her mother is Japanese and her father is British. She grew up in a family with her mother, father, ...

(live-action) :Iroha is a beautiful girl (considered by Yuto Ito and Sumie Ayado to be "the perfect 3D Girl") but is a well-known delinquent. She initially encounters Hikari after being assigned to clean the pool with him. She begins to like Hikari and eventually agrees to be his girlfriend but tells him she has to move away in six months. She is kind-hearted and takes the relationship seriously and stands up to those who look down on him and their relationship. It is later revealed that she has a brain tumor and requires surgery, later making her gain

retrograde amnesia In neurology, retrograde amnesia (RA) is a loss of memory-access to events that occurred or information that was learned in the past. It is caused by an injury or the onset of a disease. It tends to negatively affect episodic, autobiographical, ...

. ; : :Portrayed by: Hayato Sano (live-action) : Hikari Tsutsui is third-year high school student who has been stigmatized by his classmates for being an ''

''. As a result, he isolates himself from the rest, his only friend being the oddball and fellow otaku Yūto Itō. He initially disliked Iroha for being the personification of everything he disliked about 3D girls. Although he initially turned Iroha down, he decided to try a relationship with her. ; : :Portrayed by: Yutaro (live-action) : Hikari's best and only friend, who wears a cat-ear headband. He supports Hikari's relationship and hopes someday he too can develop a relationship. ; : :Portrayed by: Yuri Tsunematsu (live-action) : Arisa is Hikari and Iroha's classmate who is initially annoyed by Hikari, but is relied upon regularly to give Hikari relationship advice. At first she has a boyfriend, but when Hikari points out that he is taking advantage of her, Arisa eventually breaks up with him. She becomes friends with Hikari and Iroha, and when she meets Mitsuya for the first time, she instantly falls for him. ; : :Portrayed by: Hiroya Shimizu (live-action) :Mitsuya is a popular guy in school, and has his eyes on Iroha. He cannot admit, though, that a guy like Hikari is her boyfriend. One day he sees Hikari helping his sister Anzu stand after falling; he tells her to scream, catching the attention of the police and branding Hikari as a

lolicon In Japanese popular culture, is a genre of fictional media in which young (or young-looking) girl characters appear in romantic or sexual contexts. The term, a portmanteau of the English phrase "Lolita complex", also refers to desire and a ...

for days. Iroha found out the truth later through Anzu herself, and they apologize to Hikari. ; : :Portrayed by:

Moka Kamishiraishi is a Japanese actress, singer, and fashion model. As a singer, her stage name is Adieu (stylized in all lowercase). She is the younger sister of actress and singer Mone Kamishiraishi. Kamishiraishi entered the entertainment industry after winn ...

(live-action) : A clumsy, outspoken glasses-wearing girl who bumps into Hikari and is attracted to him as they share otaku interests. She also idolizes Iroha. ; : : Ezomichi is the name of a magical girl character in Hikari's favorite anime show. She would often talk to Hikari in his imagination whenever he is seeking questions concerning him and Iroha. Ezomichi has a larger role in the anime series.

Media

Manga

The manga series was serialized in

's ''

'' between July 2011 and May 2016, with the series later being compiled into twelve ''

'' volumes released between December 2011 and August 2016. Kodansha later republished the series with new cover designs from August 2017 to November 2017. Kodansha Comics announced on May 16, 2017 that they would publish the manga digitally in English, with the first volume being released on May 30, 2017, and the final volume being released on January 30, 2018.

Volume list

English release dates and ISBNs are for the digital version. Chapters are numbered as episodes, for example: episode・19

Anime

television series adaptation was announced in November 2017. The series is directed by Takashi Naoya and written by Deko Akao, with animation by

and character designs by Satomi Kurita. It aired from April 4 to June 20, 2018 on

Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...

's AnichU programming block. The series ran for 12 episodes. The first season was released on Blu-ray/DVD in four compilations, each containing one disc with three episodes, by VAP between June 27 and September 26, 2018. On June 19, 2018, the anime official website tweeted plans for a second anime season that aired from January 8 to March 26, 2019. The cast and staff reprised their roles. The second season ran for 12 episodes. In March 2018,

Sentai Filmworks Sentai Filmworks, LLC or just Sentai, is an American entertainment company owned by AMC Networks. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is S ...

licensed the anime for an English-language release and simulcasted it on

Hidive Sentai Filmworks, LLC or just Sentai, is an American entertainment company owned by AMC Networks. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is Sen ...

for the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, the Netherlands, the Nordics, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. In July 2018, Sentai Filmworks announced plans to record an English-language dub for the series. The dub began streaming on October 30, 2018. Two pieces of theme music are used. The opening theme is by Quruli and the ending theme is "HiDE the BLUE" by

BiSH is a Japanese alternative idol girl group that was founded in 2015 by their manager Junnosuke Watanabe. The group was conceived as a successor to BiS, an idol group managed by Watanabe that disbanded in 2014. History Bish was initially ann ...

. The opening theme for the second season is by BiSH and the ending theme for the second season is by

Fujifabric is a Japanese rock band formed in 2000. While their music can be mostly categorized as alternative rock or power pop, their music usually consists of an eclectic mix of genres, including jazz, disco and progressive rock. Name origin Before the ...

Season 1

Season 2

Live-action film

live-action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...

film adaptation directed by

Tsutomu Hanabusa is a Japanese film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role ...

and distributed by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

was released in Japanese theaters on September 14, 2018.

Reception

In reviewing the anime's first season, Paul Jensen of

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...

criticized the animation quality for the first three episodes as "mediocre". However, he praised the storyline and characterizations between Iroha and Hikari. For the final episode, Jensen said that Iroha and Hikari's chemistry was the episode's "saving grace". Although he felt that the season overall "wasted far too much time trying to spice up the drama", Jensen said that it "wasn't terrible, but it never made the most of its strengths".

Notes

References

External links

Official manga website

Official anime website
* {{Hoods Entertainment Anime series based on manga Hoods Entertainment Kodansha manga Manga adapted into films Manga adapted into television series Romantic comedy anime and manga Sentai Filmworks Shōjo manga