Ichijouma Mankitsugurashi!

If you're not too demanding, Ichijyoma Mankitsu Gurashi! is… perfectly fine. But it’s genuinely hard to tell what the producers were actually trying to achieve with this adaptation. The premise is simple: a girl from rural Akita gets mistakenly accepted into a prestigious all-girls academy in Tokyo and ends up living and working in the dorm’s one-tatami-mat manga café alongside a cast of quirky otaku roommates. It leans into absurd Japanese humor and otaku pride, which is a solid foundation on paper. Unfortunately, the execution is painfully slow and emotionally flat. There’s rarely any sense of “wow, this is great” or even “I’m excited to see what happens next week.” The story unfolds in such an ordinary, low-key way that it often feels dull, leaving you wondering what the creators were actually going for. The biggest example of this passivity is the fanservice. The girls are cute and have varied body types that should appeal to different tastes, yet everything feels sluggish. There are entire episodes with almost no fanservice at all (unforgivable in an ecchi title), and even during supposed highlight moments like the beach episode, the show mostly sticks to static shots instead of delivering satisfying, energetic scenes. If you’re looking for otaku pride mixed with bolder fanservice and a stronger story, I’d recommend Akiba's Trip a thousand times over. Ichijyoma Mankitsu Gurashi! isn’t bad, but it lacks the courage to stand out in an oversaturated market where attention is so hard to earn. It will most likely fade into obscurity.

This was one nice CGDCT anime, probably the best one this season. It is quite standard one, it is not tryin to invent something new nor to amaze us with some drama or twist - it is very safe and very average anime with cute girls. And that in itself is not a bad thing. Animation and music: decent. Animation is good and consistent throughout the entire length of the show. The music is also standard one, with the exception of OP song which is just amazing. It is such cheerful song and it really awakens those "cute" emotions in you. Perfect theme for this anime. Overall - animation is good and music is ok with the exception of opening song which is great. Characters: Meiko is our FMC, she is average country bumpkin girl. Hard working, honest, serious, dedicated and all kinds of cute. She is Onee-chan in a family of several siblings so her life has been filled with obligations from early age. Alongside her we have Rie, who is your typical rich girl. But instead of being spoiled and ill-mannered, she is just spoiled and dumb. But she has a heart of gold and is never abusing her rich status for evil. Then we have Neo, who is your little sister character who is also excellent gamer. She is smol, cute and caring. And she will brutally murder you in any PvP game you might try against her. And in the end we have Marika, who is daughter of influential family. But instead of being noble lady she loves to stream on the internet and carry nothing but her underwear bellow waist. These are the main 4 heroines and they are making the core of the show. I would add only Michika as she is somewhat of an influential character. She works in a cafe at the same building and is huge cat lover. There are several other characters but the main focus is on these five. Which in itself in not too bad of a thing since the 4 of them have such good chemistry that honestly others are not needed. Overall - main cast is great and has a good chemistry, despite them being the waling tropes of modern anime girls. Story: It starts with Meiko arriving in Tokyo to study in order to find a job so that she can provide much more easier life to her siblings. When she arrived she learned that she was only admitted becasue Rie thought she is a famous manga artist that has the same name as her. Unable to be honest (to her credit she tried but Rie just dismissed it) she starts her new life with Rie and other girl at dormitory that is also manga café. The story is basic and barebones and it is only interesting becasue of the sheer amount of insane situations that are happening to the girls. Partially becasue one of them has some insane new idea and wants to try it. The anime also likes to bait you into thinking that it will be about manga culture and such, and while there were some noticeable mangas mentioned or shown in the series the entire premise is not about them. Which is a real shame, but it is what it is. Overall - the story is quite basic and follows our main 4 girls daily life. Overall grade: 10 for me, realistically this anime sits somewhere around 7. It is very average and safe anime, it is not trying anything new and becasue of that many people may find it boring. But at the other side just watching 4 cute girls doing their things is worth the watch for public that is into that. I would recommend it in the end. It is nice and short comedic show, with only 11 episodes and complete story you can finish it in a single afternoon. And while it will not leave you being hungry for answers to a meaning of life or high adrenaline after some major action - it will leave you with a smile on your face due to all of the shenanigans that you will experience while watching it.

Warning, this review might be long! Ichijouma Mankitsu Gurashi, from Manga Time Kirara, is a cute girls doing cute things anime that I didn't expect to love. It started weird at first and I was expecting this anime to be a big borefest, but then it warmed me up as it went on. Yes, I know that it's not the best CGDCT out there, but I enjoyed watching this anime for a lot of reasons. --- Plot --- It starts with countryside girl Morita Meiko moving to the city and starting her brand-new life in a manga café. ...Well, considering that this is a typical cute girls doing cute things anime, the manga cafe's only in for most of its runtime and it's just a setting so it doesn't matter. At times it's about the four girls' daily lives, with comedy sprinkled in! (Oh, and if you're lucky, the jokes can be funny and you'll have a lot of laughs.) It also has a light-hearted tone, which is a plus. (The manga café, consisting of Manga Time Kirara titles on the shelves that I love SO much, is the cherry on top too!) The anime also does a good job of adding a small bunch of good skits, such as the beach episode, where the four girls have some fun at the beach, and also on giving some of the characters a lot of development. Unfortunately it's not without its flaws - some viewers might find the anime boring as it doesn't offer anything new. Yes the setting is girls working in a manga café, but can be generic, since there's only small glimpses of the manga shown in the anime. And for some of you who don't like the ecchi in this anime or are uncomfortable watching some parts of it, e.g. Marika having a panty shot, you're going to have a very, very hard time watching this anime. Also, speaking of the ecchi, it's not developed well imho. Again, like I said, the ecchi only consists of some 'weak' panty shots. Not sure why this anime has an 'ecchi' tag. I dunno, it's just me? Also, the execution, while solid, can get some time to get used to, as it kind of starts at a slow pace, making some of the viewers unsure what happens next. --- Characters --- All of the characters have a lot of personality, are adorable and have great character development. And best of all, they're not forgettable, and I have no complaints for any of 'em! ...Well, except one. I will be talking about the main characters. Morita Meiko is a countryside girl who moves to Tokyo and sometimes speaks in a bumpkin accent; Nakano Neo is a hardcore gamer and might be my favourite character out of the bunch, since I relate, alongside Meiko and Michika; Amamiya Rie is a rich girl; Suzuki Marika is a streamer and a huge manga enthusiast; and Narumi Michika is a cute cat girl, though she doesn't get that much screentime :( The show does a great job on developing the friendships for each character, e.g. Meiko & Neo, whose scenes are cute. I will criticise that Gao doesn't get much character development, though; she's only in for like, one episode and isn't much of anything. But she's still cute. While most of the supporting cast is OK, some just feel under-utilised imo? --- Production Values & Sound --- I was curious to see how this anime would be handled, considering it's from Studio PRA, but for what it's worth the studio did a solid job. The artstyle is colourful and detailed, e.g. most of the cosplay & how the manga cafe's designed (the designers cooked), and blends in well with the character designs, which are stunning. The animation isn't as amazing as other CGDCT anime, but it's still great throughout the entire anime. There were no choppy frames or some traces of bad animation, but it CAN still have some static, still images. The voice actors did a solid job on voicing each character, but my favourite is Meiko's VA, Hishikawa Hana. She really nailed it with her 'bumpkin accent'. The music isn't amazing, but it's good - it gives out a 'laid-back' vibe. However, what I REALLY love from the music is the OP/ED, they're bangers. --- Overall/Do I Recommend? --- Ichijouma Mankitsu Gurashi is a sweet, cute and cosy anime with cute girls doing, y'know, cute things, and all that. I know some might argue that this anime didn't add anything new and I agree on *some* levels, but for me, this anime became my hidden gem. I loved the manga café premise, even if the anime didn't focus on it, and I also loved the ending and Meiko and Neo's friendship. This also ended up being my favourite anime of Spring 2026. It's not the best CGDCT I've watched, but I still enjoyed watching it. For my recommendation, if you enjoy the cute girls doing cute things genre, and are okay with focusing on the four girls doing cute things, then give it a watch; it's only eleven episodes long and it gets wholesome as you advance. But if you just find this genre boring, then you may not like it. I give it 8/10. Thank you for reading my review!