The television anime is currently airing its first cour on Tokyo MX and streaming on Crunchyroll, with three new cast members announced in May 2026.
The television anime adaptation of the light novel series began airing on April 7, 2026, on Tokyo MX and streams on Crunchyroll. Studio CONNECT handles production, with Hideki Tachibana directing, Keiichirō Ōchi writing the scripts, and Shoko Takimoto designing the characters. The story follows isolated student Maki Maehara after he befriends popular classmate Umi Asanagi at a video store.
In May 2026, three new cast members were announced while the show was still airing its first cour. Rikuya Yasuda joins as classmate Nozomu Seki, Shinji Kawada plays Maki's father Itsuki Maehara, and Yurina Amami voices Kyoka Minato, a subordinate of Itsuki. A third promotional video was also released, featuring the reGretGirl song "Hi no Ataru Kotoba" from 2025.
Anime Feminist reviewed the premiere episode, criticizing the title for framing Umi as a consolation prize and reinforcing harmful ranking systems among teenagers. The review praised the depiction of Umi reaching out to Maki based on shared interests and the realistic portrayal of teens having different friend groups, but noted the camera occasionally leers at girls' bodies and called the episode bland and generic. The original light novel launched on Kadokawa's Kakuyomu platform in November 2020, with Kadokawa's Sneaker Bunko imprint publishing it in print since December 2021. Rin Ono's manga adaptation runs on the Comic Alive+ website.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself
sourced, then editorially reviewed. Every
fact links the story it came from.
3d ago
On July 20, 2026, numerous anime, manga, and game franchises posted Marine Day greetings on social media. The Japanese national holiday, which honors the ocean and marks the end of the rainy season, prompted official accounts and creators to share beach-themed illustrations, character birthday messages, and promotional content. Among the posts, the official Kaiju No. 8 account promoted an upcoming original short anime titled "Narumi's Weekday" with a pun on the character's name and the kanji for sea. The MAPPA studio released a new illustration by Rie Nishimura for the soccer series DAYS, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2026. The Sound! Euphonium account reminded followers that the film Sound! Euphonium: The Final Part 2 opens on September 11. Classroom of the Elite noted that July 20 is also the birthday of character Honami Ichinose. The That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime account promoted the streaming of its movie Tears of the Azure Sea on U-NEXT. The Chiikawa movie account promoted the July 24 release of Eiga Chiikawa: Ningyo no Shima no Himitsu. Voice actor Yuki Kaji posted a personal greeting, and the band Orange Range shared a summer song. The roundup, compiled by Anime News Network, spanned three articles covering dozens of entries.
May 31
Anime Feminist reviewed the premiere of "I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class," a high school story about Maki Maehara, a boy who has no friends at school and eats alone. After an awkward self-introduction, he is befriended by Ami Usanagi, the girl the title calls the second prettiest in class. The review criticizes the title for framing Umi as a consolation prize and for reinforcing harmful ranking systems among teenagers. It praises the depiction of Umi reaching out to Maki based on shared interests and the realistic portrayal of teens having different friend groups in and out of school. However, it notes the camera occasionally leers at girls' bodies, and Umi's jokes about Maki being a pervert do not land well. The review calls the episode bland and generic, with potential for romance but nothing exciting beyond the protagonists expanding their friend group. It expresses hope the story values platonic friendships as much as romantic ones, but remains cautious about a possible love triangle. The reviewer concludes the show is not for them but may interest other readers.
May 16
The ongoing television anime I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class revealed a third promotional video and three new cast members on Tuesday. ASMIK Ace announced the additions. Rikuya Yasuda joins as Nozomu Seki, a classmate of protagonist Maki Maehara. Shinji Kawada plays Itsuki Maehara, Maki's father. Yurina Amami voices Kyoka Minato, a subordinate of Itsuki. The new trailer features the reGretGirl song "Hi no Ataru Kotoba" from 2025. The series premiered on Tokyo MX on April 7 and streams on Crunchyroll. Hideki Tachibana directs at studio CONNECT, with Keiichirō Ōchi writing the scripts and Shoko Takimoto designing the characters. The story follows isolated student Maki Maehara after he befriends popular classmate Umi Asanagi at a video store. Takata launched the original light novel on Kadokawa's Kakuyomu platform in November 2020, and Kadokawa's Sneaker Bunko imprint began publishing it in print in December 2021. Rin Ono's manga adaptation runs on the Comic Alive+ website.