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 use ...

series written and illustrated by Taku Kawamura. It has been serialized in

Square Enix is a Japanese multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', '' Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game franchises, among numerou ...

's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''

Monthly Gangan Joker is a manga imprint owned by Square Enix Holdings. It originated as a manga imprint for Enix before the company re-branded as Square Enix. It publishes manga in several anthologies aimed at different reader demographic groups in the Japanese ma ...

'' since May 2018, with its chapters collected in 16 volumes as of November 2023. An

anime is hand-drawn and 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 Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

television series adaptation produced by

Studio Signpost is an animation studio subsidiary of Pierrot. The studio is an associate-member of The Association of Japanese Animations. History The company was founded in 1959 as an advertising agency by Keiji Kusano and stepped into the anime industry in ...

aired from April to July 2023.

Synopsis

Akane Nishimura is a quiet, almost goth-like, girl who everyone nicknames "Grim Reaper" due to the way she looks. When a boy named Taiyō Takada first enters the class, he obliviously chooses to become friends with Akane and together form a friendship that will forever change both of their lives.

Characters

; : ; : ; : ; : ; : ; : ; : ; :

Media

Manga

''My Clueless First Friend'', written and illustrated by Taku Kawamura, started in

's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''

'' on May 22, 2018. Square Enix has collected its chapters into individual volumes. The first volume was released on October 22, 2018. As of November 21, 2023, 16 volumes have been released. In July 2022, Square Enix Manga & Books announced that they had licensed the manga for English released in North America. The series is also published online on the English version of Square Enix's '' Manga UP!'' platform since July 2022.

Volumes

Anime

In November 2022, it was announced that the manga would receive an

television series adaptation. It is produced by

and directed by

Shigenori Kageyama is a male Japanese animation director. He is also known under the name (meaning "forest fairy" in Japanese). Anime involved in Under the name Shigenori Kageyama * ''Acrobunch'': Character Design * ''Birth'': Animation Coordination, Main Anima ...

, with scripts written by Takafumi Hoshikawa and Shogo Yasukawa, character designs handled by Chikashi Kadekaru, and music composed by Toshio Masuda. The series aired from April 9 to July 2, 2023, on

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV, branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city. It competes with Nippon TV, TV Asahi, NH ...

and other networks. The opening theme song, , is performed by

Reina Kondō is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Chiba Prefecture who is affiliated with Hirata Office. She is known for her roles as Hana Ichinose in '' Slow Start'' and Suzuka Nagami in '' My Sister, My Writer''. She, together with her ''Slow Star ...

, while the ending theme song, , is performed by Kitri. Crunchyroll licensed the series outside of Asia.

Episodes

Notes

References

External links

*
Official anime website
* {{Studio Signpost Anime series based on manga Comedy anime and manga Comics about friendship Crunchyroll anime Gangan Comics manga Shōnen manga Slice of life anime and manga Studio Signpost Television series about bullying Tokyo MX original programming