#12-sai

Another classic 12-sai moment (Hanabi's first bra) animated. It's nice to see a wholesome, non-pervy episode about underwear shopping in anime honestly lol. I don't remember being aware of which girls in my class were wearing bras or not, but we don't really change in front of each other in America.

I feel like it's a real reminder of how young these characters are when you realize they're in the same building as the first graders. Of course, they're "big kids" in their own world, so cute. (I proceed to reminisce like a granny)

Hanabi feeling bad about never being sexually harassed is messed up, but a very real phenomenon. Takao actually gives her good advice/reassurance about being fine as she is (I guess Hiyama does the same for Yui).

Lol the origins of Tsutsumi being the cool "aniki" that all the guys look up to. Too bad he ends up with no one 😏 I loved when he was like "don't fall for me ✨" and Hanabi was like "kay 😐" Lol, you tell him!

It's unfortunate that dancing is so hard to animate. They wanted to show that Tsutsumi is this super cool dancer, but they just panned over a still frame of him in a cool pose instead. Doesn't exactly have the same impact...

I wonder if Tsutsumi is named Tsutsumi because he's so tsun tsun lol. Kind of on the nose. Angrily realizing you're in love someone is an interesting emotion. Do people feel that IRL?

Takao giving Cocoa her comeuppance will always be satisfying. The other girls are kinda trashy for thirsting after Takao right in front of Hanabi too though...

Okay, I get that Tsutsumi was keeping time, but seriously how did Hanabi not notice they were 3 HOURS late? Gurl...

Notes:

The animation in this is super low budget and not even full length (15 min. episodes). There's an upgraded reboot which I'll be watching too.

Eikou's hair is black in the first episode which feels so wrong. In his MAL picture his hair is brown, so I guess it changes later?

Hearing all of the bullies and sexist little boys is so much worse than reading them lol

God, the ending theme song is such an auto tuned mess. The emphasis on being age 12 is kinda awkward, but I know that's the name of the series. I guess the Western equivalent might be the cartoon 6Teen where they emphasize being 16 (and sing about it in theme song).

I sort of forgot that Hanabi and Yui fought in the beginning. I feel like they were nothing but pleasant towards each other towards the end of the manga. I guess having boyfriends creates a drama buffer lol.

The scene where the girls buy pads was hilarious. I feel like animation/voice acting/music can really enhance comedy writing. Also, all of the puberty talk in this franchise is very "Are You There God, It's Me Margaret"

The class clowns aren't as funny in this and I miss the class president :/ They aren't doing the karekano one liners either (yet).

Lol early series Hiyama feels so out of character with his bullying now.

This OVA series really struggles with the characters' faces. The eyes are so far apart that they're practically sliding off the face. Early 2000s vibes.

I think the best part of this one was people responding to Yui's "死にたい" message in the bath house guest book. I wish they had actually spent more time focused on what was written though. As usual with short anime, the runtime is too short for emotional impact.

Damn, Hiyama was such a dick in the beginning, more than I remember. I don't like the "oh, but he's secretly nice" character being presented to young girls. How about a dude who's just always nice? 😐 Is that so much to ask for? (I know, I know, shoujos gotta have drama)

They added a random 4th girl to the Hanabi, Yui, Marin friend group. I'm not even sure she has a name.

The moment where HIyama shyly tugs Yui's hood over her head before confessing is pretty adorable, I gotta hand it to him.

Yui and Hiyama forgetting how to act like humans now that they've confessed to each other was hilarious.

Watching them on their school trip made me really excited for my own Japan trip this spring ❤️They always seem to stay at traditional style inns during these anime field trips 🤔 didn't know they had those in Tokyo tbh

I've been trying to sing along to the ending theme but the lyrics are so awkward and forced lol.

Cutesy lil Christmas date episode with Yui and Hiyama. I actually really liked that they were unimpressed with the city's Christmas tree, that felt so real.

Not gonna lie, I'd be kinda pissed if I planned an elaborate surprise party for a friend only for their boyfriend to be like "JK, we need some alone time." If it was a surprise party does that mean they prepared food and stuff?? If so, I hope Takao and Hanabi enjoyed it lol.

Only two more episodes and so far it's been very Yui-centric. I guess there's just not much drama with Hanabi's relationship, even though she's always felt like the face of the franchise to me.

Damn, where'd the budget go!? The episode length got cut in half to 5 minutes 😭

Despite the shortness, I still enjoyed Hiyama having his inner monologue, character growth moment only for Yui to wake up and call him childish lol. He tried...

The return of troll!Takao. I actually forgot that his first name was Yuuto lol (I feel like they rarely used it in the manga!)

This episode was 10 minutes as opposed to the previous episode's 5. Random...

Vol. 19

This volume has "finale" written all over it, but I know that there's a volume 20? 🤔 Must be bonus content I guess.

At the end of the day I think Yui and Hiyama are my favorite couple. I think they've gotten the best development and gone through the most ups and downs. They feel like they have staying power. (I like that their families appear a lot too).

Wait, I thought Yui's grandparents were supposed to be living with her?? This is either a plot hole or they're still in the process of moving?

Hanabi's dad not wanting to use her back massage coupons because the present is "too precious to waste!" was adorable.

Lol the girls bullying Kako for not having "gone far" in her relationship despite never having boyfriends themselves was peak 12 year old behavior.

Kako and Taiyou feel like they have a lot of growing to do compared to Yui and Hiyama. They're like the cutesy, puppy love couple (well everyone's 12, so I guess they're all puppy love couples in a way!)

To be honest, I don't remember elementary school graduation being this emotional lol. I wasn't really separated from my friends and I didn't have a boyfriend, so I guess that helped.

Sora's "long game" situation is a little sad, but I think it was smart to include a platonic boy-girl relationship in there. Minami trying to cheer her up at the park was very sweet ❤️

The pain of transition illustrated by Hanabi seeing Takao with his mature friends for the first time was so real...a lot of the romance in this series is probably unrealistic, but the mangaka does complex emotions like this really well, very relatable.

They mentioned that there are no after school clubs in elementary school. Really? Is that a thing? Come to think of it, I don't remember joining any clubs until middle school...

Omg, that ending was so lovely 🥹we got some nice, final "karekano" moments (kind of lacking in the Kako department though)

The only thing that spoiled the ending somewhat was that they did a balloon release lol. That's just littering, y'all! Those balloons have to go somewhere!

In the afterward the mangaka said that Kako was birthed out of fan letters she received with readers saying they were too nervous to confess to their crushes. That's so freakin' cuuuuute 😭❤️

Vol. 20

Yay~ Bonus volume! Reminds me of the final volume of Horimiya.

Omg, Kako's new dog Kinako being a nervous wreck like her 😭

Okay, so it seems like this is mostly a compilation of little shorts that were serialized in special Ciao collections. They're a little too short to be that interesting, but nice to have nonetheless.

I see them randomly making the characters play 3DS after having 0 interest in gaming for 19 volumes ;) not-so-subtle advertising for the 12-sai video games (which I'm really excited to play!)

I didn't really love how heteronormative the gaming chapters were. Like it felt like they implied that gaming is for boys and girls only play games to connect with their boyfriends 🤨On the other hand, Takao wasn't even into games at all lol. Normie boyfriend.

And we end this volume with a 4 chapter one shot called Innocent Girlfriend. It was so-so. I've noticed a sort of toxic pattern with this mangaka's writing. Both Nikaidou and Minami were girl haters except for their love target (Riko and Kako). It's sorta giving a "not like other girls" vibe.

The one shot didn't really have a pay off? At least it had a lot of healthy relationship boundaries in it (minus Nikaidou asking Riko out every day, that was kind of weird).

Volume 17

This volume made me laugh out loud because they showed Eiko's dad who is identical to him except for one wrinkle and they called Kako the katanuki Jeanne D'arc 😂 the background characters in this series are so unserious

Minami finally admitted his love to Taiyou!! Which...I dunno. Honesty is probably the best policy, but he also could have lied for Taiyou's sake. Dramaaaa...

I keep wanting to call katanuki, nukitashi loool. Japanese is dangerous.

Omg Taiyou telling Kako he's rooting for her and Minami was BRUTAAAL. It might as well have turned into a horror manga all of the sudden with Kako's dead eyed response 😭This mangaka is torturing meeee.

Okay, we're finally on the right track by the end of the volume with Taiyou and Kako. But of course, they leave me with a cliff hanger 😒 There's only 3 volumes left, but I wonder what the drama will be once they're officially together? More Sora drama?

This volume ended with a full on fake girls' magazine and it was so entertaining. It had a lot of girly quizzes/fortune telling that I played with. It also had a guide on saving money (allowance) for kids? There were some genuinely good tips in there. My favorite section though was Eiko's "Aru Aru" section (which is like a list of "relatable moments " in this case for elementary schoolers). This made me want to read more magazines...

Volume 18

I've always felt this way, but the scene where the couple gets together is never as exciting as the chase/will-they-won't-they lol. Oh well.

I thought it felt sort of out of character that Takao didn't bother telling Hanabi that he was going to go to a different middle school until the end of the year. Kind of insensitive of him. It was nice to see Hanabi still root for him immediately though.

Do they really sell kids oversized uniforms so that they grow into them? Never knew that!

Man, I really related to Hanabi in this volume. She starts to feel judged and bullied for liking childish things (Usa panda, pigtails) but then when she tries to conform she sees all the boring adult school supplies and is like "screw that, I like what I like!" A great message for kids. Also, kinda funny coming from a Japanese manga...I know for a fact that adult Japanese women buy hella cute things (but maybe that's just coming from my otaku POV lol).

All of the conversations about graduation outfits was fascinating to me. I hope we get to see all the different styles side by side. I think the hakama style is really beautiful, but is that something you can wear on other occasions too? (Of course, in America we wear a stupid gown that's single use, so if not, that tracks).

Hiyama has really been in the background for a long time, maybe just because he and Yui have such a healthy relationship at this point? Let's see what random drama they throw at us in the final two volumes!

Volume 15

This manga will pull out the most cliche tropes (like Sora overhearing Kako refusing to bad mouth her) and I'll still eat it up like it's the first time. I guess that's the power of good shoujo manga lol.

I felt like Kako and Sora's fight was pretty realistically written. Sora realizing mid-fight that she's just taking all of her anguish out on Kako for no reason and hating herself for it was really raw.

Sora being blunt to Minami about his crush on Kako and then declaring that she and Minami are friends was very refreshing. I feel like Sora could play the long game here, but it would probably suck being the 2nd choice. Maybe she'll get a new love interest?

Wow, we finally got a kiss in volume 15 of 20 lol. Well, it makes sense that romance between 12 year olds would be a slow burn. I still felt the dokis

There were two cultural things I noticed in this volume that I don't think would happen in the US: a teacher telling their students to towel off so they don't catch a cold (rainy day) and students brushing their teeth at school. Very Japanese.

Hanabi gets her kiss too, but it's a forehead kiss. So chaste, so princely!

All of these "male POV" chapters make me wonder if there's such a thing as shoujo manga with a male MC? I guess that would just be BL, huh? (Edit: I googled it, Otomen is a good example of a non-BL shoujo manga with a male MC and one I enjoyed in the past).

Vol. 16

Yui looked very cute with her curled hair on her White Day date :) As with most shoujo manga, this artist does a great job keeping things interesting style-wise (hair and clothes/accessories)

I kinda doubt that a 12 year old boy would be mature enough to notice that his girlfriend is overly selfless (Yui's character flaw). But this is shoujo fantasy. I think sharing interests is one of the things that intrigues me most about romantic relationships, so I really appreciated Hiyama bluntly being like "I don't know what you like, show me what you like!"

Gah first Minami realizes that Kako likes Kohinata but now Kohinata thinks she likes Minami! I'm stressed out...

The most annoying character has definitely transferred from Cocoa to that one pigtail chick who keeps pursuing Minami despite him blatantly being like "I. Do. Not. Like. You." For fuck's sake, girl. MOVE ON!

Volume 13

The Yui trauma train continues! Actually, seeing a pregnant woman being knocked to the ground kinda messed me up too. This is a kid's manga, so I'm not expecting miscarriage to come up...luckily she was okay.

According to my calculations, the characters in this manga are gen Z (born around 2005). It made me a little sad when Hiyama said that his family doesn't have any photo albums. I guess that's only natural in the modern era. You really have to go out of your way to be analog these days...

Normally I don't think elementary schoolers should really be dating, but they're really making a case for it with Hiyama and Yui lol. The way he told her she'll never be alone when her dad got sick 😭

A bit weird that the only possible person who could drive Yui to the hospital was her teacher, but I guess they were scrambling...

Yui talking about basically becoming as small as she can to not trouble her dad was so sad man. It seems like she has some form of PTSD from her mom...

Hiyama said the quiet part out loud when he shouted "don't force her to become any more of an adult than she already is!!" at Yui's dad. That solution at the end (with the grandparents agreeing to move in for Yui's sake) 🥺 As much as I don't really want to live with my parents, I totally see the appeal of a multi-generational household when you have kids...

Mangaka said at the beginning of this volume that a lot of her friends have been having kids. I wonder if she's in her 20s or 30s...

It's always nice when we get the boys' POV, even if it's just short bonus chapters

I just looked at the back cover of this volume and Minami has green hair!? What the heck lol. (This is like when I first saw all the hair colors in the Horimiya anime).

The mangaka said that the 4-sided love triangle (love square?) is going get bigger next volume? Noooo! Yameroooo

Volume 14

Omg, Yui's dad introducing Hiyama to Yui's mom (AKA her grave) was so emotional 😭 so beautiful. If only real life romance was as pure as shoujo romance lol

Wait, have they established where Hiyama's dad is? They make a big deal about Yui being in an only parent household, but isn't that Hiyama's situation too? 🤔 Watch them become step siblings.

Actually, maybe Kako x Sora is the best love story in this series. They're SO cute as a butch x femme pairing 🥺 too bad there's no fandom for this...

I guess this is the Minami-in-anguish volume. I'm so stressed out for Sora's confession scene!

Gahhhh when Sora saw Minami kissing Kako I screamed and flailed in my seat. This mangaka is really good at love triangle drama lol.

This volume really felt like the beginning of Sora's villain arc. She does so much just to be overlooked. I'd be pissed too! I hate to see girls suffering so much over some dude. She deserves better.

Volume 11

Hanabi overhears an adult talking about how elementary school relationships never last, which is kinda sad, but I'm glad it was acknowledged. (I like to think all the couples in this series have that Boy Meets World magic to make it through though lol)

I always kinda cringe when little girls in anime say that their dream is to be "a bride." I can't recall if that was a thing I ever heard anyone say in elementary school. I could see someone saying they want to be a stay at home mom, maybe...

Hanabi not having a dream for her future is honestly so valid and I feel like it shows even more maturity. How many of us stick to our elementary school goals, anyways? (I wanted to be a postal worker lol)

The two classes having different "cultures" was a good gag. I'm kinda sad we don't have the first name drama in the states. It's like we're missing out on one of the levels of romance...(or maybe it would just be more stressful).

Kako continues to be the cutest cutie patootie ever. I lover her little "home" when she's feeling anxious (snail shell).

Kako said that she had "kataomoi" for Taiyou, which I had to look up. It means unrequited feelings...girl, where!?

Omg the Minami love triangle was so intense in this volume, I was eating it up. I felt so bad for him when he thought he might have a chance with Kako though 😭Hope we get the Sora x Minami confession moment soon.

Apparently Japanese kids get taught how to use fire extinguishers? I'm 33 and I still haven't ever used one...well maybe it's not that hard anyways (shrug)

Vol. 12

I've always been fascinated by the "anime" way of cooking sweet potatoes in a pile of burning leaves. I wonder if they really still do it that way in Japan? I've never stuck around long enough to find out. I'd love to try one but I don't really get how you don't burn your hands/make a big mess.

Minami just being the anguished dude in the background at all times is kinda making it hard to enjoy Kako and Kohinata's scenes fully. I hope this subplot can be resolved soon so my man can be put out of his misery. 😅

Lol, I didn't expect to see a PPAP reference in this manga, damn, what an old meme. I honestly wish I knew more about Japanese memes (not just the ones that made it to the west). I wonder if there's a good guide somewhere...

It was surprising to see Hanabi's more fiery personality when she was in 5th grade. It made me kinda sad because I found that Hanabi more interesting lol. She still gets a little spicy verbally but we don't see her throwing hands in 6th grade.

Choosing rabbits as your target for bullying is pretty absurd even for manga thugs...I could maybe see little kids bullying rabbits but 6th graders? Really? Takao shoulda joined Hanabi in kicking their asses.

We got another "boys have it tough too!" chapter which is honestly so nice (true feminism fights for both sides!) Again I side eye these elementary schoolers who are so fascinated with each others bodies. I have no recollection of noticing boys' Adam's apples, but I guess that part of my memory has faded, so who knows.

I was so disgusted by the adults basically calling Yui "fast" just because she has a larger chest. So gross. Unfortunately, I could see that happening IRL, though I'd like to think things are improving with the growing awareness of slut shaming...

The final chapter was probably the most interesting out of the bunch. A lot about Yui's parentification and growing up too fast. Also, her dad high key neglecting her despite seeming like the perfect guy to her classmates? Between this and the aforementioned slut shaming, Yui's going through it.

The moment with the "ugly" dad was actually so cute. I'm glad Yui defended him

Volume 9

Omg, a Halloween party in Japan sounds peak. I'm jealous of these 12 year olds lol.

Wait, Kotarou has puppies?? Kotarou's a girl dog!?

asdfghjkl the Halloween chapter lived up to the hype! I loved that it wasn't super drama filled, it was actually all wonderful fluff. Kako and Kohinato best couple 💖 I hope the love triangle aspect stays in the silent yearning corner. It's pretty crazy that every single main girl has been in a love triangle -_-

I had fun guessing what everyone's Halloween costume was supposed to be. I feel like there were some Easter eggs in the background characters (one of them looked just like Mint from Tokyo Mew Mew!)

Love the commitment to Usapanda showing up everywhere. There were pumpkin Usapanda in the Halloween chapter and Snowbunny Usapanda in the blizzard chapter <3 I'm surprised it's not a more popular yuru chara IRL but I guess it's a competitive field lol.

This volume has a whole chapter about how 12 year old girls shouldn't be ashamed of their "dirty" thoughts that I thought was really sweet and necessary. Of course their dirty thoughts didn't seem to go past kissing lol. It was cute to see the girls being vulnerable with each other and sharing romance novels/dramas.

Damn, how many homewreckers does one series need!?

Hanabi totally pulled a 90s romcom makeover moment by just wearing her hair down lol. "She's like a whole new person!" Not really...

Volume 10

I didn't know that there were people named Shibuya (surname). I like his design but it's kind of annoying how he has the same copy-paste archetype of the bully/homewrecker.

I wonder if they'll ever pair Cocoa with someone so she can chill a little lol. Probably not until the very end...

I'm not sure how playing a movie in the background of your study session is going to help. Are they trying to learn English by osmosis? (That being said, a movie study party does sound pretty fun).

Hanabi and Takao doing their best to fight back against Cocoa's bullshit was refreshing. It was also nice to have a meaner character like Shibuya around to actually shove that lil beeyatch to the ground lol.

Omg that chapter art with Yui and Hiyama twinning in polka dots was adorable. I've honestly missed their dynamic, there's been a lack of focus on them for a bit.

It was cool that they briefly touched on male puberty with the voice change chapter. I'm sure the male audience in Japan for a manga like this is tiny but not nonexistent! (Also it's good for girls to learn about male puberty too).