Akebi's Sailor Uniform (Japanese: 明日ちゃんのセーラー服, Hepburn: Akebi-chan no Sērāfuku) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro. It has been serialized online via Shueisha's Tonari no Young Jump website since August 2016, with the chapters collected in fourteen tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation produced by CloverWorks aired from January to March 2022.
Plot
Throughout her young life, Komichi has always adored sailor attire (being inspired by her idol Miki Fukumoto), even going so far as to have her mother Yuwa make a sailor-style school uniform for her when she enters middle school. When she gets accepted to her mother's old private school Roubai Girls' Academy, she is delighted that she'll get to wear her homemade uniform; once arriving at her new school, she is surprised to find out that Roubai's dress code no longer uses sailor uniforms and have been replaced with blazers instead. Despite the circumstances, the school's headmistress happily makes an exception and allows her to wear the traditional sailor uniform. As she goes through her years of early adolescence, even experiencing some struggles along the way, she meets and befriends many of her school peers and enjoys her school life.
Seat 1: A first year middle school student/the titular protagonist and is a graduate of Futaba Elementary School who has recently been accepted to the elite all-girls' Roubai Academy, the same school her mother Yuwa attended when she was her age; since she was a child, she has had a fascination for sailor attire as well as sailor school uniforms. She eventually gets her mother to make her one, an exact replica to her mother's school uniform, for her first day of school. Once she arrives at the school's entrance ceremony, she at first feels out of place due to her sailor school uniform, which happens to be Roubai Academy's original dress code from when Yuwa was a student there. Meanwhile, the other students are wearing blazer-styled school uniforms instead. Despite the misunderstanding, Komichi is happily given permission by the principal to wear the sailor uniform, making her the only student in the school and her class to wear the school's original uniform design. While she attends her new school and living out her adolescent years, she hopes to make hundreds of friends. At the school, she quickly becomes popular for her extroverted personality and joins the school's drama club. She is fond of performing gymnastics tricks thanks to her flexible body.
Seat 2: A mischievous student who is originally from Tokyo. She is Kizaki's dormmate, and befriends Akebi on her first day. A member of the softball club, Usagihara is known among her classmates for cooking and baking various food for her schoolmates, having a kitchen in her dormitory, as well as her poor grades. She went to the same cram school as Tatsumori.
Seat 3: An inquisitive girl. Ohkuma does not like socializing, preferring instead to take notes of people while observing them in the hopes of using it in the future. She also takes notes of various wild animals she sees. In the anime, she shares a dorm with Togeguchi.
Seat 5: A girl from Tokyo and the first person who Komichi meets on her first day of school, quickly becoming her best friend. She hails from a rich family as her family back at home owns and lives in a mansion. When feeling nervous or anxious, she has a habit of using her nail clippers, saying that the sound of the clippers are a therapeutic relief for her; she has learned many hobbies, such as playing the violin, piano, and horseback riding, but ultimately joins the climbing club.
Seat 9: The class president. She gives off the aura of a tough, no-nonsense student and thus is somewhat unpopular, but Akebi befriends her anyway. She is a member of the photography club, as well as the best student in the class academically.
Seat 10: A loner girl and Ohkuma's roommate. She has twin-tailed hair. Tougeguchi suffers from severe anxiety to the point of taking medication, which Akebi assists her with. She is a member of the table tennis club.
Seat 15: A girl with a penchant for punk rock and Togano's roommate. Despite her love for music, she initially cannot read music, though she eventually learns the guitar.
Seat 16: A tall, stoic girl whose only interest is volleyball, and is thus a member of the volleyball club. She is subsequently Nawashiro's best friend.
Komichi and Kao's mother and Sato's wife. She is an alumna of Roubai Girls Academy; Yuwa can be seen in an old photograph with two of her friends wearing Roubai Academy's original sailor school uniform, which inspired Komichi to have Yuwa create her a sailor uniform of her own.
Komichi and Kao's father and Yuwa's husband who is usually away on business, but he does make time to see his family whenever he does not have to work.
An idol that Komichi deeply admires. Her use of a sailor uniform in a water bottle ad is what inspired Komichi to adopt a sailor uniform.
Production
Akebi's Sailor Uniform is Hiro's first work published by Shueisha. Around half year before the end of his previous work, Yumekuri, he was reached out to by the editorial department of Weekly Young Jump. He knew that it would be impossible for him to carry out a weekly serialization and therefore had little interest in working with Young Jump. He however still had a meeting with them and surprisingly found out they could provide options other than weekly serialization.[6]
Media
Manga
Akebi's Sailor Uniform is written and illustrated by Hiro. The series began serialization in Shueisha's Tonari no Young Jump website on August 2, 2016.[7] The first volume was released on April 19, 2017.[8] As of October 18, 2024, fourteen volumes have been released.[9]
An anime television series adaptation by CloverWorks was announced on March 26, 2021. Miyuki Kuroki directed the series, while Rino Yamazaki wrote and oversaw the series' scripts. The character designs were provided by Megumi Kouno.[22] Kana Utatane composed the series's music. It aired from January 9 to March 27, 2022 on Tokyo MX and other networks.[2][23][a] The 16 main cast members, under the name Rōbai Gakuen Chūtōbu 1-nen 3-kumi (蠟梅学園中等部1年3組), performed the opening theme song "Hajimari no Setsuna" (はじまりのセツナ, The First Moment), while Manatsu Murakami (credited as Komichi Akebi) performed the ending theme song "Baton".[5][24] "Kaze ni Makasete" (風にまかせて, Leave it to the Wind) by Manatsu Murakami (credited as Komichi Akebi) was used as the ending theme song for episode 4.[25] A cover of the Spitz song "Cherry" (チェリー) sung by Mitsuho Kambe (the voice of Oshizu Hebimori) is featured in episode 7. Funimation streamed the series outside of Asia.[26]Muse Communication licensed the series in Southeast Asia.[27]
On January 27, 2022, Funimation announced the series would receive an English dub, which premiered on January 29.[3]
"The Sailor Uniform I Always Wanted" Transliteration: "Akogare no Sērāfuku" (Japanese: あこがれのセーラー服)
Miyuki Kuroki Haruka Tsuzuki
Miyuki Kuroki
January 9, 2022 (2022-01-09)
Komichi Akebi is an energetic and friendly girl who has recently finished elementary school, and thus desires to make many friends at her new school. As she will attend an all-girls academy, she is close to accomplishing her dream of wearing a sailor-style school uniform, following in the footsteps of her favourite idol, Miki Fukumoto. Akebi shares a special bond with her little sister Kao, who expresses her sadness at the fact that she will see her less. The night before, Akebi's mother Yuwa finishes tailoring the uniform, delighting Akebi. However, in the entrance ceremony the next day, Akebi quickly realizes that she is the only one wearing a sailor uniform, as every other student is wearing a blazer based attire. They have a meeting with the academy headmaster, who allows Akebi to wear her uniform if she wants to. Akebi contemplates switching over to a blazer uniform, but Kao convinces her to not be ashamed of being herself. As such, Akebi wears the sailor uniform on the first day. She arrives early in the morning, and immediately meets Erika Kizaki, a fellow student. Seeing that she also has unusual habits (such as clipping her nails to relieve stress) and is sitting next to her in class, Akebi befriends Kizaki almost immediately.
2
"See You Tomorrow" Transliteration: "Mata Ashita" (Japanese: また明日)
Makoto Katō
Makoto Katō
January 16, 2022 (2022-01-16)
Having never had to introduce herself before, as she attended elementary school by herself, Akebi overdoes her introduction to the class. She also takes notes during everyone else's introductions in order to use it to make friends later. During lunch with Kizaki, she meets with two other classmates: Tomono Kojou, a shy girl with glasses, and Touko Usagihara, a mischievous girl who quickly strikes up conversation with her, much to Kizaki's chagrin. Akebi learns that many students who live out of town, like in Tokyo, have to move to the dorms, with Usagihara and Kizaki being neighbors. At Usagihara's persistence, Akebi simulates a motion that Miki uses in one of her music videos involving putting lip balm in a unique way, enthralling the other three girls. After playing with them after school, Akebi returns home to find her father, who is perpetually absent due to out-of-town work, having just arrived home. As he does not know how to talk to Akebi after such a long absence, he fakes sleeping in the couch with Kao. She eventually shows him her new sailor uniform and talks with him later that night, and they manage to have a lively conversation.
3
"Have You Decided on a Club?" Transliteration: "Bukatsu wa Mō Kimeta?" (Japanese: 部活はもう決めた？)
Takahiro Harada
Shōko Nakamura
January 23, 2022 (2022-01-23)
During physical education, Akebi demonstrates her physical prowess. Having seen her talent, Akebi receives invitations to multiple clubs, but she cannot decide. Akebi exclaims to the class representative, Kei Tanigawa, that she likes her legs, and asks her to show more of them. Embarrassed, Tanigawa refuses, and advises Akebi to decide for a club soon. Later that day, as Akebi and Tanigawa listen to music, Akebi tells Tanigawa to take pictures of her legs. On her way home, Tanigawa privately admires Akebi's boldness. Empowered by her newfound feelings for her, Tanigawa engages in mild sexting with Akebi. She mistakenly sends her a picture when her mother startles her. Shocked, Akebi commends her photography skills, and swears not to show it to anyone. The next day, Akebi tours around the school with Kojou. They take shelter from the rain in a shed, where Akebi finds a book in Kojou's blazer. Kojou tells her it was for her literature club, and asks her to read it for her. As Akebi reads, Kojou falls asleep on her shoulder. Kojou wakes up on Akebi's lap, and as they walk back, she expresses her gratitude to Akebi for her reading. The next day, Tanigawa reveals that she chose the photography club, and Akebi has chosen the drama club.
4
"My Image?" Transliteration: "Watashi no Imēji?" (Japanese: 私のイメージ？)
Haruka Tsuzuki
Miyuki Kuroki
January 30, 2022 (2022-01-30)
Tanigawa asks Akebi to be her model for her photography club pamphlet she is working on. Tanigawa explains that she wants to picture Akebi in her "natural state". As they wander around the school, Tanigawa photographs her friends at their respective club activities. They arrive at an unoccupied structure, where Tanigawa asks Akebi to pose. However, she finally discomforts Akebi when she comes too close to her. As they walk back, a stray baseball nearly hits them. Usagihara comes to apologize, but the baseball has splattered mud onto Akebi's uniform, so Usagihara offers her and Tanigawa to wash their clothes in her dorm. They arrive at her dorm, where Usagihara gives Akebi a dress to wear. Usagihara offers to cook some pastries for the girls, which she proves to be incredibly skilled at. Multiple other girls arrive at Usagihara's door, and Akebi admires her for having so many friends already. Akebi then tries her hand at cooking, but her attempt goes awry. Akebi is again bombarded by Tanigawa and her camera when she puts her uniform back on. Back home, Akebi flips through the pages of Tanigawa's completed pamphlet alongside Kao, which contains her pictures and those of her friends.
5
"I Want to Learn Lots" Transliteration: "Ippai Shiritai Natte" (Japanese: いっぱい知りたいなって)
Minoru Ohkuma, another classmate in Akebi's classroom, is a nature enthusiast. As she wanders around the woods, she finds Akebi and her sister, and admires her from afar. She remembers the day they met, and over the days, discovered how Akebi is equally adept to animals. After Akebi and Ohkuma set free a Japanese rat snake they found on the school hallway, Ohkuma reveals to Akebi her investigation handbook, where she documents information about the animals she sees. Akebi tells her that she also has a notebook where she takes notes of her classmates, and they agree to study their friends, ending in multiple comical and awkward situations. Ayumi Tougeguchi, Ohkuma's roommate, is currently in possession of Akebi's handkerchief, and goes to the rooftop to vent her anger for being unable to talk to Akebi. Ohkuma and Akebi find her, and as the latter runs towards Tougeguchi, she recalls when Akebi gave the handkerchief to her. Akebi embraces her, glad to learn the identity of the girl of her past. She tells Tougeguchi how happy she is to talk to her, and Tougeguchi leaves, flattered. Akebi thanks Ohkuma for the experience, and they agree to observe insects some other day as they embrace.
6
"There's No School Tomorrow, Right?" Transliteration: "Ashita, Oyasumi ja Nai Desu ka" (Japanese: 明日、お休みじゃないですか)
Takayuki Kikuchi
Takayuki Kikuchi
February 13, 2022 (2022-02-13)
Overflowing with confidence, Akebi expresses her desire to invite a friend over to their house to Kao. However, throughout the school week, Akebi cannot bring herself to ask Kizaki, resorting to stalk her around the school instead. On Friday, Kizaki finally asks Akebi if she wants to tell her something, and while she does not invite her to her house, they do agree on going fishing. The next day, Akebi arrives at the lake, and "saves" Kizaki from drowning, proving to be talented swimmer. They clear up the misunderstanding, and begin fishing. Kizaki manages to snag a fish, so Akebi jumps in and assists her in capturing it. Arriving on shore, they take multiple pictures and videos of themselves, before releasing the fish back into the lake. Akebi offers Kizaki her home to get changed, where her mother and sister receive her warmly. As they bathe, Akebi expresses her jealousy to Kizaki of her family, for calling Kizaki by her first name. After their bath, Kao flusters Akebi when she shows Kizaki embarrassing videos of her. Yuwa drives them all to Kizaki's house, where Kizaki shouts Akebi's first name as they leave, telling her to call her by her first name as well. Back home, Akebi joyfully views videos of that day in bed.
7
"Please Let Me Hear It" Transliteration: "Kikasete Kudasai" (Japanese: 聴かせてください)
Oshizu Hebimori, another girl in Akebi's class, overhears some girls playing with an electric guitar. While reading from a music magazine, Akebi finds her. When Akebi asks her if she knows how play instruments, she lies and says that she knows how to play the guitar, prompting Akebi to ask her to play for her sometime. As she arrives in her dorm, Hebimori plucks a few strings on her father's guitar, and begins to teach herself how to play. However, sometime later, Hebimori reveals to her roommate Mai Togano that she is having trouble teaching herself how to play, and keeping up with school. Togano encourages Hebimori, telling her to start small, like she was when learning to play basketball. She continues to practice until one morning, she finally asks Akebi to follow her to the music room. Before she can play, however, they listen to Kizaki play beautifully on the piano. Feeling inadequate, Hebimori reveals to Akebi that she does not know how to play, but Akebi stops her from leaving, telling her that she wants to hear nonetheless. Hebimori plays and sings the song she practiced beautifully, delighting Akebi, who gives her a standing ovation. Back in her room, Hebimori continues practicing, explaining to Togano that she plans on giving Akebi an even better performance next time.
8
"I Want to Win Next Time" Transliteration: "Tsugi wa Kachitai" (Japanese: 次は勝ちたい)
The results for their recent exams are released, and Akebi is proud of her result. Tatsumori, frustrated that she came in second place to Tanigawa's perfect score, announces that they will choose the members for the different sports teams for the upcoming sports festival. Akebi is selected as a member of the Cheer and Swim team. However, Riri Minikami is selected as the Swim club anchor. Kizaki objects, so Tatsumori agrees for a race between them. After class, Minakami wagers with Akebi, telling her that they will have to trade their uniforms if she wins their race. The day of the race arrives, and Akebi manages to keep up with Minakami. Despite her efforts, however, she narrowly loses. Minakami congratulates her, telling her she was bluffing about the uniform, as she wanted her to take the race seriously. Back in the classroom, Minakami tells the others that she will not compete unless she improves her grades. She reveals that Tatsumori agreed to help her, as Tatsumori, blushing, presents her with a special study guide she made for her. Back home, Yuwa has finished Akebi's summer uniform. Her father agrees that it looks good on her, delighting her. Akebi spins around in her uniform, imitating Miki.
In a post-credits scene, Kao is in Akebi's room, trying on her uniforms. Akebi finds her, and Kao expresses her disappointment for not looking cool in them like Akebi does. Akebi comforts her, and tells her that they will fit her when she grows older. Instead, she puts on Kao only her scarf for now, and Kao is delighted at how cute she looks.
Akebi meets up with Kizaki, Kojou, and Usagihara at the mall to buy materials for their upcoming festival. As Akebi has visited the mall before, she sees herself as their guide, but gets a little nervous when she sees Usagihara leading the girls around mall. They then go to a bookstore, where Kizaki sees a book she is interested in. Kojou tells her that it is the same book she was reading before and offers to lend her her copy of it. She tells the girls of her beloved handmade bookmark, given to her when she was little by her mother. As they head outside, Kojou opens her book, only to find her bookmark is missing. After being unable to find it, Kojou tells the girls to stop worrying about it, which they reluctantly agree to. However, Akebi spots the bookmark tied to a balloon outside. When Kojou unties the knot, however, a strong gust of wind blows the balloon into a nearby tree branch. Akebi and the other girls help her reach it, which she does after Akebi thrusts her upwards and catches her as she falls. As they rejoice, it starts to rain, and while they play outside, they witness a beautiful partition in the clouds that allows sunrays through, a phenomenon present in Kojou's book.
Summer classes are heralded with the sports festival. Akebi, Tanigawa, Neko Kamimoku, and Yasuko Nawashiro form the class' cheerleading team, complete with pom-poms, and decide to cheer everyone while they practice. They go to cheer Ohkuma and Tougeguchi, the table tennis representatives, but find themselves completely uncoordinated, prompting Tougeguchi to successfully give them impromptu reasons. Reinvigorated, they spend the day cheering for everyone else in the class. Meanwhile, Kizaki practices tennis with Riona Shijou, a girl who used to play tennis but stopped two years prior. As a result, her skills have deteriorated and she has put on weight which she is self-conscious about. Seeing Shijou look at Akebi's slender figure with envy, Kizaki prods her to substitute on the cheer team to overcome her insecurities, much to her dismay. After seeing a recording of her poor performance, Shijou becomes determined to try again and manages to do significantly better, reinvigorating her tennis drive. Later, Akebi attends drama club, where the president gives her a sheet of paper that shocks her.
11
"Sharing This Time... With Everyone..." Transliteration: "Onaji Jikan... Minna to..." (Japanese: 同じ時間…みんなと…)
Shin'ichirō Ushijima
Takahiro Miura
March 20, 2022 (2022-03-20)
As revealed on the sheet of paper, Akebi is scheduled to perform a song and dance number for the school as part of the sports festival's after party; she chooses a song by Miki. Later, Kizaki fantasizes about performing the piano to Akebi's performance, especially after Usagihara suggests it. Usagihara herself struggles along with Akebi to improve their equally poor volleyball skills. Unable to reserve a room at Roubai to practice, Akebi manages to secure the gym at her old elementary school. The teammates, as well as Kao (whom Akebi agreed to take along after realizing she feels as lonely as she used to back then), go there the next day. Elated at having friends in the school with her for the first time, Akebi practices longer and harder than usual, significantly improving. This is only further improved when it is revealed that Usagihara invited the entire class to join them, overwhelming Akebi with emotion. Kizaki ends up having to pass, however, due to her committing to performing the song. Akebi returns to school the next day determined to win the sports festival.
12
"I'm Not Alone" Transliteration: "Hitori ja Nain da" (Japanese: ひとりじゃないんだ)
Miyuki Kuroki Haruka Tsuzuki
Miyuki Kuroki Haruka Tsuzuki
March 27, 2022 (2022-03-27)
In front of everyone in the school, Akebi performs an interpretive dance during the festival. Dancing to a Miki song being played on the piano by Kizaki, all her classmates from below notice that her dance moves resemble her cheering moves during the festival as a member of the cheer squad, helping them perform well with her encouragement. They all reminisce on how Akebi cheered for them not mattering their performance. Particularly, Hiraiwa remembers how she performed poorly in her badminton match, but Akebi swiftly encouraged her not to cry, helping her do much better in her basketball match. Gaining encouragement from the support of her friends, Akebi is able to execute a long leap and mid-air flip in her choreography. Kizaki herself reflects on how much she admires Akebi, and how important she was in helping her rediscover her love of music. As the song ends, both Akebi and Kizaki are given a standing ovation by the audience. The next day, as Akebi wakes up, she glances at her sailor uniform hanging from her window, and wonders if everything was just a delightful dream. She arrives early to school, where in their classroom, Kizaki happily glances at her, as their friends begin arriving for class.
In a post-credits scene a picture of Akebi with all her classmates from class 1-3 is shown, after being awarded the first place in the festival.
Reception
Mercedez Clewis from Anime News Network called the series, which she described as "a coming-of-age story about a teenager just being passionate", her favorite show of the season. Clewis revealed she wept of joy with the series' final episode, which she give five stars out of five.[31] Allen Moody from THEM Anime Reviews gave the series 4/5 stars, praising its energetic, pleasant story, which he considered an "affirming show", although he felt a lack of comic relief. Commenting on popular accusations that the show contained foot fetishism, he found the series' visual fixation on feet mild and non-sexual.[32] Gracie Qu from Anitrendz gave the series an 82/100, calling it a "gorgeously rendered anime that depicts girls’ friendships in a way that I haven’t yet experienced in an anime". She praised its high-quality animation, visual storytelling, character development and interactions, finding them particularly authentic and true, as well as an exploration of "light and dark of puberty". Qu similarly noted the series' of feet as a narrative resource rather than fetish.[33]
Boston Bastard Brigade gave the series 4,5 out of 5. While they criticized a lack of plot, they found the story highly relatable, especially by female viewers. They praised the visuals and animation, noting its "movie-level quality" and expressing, "there are not enough words to describe how radiant CloverWorks's animation is in this series".[34] Lewis Williamson from Honey's Anime called the series a "joywful watch", noting its character development, animation and soundtrack. He found no sexualization in the series' controversial focus on feet, although he commented it might be offputting for some viewers.[35] Ragashingo's review stated, "it was a true delight to watch, and I think it will be well regarded as one of the better pure slice of life anime yet produced". Aside from the animation, they praised the series' development of all its characters, as well as its ability to make their interactions feel authentic and natural. They also addressed accusations of the series allegedly sexualizing young girls, stating "I think these accusations are complete nonsense. That they say far more about the commentator than they do the show."[36]
Double-sama's review of the series focused on its large cast and their interactions, acknowledging "they’re all unique and are generally given time to shine". He gave it the best art of the 2022 anime season, and one of the best animations. He considered it a underrated series.[37] By March 2023, the series has over one million copies in circulation.[38]
See also
Super Cub, a light novel series also illustrated by Hiro
Notes
^Tokyo MX lists the series premiere at 24:30 on January 8, 2022, which is effectively 12:30 a.m. JST on January 9.
^This episode aired at 12:32 a.m. JST, 2 minutes after the original air time.
