The sweet and subtle rom-com I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class is officially headed to TV! Based on Takata’s light novel series, the upcoming anime adaptation just dropped its first teaser trailer, key visual, and a 2026 premiere window—and fans of quiet romances are already taking notes.
🎓 Plot Summary: A Friendship That Could Be More
Maki Maehara is your classic introvert—quiet, awkward, and flying under the radar at school. He doesn’t expect much from high school life… until a surprise encounter at a video rental store changes everything.
That’s where he bumps into Umi Asanagi, the girl famously dubbed the “second prettiest in class.” She’s outgoing, well-liked, and from a completely different social universe. But as it turns out, they share one unexpected interest: cheesy B-movies. One conversation leads to another, and Umi suddenly asks Maki to be friends.
What starts as casual movie nights slowly turns into something deeper. Can friendship bridge the gap between social worlds?
🎬 Staff & Studio
The anime is being animated by Studio CONNECT, known for their clean visuals and emotional storytelling. Leading the production:
- Director: Hideki Tachibana (DanMachi, Voice Actor Radio)
- Series Composition & Scripts: Keiichirō Ōchi (Angel Next Door, Quintessential Quintuplets)
- Character Designs: Shoko Takimoto (Armed Girl’s Machiavellism)
📺 Main Cast
- Haruki Ishiya as Maki Maehara – the introverted lead who finds himself unexpectedly drawn into a new world.
- Manaka Iwami as Umi Asanagi – the charming class beauty who initiates an unlikely friendship.
- Sayumi Suzushiro as Yū Amami
- Ikumi Hasegawa as Nina Nitta
I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl Vol. 1 Cover
📘 Source Material & Reception
Originally launched on Kakuyomu in 2020, the light novel quickly gained traction and was picked up by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. With over 900,000 copies in circulation, the series even won first place in the 2023 Next Light Novel Award (bunkobon category).
A manga adaptation by Rin Ono is also ongoing and officially published in English by Yen Press.
💭 Final Thoughts
For fans of The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten or My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World, this one’s sure to be a slow-burn delight. I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class isn’t just about high school romance—it’s about unlikely connections and finding comfort in the least expected places.
We’ll keep you updated with every new visual, trailer, and announcement as we inch closer to 2026. Stay tuned, romantics!
👉 Ready to scroll back into the world of anime and manga?
For more anime news, trailers, and season previews, don’t forget to explore AniManga Scroll—your scroll-stop for all things anime! 📜
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