Real Girl, known in Japan as 3D Kanojo Real Girl (3D彼女 リアルガール), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mao Nanami. The series was serialized in Kodansha's Dessert between July 2011 and May 2016,[1] with the series later being compiled into twelve tankōbon volumes released between December 2011 and August 2016.[2][3] The series is currently published digitally in English by Kodansha Comics.[1] An anime television series adaptation directed by Takashi Naoya and animated by Hoods Entertainment aired from April 4 to June 20, 2018 on AnichU programming block.[4][5] A second season will premiere in January 2019.[6]
Plot
High school student Hikaru Tsutsui is shunned by his classmates for his otaku behavior. One day, as he was sentenced for pool cleaning duty for being late, and is paired with the beautiful but reputed troublemaker Iroha Higurashi. When Iroha asks if he would like to be in a relationship with her, Hikaru agrees. However, there is a catch: Iroha is moving in six months, owing to her father's work; and transferring to another school as a result.
Hikaru Tsutsui is a high school guy who is shunned by his classmates for being an otaku. As a result, he shelters himself from getting into any real relationships. However, he is willing to try a relationship with Iroha.
Iroha is a beautiful girl (considered by Yuuto Itou and Sumie Ayado to be "the perfect 3D Girl") with a bad attitude. She is habitually tardy and is placed on pool cleaning duty with Hikaru. However, she begins to like Hikaru and agrees to be his girlfriend. However, she has a condition in which she has to move away in six months. She is kind-hearted and takes the relationship seriously and stands up to those who tease Hikaru. It is later revealed that she has a medical condition.
Mitsuya is a popular guy in school, and has his eyes on Iroha. He cannot admit, though, that a guy like Hikaru is her boyfriend. One day he sees Hikaru helping his sister Anzu stand after falling; he tells her to scream, catching the attention of the police and branding Hikaru as a lolicon for days. Iroha found out the truth later through Anzu herself, and they apologize to Hikaru.
Arisa is Hikaru and Iroha's classmate who is initially annoyed by Hikaru, but is relied upon regularly to give Hikaru relationship advice. At first she has a boyfriend, but when Hikaru points out that he is taking advantage of her, Arisa eventually breaks up with him. She becomes friends with Hikaru and Iroha, and when she meets Mitsuya for the first time, she instantly falls for him.
Ezomichi is the name of a magical girl character in Hikaru's favorite anime show. She would often talk to Hikaru in his imagination whenever he is seeking questions concerning him and Iroha. Ezomichi has a larger role in the anime series.
Media
Manga
The manga series was serialized in Kodansha's Dessert between July 2011 and May 2016,[1] with the series later being compiled into twelve tankōbon volumes released between December 2011 and August 2016.[8][9] Kodansha later republished the series with new cover designs from August 2017 to November 2017.[10][11] Kodansha Comics announced on May 16, 2017 that they would publish the manga digitally in English, with the first volume being released on May 30, 2017,[12] and the final volume being released on January 30, 2018.[13]
Volume list
English release dates and ISBNs are for the digital version. Chapters are numbered as episodes, for example: episode・19
"The story of when I took a long look at my future" (オレの将来を見据える件について。, Ore no shōrai o misueru kudan ni tsuite.)
"The story about the choice I made in high school that I don't regret" (オレの高校生活の悔いなき選択の件について。, Ore no kōkō seikatsu no kui naki sentaku no kudan ni tsuite.)
"The story of when I contemplated the meaning of life" (オレが生命の神秘を考える件について。, Ore ga seimei no shinpi o kangaeru kudan ni tsuite.)
"The story about my past and my future" (オレの過去と未来の件について。, Ore no kako to mirai no kudan ni tsuite.)
"The story about the promise we made" (オレとあいつの約束の件について。, Ore to aitsu no yakusoku no kudan ni tsuite.)
"The story about what I said to my old self" (オレが過去の自分と語りたい件について。, Ore ga kako no jibun to kataritai kudan ni tsuite.)
"The story about how I cried as an adult" (オレが大人になっても涙を流した件について。, Ore ga otona ni natte mo namida o nagashita kudan ni tsuite.)
"The story about our happily ever after" (オレとあいつの幸せな未来の件について。, Ore to aitsu no shiawasena mirai no kudan ni tsuite.)
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced in November 2017.[35] The series is directed by Takashi Naoya and written by Deko Akao, with animation by Hoods Entertainment and character designs by Satomi Kurita. It aired from April 4 to June 20, 2018 on NTV's AnichU programming block.[4][5] The series ran for 12 episodes.[36]Sentai Filmworks have licensed the anime and streamed it on Hidive.[37] The opening theme is "Daiji na Koto" (だいじなこと, Important Thing) by Quruli and the ending theme is "HiDE the BLUE" by BiSH.[38] On June 19, 2018, the anime official website tweeted plans for a second anime season to premiere in January 2019.[39]