My Clueless First Friend

Akane Nishimura is a lonely fifth grader who keeps to herself after constant teasing at school, until Taiyo Takada shows up as the new, painfully earnest classmate. Takada's unfailing friendliness and comic obliviousness slowly draw Akane out, encouraging tiny acts of trust and occasional laughter. The series settles on small, everyday moments—pool days, sunflower-gathering, fireworks nights—where awkward conversations and shared mishaps chip away at isolation. Rather than big events, it focuses on how repeated, gentle kindness can alter a child's sense of belonging, showing the awkward stumbles and fragile victories of a friendship that grows in fits and starts over a summer.

Released in 2023, the animated TV series was created by Shogo Yasukawa, Taku Kawamura, and Takafumi Hoshikawa, and features Konomi Kohara as Akane and Shizuka Ishigami as Taiyo, marking it as a contemporary, character-driven anime entry.

Audience reaction has leaned mixed to positive, reflected in a 6.5/10 average from 23 votes; many viewers praised the warm focus on friendship, the honest depiction of school teasing, and the chemistry between the leads, while a portion of the audience wanted firmer pacing or tighter humor across episodes.

Though it wasn't a mainstream phenomenon, the show found a modest, devoted following among slice-of-life fans, sparking fan art and online conversations about kindness, social exclusion, and childhood memory. That quieter presence helped it circulate on social feeds and recommendation threads for viewers seeking low-stakes emotional stories.

The series did not collect major industry awards or high-profile nominations, yet it received modest recognition in seasonal roundups and niche anime discussions, where commentators tended to highlight its character work, gentle tone, and the way it treats bullying and friendship without spectacle.