Class de 2-banme ni Kawaii Onnanoko to Tomodachi ni Natta

I, Maehara Maki, struggled to connect with anyone during my high school years, finding it hard to make friends. Then, a turning point arrived. A girl named Asanagi entered my life. Despite being clandestinely referred to as the "second cutest girl in class" by the boys, she chose to spend her Fridays with me instead of her best friend Amami, who held the "cutest girl in class" title. In the comfort of my home, we delved into the realm of games, watched movies, immersed ourselves in manga, indulged in junk food—pizza, hamburgers—and guzzled cola, carefree and content. To the outside world, we might have seemed a bit messy, but to both Asanagi and me, it was a cherished, hidden time together.

(Source: MAL News)

Asanagi, Umi Main

Iwami, Manaka Japanese

Maehara, Maki Main

Ishiya, Haruki Japanese

Amami, Yuu Main

Suzushiro, Sayumi Japanese

Nitta, Nina Supporting

Hasegawa, Ikumi Japanese

Asanagi, Sora Supporting

Itou, Shizuka Japanese

Seki, Tomoo Supporting

Shimoji, Shino Japanese

Minato, Kyouka Supporting

Amami, Yurina Japanese

Maehara, Itsuki Supporting

Kawada, Shinji Japanese

Houjou, Manaka Supporting

Inoue, Honoka Japanese

Seki, Nozomu Supporting

Yasuda, Rikuya Japanese

Ozawa, Fumihiro Producer

Matsui, Yuuko Producer

Kondou, Chiaki Producer

Maeda, Kenta Producer

Reviews

May 11, 2026

Happyplague

Recommended

Preliminary (3/12 eps)

This show is basically the definition of fun-bad. Like.... sometimes I'm genuinely flabbergasted at how bad it is from a writing standpoint, especially because it so obviously tries to give false hope to lonely guys, yet I still click that next episode each and every damn time, and I don't plan on stopping for as long as they give me more because... well, it's fun-bad. Another thing is that the art style is really good IMO.

Should you give it a shot if you like what you read me write above? Absolutely. Should you watch a second episode if you don't enjoy the first one? HELL ... NAH. This show completely bypasses the 3-episode rule and turns it into 1-episode rule, because even as someone that enjoys it it's safe to say that if you don't like it and don't see any potential for liking it during the first episode, you're definitely not gonna vibe with it going forward.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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May 11, 2026

kingsaman21

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (5/12 eps)

The anime itself is decent enough. It has some wholesome moments where you can just turn your brain off and enjoy the ride. But eventually, it reaches a point where you genuinely start wondering if you accidentally skipped a few episodes.

The premise is pretty standard: a lonely otaku guy somehow becomes friends with “the second prettiest girl” in his class. Nothing groundbreaking, but it delivers the kind of romance fans of the genre usually look for. So if you enjoy stories about a lonely guy slowly building a relationship with a popular girl, this anime will probably work for you — if you can ignore ... the pacing issues.

Even though the show is extremely predictable, one thing I couldn’t predict was how quickly the main characters became so close. Their relationship develops at such a fast pace that it feels unnatural. At times, it genuinely feels like entire chunks of development are missing. They go from barely having any physical contact to suddenly holding hands and almost sleeping together, with very little buildup in between. The anime just throws these emotional moments at you out of nowhere — moments that are probably meant to feel touching and wholesome — while I was left sitting there completely confused, wondering, “Wait… when did we even get to this point?”

There’s even a moment where another character says, “You two got really close,” and I was sitting there thinking, “Yeah… they did. But how? When? Did I miss something?”

That’s the biggest problem with the anime: the relationship progression feels rushed and poorly developed. If you have nothing else to watch and you’re craving a romance anime, you might still enjoy it. But even then, the pacing will probably make the relationship feel unnatural.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Apr 30, 2026

BigTimeTalks

Not Recommended

Funny

Preliminary (4/12 eps)

+ The art and animation quality are consistently solid. Very cute, very colourful.
~ Asanagi and Maehara both need WAY more depth to be believable as characters. Who are these people as individuals? What common goal do they both share? What do they each provide that the other doesn't have?
~ The story lacks conflict. Everything is too idyllic, and nothing dramatic actually happens. Asanagi strikes up a friendship with Maehara without any resistance, Amami is the amiable best friend who does nothing to encourage or test their relationship, and the only source of supposed tension comes from an amorphous crowd of nameless students who add nothing ... to the story.
~ I get that he's supposed to be a pushover, but it's been four whole episodes and Maehara hasn't expressed a single desire to another character. As far as I'm concerned, his desire for a friend was already fulfilled in Episode 1, which begs the question of why we have a character with no apparent motive as our protagonist.
~ The pacing is off. Some scenes end too quickly, and supporting characters are often whisked away before they get the chance to explain what they want or what they add to the story dramatically.

= Kuranika is yet another high school rom-com anime about a popular girl befriending a quiet loner (see also: Sono Bisque, Nagatoro, Kubo-san, Polar Opposites, Bokuyaba). But unlike Sono Bisque's focus on cosplay, Nagatoro's sadistic teasing, or Polar Opposite's wide cast of characters, Kuranika's only unique attribute is found directly in its title: as the "second prettiest girl" when compared to her best friend Amami, Asanagi feels insecure about her self-worth and seeks a more authentic friendship with Maehara, free from the pressures that come with popularity. There's a tricky depth to this premise that could work, but the relationship between our two main characters is nowhere near interesting enough to navigate that level of complexity. Asanagi and Maehara like to eat pizza, watch B-movies, play games, and share just about every stereotypical hobby that vaguely suggests a close friendship without actually indicating why their relationship is special. In other words, Kuranika is an assortment of clichés with no identity of its own. Even when compared to other shows of the same genre, it's still below average at best.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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