OverView:26-year old "salaryman" Fumihiko Matsumaru is looking for a little romance in his life (and bombing out at it) just as he meets Aka, an adorable up-and-coming voice actress (seiyuu) whose apartment complex has burnt to the ground while the two were out at a show. The sympathetic Matsumaru invites her to stay with him for as long as she needs, but he hasn't bargained on the personality conflicts, sexual tension and cramped living Aka's intrusion brings into his life.
Things are further complicated by the fact that Aka then gets a job voicing a character for the company Matsumaru works for. Thus, they now need to keep their relationship (which is not exactly defined) a secret from their employers. As Aka's career begins to progress (Aka's goal is to be Audrey Hepburn), both need to decide where they want to take their relationship.
This is a relatively unknown series and quite short, but it's a real gem, directed by Nakamura Ryutaro of Serial Experiments Lain, Sakura Wars and Kino no Tabi. Each episode is named after an Audrey Hepburn film and also features the catchiest opening theme song I've heard in a long while ("Cheer!~Makka na kimochi~" ).
Story
At the beginning of the story, Fumihiko Matsumaru is outside a movie theater waiting for his date to arrive. When it becomes obvious that he has been "stood up," he crumples his tickets in frustration. As he is about to toss the tickets into a trash can, a girl approaches, and in the "voice" of the tickets, implores him to not waste them. Dumbfounded, he sees the movie with her, which is Roman Holiday.
During the movie, he notices that the girl is reading the subtitles out loud. When he asks her about this after the movie, she says that she was practicing the lines, and that she wants to be Audrey Hepburn. At dinner, she explains that she is a 20-year-old novice seiyū. Going home, they find that they live in the same neighborhood before they part ways. (In the anime, she recites appropriate lines from Roman Holiday.) Matsumaru goes to bed, but he can't sleep. In the darkness, he hears the sounds of sirens; there is a fire in the neighborhood. When he goes to investigate, he discovers that the girl's apartment has burned down. Since she has nowhere to stay, Matsumaru asks her to stay at his apartment; she dazedly accepts.
The next day, Matsumaru learns at work that his marketing concept "Nekoki" (ねこキ; a cat-tree) has been approved as the mascot of a snack product called "Ha" (translates as "leaf"). Furthermore, Aka is chosen to voice Nekoki. They decide to keep their live-in relationship a secret from their employers due to Aka's worries about an appearance of impropriety. She also insists they are not a couple just from having slept together once in a moment of weakness, and that she will merely be lodging with him. Soon after they begin to date for real, and as a running gag when ever they start to begin having sex or plan to something or someone happens to pop up and interfere. The series is heavily concerned with the developing dynamic of their relationship.
Main characters
- Fumihiko Matsumaru (松丸 文彦 Matsumaru Fumihiko)
- Voiced by: Makoto Yasumura
- An average, twenty-six-year-old salaryman who works in the marketing department of a snack company. He always tries hard to get his advertisement projects chosen, but almost always fails at this. His latest project, Nekoki, was chosen for the mascot of a snack food called Ha (は leaf) and is his first accepted project.
- In chapter seven of the manga Matsumaru finally asks Aka to be his girlfriend after they share a passionate kiss for the second time, to which she agrees. Although Matsumaru is in love with Aka he is not above admiring the "assets" of other females, which often puts him in compromising situations; such as when he decides not to erase the doctored photo of him and Ao because her breasts were exposed and Aka accidentally sees it. Also, Matsumaru will at times barge in on Aka without her clothes on or grope some part of her body which earns him a harsh reprimand.
- Aka Onda (恩田 赤 Onda Aka)
- Voiced by: Kanako Sakai
- A twenty-year-old aspiring seiyū who idolizes Audrey Hepburn. She voiced the snack food Ha's image character, Nekoki. She is a little eccentric in her actions as she often quotes movie lines from films Audrey Hepburn starred in. She lives with Matsumaru in his apartment, and usually asserts that she is only friends with him, despite the fact she and Matsumaru slept together the first night they met. This provides the crux of the remainder of the series. Kanako Sakai, the seiyū who voiced Aka Onda, also sang the opening theme: "Cheer!~Makka na Kimochi~" (Cheer!～まっかなキモチ～).
- In chapter seven of the manga Aka agrees to be Matsumaru's girlfriend, but they must keep it a secret at all costs. Even though Aka is in love with Matsumaru, she is very shy and doesn't like him to see her naked. When Matsumaru does something lecherous Aka will strike him as hard as possible. Even though she is embarrassed, Aka is always waiting for the time where her and Matsumaru can have sex for the second time. Usually when they finally get the chance it's interrupted by anything from Sekigahara suddenly appearing to Matsumaru being unable to perform because he thought he had cheated on Aka.
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