Pseudo Harem

Pseudo Harem
Cover of the first tankōbon volume, featuring Rin Nanakura
疑似ハーレム
(Giji Hāremu)
GenreRomantic comedy[1]
Manga
Written byYū Saitō
Published byShogakukan
ImprintShōnen Sunday Comics Special
Magazine
  • Self-published (June 20, 2018 – March 5, 2021)
Monthly Shōnen Sunday (January 12, 2019 – March 12, 2021)
DemographicShōnen
Original runJune 20, 2018 – March 5, 2021
Volumes6
Anime television series
Directed byToshihiro Kikuchi
Produced by
  • Takanori Matsuoka
  • Masayuki Yaguchi
  • Yuuki Konishi
  • Shinji Oomori
  • Tatsuya Ono
Written byYūko Kakihara
Music byTakeshi Watanabe
StudioNomad
Licensed byCrunchyroll
Original networkTokyo MX, BS Fuji, AT-X
Original run July 5, 2024 – September 20, 2024
Episodes12
icon Anime and manga portal

Pseudo Harem (Japanese: 疑似ハーレム, Hepburn: Giji Hāremu) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yū Saitō. It was posted as a webcomic on Saitō's Twitter account from June 2018 to March 2021, and was later parallelly serialized in Shogakukan's Monthly Shōnen Sunday from January 2019 to March 2021, with its chapters collected into six tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation produced by Nomad aired from July to September 2024.

Plot

Eiji Kitahama, a second-year high school student, yearns for popularity more than anything. His days are filled with dreams of being surrounded by admiring peers. Enter Rin Nanakura, his junior in the drama club, who decides to use her extraordinary acting skills to help Eiji achieve this lofty goal. With her talent, she crafts a harem of loving girls, each one showering Eiji with affection. But behind these diverse characters is Rin herself, and her feelings for Eiji are genuine, though Eiji remains completely unaware.

As Eiji enjoys the attention from the various "girls", he cannot help but be enchanted by Rin's vibrant performances. Her colorful and dynamic acting brings joy to his life, leaving him wondering if the actress behind these roles will ever find a way into his heart. The line between reality and performance blurs, creating a captivating drama of its own in which Eiji might discover that the most genuine love comes from the one person who had been there all along.

Characters

Eiji Kitahama (北浜 瑛二, Kitahama Eiji)
Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto[2]
Eiji is a member of the Drama Club who is also Rin's senior. His wish is to be popular and have a harem, just like in manga. To fulfill his wish, Rin acts out many archetypes in hopes for her to color his world. He often mistakes Rin's actions of affection as method acting, as he is largely unaware she is in love with him. It is later revealed that he fell in love with Rin at first sight.
Rin Nanakura (七倉 凛, Nanakura Rin)
Voiced by: Saori Hayami[2]
Rin is a member of the Drama Club who is a method actress. She gets into comedic situations with Eiji in which she poses as different archetypes such as "imp-chan", "tsundere-chan" and "cool-chan". She has a huge crush on Eiji, but Eiji himself is often unable to properly decipher her feelings due to her acting skills. At the end of the series, she becomes an actress and she and Eiji marry.
Ayaka Nanakura (七倉 綾香, Nanakura Ayaka)
Voiced by: Mai Narumi[3]
She is the younger sister of Rin. She is an elementary school student.
Motokuni Nakayama (中山 元邦, Nakayama Motokuni)
Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe[4]
Nakayama is a clubmate of Eiji and Rin who is also the member of the Drama Club.
Tsuguto Iwata (岩田 嗣人, Iwata Tsuguto) / Tsu-chan (つーちゃん, Tsū-chan)
Voiced by: Kōji Yusa[4]
Iwata is a member of the Drama Club who works as a scriptwriter. He is also good at telling ghost stories.
Megu (めぐ)
Voiced by: Maria Abo[4]
She is a student at Kouban High and a close friend of Rin.
Kiri Shirasawa (白沢 きり, Shirasawa Kiri)
Voiced by: Minako Sato[4]
She is a first-year student who is a part of the Drama Club. She admires Rin.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Yū Saitō, Pseudo Harem was first posted as a webcomic on Saitō's Twitter account from June 20, 2018, to March 5, 2021.[5][6] The manga was subsequently serialized in parallel, in Shogakukan's Monthly Shōnen Sunday from January 12, 2019, to March 12, 2021,[7][8] collecting its chapters into six tankōbon volumes, released from March 12, 2019, to April 12, 2021.[9][10]

Volumes

No. Japanese release date Japanese ISBN
1 March 12, 2019[9]978-4-09-129095-3
2 August 8, 2019[11]978-4-09-129365-7
3 January 10, 2020[12]978-4-09-129580-4
4 June 12, 2020[13]978-4-09-850140-3
5 November 12, 2020[14]978-4-09-850325-4
6 April 12, 2021[10]978-4-09-850468-8

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced on April 10, 2023.[2][15] It is produced by Nomad and directed by Toshihiro Kikuchi, with Yūko Kakihara handling series scripts, Yoshihisa Sato designing the characters, and Takeshi Watanabe composing the music, with Pony Canyon credited for music production.[16] The series aired from July 5 to September 20, 2024, on Tokyo MX and other networks.[4][a] The opening theme song is "Blouse" (ブラウス) performed by Gohobi, while the ending theme song is "Ad-lib" (アドリブ) performed by Saori Hayami as her character Rin Nanakura.[19][4] Crunchyroll streamed the series.[20] Medialink licensed the series in East[b] and Southeast Asia for streaming on Ani-One Asia's YouTube channel.[21]

Episodes

No.Title [22][23]Directed by [22]Storyboarded by [22]Original air date [a]
1"The Beginning of a Story?"
Transliteration: "Monogatari no Hajimari?" (Japanese: 物語の始まり？)		Toshihiro KikuchiToshihiro KikuchiJuly 5, 2024 (2024-07-05)
2"Confession?"
Transliteration: "Kokuhaku?" (Japanese: 告白？)		Yūichi SatōToshihiro KikuchiJuly 12, 2024 (2024-07-12)
3"Lesson in Love?"
Transliteration: "Ren'ai Shinan?" (Japanese: 恋愛指南？)		Ryō ŌkuboHideaki UeharaJuly 19, 2024 (2024-07-19)
4"Wow?"[c]Ikuhiro MatsuiHiroyuki YamadaJuly 26, 2024 (2024-07-26)
5"Summer Vacation"
Transliteration: "Natsu Yasumi" (Japanese: 夏休み)		Yudai HanaokaHideki TonokatsuAugust 2, 2024 (2024-08-02)
6"First Date?"
Transliteration: "Hatsu Dēto?" (Japanese: 初デート？)		Nao MiyoshiYuta SuzukiAugust 9, 2024 (2024-08-09)
7"Graduation"
Transliteration: "Sotsugyō" (Japanese: 卒業)		Takanori YanoToshihiro KikuchiAugust 16, 2024 (2024-08-16)
8"Adults"
Transliteration: "Otona" (Japanese: 大人)		Takashi AndoHiroaki ShimuraAugust 23, 2024 (2024-08-23)
9"A Person To Love"
Transliteration: "Sukina Hito" (Japanese: 好きな人)		Yusuke NakagamaDaisuke KuroseAugust 30, 2024 (2024-08-30)
10"Birthday"
Transliteration: "Bāsudei" (Japanese: バースデイ)		Yūichi SatōYūichi SatōSeptember 6, 2024 (2024-09-06)
11"Love Triangle?"
Transliteration: "San-kaku Kankei?" (Japanese: 三角関係？)		Higashio YamauchiMasami WatanabeSeptember 13, 2024 (2024-09-13)
12"The Beginning of a Story"
Transliteration: "Monogatari no Hajimari" (Japanese: 物語の始まり)		Toshihiro KikuchiToshihiro KikuchiSeptember 20, 2024 (2024-09-20)

Reception

In 2019, the series was nominated for the fifth Next Manga Awards in the print category and was ranked seventh out of 50 nominees.[24]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Tokyo MX listed the series premiere on July 4, 2024, at 24:30, which is effectively July 5 at 12:30 a.m. JST.[17][18]
  2. ^ Excluding Mainland China, North and South Korea, and Japan.
  3. ^ Stylized in all caps

References

  1. ^ 小悪魔？クール？1人のヒロインがハーレムを演出「疑似ハーレム」しろまんたも推薦. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. March 12, 2019. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c 漫画『疑似ハーレム』テレビアニメ化 出演は岡本信彦&早見沙織 甘えん坊や猫撫で声…早見のレア芝居は必聴. Oricon (in Japanese). April 10, 2023. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  3. ^ Dennison, Kara (February 2, 2024). "Giji Harem Anime Pulls Back the Curtain on a New Cast Addition". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Dempsey, Liam (June 12, 2024). "Giji Harem Anime Reveals Premiere Date, New Trailer and Visual". Crunchyroll News. Archived from the original on June 12, 2024. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  5. ^ Saitō, Yū [@54110yu] (June 20, 2018). 疑似ハーレム最終回：門出 (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved July 9, 2021 – via Twitter.
  6. ^ Saitō, Yū [@54110yu] (March 5, 2021). 疑似ハーレム (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved July 9, 2021 – via Twitter.
  7. ^ 斉藤ゆう「疑似ハーレム」連載化！先輩のため"キャラ"演じ分ける女子のラブコメ. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. January 12, 2019. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  8. ^ 「内藤死屍累々滅殺デスロード」宇津江広祐の新連載がゲッサンで開幕. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. March 12, 2021. Archived from the original on July 12, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  9. ^ a b 疑似ハーレム １ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  10. ^ a b 疑似ハーレム ６ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  11. ^ 疑似ハーレム ２ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  12. ^ 疑似ハーレム ３ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  13. ^ 疑似ハーレム ４ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  14. ^ 疑似ハーレム ５ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  15. ^ Dempsey, Liam (April 10, 2023). "Rom-com Manga Giji Harem Sets the Scene for TV Anime Adaptation". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  16. ^ Cayanan, Joanna (February 14, 2024). "Giji Harem Anime's Teaser Promo Video Reveals Main Staff". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  17. ^ 「疑似ハーレム」寝そべる瑛二＆凛のキービジュアル　諏訪部順一ら出演も明らかに. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. June 12, 2024. Archived from the original on June 12, 2024. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  18. ^ "On'ea -TV Anime 「Giji Hāremu」Kōshiki Saito-" ON AIR -TVアニメ「疑似ハーレム」公式サイト- [On Air | TV Anime "Giji Harem" Official Site]. gijiharem.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on July 27, 2024. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  19. ^ Cayanan, Joanna (April 8, 2024). "Giji Harem Anime's 1st Promo Video Reveals Opening Song & Artist, More Staff, July Premiere". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on April 8, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  20. ^ Cardine, Kyle (June 18, 2024). "Crunchyroll Summer 2024 Anime Season Lineup Announced!". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on June 18, 2024. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  21. ^ "🌻 Medialink July 2024 New Anime Line-Up 🌻 🎭 Pseudo Harem is arriving on Ani-One Asia!". Medialink. July 3, 2024. Archived from the original on July 27, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024 – via YouTube.
  22. ^ a b c "Sutōrī -TV Anime「Giji Hāremu」Kōshiki Saito-" STORY -TVアニメ「疑似ハーレム」公式サイト- [Story | TV Anime "Psuedo Harem" Official Site]. gijiharem.com (in Japanese). Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  23. ^ "Watch Pseudo Harem - Crunchyroll". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on July 4, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  24. ^ Loveridge, Lynzee (August 22, 2019). "SPY × FAMILY, Kusuriya no Hitorigoto Win Tsugi ni Kuru Manga Award 2019". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2023.