Go for It, Nakamura!
Japanese manga series
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Go for It, Nakamura! (Japanese: ガンバレ! 中村くん!!, Hepburn: Ganbare! Nakamura-kun!!) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Syundei. The series follows the titular Nakamura, a closeted high school student who has a secret crush on his classmate. Go for It, Nakamura! was serialized in the manga magazine Opera from 2014 to 2016, collected into a bound volume by Akane Shinsha in 2017, and licensed for an English-language release by Seven Seas Entertainment in 2018. A sequel, Go For It Again, Nakamura! (もっとガンバレ！中村くん!!, Motto Ganbare! Nakamura-kun!!), was serialized from June 2017 to June 2021. An anime television series adaptation produced by Drive premiered in April 2026.
| Go for It, Nakamura! | |
Cover of the Japanese bound volume | |
| ガンバレ! 中村くん!! (Ganbare! Nakamura-kun!!) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Syundei |
| Published by | Akane Shinsha |
| English publisher | |
| Imprint | Edge Comix |
| Magazine | Opera |
| Original run | December 27, 2014 – August 27, 2016[2] |
| Volumes | 1 |
| Manga | |
| Go For It Again, Nakamura! | |
| Written by | Syundei |
| Published by | Akane Shinsha |
| English publisher | |
| Imprint | Edge Comix |
| Magazine | Opera |
| Original run | June 28, 2017 – June 30, 2021 |
| Volumes | 1 |
| Audio drama | |
| Written by | Eri Hinako |
| Music by | OdiakeS |
| Released | September 8, 2021 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by |
|
| Written by |
|
| Music by | Ayana Tsujita |
| Studio | Drive |
| Licensed by | |
| Original network | Tokyo MX, GYT, GTV, BS11, HBC, AT-X, SBS, CTV, ABC TV, RKB, RCC |
| Original run | April 2, 2026 – present |
| Episodes | 6 |
Synopsis
Closeted sixteen-year-old high school student Okuto Nakamura harbors a crush on his classmate Aiki Hirose, despite having never actually spoken to him. The strongly introverted Nakamura fantasizes about speaking to Hirose and often attempts to integrate himself into scenarios that would allow the two to interact, though the majority end in comedic failure, as Hirose does not reciprocate the same feelings initially. Nakamura is eventually able to build his confidence and grow closer to Hirose. The series concludes with the two boys developing a reciprocal friendship.
Characters
- Okuto Nakamura (中村 男久斗, Nakamura Okuto)
- Voiced by: Kappei Yamaguchi (audio drama),[3] Chiaki Kobayashi (anime)[4] (Japanese); Nasim Benelkour[5] (English)
- A gay high school student. He falls head over heels in love with his classmate Aiki Hirose at first sight, but is acutely introverted and has never spoken to him. In chapter 11 him and Hirose finally end up becoming friends.
- Aiki Hirose (広瀬 愛貴, Hirose Aiki)
- Voiced by: Junko Takeuchi (audio drama),[3] Yuki Sakakihara (anime)[4] (Japanese); Patrick Pedraza[5] (English)
- Nakamura's classmate, and his unrequited love interest. In chapter 11 he becomes Nakamura's friend. He has incredible memory and idolizes Otogiri, their homeroom teacher. Initially, he does not reciprocate Nakamura's feelings at all, and often gets slightly uncomfortable by his constant failed attempts to woo him. However with time, he begins to grow closer to Nakamura and starts enjoying his time with him.
- Sou Otogiri (乙切想, Otogiri Sou)
- Voiced by: Toshihiko Seki (audio drama),[3] Takuya Eguchi (anime)[6] (Japanese); Peyton Howard[5] (English)
- Nakamura's homeroom teacher. Later in the series, it is revealed he used to be a delinquent.
- Hifumi Kawamura (川村ひふみ, Kawamura Hifumi)
- Voiced by: Yuri Shiratori (audio drama),[3] Fairouz Ai (anime)[6] (Japanese); Gillian Lange[5] (English)
- Nakamura's classmate. A talented artist.
- Kota Takeuchi (武内剛太, Takeuchi Kota)
- Voiced by: Yukihiro Nozuyama (anime)[6] (Japanese); Dalton Tindall[5] (English)
- Ryou Mukai (向井 亮, Mukai Ryou)
- Voiced by: Atsushi Tamaru (anime)[6] (Japanese); Weston Loy[5] (English)
- Yuka Hamaoka (浜岡ゆうか, Hamaoka Yuka)
- Voiced by: Makoto Koichi (anime)[6] (Japanese); Emi Lo[5] (English)
- Masako Okuda (奥田マサコ, Okuda Masako)
- Voiced by: Yume Maihara (anime)[6] (Japanese); Katie Wetch[5] (English)
- Tsukasa Oomori (大森 司, Omori Tsukasa)
- Voiced by: Kōki Miyata (audio drama)[3] Tsubasa Sasa (anime)[6] (Japanese); Nate Grizzly[5] (English)
- Hirose's childhood friend.
- Arandou Tamura (用村亜乱堂, Tamura Arandou)
- Voiced by: Ai Orikasa (audio drama)[3]
- A member of the drama club.
- Reiko Aokiyama (青木山麗子, Aokiyama Reiko)
- Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino (audio drama),[3] Yō Taichi (anime)
- The leader of the occult research club.
- Kaoru Niou (仁王馨, Niou Kaoru)
- Voiced by: Shunsuke Takeuchi (anime) (Japanese); Cris George (English)
Media
Manga
The character Nakamura first appeared in illustrations and short web comics posted by Syundei online.[7] In 2014, Syundei was approached by the managing editor of the manga magazine Opera to draw a comic to fill empty pages in an issue of the magazine.[8] That comic, a one-shot that was published in the December 2014 issue of Opera, would become the first chapter of Go for It, Nakamura!.[8] Beginning in the June 2015 issue of Opera, Go for It, Nakamura! began serialization as a regular series, running concurrently in Opera with Syundei's horror manga series Total Eclipse of the Eternal Heart.[8][9]
Upon its conclusion, the eleven-chapter series was collected into a bound volume by Akane Shinsha and published on May 27, 2017.[10] On September 15, 2017, Seven Seas Entertainment announced that it would license an English-language translation of the series.[9] The single-volume manga was published on July 3, 2018,[1] making Go for It, Nakamura! the first boys' love manga series to be published by Seven Seas.[11][7]
A sequel series, Go For It Again, Nakamura! (もっとガンバレ！中村くん!!, Motto Ganbare! Nakamura-kun!!), began serialization in Opera in June 2017.[9] An English-language translation was published by Seven Seas Entertainment in July 2022.[12]
| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 27, 2017[10] | 978-4863496330 | July 3, 2018[13] | 978-1626928879 | ||
| ||||||
| 2 | August 27, 2021[14] | 978-4863498792 | July 5, 2022[12] | 978-1638585732 | ||
| ||||||
Anime
An anime television series adaptation of Go for It, Nakamura! was announced on August 16, 2024.[15][16] The series will be produced by Drive and directed by Aoi Umeki, with Naoki Yoshibe serving as assistant director, Umeki and Yasuko Aoki writing series scripts, Umeki designing the characters, and Ayana Tsujita composing the music. The series was initially scheduled for 2025,[17] but was later delayed due to "production circumstances".[18] It premiered on April 1, 2026. The first two episodes debuted together online on Hulu on the same day, while each new episode also debuted a week earlier before the television broadcast in Japan.[19][a] The opening theme song is "Shunpatsuteki ni Koi Shiyо̄" (瞬発的に恋しよう; 'Let's Fall in Love Instantly') performed by Yasuyuki Okamura and Kento Nakajima,[20] while each episode features a different ending theme song which are pre-existing Japanese songs from the Shōwa and Heisei eras.[21] Crunchyroll streams the series outside Asian markets.[17] Medialink licensed the series in South and Southeast Asia.[22]
Episodes
| No. | Title [23][24] | Directed by [23] | Written by [23] | Storyboarded by [23] | Ending theme song | Original release date [25][b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Go For It, Nakamura-kun!!" Transliteration: "Ganbare! Nakamura-kun!!" (Japanese: ガンバレ！中村くん！！) | Masaki Hayano | Yasuko Aoki (Studio Monado) & Aoi Umeki | Aoi Umeki | "Hatsukoi" by Kōzō Murashita | April 1, 2026 |
| "Super Exciting Cooking Class!!" Transliteration: "Dokidoki! Chōri jisshū!!" (Japanese: ドキドキ！調理実習！！) | ||||||
| 2 | "Panic! The Secret Bible!!" Transliteration: "Panikku! Himitsu no baiburu!!" (Japanese: パニック！秘密のバイブル！！) | Daiki Yonemori | Yasuko Aoki (Studio Monado) & Aoi Umeki | Aoi Umeki | "Won't Be Long" by Da Bubblegum Brothers | April 8, 2026 |
| 3 | "Wait, Could This Be Love?!" Transliteration: "Moshikashite? Kore wa koi!?" (Japanese: もしかして? これは恋!?) | Umi Fujisawa (NUT) | Yasuko Aoki (Studio Monado) & Aoi Umeki | Aoi Umeki | "Konya wa Boogie Back smooth rap" by Scha Dara Parr ft. Kenji Ozawa | April 15, 2026 |
| 4 | "The Miraculous Magical Holy Water!!" Transliteration: "Mirakuru! Majinai no seisui!!" (Japanese: ミラクル！まじないの聖水！！) | Yūichirō Aoki (Wit Studio) | Yasuko Aoki (Studio Monado) & Aoi Umeki | Aoi Umeki | "Makerumonka" by Barbee Boys | April 22, 2026 |
| 5 | "Vexing! Are They an Item?!" Transliteration: "Mukamuka! Aitsura deki ten no!?" (Japanese: ムカムカ! あいつらデキてんの!？) | Chika Manganji | Yasuko Aoki (Studio Monado) & Aoi Umeki | Ai Yoshimura | "Fly-Day Chinatown" by Yasuha | April 29, 2026 |
| 6 | "I Want to be "Friends" With You!!" | Masaki Hayano | Yasuko Aoki (Studio Monado) & Aoi Umeki | Haruka Fujita | "Sekai de Ichiban Atsui Natsu (Heisei Recording)" by Princess Princess | May 6, 2026 |
Other media
An audio drama adaptation of Go for It, Nakamura! was published on September 8, 2021. The adaptation features Kappei Yamaguchi as the voice of Nakamura, Junko Takeuchi as the voice of Hirose, and Tomoyuki Morikawa as the narrator, with original music by OdiakeS. A 12-page exclusive special chapter of the manga series was released with it.[3]
Characters from Go for It, Nakamura! were included in a pop-up cafe run by Opera in Harajuku, Tokyo from March 16 to April 8, 2018. The cafe featured original merchandise and menu items inspired by the series.[26]
Reception
Go for It, Nakamura! was positively received by critics. The series was praised for its 1980s-reminiscent artwork,[27][28] with Sean Gaffney of Manga Bookshelf favorably comparing it to Ranma ½ and Kimagure Orange Road.[29] Anthony Gramuglia noted in his review of the series for Anime Feminist that Go for It, Nakamura! is "part of a new wave of [boys' love] manga that are more about identity than sex."[28] Reviewing the series for Otaku USA, Brittany Vincent praised the series' romantic comedy elements, calling Go for It, Nakamura! a "special treat for LGBT audiences eager for a sweet, retro-flavored gay romantic comedy."[30]
At the 2018 BL Awards presented by Chill Chill, Go for It, Nakamura! ranked 16th in the rankings of the best boys' love bound volumes released in 2017.[31]
Syundei's depiction of Hirose's relationship with his teacher, Otogiri, as well as an imagined sexual scenario featuring Hirose and an octopus, led to online harassment from overseas viewers on her X account, resulting in her expressing doubts about continuing her manga career and deactivating the account on April 12, 2026.[32][33] This led to a number of Japanese manga artists and creators to express sympathy towards Syundei and criticize the behaviors of overseas viewers.[34] On April 22, 2026, Syundei released a statement through Hero's Web, her publishing company, apologizing for inappropriate depictions of teacher and student relationships in their past works and vowing not to include adult-minor relationships in her future works.[35] With the release of episode 5 of the anime adaptation, she also confirmed that she had requested for the animation production company to avoid depicting Hirose and Otogiri's relationship as romantic and remove any sexually exploitative scenes of the female characters.[35]