Grow Up Show
Japanese anime television series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Grow Up Show: Sunflower Circus[a] is an original anime television series produced by Aniplex and animated by A-1 Pictures and Psyde Kick Studio. It is directed by Kanta Kaimei, featuring scriptwriting by Takeshi Kikuchi, original character designs by Kurehito Misaki, animation character designs by Kazutoshi Makino, and music by Yugo Kanno.[1][2] The series premiered on July 5, 2026, on Tokyo MX and other networks.[3][b] The opening theme song is "Yurari Yureru" (ユラリユレル), performed by NOMELON NOLEMON, and the ending theme song is "Days!", performed by Aooo.[4] Aniplex of America licensed the series for streaming on Crunchyroll.[5] Muse Communication licensed the series in Southeast Asia.[6]
Also known asGrow Up Show: Sunflower Circus
Created byCircus Collection Association
Screenplay byTakeshi Kikuchi
Directed byKanta Kamei
| Grow Up Show | |
|---|---|
Key visual | |
| Also known as | Grow Up Show: Sunflower Circus |
| グロウアップショウ ～ひまわりのサーカス団～ Gurō Appu Shō: Himawari no Sākasu-dan | |
| Created by | Circus Collection Association |
| Screenplay by | Takeshi Kikuchi |
| Directed by | Kanta Kamei |
| Voices of |
|
| Music by | Yugo Kanno |
| Opening theme | "Yurari Yureru" by NOMELON NOLEMON |
| Ending theme | |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Original language | Japanese |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Cinematography | Toshiaki Aoshima |
| Animators |
|
| Editor | Kentarō Tsubone |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Production companies | Aniplex Heiwa Contents Seed Good Smile Company BS11 |
| Original release | |
| Network | Tokyo MX, GTV, GYT, BS11, TVA, MBS, AT-X |
| Release | July 5, 2026 – present |
Plot
During the 1950s, Japan experienced a circus boom in response to its booming economy, with circuses around the country aiming to be part of the prestigious Circus Collection festival. The Sunflower Circus is one such circus, but has been suffering from financial issues. Things change when Mizuka Tsurumaki joins the Sunflower Circus, with her arrival bringing optimism to the circus and boosting their drive to make it to Circus Collection.
Characters
- Mizuka Tsurumaki (鶴巻 瑞佳, Tsurumaki Mizuka)
- Voiced by: Tomoka Noda[3] (Japanese); Lizzie Freeman[7] (English)
- A circus prodigy who joins the Sunflower Circus. While cheerful and passionate about the circus, her abrasive personality has caused resentment towards her. It is later revealed that her father, who was the star of the Lotus Circus, transferred her into the Sunflower Circus for 39,800 yen and has not contacted her since, leaving her to fend for herself.
- Ouka Kawasumi (川澄 桜翔, Kawasumi Ōka)
- Voiced by: Shiori Kurosaki[3] (Japanese); Cristina Vee[7] (English)
- The Sunflower Circus's star performer, who specializes in the trapeze. She becomes Mizuka's partner.
- Imari Agano (吾野 伊万里, Agano Imari)
- Voiced by: Reo Osanai[3] (Japanese); Risa Mei[7] (English)
- A magician who has a friendly but clumsy demeanor. She is friends with Rin.
- Isuzu Ikazuchi (五十土 五十鈴, Ikazuchi Isuzu)
- Voiced by: Nanako Ando[3] (Japanese); Jenny Yokobori[7] (English)
- A tomboyish acrobat with a strong sense of justice.
- Aoi Yura (由良 葵, Yura Aoi)
- Voiced by: Tomori Kusunoki[3] (Japanese); Lisa Reimold[7] (English)
- Akane's twin sister and her partner in juggling.
- Akane Yura (由良 茜, Yura Akane)
- Voiced by: Yūko Natsuyoshi[3] (Japanese); Michelle Marie[7] (English)
- Aoi's twin sister and her partner in juggling.
- Shizuku Sakawa (酒匂 雫, Sakawa Shizuku)
- Voiced by: Yuna Kamakura[3] (Japanese); Katiana Sarkissian[7] (English)
- A performer whose job is to catch trapeze performers. She is long-time friends with Svetlana.
- Svetlana (スヴェトラーナ, Suvetorāna)
- Voiced by: Yuka Iwahashi[3] (Japanese); Sky Santacruz[7] (English)
- A performer who specializes in aerial silks. She is treated like an older sister by the other circus members.
- Rin Mamiya (間宮 凛, Mamiya Rin)
- Voiced by: Ai Kayano[3] (Japanese); Kira Buckland[7] (English)
- The circus's accountant, who also does other management-related work. She is bothered by the circus's constant financial issues.
- Maria (麻利亜)
- Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya[3] (Japanese); Cassandra Lee Morris[7] (English)
- A clown and the ringmaster of the Sunflower Circus, who is often mistaken for being a child despite being an adult.
- Black Lotus (ブラックロータス, Burakku Rōtasu)
- Voiced by: Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi[8]
Episodes
| No. | Title [9][10] | Directed by [c] | Storyboarded by [c] | Original release date [11][b] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Welcome to the Sunflower Circus!" Transliteration: "Yōkoso, Himawari Sākasu e!" (Japanese: ようこそ、ひまわりサーカスへ！) | Satsuki Takahashi | Kanta Kamei | July 5, 2026 | |
|
After a circus performance in late-1940s Japan, its leading performer approaches his daughter, determined to train her to be their next star. Around ten years later, this girl, now a teenager, collapses while travelling on foot and is later found and rescued by two members of the travelling Sunflower Circus. Initially not knowing who her rescuers are, the rescued girl attempts to excuse herself, but finds out, from the circus ringmaster Maria, that she has already reached her destination. Maria introduces their newest recruit, Mizuka Tsurumaki, as a prodigy who joined from the Lotus Circus, and asks Mizuka for feedback on their training. Mizuka gives a scathing review, provoking fury from some of the other members. After hearing that Ouka Kawasumi, one of their members, seemed to be holding back on the trapeze, Maria responds by challenging Mizuka to be that member's trapeze partner instead. During practice, when Ouka grabs hold of Mizuka's arms for the first time, she experiences a strange feeling. At the end of the day, before the Sunflower Circus set off for their next destination, Mizuka finds out that she had been sold into indentured servitude by the Lotus Circus, and still has 38,800 yen of debt to clear. | |||||
| 2 | "That Was So Dazzling" Transliteration: "Sore wa Tottemo, Mabushikute" (Japanese: それはとっても、眩しくて) | Kiichirō Murase | Kanta Kamei | July 12, 2026 | |
|
It is revealed that Ouka was inspired to join a circus after watching the same late-1940s performance by the Lotus Circus. In the present setting, the Sunflower Circus arrive at Toyokawa, Aichi, but notice that the Shiny Lavender Circus owned by the Sumeragi Group had set up at the Sunflower Circus' intended location, after the Sunflower Circus failed to agree on a fee up front for hiring said location. Ouka steps in by making a call to her former boarding school around the area. They agree to host the Sunflower Circus visit and let their students see them perform. One of their students, Kasumi Shirahama, is an aspiring circus performer herself, and chases Mizuka around the school grounds after Mizuka tries to back out of performing. Mizuka ends up having to save Kasumi from a fall. After Maria insists on Mizuka showing her trapeze skills to the students, Mizuka initially chooses Kasumi as her partner, but during practice, Kasumi fails to reach Mizuka after several tries. Ouka takes over as Kasumi's practice partner - after bandaging Kasumi's hands, she reaches Kasumi after a single try at the trapeze, then gives Kasumi some advice. The following day, the Sunflower Circus put on one final practice round for the students. Kasumi, who was supposed to perform with them, backs out at the last minute, having told Ouka that she wants to see her perform with Mizuka. Mizuka and Ouka perform on the trapeze together, but after the performance, Mizuka again rules out a long-term partnership with either Ouka or Kasumi. | |||||
| 3 | "I Don't Want to Show My Scars" Transliteration: "Kizuato Nanka, Misetakunai" (Japanese: 傷跡なんか、見せたくない) | Yuki Watanabe | Kanta Kamei | July 19, 2026 | |
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It is revealed that Shizuku and Svetlana used to perform for the Shiny Lavender Circus, but after Shizuku broke her shoulder due to a training accident, she left along with Svetlana. In the present setting, Sunflower set up their tent before observing Shiny Lavender's - their ringmaster, Mitsumi Kongoji, recognizes Shizuku and deems her a "loser". Sunflower decide that their only chance of attracting a greater audience than Shiny Lavender is to make changes to their order of performances. Mizuka decides that Svetlana's aerial silk act will open the show. The following day, during her break from training, Ouka is approached by Nanami Sumeragi, the heir of the Sumeragi Group. Nanami takes a brief look at Ouka's training partners before deciding to leave. Nanami and Mitsumi then decide to watch Sunflower's first show in their new performance order, in which Shizuku and Ouka would perform last on the trapeze. Their performance is interrupted midway due to Shizuku's shoulder reaching its limit. After turning off the lights to dress Mizuka in her performing outfit, Sunflower resume the trapeze act with Mizuka in place of Shizuku. Nanami and Mitsumi make their final observations before leaving. At the end of their scheduled show dates, Sunflower catch the attention of the local press, while Mizuka struggles to get over the embarrassment of having to be forced into her outfit during the first show. | |||||
| 4 | "I Just Can't Bring Myself to Be Honest" Transliteration: "Sunao ni Nanka, Narenakute" (Japanese: 素直になんか、なれなくて) | Kazuki Kawagishi | Kanta Kamei | July 26, 2026 | |
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It is revealed that the money earned by the Sunflower Circus during their previous dates was seized by creditors, leaving the travelling circus broke again. After their vehicle runs out of gas near the beach, Maria decides to sign her troupe to part-time work at said beach. During their shifts, Mizuka notices that Imari and Isuzu do not get along, and brings this up in front of Ouka during their next practice session. After Imari, and later Mizuka, are fired from their part-time jobs for incompetence, the two of them notice a boy crying for his mother. Imari cheers him up with a magic trick, giving Mizuka an idea. However, Imari is overwhelmed by the idea of performing in front of an audience, and panics. She further explains that her father, who was a famous magician, had botched a performance and lost both his reputation and his family, after which Maria took Imari under her wing and supported her throughout all her shows. Imari also regrets turning down Isuzu, her childhood friend who wanted to go with her at the time, leading her to think that Isuzu, who has since joined Sunflower, hates her now. Nevertheless, Mizuka sets up a part of the beach for Imari to perform, and an audience gathers before Imari. Just then, Ouka runs towards Mizuka and berates her for skipping practice, only for Mizuka to improvise Imari's magic show by trapping Ouka with herself in a treasure chest. Imari remains overwhelmed by the audience that had gathered, only for Isuzu to call out to her with words of encouragement. Imari successfully pulls off her show of magic, which, inconveniently for Mizuka, leads into another show she has to do alongside Ouka. At the end of the day, the Sunflower Circus is dragged even further into debt due to the police reporting their activities at the beach as unauthorized solicitation, along with the use of explosives. Maria simply passes the debt down to Mizuka. | |||||
See also
- Saekano, a light novel series illustrated by Kurehito Misaki
- Playful Relationships, another light novel series illustrated by Kurehito Misaki
Notes
- Production staff information is taken from the ending credits of each episode.