I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class
Japanese light novel series
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I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class (Japanese: クラスで2番目に可愛い女の子と友だちになった, Hepburn: Kurasu de Ni-ban Me ni Kawaii Onna no Ko to Tomodachi ni Natta; lit. 'I Became Friends With the Second Cutest Girl in Class'), shortened as Kuranika (クラにか) is a Japanese romantic comedy light novel series written by Takata and illustrated by Tom Osabe (first volume) and Azuri Hyūga (from second volume). It began serialization online in November 2020 on Kadokawa's user-generated novel publishing website Kakuyomu. It was later published by Kadokawa Shoten with nine volumes and a side story volume since December 2021 under their Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko imprint. A manga adaptation with art by Rin Ono has been serialized online via Media Factory's Comic Alive+ website since July 2022 and has been collected in seven tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation produced by Connect premiered in April 2026.
| I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class | |
First light novel volume cover | |
| クラスで2番目に可愛い女の子と友だちになった (Kurasu de Ni-ban Me ni Kawaii Onna no Ko to Tomodachi ni Natta) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Romantic comedy[1] |
| Novel series | |
| Written by | Takata |
| Published by | Kakuyomu |
| Original run | November 30, 2020 – September 2, 2024 (On hiatus) |
| Light novel | |
| Written by | Takata |
| Illustrated by |
|
| Published by | Kadokawa Shoten |
| Imprint | Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko |
| Original run | December 24, 2021 – present |
| Volumes | 9 + 1 side story |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Takata |
| Illustrated by | Rin Ono |
| Published by | Media Factory |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | Comic Alive+ |
| Original run | July 27, 2022 – present |
| Volumes | 7 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Hideki Tachibana |
| Written by | Keiichirō Ōchi |
| Music by |
|
| Studio | Connect |
| Licensed by | Crunchyroll |
| Original network | Tokyo MX, Kansai TV, BS Asahi, AT-X |
| Original run | April 7, 2026 – present |
| Episodes | 6 |
Plot
Maki Maehara, a high school student with few friends, recently befriended Umi Asanagi. Umi, a popular student, is considered the second prettiest girl in their class, making him conscious about how he was able to befriend such a popular student. Despite seemingly having similar backgrounds, he is surprised to learn that he and Umi share the same interests, leading to them hanging out after school and strengthening their relationship.
Characters
- Maki Maehara (前原 真樹, Maehara Maki)
- Voiced by: Haruki Ishiya (PV, anime)[2][3][4]
- A high school student who has a loner personality. He is interested in anime, video games, films (especially mediocre ones), and other hobbies. After Umi reaches out to him, they start hanging out as they share similar hobbies. He has trauma over his parent's divorce, subconciously thinking all relationships will eventually fail. He develops a crush on Umi, getting flustered when she does cute things or shows him appreciation. Eventually, he confesses to her and they begin dating.
- Umi Asanagi (朝凪 海, Asanagi Umi)
- Voiced by: Manaka Iwami (PV, anime)[2][3][4]
- Maki's classmate, who is often referred to as the "second prettiest" girl in class. She has short black hair and is considered very attractive. She is good friends with Yū. She harbors an inferiority complex toward Yū due to often being overshadowed by her, which she hides behind a composed front. However, this slowly wears her down and makes her more guarded around Yū. She reaches out to Maki after learning they share similar tastes, and they begin hanging out often. She tends to go to his apartment, which leads to their mothers finding out they are close. She develops strong feelings for Maki, getting jealous when he interacts with other girls or becoming flustered when he shows appreciation to her. She also becomes extremely angry and defensive when people insult Maki. She eventually becomes Maki's girlfriend once he confesses to her.
- Yū Amami (天海 夕, Amami Yū)
- Voiced by: Sayumi Suzushiro (PV, anime)[3][4]
- Maki and Umi's classmate, who is considered the prettiest girl in their class. She has long blonde hair and is of foreign descent. She is childhood friends with Umi. She starts taking an interest in Maki and begins hanging out with him after noticing his honesty, kindness, and respect toward others. She struggles to read the room despite having good intentions, which can create awkward situations. She also seems to have growing feelings for Maki, albeit much slower than Umi. However, she decides not to pursue those feelings for Umi's sake, and remains good friends with Maki.
- Nina Nitta (新田新奈, Nitta Nīna)
- Voiced by: Ikumi Hasegawa (anime)[4]
- Masaki Maehara (前原真咲, Maehara Masaki)
- Voiced by: Yūko Kaida[5]
- Maki's mother. She works very hard and cares deeply about Maki. Similar to Sora, she is quite fond of Umi.
- Sora Asanagi (朝凪空, Asanagi Sora)
- Voiced by: Shizuka Itō[5]
- Umi's mother. She's a very beautiful woman, resembling a slightly older version of Umi. She enjoys teasing Umi about her relationship with Maki and is quite fond of Maki herself.
- Miki Yagisawa (八木沢美紀, Yagisawa Miki)
- Voiced by: Minami Tsuda[5]
- Nozomu Seki (関 望, Seki Nozomu)
- Voiced by: Rikuya Yasuda[5]
- Itsuki Maehara (前原 樹, Maehara Itsuki)
- Voiced by: Shinji Kawada[5]
- Kyoka Minato (湊 京香, Minato Kyoka)
- Voiced by: Yurina Amami[5]
Production
Takata became a member of Kadokawa Corporation's user-generated novel publishing website Kakuyomu in February 2016.[6] He chose Kakuyomu over Shōsetsuka ni Narō to start writing web novels because there were few people on Kakuyomu,[7] which officially began its service in February 2016.[8] He wrote several novels, and one of his works, Toshiue Elite Onna Kishi ga Boku no Mae de dake Kawaii (年上エリート女騎士が僕の前でだけ可愛い),[7] which won the grand prize in the 4th Kakuyomu Web Novel Contest for the romantic comedy category, was acquired by Kadokawa Shoten who began to publish it as a light novel with under their Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko imprint between 2019 and 2020 with only two volumes published.[9] I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class won the special prize in the 6th Kakuyomu Web Novel Contest for the romantic comedy category, but this time the story takes place in modern Japan, instead of a fantasy world.[7][10]
Media
Light novels
Written by Takata, I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class began serialization on Kadokawa Corporation's user-generated novel publishing website Kakuyomu on November 30, 2020. It later began being published, with illustrations by Tom Osabe and Azuri Hyūga, under Kadokawa Shoten's Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko light novel imprint on December 24, 2021. Nine volumes and a side story volume have been released as of April 2026.[11] The series will end with the release of its tenth volume, with Takata leaving open the possibility of doing a spin-off.[12]
| No. | Release date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | December 24, 2021[10] | 978-4-04-112034-7 |
| 2 | July 29, 2022[13] | 978-4-04-112035-4 |
| 3 | December 28, 2022[14] | 978-4-04-113287-6 |
| 4 | June 1, 2023[15] | 978-4-04-113731-4 |
| 5 | November 1, 2023[16] | 978-4-04-113732-1 |
| 6 | May 1, 2024[17] | 978-4-04-114918-8 |
| 7 | October 1, 2024[18] | 978-4-04-115434-2 |
| 7.5 | May 1, 2025[19] | 978-4-04-116154-8 |
| 8 | October 1, 2025[20] | 978-4-04-116641-3 |
| 9 | April 1, 2026[11] | 978-4-04-117277-3 |
| 10 | July 1, 2026[21] | 978-4-04-117513-2 |
Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Rin Ono began serialization on Media Factory's Comic Alive+ website on July 27, 2022.[22] Seven tankōbon volumes have been released as of December 2025.[23] The manga adaptation is licensed in North America by Yen Press.[24]
| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 1, 2023[25] | 978-4-04-112034-7 | July 1, 2025[26] | 979-8-8554-1126-3 |
| 2 | May 26, 2023[27] | 978-4-04-811220-8 | November 25, 2025[28] | 979-8-8554-1128-7 |
| 3 | October 27, 2023[29] | 978-4-04-811245-1 | June 23, 2026[30] | 979-8-8554-1130-0 |
| 4 | May 28, 2024[31] | 978-4-04-811289-5 | — | — |
| 5 | November 28, 2024[32] | 978-4-04-811378-6 | — | — |
| 6 | June 27, 2025[33] | 978-4-04-811512-4 | — | — |
| 7 | December 26, 2025[23] | 978-4-04-811708-1 | — | — |
| 8 | June 26, 2026[34] | 978-4-04-811974-0 | — | — |
Anime
An anime adaptation was announced during Kadokawa's "Sneaker Bunko 35th Anniversary Festa!" livestream on September 24, 2023.[1] It was later confirmed to be a television series produced by Connect and directed by Hideki Tachibana, with Takumi Shibata serving as assistant director, Keiichirō Ōchi handling the series composition, Shoko Takimoto designing the characters, and Ruka Kawada, Yayoi Sekimukai, and Shūhei Mutsuki composing the music. It premiered on April 7, 2026, on Tokyo MX and other networks. RegretGirl performed the opening theme song "Submarine Youth" (サブマリンユース), and Koresawa performed the ending theme song "Zutto Ichiban ni Shitene" (ずっと1番にしてね).[35][5] Crunchyroll is streaming the series.[36]
Reception
In the 2024 edition of Takarajimasha's annual light novel guide book Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi!, the novel series ranked 21st in the bunkobon category.[37] The novel series ranked seventh in the Next Light Novel Award 2022,[7] and won the Next Light Novel Award 2023 in the bunkobon category hosted by Kimirano.[38]
The series has over one million copies in circulation.[33]