My Top 10 Favorite Kirara Anime
Written by Rei Caldombra 4/16/25 Video: https://youtu.be/JfmtvK7c-F4
I love comfy, wholesome, cute shows! They’re an important part of my palate when it comes to watching anime and reading manga. I just love the warm vibes, and they can be especially helpful when I’m feeling down. Many of these shows that I have enjoyed originated from Manga Time Kirara, with this list being my top 10 favorites. For anyone who doesn’t know, Kirara is a line of Japanese magazines that publish manga. These are generally the first way manga is released within Japan, with the Tankōbon volumes that have compiled chapters coming afterwards from different publishers. Which outside of Japan is usually our only option physically. I’ll be talking about the series that have been released in Kirara and gotten anime adaptations.
Kirara’s 4 magazine lines. Sadly, Kirara does not currently release translated chapters online so volumes are our only official option.
What you can generally expect from Kirara are slice of life series with wholesome comfy vibes, characters being endearing to the max (Kirara Max), and characters indulging in their passions together. Not a lot happens in these series very often from a plot standpoint, but the point is in enjoying the everyday mundanity alongside gags and exaggeration. All of the shows on this list are funny and cute to some extent, and all of the characters are meant to be likeable, it’s the main purpose of these types of shows. But the best ones have some combination of a unique element that lets them stand out from the rest, or take their main gimmick to the peak, or can truly do it all.
Before I start, I should give a quick explanation of what moe is because I don’t see the term thrown around often in recent times. Basically I think of moe as a term surrounding writing and characterization that is focused on making the characters as cute and endearing as possible. It’s when the substance itself of a character or series is about being cute, that’s the primary focus.
Also remember to not take rankings too seriously, spots can change really easily. I like everything on this list and the handful of shows I did watched but did not put on here are not necessarily bad. Remember that this is just my opinion and yes I am being very subjective here. I also did not rewatch every single thing here in full for this.
Now onto the list! Putting this together was such a great trip down memory lane as I watched some of these as far back as middle school. Speaking of-
#10 Is the Order a Rabbit? / GochiUsa
This one is about a group of girls who work at a cafe featuring a talking rabbit. One nice part about it is that the architecture and design is European inspired, which gives it some more distinct and memorable visuals. It’s a solid cute slice of life show, but this one doesn’t have a specific thing that made it really stand out compared to the rest. This one goes really hard on the moe. A lot of this list has a fair amount of moe appeal, but here it really is the main appeal. It has comedy too, but I wouldn’t say it's as funny as a lot of other shows. And it does go into loli territory with some of the characters, though not in a sexual way to be clear. It’s a cute and comfy show, but easiest to skip if moe isn’t your thing. I liked it a lot when I first watched it, but I don’t plan to rewatch it or say it’s something you need to see. I think this one can sort of set the stage for what a baseline cute girls show is like. It does have the coffee green tea meme which was always hilarious. And I remember the Season 2 ending popped off with memes at one point too. Gochiusa YTP - Coffee or Green Tea
#9 Kiniro Mosaic / KINMOZA
Kinmoza is about a group of high schools girls going about their days in Japan, but two of them are exchange students from England. With the two main characters in particular being obsessed with the other’s culture. This is the first anime I saw that had a distinct cross-cultural focus, which I grew to really love as time went on. It does not go in depth in an informative sort of way though, mainly for comedy and to show the passion each character has for the other culture. And is what sets it above Is the Order a Rabbit, as I can point to this as a specific reason to watch it. The dynamic of Karen, Alice and Shinobu gushing over Japanese and English things respectively is quite fun. If you like hearing characters speak other languages, it will give you a lot of that. Karen is the best part of the show, she has lots of great dialogue and gags. I watched the Karen Desu! Mad an unhealthy amount back in the day. I’m pretty sure I finished the 10 hour version over the course of a summer vacation. Kiniro Mosaic - Desu! Desu! - YouTube
#8 Hidamari Sketch
This show follows a group of high school girls who attend an art school and live in an apartment complex together. Hidamari Sketch is to my knowledge the first Kirara series to get an anime adaptation, coming out back in Winter 2007. If you want to watch something in an older style definitely check it out. Shaft’s directive style is very visible here and still looks really great. I love the simple and cutesy art style of the source material combined with the interesting visual direction, it’s a total joy to the eyes for me. The closest comparison I can make is to the Monogatari series. It has a mix of the cute moeblob style, higher detail, patterned backgrounds, real images, the shaft thing of quick cuts with text, all kinds of stuff. It’s very wholesome and funny, and a lot of day to day relatability. With the great visuals adding to that. But it is limited in scope to just focusing on the girls going about their days. So it does not have a lot going on. I also can’t say anything special about the characters. This one does have the characters interested in art, so it’s got some focus on that. Though not one of my favorites when it comes to the characters pursuing things. This is a good show, but very simple.
#7 Blend S
Blend S follows a group of characters who work at a cosplay cafe, where all the waiting staff roleplay a character trope. I would like to note that this show has main male characters. This show does play into moe and fetishes with each person acting out their role, but its focus is on comedy and is not very sexual. Nor is it playing into the angle of dissecting this side of the Japanese service industry. It really is just for jokes and the setting, rather than as something to take seriously. Though I would consider it a bit higher age-intended than the rest of the shows on this list. And for most of the characters the point is that the role they play is not their actual personality. Like the one who plays the “little sister” role is actually a grumpy jaded adult. The sweet and innocent main character plays a sadist. I don’t want to say too much, but basically someone else in the cast fits each of the roles better than the actual people who play them. Which is part of what makes their dynamics really fun. This is the first one where I really got attached to everyone in the cast. Kaho is best girl for me. One flaw though is that the cutesy and simple style for the characters actually backfires a bit for me. The premise is that the main character looks so menacing when she smiles that she is unable to get a job. But I wish the art style of the show made this more apparent and consistent outside of when it is used for doing a gag. Most of the time she looks like a normal anime girl. Last notable thing, the opening is very iconic and had tons of memes made of it. These were really great.
Blend-S Opening | Bon Appétit♡S by Blend A
#6 Comic Girls
This show is about a group of young female artists who live together in a dormitory, all pursuing their own form of art. My favorite thing about Comic Girls is Kaos. She is one of my favorite main characters of the series on the list. She is one of the cutest little beans ever who really gives you that “protecc” energy while also being a total otaku gremlin. She does have the girlfailure moe focus, but she also has other traits and some genuine emotional struggles about improvement in art and self-loathing. Unlike some of the other shows, it has a consistent emotional throughline throughout the whole thing that makes it more engaging. This show gives you the antics of the cute girls do cute things type of show with some notable moments where it can be taken seriously and have something to say. There is nothing wrong with the other characters, but Kaos is the one who is super great. Comic Girls is likely what got me into understanding the “anime girl noises” trope in anime. And that I actually like the silly ridiculous noises. I’ll be talking about a series with another well written girlfailure who does great anime girl noises again later in the list.
#5 K-On
This show follows the girls who are in the light music club of their high school. K-on is the quintessential cute girls do cute things series. If someone doesn’t know what it means, this is what they should watch. It's super wholesome and cute. The lazy, comfy atmosphere it gives off matches perfectly with the characters themselves. All of the main characters are super likeable. Tsumugi was always best girl to me. It’s surprising how invested you get in these kids just having fun in a club room. The focus on music is done well, it gets into more detail about playing the instruments and the band performances are great too. But the main focus really is on the girls goofing off together. So if you want a deeper focus on music and being in a band, there are other shows that will satisfy you more. It also has a few strong emotional gut punches that are executed really well. And from a production standpoint, it has everything from Kyoto Animations (Kyoani) that makes their shows so great. If any show on this can make you cry, it’s surprisingly this one. I know many people would put K-on at the top. I do love this show, but I just like some of the others a bit more.
#4 Yuru Camp / Laid Back Camp
Yuru Camp is about a group of girls in high school who love camping and related activities like DIY, cooking and traveling. This show does its comfy atmosphere perfectly. It’s very slow and methodical pacing never feels like a detriment. It’s such a warm and relaxing experience. In “What Makes Yuru Camp Special?” I went in detail about what I think makes Yuru Camp stand out when it comes to being a hobby and a cute girls show. One of my favorite aspects is that Rin, the solo camper, is not treated like she needs to be part of the main group. It respects her preference for being alone while also embracing the appealing aspects of group camping with the main squad. There is a lot you can take away from the series’ approach to the activities that the characters get into. It really makes you want to get outside and enjoy the beautiful world we live in. It shows you how much you can get out of putting in the time and effort to do something. It portrays nature beautifully while also having great goofy expressions and gags. The content is pretty simple, but what you can get out of it if you really think about it is vast. Which gives me a really strong appreciation for it. Because that’s what I want people to understand, that these simple slice of life shows can be very nuanced and meaningful.
#3 Acchi Kocchi / Place to Place
This show follows a group of friends in high school, with the main character Tsumiki having a huge crush on Io. This is a very simple and sweet show that I adore with my entire soul. I remember being obsessed with this show back in the day. Out of everything here, revisiting this show gave me the biggest burst of happy nostalgia. When I mentioned a show taking their intention to the max, this is what I was talking about. This is the apex of turn your brain off and just feel happy. It goes deep into moe with the main character being the shy and in love girl who acts like a cat. It is very tropey for its time, with stuff like nose bleeds, cat ears, and many of the character tropes of the time. Most of the characters are pretty simplistic personality wise, but all they all serve their role well. The comedy act between them all works really well. It’s a show that has its main couple clear, with their dynamic actually feeling really good. You can’t help but cheer Tsumiki on and feel happy every time Io does something that makes her happy. While Io is the dense male love interest, he does have an actual personality. He is very quiet and stoic but will go along with jokes and be a proactive character. Acchi Kocchi is exceedingly simple, practically feeling episodic. I can understand someone thinking it’s too repetitive. But it really works for me. If you want a comparison about how the repetitive nature is very enjoyable, I actually think Phineas and Ferb is an appropriate one. I’m not gonna act like it’s an objectively amazing show on the level of the next two, but I just can’t bear to be negative towards it. This is a nostalgia pick that I have to put up relatively high because my feelings for it are just that strong. It’s such an easy show to just pull up when you want something sweet and pick a random episode. This show was definitely instrumental in my love for fluffy romances. Acchi Kocchi has an important place in my heart. If you just want pure sugary sweetness, this is the best show for that on this list in my opinion.
#2 Bocchi the Rock
We are taking a bit of a jump for these last two, as we are now talking about two of my top anime. If you know me well, you likely knew what number 1 and 2 would be. Bocchi the Rock follows Hitori Gotoh, an introverted mess who wants to be in a band and become a famous rockstar. Bocchi the Rock’s anime is in my opinion one of the best adaptations ever. It is hilarious, with tons of great visual gags in various styles. It is by far the funniest show on this list. It does so much to elevate the manga, though the manga itself is still great to be clear (I do chapter reviews of them btw). The characters are so quirky and lovable, even the side characters are super great. My current #1 wife is Seika Ijichi, but all the adult characters are really great. Bocchi does get a lot of mileage out of being the “she’s just like me fr fr” anxious introvert, but there is substance and growth to her character. Her freakout moments are also the best gags. There is a lot of great stuff about the creative process, getting along with people, and self-improvement. The friendships between the characters and Kessoku Band’s dynamic as a whole are so well done. It makes sense that the shipping space for Bocchi the Rock is so intense, because the dynamics between the characters are just so good. Only negative about Bocchi the Rock I can manage to come up with is that if you seriously can’t handle cringe, Bocchi may be too much for you. I’ve talked a lot about Bocchi the Rock already and I will continue to because I absolutely love this series.
Also listen to the Kessoku Band members sing other Kirara anime songs in the Kirara Tribute Collection https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nQEJuoprsp_GGjVJsllC6HjkBdaldhMBM&si=h-xw7MrwhhZQofPl
#1 Demon Girl Next Door / Machikado Mazoku
Demon Girl Next Door is one of my favorite things period. This series follows the main character Shamiko who needs to defeat a magical girl to break her family’s curse. But instead, Momo the magical girl becomes her frenemy and together they unravel the mysteries of their town. Nothing I’ve talked about on this list is exactly story driven. They are mostly just about being comfy and funny. But this series actually has a solid story on top of being wholesome and having super endearing characters. The entire cast of characters are all quirky and lovable. But I especially adore the two main leads.
I am seriously not a shipper, but with Shamiko and Momo I ship them so hard. Their dynamic and the growth they go through together is just perfect. Their frenemy back and forth is so cute. My favorite voice actress Konomi Kohara plays Shamiko and I love her performance here so much. She does goofy noises better than anyone and portrays Shamiko’s very emotional personality super well. Shamiko is one of my favorite main characters. You watch her grow from being a girlfailure who struggles at everything into the leader of her community. It’s genuinely a bit inspirational for me. The setting that the story takes place in is very well developed and integral to the story. You get to see this town grow as you learn about it along with the protagonists as they move towards their goals. The fantasy and magical elements and normal grounded elements play together super well. It has a great balance of parodying magical girl shows while also doing tropes from them well at the same time. The dynamic between the main characters is that of the magical girl vs demon. But the demon is the pure one who wants to take the peaceful route while the magical girl is conniving and just wants to settle things with her muscles. There are plenty of fun day-to-day shenanigans, but the main plot is spread out throughout the story very well in my opinion. The sound design in the anime is stellar too, with tons of unique and memorable sound effects. I just love everything about this series. And that is why it is my favorite Kirara anime and my favorite anime period. I promise I will put out more things involving Demon Girl Next Door. I have not talked about it nearly as much as I would like.
And that brings us to the end of the list! I wanted to do the list with this focus because I thought it’d be more interesting since a lot of people don’t look into where these kinds of series get their start. I hope more people check out the mangas for slice of life shows like Kirara’s. I will take about whatever series I want to, but I do choose to talk the most about slice of life as it is not only my favorite but I would like it to get more support outside of Japan. I hope one day we can get Kirara manga chapters officially translated as they come out like other manga magazines have done in recent years. Please let me know what you think about my picks and any of your favorites. Also let me know if you’d like to see more lists (click the Lists category to see all of them). Thanks for reading!
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My coverage of Kirara Series (will update this as time goes on)
Me gushing about Demon Girl Next Door: https://www.blogunderalog.com/blog-collection/demon-girl-next-door-series-overview?rq=Demon%20girl
Analyzing what makes Yuru Camp stand out to me https://www.blogunderalog.com/blog-collection/what-makes-yuru-camp-special?rq=yuru%20camp
Predictions for Bocchi the Rock Anime’s S2 https://www.blogunderalog.com/blog-collection/discussing-bocchi-the-rock-s2-predictions?rq=Kirara
First Demon Girl Next Door chapter I reviewed https://www.blogunderalog.com/blog-collection/demon-girl-next-door-chapter-89-review?rq=Demon%20girl
First Bocchi the Rock chapter I reviewed https://www.blogunderalog.com/blog-collection/bocchi-the-rock-chapter-76-review-anxious-heart-to-heart?rq=Bocchi%20the%20rock%2076
