Afterschool Dice Club (放課後さいころ倶楽部) is a slice-of-life manga written and illustrated by Hiroo Nakamichi, which was serialized in Monthly Shonen Sunday from March 2013 to June 2021.
It's spring in Kyoto, Japan, and shy, reserved Miki Takekasa is heading home from school on her usual route towards the Kamogawa River. It is there she suddenly meets Aya Takayashiki, a fellow classmate who has just moved into the area, and the two strike up a strong bond. One day after school, the two follow their class president Midori Ono to a specialty game store, The Dice Club, and there, the three decide to play a German board game. Soon after, the trio soon fall into the exciting and fun world of board games.
An anime adaptation debuted in October 2019, produced by Liden Films and currently licensed by Funimation.
Afterschool Troping Club
- Abusive Parents: Maki reveals to Miki that her father would physically abuse his family when he got drunk.
- Beach Episode: Double Subverted in Episode 5. Though a storm occurs in the episode, the girls take the time playing Goita until the storm eventually passes and they all have fun at the beach.
- Bland-Name Product: Averted. All of the games seen in the shop, and every game the girls play, are real-world games like Codenames, Bunny Kingdom, and Marrakech. The only exception is Midori's homemade interior decorating game.note
- Blue with Shock: Happens occasionally to everyone. Miki gets hers during uncomfortable moments, while Aya's occur when she's losing while they're playing board games.
- Brutal Honesty: George Beresford delivers one to Midori - during their first meeting, no less - when Midori won't let other people play her in-development board game prototype.
- Bully Hunter: Maki was this in her younger days, which is how she met Miki.
- But Not Too Foreign: Emmy is from Germany and her mother is Irish, but her grandmother is Japanese and taught her the language.
- Comically Missing the Point: Aya thinks Kinjo has a crush on Midori when who he really has a crush on is her.
- Conveniently Seated: Miki sits next to the window in her class, to further her isolation in addition to her headphones.
- Cultural Cross-Reference: The series likes to point out the country of origin of the board games it showcases in each episode. They also typically cite the game's creator, if its known.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Miki is melancholic, Midori is phlegmatic, Aya falls somewhere between choleric and sanguine, and Emilia is sanguine.
- Genki Girl: Aya is always energetic and up for an adventure.
- Going Commando: Aya mentions feeling drafty after changing clothes in episode 1, because her school uniform was soaked and she didn't have spare underwear.
- Headphones Equal Isolation: Miki, shy, introverted, and friendless, is usually wearing headphones at the beginning of the story.
- Hypocrite: Aya is quick to accuse Midori of breaking the curfew rules told to her (in her defense, Midori had gotten permission from the school to work late).
- I Just Want to Have Friends: Miki, with fervor. She has a Friendless Background and wants nothing more than to keep her friends with her forever.
- Japanese Delinquent: Back in her younger days Maki was one of these, having the nickname "Mad Dog". When Miki calls her one to insult her, she just laughs.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Maki is a bit rude, brash, brutal, and hypercompetitive, but she's a kind person who likes people, especially Miki. Her honesty might be tough to her, and she has no shame about it, but she can be nice deep down.
- Kendo Team Captain: Yoshioka, a boy crushing on Miki with a stoic personality to match hers, is captain of the Kendo team.
- Loophole Abuse: Lampshaded by Mr. Kinjo in regards to Midori offering to be Miki's teammate, as he complained about her butting into someone else's game..Takeru: If you had any kind of superpower, it would be finding loopholes.
- Meido: The girls' game cafe is completely unattended, until they put on maid outfits and post an invite on SNS. As expected, the entirety of the highschool male population ends up there.
- Never Trust a Title: The majority of the games played do not use dice.
- New Transfer Student: Emmy transfers to the girls' school halfway through their first year.
- Odd Friendship: Shy introvert Miki makes friends with outgoing new student Aya, and then both get to know uptight class rep Midori.
- Parents as People: Aya's dad is a nice guy that loves his daughters but admits he is selfish. When introduced the story reveals he has been on assignment for two years and he quickly tries to get another assignment soon after coming home for Christmas.
- Product Placement: Every game is a real one you can buy in a game shop.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Midori doesn't approve of breaking the rules, but will voluntarily explain loopholes for others to get around them.
- The Resenter: Briefly seen with Midori who becomes jealous of Emmy. Both want to be game authors and Emmy comes from Germany, the heart of Boardgame fandom.
- She Is All Grown Up: Maki when seen through a flashback is a skinny kid with chopped hair. In the present she gained curves and long blond hair.
- Shout-Out: Aya says "no whammies" while playing Marrakech in the dub.
- Shy Blue-Haired Girl: Blue-haired protagonist Miki Takekasa is a serious, introverted high-schooler with subdued and repressed emotions who doesn't socialize much with her classmates until she starts acquiring friends and bonding with them over, among other things, playing board games and grows out of her shell.
- School Festival: Episode 8 features the girls setting up a board game cafe for their School Festival.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Maki, the former-deliquent tomboy and sweet, long-haired Hana are best friends.
- Tsundere: Midori Ono. "I honestly don't care either way!"
