Najimi Osana is a young woman who has a problem keeping jobs and thus is looking for a way to make a living. By coincidence she discovers that her best friend, Tsuyuri, makes some money by producing erotic doujin manga. Najimi figures that she should try it too and decides to debut in the doujin scene herself.
She soon finds out that it is a very competitive world and that selling her material won't be so easy after all—especially since it's not really that good. Still, she is not deterred by her lack of sales and decides to persist, meeting some very interesting and helpful people along the way and finding her true goal in life.
The anime series, which aired in 2007, consists of 12 short episodes and is based on a 2004-2008 Manga Time Kirara yonkoma manga by Hiroyuki, who is also known for his Nasuverse fanworks— especially well-known for being the creator of several memes there. It diverges from the manga in that the sexual comedy has been toned down considerably, coupled with a massive de-aging of the main character's appearance. The characters' quirky personalities have been well-preserved though and the anime still retains a lot of the energy and zaniness of the original. Amidst all the general silliness, sexual innuendo and otaku stereotypes it still manages to tell a heartwarming story of friendship and finding your place in the world.
Compare and contrast The Comic Artist and his Assistants, Hiroyuki's later series on being a commercial mangaka.
Tropes:
- Beach Episode: Times two.
- Cat Girl: Najimi starts working at a cat girl Cosplay Café called "With Cat", which was a real establishment above the Toranoana shop in Akihabara when the series was made, but which since then closed its doors. In the manga, it is a Maid Cafe.
- Celebrity Is Overrated: As part of the character development.
- Character Development: Yes, the series actually manages to do this in its short run.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Najimi's childhood friend, Justice, seems to like her quite a bit.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Sora.
- Coming of Age Story
- Cosplay Otaku Girl: Najimi, although she only does it for the money. Also Sora, as Justice makes her costumes.
- Covert Pervert: Tsuyuri, although perhaps not that covert.
- Cute Clumsy Girl: Kaneru, at least at home.
- Dancing Theme: The female characters are seen from behind in bloomers, one by one, moving to the end tune.
- Deadpan Snarker / Jerkass: Tsuyuri, who likes to tear up people's dreams with her deadly honesty.
- Double Agent: Tsuyuri, who helps both Kaneru and Najimi just to watch the sparks fly.
- Doujinshi
- Dude, She's Like in a Coma: Tsuyuri, when she is given CPR, she gives a French kiss
to Sora. - Emotionless Girl: Tsuyuri.
- Expy: Justice and Sora seem to bear a resemblance to Sanger Zonvolt and Irui from Super Robot Wars.
- Faceless Masses: Not really faceless, but rendered in monochrome.
- Fanservice: Surprisingly minimal, considering the subject matter. Even the beach scenes are fairly modest.
- The manga, however, is a ... different beast altogether.
- Fish out of Water: Najimi has a hard time adjusting to the erotic doujin scene.
- Four-Girl Ensemble
- Genius Ditz: Turns out Hoshi was attending Tokyo University (the most prestigious university in Japan)... until he dropped out to sell Najimi's doujinshi.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Justice and Sora.
- Innocent Innuendo: Throughout, but especially in episode 1.
- It Amused Me: The only reason Tsuyuri does anything.
- Love Hotels: Najimi and Hoshi visit one to take pictures of its interior.
- Malaproper: Tsuyuri, to some extent, as she tends to mix up sayings.
- Meaningful Name: Najimi's full name is a play on "Osananajimi", which means "childhood friend".
- Meido: Najimi works at a Maid Cafe. In the anime, it's a Cat Girl Cosplay Café.
- Mistaken for Gay: Tsuyuri spreads the rumor that Justice and Hoshi are interested in each other
- No Cartoon Fish: The Colombian horned frog is realistically drawn.
- No Fourth Wall: Najimi addresses the viewer before the opening credits, usually with one other female character.
- Non-Human Sidekick: Some sort of ... living miniature bloomers (Japanese high school gym shorts) with arms and legs, which sit on Tsuyuri's beret.
- A representation of series creator Hiroyuki, for the record.
- No Name Given: Justice - even though that's his pen name, it's all he goes by.
- Nose Bleed: Mostly happens to Kaneru when she misinterprets certain interactions between males.
- Ocular Gushers
- Office Lady: Kaneru.
- Only Sane Man: Poor Sora. Jealousy problems aside, it's hard being the little girl and the only one with an ounce of common sense (particularly when dealing mostly with Kaneru and Hoshi). Tsuyuri would almost count, but rather than be exasperated, she tends to use everyone's lack of sense for her own amusement.
- Real-Place Background: Locations from Akihabara and Odaiba can be seen throughout.
- The Rival: Kaneru
- Running Gag: "Nice paper".
- Sequential Artist
- Shout-Out: When Hoshi is searching for yaoi manga, doujinshi from Katekyo Hitman Reborn and D. Gray Man can be seen in the background.
- So Bad, It's Good: Invoked in-universe as the cause of Najimi's eventual popularity.
- Spoiler Opening: Kaneru's presence in the opening gives away that she will become very important later in the series.
- Stalker with a Crush: Hoshi, and Justice gets worked up over it... to the point of writing a 500 page long manga about it.
- Subtext: Tsuyuri has a talent for this.
- The Sweat Drop
- Tamer and Chaster: The anime greatly tones down any fanservice from the original manga; even the Beach Episodes are fairly tame by anime standards.
- The Tease: Curiously,
Tsuyuri toward Najimi. - Token Mini-Moe: Sora.
- Visible Sigh
- Visible Silence
- Yaoi Fangirl: Kaneru transforms into one for the sake of her art.
- Yonkoma
