Kabukibu!
Kabukibu! is a light novel series written by Yūri Eda, with illustrations by Ishinoya. The series began on August 24, 2013 and finished with seven volumes, published by Kadokawa Shoten on November 25, 2017. The series is about Kurogo Kurusu, a boy who is obsessed with kabuki and decides to form a kabuki club at his high school. A manga adaptation by Chizu Kamiko is being serialized on Kadokawa Shoten's Young Ace since March 2017. A 12-episode anime television series adaptation by Studio Deen, aired between April 6, 2017 and June 22, 2017.
Plot
Kurogo Kurusu, a high school boy who loves the art of kabuki, so much that it is annoying. He yearns to perform kabuki for a club, but his school doesn't have one. Kurogo decides to create his own and sets out to gather members.
Characters
;Kurogo Kurusu
;Tonbo Murase
;Shin Akutsu
;Jin Ebihara
;Hanamichi Niwa
;Kaoru Asagi
;Maruko Janome
;Riri Miwayama
;Kazuma Katsumi
;Tsurani Toomi
Media
Light novel
The novel series, published by Kadokawa Shoten, began with the first volume published on August 24, 2013, and ended with seven volumes on November 25, 2017.
Manga
The manga adaptation by Chizu Kamikō began serialization on Kadokawa Shoten's Young Ace on February 3, 2017, and its final volume on February 2, 2018.
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on August 12, 2016. The anime was directed by Kazuhiro Yoneda. Studio Deen produced the animation, Yoshiko Nakamura handled series composition, Majiro adapted the original character designs by CLAMP, and Masaru Yokoyama composed the music. The anime aired from April 6, 2017 to June 22, 2017 on TBS and ran for 12 episodes. The opening theme, "Running High", is performed by Hiro Shimono. Sentai Filmworks have licensed the anime and streamed it on Amazon's Anime Strike.
Reception
Anime News Network had four editors review the first episode of the anime: Despite seeing it as a typical high school club premise, Lynzee Loveridge was optimistic about learning the art of kabuki as the show progresses from its debut episode based on the studio producing it; Jacob Chapman said that the show's "refreshing sincerity and quirky flavor" of slice-of-life could bring in viewers intrigued by the notion of knowing more about its subject matter but may have to get through subpar animation and a lack of personality to get there; Paul Jensen was enthralled by the protagonist Kurogo's passion to learn more about kabuki performances and the shift in art style when viewing them but questioned whether the show can keep that pace with further episodes. The fourth reviewer, Rebecca Silverman, felt that the slice-of-life structure the introductory episode took could hold back the potential it has with its premise, saying that it "doesn't feel like a great representation of what the show could become, even more so than other series."