No-Rin


No-Rin is a Japanese light novel series written by Shirow Shiratori, with illustrations by Kippu. A 12-episode anime television series adaptation by Silver Link aired from January to March 2014. Funimation streamed the series on their video website.

Plot

The sudden retirement of the famous idol Yuka Kusakabe from the entertainment industry shocks the world and devastates her biggest fan, a teenager named Kosaku Hata. His classmates at the Tamo Agriculture School manage to get him out of his depression and bring him out of his room to attend his classes. However, as he does, Kusakabe enters their class under the name Ringo Kinoshita as a transfer student. Kosaku realizes he has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get to personally know his dream girl. With his group of friends, and under the persuasion of his teacher, he tries to find out why she came to the agricultural school.

Characters

;Kōsaku Hata
;Ringo Kinoshita
;Minori Nakazawa
;Kei Kamatori
;Jane Natalie Hansen III
;Kochō Yoshida
;Akari Suzuki
;Torao Kanegami
;Kaoru Hanazono
;Rintarō Miyamoto
;Natsumi Bekki
;Kuwanosuke Naganawa
;Hajime Menjō

Media

Light novel

The No-Rin light novel series is written by Shirow Shiratori and illustrated by Kippu.

Manga

The direct manga adaptation illustrated by Maru Asakura and cooperated by Yoko Matsu'ura is being serialized on Square Enix's Young Gangan Comics starting from March 16, 2012. Another manga adaptation titled No-Rin Petit, which more focuses on the comedy, being serialized by Kotoji by August 24, 2013, on Square Enix's Big Gangan. The third manga adaptation which started on October 17, 2013, by Toshiko Machida being titled as No-Rin -Wild-, serialized on SB Creative's GA Bunko Magazine.

Drama CD

A drama CD adaptation was released by HOBiRECORDS on April 27, 2012.

Anime

A 12-episode anime television series adaptation by Silver Link was broadcast in Japan from January 10 to March 29, 2014. The opening theme for the anime is Himitsu no Tobira kara Ai ni Kite performed by Ringo Kinoshita and the ending theme song is Mogitate ♥ Fruit Girls by Kinoshita and Minori Nakazawa. In the first episode, the opening theme was Cordless Telephone by Yuka Kusakabe.
In North America, the series was licensed for English release by Funimation. Crunchyroll also added the series for its streaming service.

Episodes

Reception

had three editors review the first episode of the anime: Carl Kimlinger found the overarching romance to be "awful" and "cosmically unlikely", and the use of agriculture as a background setting pales in comparison to shows like Moyasimon: [Tales of Agriculture|Moyashimon] and Silver Spoon; Rebecca Silverman commended the subtle transformation of Yuka into her alter-ego Ringo but felt the humor was either "not humorous or downright offensive" because of Kosaku and the supporting cast, concluding that the show's fish out of water romance plot has potential but might not be worth waiting after several episodes. The third reviewer, Theron Martin, said about the episode overall: "Technical merits are respectable, including an impressively show series-opening song, but how Ringo is handled going forward is the much more potentially interesting aspect and will ultimately determine the success or failure of the series." Martin reviewed the complete anime series in 2016. He gave praise to the various comedic aspects it delivers along with some heartwarming moments through a "solid but not exceptional visual" palette, but felt that put together it makes for some underwritten storytelling in its "weak and inconsistent love triangle", concluding that: "No-Rin may not come together well, but that does not keep it from being quite entertaining. Be aware going in that it's not as tame as first impressions might suggest and it can be a fun viewing experience."