Smile Down the Runway
Smile Down the Runway, also known as Smile at the Runway, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kotoba Inoya. It was serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine from May 2017 to July 2021, with its chapters collected in 22 volumes. Kodansha USA digitally published the manga in North America. An anime television series adaptation by Ezóla aired from January to March 2020 on the Animeism programming block.
Summary
The story follows two teenagers, Ikuto Tsumura and Chiyuki Fujito, who both have dreams of making it in the fashion world despite their circumstances. Chiyuki dreams of becoming a model and participating in the Paris Fashion Week. However, people make fun of her dreams because she is too short, despite having a thin and voluptuous figure. Ikuto wants to become a fashion designer thanks to his sewing skills. However, his family is poor.An opportunity arises when Hazime Yanagida notices Ikuto's skill at sewing, offering him a part-time job at his fashion studio. Ikuto accepts this offer so he can support his family. Meanwhile, Chiyuki's father asks Ikuto to become her partner since they are both classmates and he wants Chiyuki to follow her dreams despite her height. They are joined by the famous but shy model Kokoro Hasegawa, who has a height complex, and prodigy fashion designer Toh Ayano, who considers Ikuto to be his rival. Chiyuki and Ikuto must work together in order to make their dreams come true.
Characters
Protagonists
;Ikuto Tsumura;Chiyuki Fujito
;Kokoro Hasegawa
;Toh Ayano
Others
;Hajime Yanagida;Kenji Fujito
;Shizuku Naruoka
;Yu Igarashi
;Kaoru Kizaki
;Ryūnosuke Eda
;Shōko Takaoka
;Seira
;Mai Ayano
;Fumiyo Niinuma
;Yuriko Tsumura
;Honoka Tsumura
;Aoi Tsumura
;Ichika Tsumura
;Mii Sakuma