Skip and Loafer Review

A Country Girl and a City Boy

Skip and Loafer (Skip to Loafer / スキップとローファー) is a drama anime from the studio P.A. Works. However, unlike many of P.A. Works’ popular series, Skip and Loafer isn’t original. It’s based on a manga.

This anime is also listed as a Drama series on MyAnimeList. But, I’d say it’s a bit more than that. It’s also a romance series and, at times, a comedy series. It’s a dramatic rom-com if you will. With that said, it’s not as wacky as a lot of other rom-com anime are. It’s realistic.

So, what’s the series actually about? It’s about a country girl, Mitsumi Iwakura, attending a high school in Tokyo. As with any country girl in Japan, this is her dream — or, one of her dreams. She also dreams of becoming a politician. But, to do that, she needs to get into a prestigious college like Tokyo University.

On the way to her first day of school, however, Mitsumi gets lost. Luckily, one of her classmates, the popular Sousuke Shima, recognizes her uniform. And, with Sousuke’s help, Mitsumi manages to get to school, albeit a bit late.

This is the start of the friendship between Mitsumi and Sousuke that the rest of the series explores. It also dives into the struggles that both of these characters have in their school lives. Mitsumi struggles to make friends for various reasons. And Sousuke doesn’t like people digging into his past.

Also, there’s obviously some romantic tension between the two. Mitsumi likes Sousuke but recognizes that he’s the popular guy and she’s a nobody. Her friendship with Sousuke is one reason some of the other girls don’t like her. And Sousuke likes Mitsumi but tries to keep her at arm’s length due to people from his past.

Main Characters

Mitsumi Iwakura is the protagonist of the series. Although she has lofty ambitions of working in the government, she’s a bit awkward and clumsy. The fact that she’s a country girl attending school in Tokyo probably doesn’t help. She often says or does things before realizing how weird they are.

Sousuke Shima is the other main character. He’s a kind person. But, he doesn’t show his true self to most people. Instead, he hides behind a facade as a way to keep others at a distance. However, he’s comfortable around Mitsumi because she treats him like a normal friend.

Mika Egashira is one of Mitsumi’s classmates who has a crush on Sousuke. Because of this, she’s jealous of and hostile toward Mitsumi, at first. Over time, though, she becomes one of Mitsumi’s friends. And, she develops a friendship with Mitsumi’s aunt, Nao-chan, as well.

Yuzuki Murashige is one of the “popular” girls in Mitsumi’s class. I think she’s also a magazine model. But, I could be making that up. Either way, she’s not someone you’d expect to befriend Mitsumi. And, that’s something Yuzuki struggles with — everyone expects her to be a mean girl because of her looks.

Makoto Kurume is another one of Mitsumi’s classmates. Makoto is a nerd, which makes her the exact opposite of Yuzuki. And, she hates Yuzuki, at first, because she assumes a lot of things about her. But, once Makoto actually gets to know Yuzuki, they become close friends.

Finally, there’s Nao-chan, Mitsumi’s aunt. Nao-chan lives in Tokyo, so Mitsumi lives with her while attending high school. But, what makes Nao-chan unique is that she’s trans. Nao-chan was born male but identifies and presents as a woman. And, as you might expect, that can sometimes cause problems for her.

Skip and Loafer Is Overrated

Skip and Loafer is pretty good. But, I don’t agree with the majority of viewers who seem to think it was one of the best anime of the season. I actually forgot it existed between finishing it and writing this review.

I only remembered it because I was scrolling through my list to see what spring anime reviews were left. That’s not a good sign for any series. Being forgettable usually doesn’t go hand-in-hand with being great. And, I didn’t think this series was any better than all the other slice of life, drama, and romance anime set in schools.

But, even though I think Skip and Loafer is overrated, it has one thing going for it. Nao-chan is an interesting character. I’d even go so far as to say that she’s the best character in the series. I don’t care about the kids.

Now, I don’t remember Nao-chan getting any threats or hate directed toward her in the anime. But, it did explore some of the struggles she experiences as a trans woman. For example, people whisper about her and comment on her appearance in public places.

Also, when Mitsumi wants to have a sleepover with her friends, that’s something Nao-chan has to get in front of. She makes sure that the other girls and their parents know she’s trans and are okay with that. And, the good news is that it’s not a problem for anyone involved.

Should Nao-chan have to accommodate other people like that in her own home? No. But, she does because it’s not about her. She’s confident in who she is. The issue is that she doesn’t want who she is to cause problems for Mitsumi. This isn’t something we normally see in anime, so it was interesting.

Conclusion

I ended up rating Skip and Loafer as a 6/10. It’s a pretty good anime like I said. And I enjoyed Nao-chan’s character because it was a unique look at a trans woman in anime. But, does it really stand out from all the other seasonal series? I don’t think so.

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