Skip and Loafer

Skip and Loafer (スキップとローファー) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Misaki Takamatsu. It has been serialized in Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon since August 2018. It has been licensed in North America for English release by Seven Seas Entertainment. An anime television series adaptation produced by P.A. Works aired from April to June 2023.

By March 2024, the manga had over 2.3 million copies in circulation. In 2023, Skip and Loafer won the 47th Kodansha Manga Award in the general category.

Plot
Mitsumi Iwakura is a sparkling high school student who moved from the outskirts of Ishikawa Prefecture to high school in Tokyo after graduating from junior high school. Mitsumi grew up in a depopulated area, with only eight students in her class. However, on the day of her entrance ceremony, she gets caught in the commuter rush and gets lost, and her life plan is quickly frustrated. A tall and handsome boy who was worried about Mitsumi calls out to her and decides to go to school with her every day.

Characters

 * Mitsumi Iwakura (岩倉 美津未)
 * First-year high school student who moved to Tokyo from the outskirts of Ishikawa Prefecture near Suzu. She has bobbed hair and sanpaku eyes. Raised a child prodigy, she entered high school at the top of her class; however, she has no athletic ability. Her pure personality unintentionally influences the people around her. She has a younger sister and brother.
 * First-year high school student who moved to Tokyo from the outskirts of Ishikawa Prefecture near Suzu. She has bobbed hair and sanpaku eyes. Raised a child prodigy, she entered high school at the top of her class; however, she has no athletic ability. Her pure personality unintentionally influences the people around her. She has a younger sister and brother.


 * Sōsuke Shima (志摩 聡介)
 * Mitsumi's classmate who has blonde hair and is popular with girls. He is known for sabotaging the entrance ceremony and skipping classes. Though he planned to skip the entrance ceremony, he meets Mitsumi and they run to school together.
 * Mitsumi's classmate who has blonde hair and is popular with girls. He is known for sabotaging the entrance ceremony and skipping classes. Though he planned to skip the entrance ceremony, he meets Mitsumi and they run to school together.


 * Mika Egashira (江頭 ミカ)
 * Mitsumi's classmate who approached her after Mitsumi became friends with Sōsuke. Mitsumi's pure nature inspired her to face her complexes. She develops a caring relationship with Mitsumi.
 * Mitsumi's classmate who approached her after Mitsumi became friends with Sōsuke. Mitsumi's pure nature inspired her to face her complexes. She develops a caring relationship with Mitsumi.


 * Yuzuki Murashige (村重 結月)
 * Mitsumi's classmate and her first friend in Tokyo. Her popularity among boys made her develop a complex about being shunned by other girls. She studied abroad in her childhood and has blonde hair, so people assume she is good at English, but according to herself she is not that good at it.
 * Mitsumi's classmate and her first friend in Tokyo. Her popularity among boys made her develop a complex about being shunned by other girls. She studied abroad in her childhood and has blonde hair, so people assume she is good at English, but according to herself she is not that good at it.


 * Makoto Kurume (久留米 誠)
 * Mitsumi's classmate. She is introverted and worries about becoming isolated; she meets Mitsumi when she joined the student council to join some kind of community. Despite not liking flirtatious people, she meets Yuzuki through Mitsumi and they become close friends.
 * Mitsumi's classmate. She is introverted and worries about becoming isolated; she meets Mitsumi when she joined the student council to join some kind of community. Despite not liking flirtatious people, she meets Yuzuki through Mitsumi and they become close friends.


 * Nao (ナオ)
 * Mitsuki's paternal aunt. She is a transgender woman and works as a stylist. Mitsumi's guardian since she moved to Tokyo.
 * Mitsuki's paternal aunt. She is a transgender woman and works as a stylist. Mitsumi's guardian since she moved to Tokyo.


 * Tsukasa Mukai (迎井 司)
 * Mitsumi's classmate and Sōsuke's friend since middle school. He is quiet and kindhearted.
 * Mitsumi's classmate and Sōsuke's friend since middle school. He is quiet and kindhearted.


 * Kento Yamada (山田 健斗)
 * Mitsumi's classmate and Sōsuke's friend. He is the class clown who is loved, teased, and harmless to humans and animals; however, he is surprisingly diligent, making cookies for everyone in the class and supporting his classmates quietly.
 * Mitsumi's classmate and Sōsuke's friend. He is the class clown who is loved, teased, and harmless to humans and animals; however, he is surprisingly diligent, making cookies for everyone in the class and supporting his classmates quietly.


 * Narumi Kanechika (兼近 鳴海)
 * Second-year student and the next director of the drama club. He recruits Shima to the club. He becomes overly absorbed in theater and can lack delicacy in his actions but is also an honest person who cheers others up.
 * Second-year student and the next director of the drama club. He recruits Shima to the club. He becomes overly absorbed in theater and can lack delicacy in his actions but is also an honest person who cheers others up.


 * Tokiko Takamine (高嶺 十貴子)
 * Second-year student council member. An extreme perfectionist who voluntarily follows a strict daily schedule. She had a stoic personality but became kinder upon meeting Mitsumi. She was a candidate for the next student council president, but lost to Kazakami due to her scary image, and became vice president.
 * Second-year student council member. An extreme perfectionist who voluntarily follows a strict daily schedule. She had a stoic personality but became kinder upon meeting Mitsumi. She was a candidate for the next student council president, but lost to Kazakami due to her scary image, and became vice president.

Manga
Written and illustrated by Misaki Takamatsu, Skip and Loafer has been serialized in Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon since August 25, 2018. Kodansha has collected its chapters into individual volumes. The first volume was released on January 23, 2019. As of March 22, 2024, 10 volumes have been released.

In North America, Seven Seas Entertainment announced that they had licensed the manga for English release in February 2021. The first volume was released on August 10, 2021.

Anime
In November 2021, it was announced that the series would receive an anime television series adaptation. It was animated by P.A. Works and written and directed by Kotomi Deai, with character designs handled by Manami Umeshita, who also served as chief animation director, and music composed by Takatsugu Wakabayashi. The series aired from April 4 to June 20, 2023, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme is "Mellow" (メロウ) by Keina Suda, while the ending theme is "Hanauta to Mawari Michi" (ハナウタとまわり道) by Rikako Aida. Crunchyroll has licensed the series. Plus Media Networks Asia licensed the series in Southeast Asia, and premiered on Aniplus Asia.

Manga
By January 2023, the Skip and Loafer manga had over 1 million copies in circulation. By March 2024, it had over 2.3 million copies in circulation.

Alongside Ranking of Kings, Skip and Loafer ranked seventh on Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! list of best manga of 2020 for male readers; it ranked eighth on the 2024 edition. The series ranked 46th on the 2021 "Book of the Year" list by Da Vinci magazine; it ranked ninth on the 2023 list. In 2020, the series was nominated for the 13th Manga Taishō and placed third with 58 points. It was nominated for the 44th Kodansha Manga Award in the general category in 2020; it was nominated for the 46th edition in the same category in 2022; it won the 47th edition in the same category in 2023. The manga was one of the Jury Recommended Works at the 23rd Japan Media Arts Festival in 2020. It was one of the Jury Recommended Works for the French 17th ACBD's Prix Asie de la Critique 2023.

Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network gave the first two volumes an A−. Silverman wrote: "Skip and Loafer may not have fabulous art and it may not have an innovative story. But it does have a firm grasp of its storytelling and characters and a not inconsiderable sense of humor. It's light without being frothy and real without being a drag, and if you're looking for a story that verges on the humorous slice-of-life genre, I can't recommend this enough. Treats characters like individual people, balances humor and seriousness well".

Anime
The anime adaptation won the Golden Dragon Award for Overseas Animation at the 20th China Animation & Comic Competition in 2023. It was also nominated in the Best Romance and Best Slice of Life categories at the 8th Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2024.

The anime series was received positively. Alex Henderson of Anime Feminist reviewed the first episode, calling it "cute as a button", with naturalistic animation and well-done backdrops, with a female protagonist who is "endearing", said there is still room for the show to "wobble", and argued that the episode was "thoroughly charming".