is a Japanese romance Vocaloid song series by HoneyWorks. The project's first song on Nico Nico Douga was a music video sung by Vocaloid Gumi titled that was released on November 18, 2011. The songs have spawned into various media forms including manga, novel, and anime adaptations.
Two anime films titled Zutto Mae Kara Suki Deshita and Suki ni Naru Sono Shunkan o were released in 2016. An anime television series by Lay-duce titled Our love has always been 10 centimeters apart aired from November to December 2017. A third anime film titled Kono Sekai no Tanoshimikata: Secret Story Film was released on December 25, 2020. A second anime television series titled Heroines Run the Show aired from April to June 2022.
Plot The initial plot of Kokuhaku Jikkō Iinkai tells the love stories of six third-year high school students: childhood friends Natsuki Enomoto, Yu Setoguchi, Sota Mochizuki, and Haruki Serizawa, and their later high school friends Akari Hayasaka and Mio Aida. Later in the series' lifetime, the story branches to other love and friendship dilemmas from succeeding groups of Sakuragaoka High School students. The stories focus on conflict and how hard it can be to confess one's love during youth days, the sweetness of being in love, and the hardships of maintaining the relationship as the pairs grow older or pursue their goals.
In 2019, HoneyWorks officially labelled a set of music-themed installments (which had videos from as early as 2017) as the Idol Series. While this spinoff still retains characters previously seen in the Ren'ai Series and is set in the same universe, the Idol Series is primarily about the rise and growth of different teen idol acts. Some videos will also explore the performers' backstories and their desire to better themselves. Many videos in this spinoff are diegetic, as music videos for a performer's single out of universe will be real music videos in-universe.
Characters Third Year Students
Natsuki is the main protagonist of Zutto Mae Kara Suki Deshita and a boisterous third-year student who is friendly to everyone. She is in love with her childhood friend Yu, but she fears that if he rejects her confession, their friendship will be ruined. To save face, she lies to him by stating that he is her practice confession partner. Her main songs are , , , , , and "Destiny."
Natsuki's childhood friend and the president of the Movie Research Club. He is secretly in love with Natsuki, but unsure if the feeling is mutual. His main songs are , , , , , and .
The president of the Art Club. A beautiful and nice, yet sort of clumsy girl, nobody knows what she is actually thinking. Even though she admires the concept of love, she has never experienced falling in love herself. Her main songs are , , , , and .
The vice president of the Movie Research Club, nicknamed "Mochita," falls in love with Akari and gets easily jealous of other guys approaching her. His main songs are , , , , and .
Miou is the main protagonist of Itsudatte Bokura no Koi wa 10 cm Datta and the vice president of the Art Club. A gentle, shy, and discreet girl. She is not good at talking with boys, but she gets along with Haruki. As a result of their closeness, they are rumored to be dating. They deny the rumors while struggling to confess their feelings to each other. Mio's main songs are , , , , , and .
, Koinu (childhood) A member of the Movie Research Club. His blond hair and sharp eyes lead others to believe he is a bad student. He falls in love with Miou, and though they act like a couple, they are unable to confess their feelings to each other. His main songs are , , , , , , and .
A girl who works as a model outside of school. Unbeknownst to Midori, she has noticed him too and wants to talk to him. Her main songs are , , , and , which is about the relationship to her younger sister Mona.
A member of the Horticulture Club. A boy with long hair and glasses who changed his appearance during his third year in high school after being teased for his feminine looks. Natsuki never teased him, and because of this, he is in love with her, but he is aware of Natsuki and Yu's mutual feelings toward each other. He eventually becomes a florist and finds love in college. His main songs are , , and .
Haruki's best friend, who moved from Kansai before entering high school. He speaks in a Kansai dialect. He recognized Sena on his commute by train to school and has wanted to talk to her, but cannot muster the courage to do so. His main songs are and , and he is considered the co-protagonist of the series sub-branch.
First Year Students
Hina is the main protagonist of Suki ni Naru Sono Shunkan o and Yu's younger sister by two years. She styles her pink hair in twin pigtails. During her first year in middle school, she met Koyuki and, despite a disastrous first encounter full of misunderstandings, the two became friends, and she fell in love with him. She wants to confess her feelings, but she knows that Koyuki is in love with someone else. She later develops feelings for Kotaro and begins dating him in her twenties. Her main songs are , , , , and .
Natsuki's younger brother by two years. He has trouble being honest, and his words sometimes end up hurting people. He is in love with Hina, but after he learns that Hina loves Koyuki, he tries to help her with her confession. He and Hina become a couple in their twenties. His main songs are , , , and .
A girl with short bangs and a twin-tail hairstyle. In middle school, she helped her classmate avoid being bullied, but ended up getting bullied herself. She admires Sena and wears her hair the same way Sena does. She disapproves of Ken's womanizing behavior, and after criticizing his behavior, he takes an interest in her. She starts to like him, but his flirty ways and many girlfriends discourage her from acting on her feelings. Her main songs are and .
Kotaro's friend since middle school. He is nicknamed "Shibaken." He has a reputation for being a playboy, but he was actually a shy and sensitive person in elementary school. After Arisa scolds him for his behavior, he begins to rethink himself, realizing that his casual relationships are not serious. He breaks up with his girlfriends, intending to have Arisa as his only focus. His main song is and .
Kotaro and Ken's best friend, who loves to read books and seems to be very observant of other people. He secretly has a crush on Natsuki, but never tells her. He works at a cafe and eventually met his girlfriend, Juri Hattori, there. His main songs are and .
New First Year Students
A classmate of the idol group LIPxLIP, and eventually their junior manager and friend. Originally from the countryside, she came to Tokyo for high school and joined the Track and Field Club as Hina's junior. She has her own desire to be treated like a princess and falls in love with the princely idol Asuka Kaido at a bookstore, but her feelings are not reciprocated. She is also confessed to by her longtime childhood friend Nagisa Shiranami, but she rejects him on the grounds that she wants to focus on her work at the moment. She is hardworking, but goes at her own pace. Her main songs are the "Heroine" subseries, consisting of , and
A member of the idol group LIPxLIP. His mother married into a prestigious Kabuki theater line, but he himself was rejected as the heir in favor of his younger stepbrother Koichiro. Shares a friendly rivalry with his idol partner Aizo, although they did not get along at first. His main solo song is .
An up-and-coming, hard-working solo idol, using the stage name "mona". She is a rival of the idol group LIPxLIP. She gets supported by her older sister, Sena Narumi, to whom she looks up to. Her main songs are , , and "No.1".
Ken Shibasaki's younger brother is a member of the idol group LIPxLIP. He does not like his older brother or mother, the latter because she neglects both brothers and abuses him, and the former for his womanizing. Shares a friendly rivalry with his idol partner, Yujiro, but comes to see him as an important friend. His main solo song is "YELLOW".
A bubbly gyaru Hiyori befriends during her time at Sakuragaoka High School. She meets and dates a waiter at a cafe she frequents, who turns out to be Kodai Yamamoto. Her given songs are "Kawaii ne Iwarechatta" and "Uchira, Koibito Sengen!".
A quiet and bookish girl who befriends Hiyori and Juri. In actuality, she is a big fan of LIPxLIP, in particular Aizo, and works under the pseudonym "Chu-tan" in order to gain more money to spend on her obsession. She once exposes Hiyori's closeness to LIPxLIP to the public out of jealousy, but she is later forgiven by Hiyori, and the two make amends. Her given songs (as Chu-tan) are "Doutan Kyohi", "Oshi Goto", and "Kawaikute Gomen".
Other characters
A teacher at Sakuragaoka Academy and the advisor of the Movie Research Club. He was Chiaki's best friend and had known Haruki since childhood. Since Chiaki's death, his relationship with Haruki has been strained. His main subject is literature, and he always wears a white coat so his clothes do not get dirty. Akechi later couples with a Sakuragaoka alumnus five years after she graduates. His main song is .
Haruki's late older brother and Saku's best friend. He died due to his illness. He saved Miou from drowning when she was younger. He appeared in . His main song is .
A sports-type girl. Younger sister of the Sakuragaoka faculty member Hiro Ogino, and a Sakuragaoka alumnus in her second year of college. She is a varsity volleyball player, the best in her team, and is admired by her female juniors. While there's not a lot of information on her, she seems to have a connection with Koyuki Ayase and couples with him when he enters her college. Her given song is .
A cat-like boy who also performs as a YouTuber and occasionally as an idol. Has a crush on Nakuru, a girl he collaborated with for a music video, but when he confesses, he is rejected by her and asked to remain friends. He eventually confronts Nakuru's abusive boyfriend and properly dates her. Is friends with the LIP×LIP duo. His given songs are and . Nagisa Shiranami
A childhood friend of Hiyori, and the son of a restaurant owner. While he is also a runner, he desires to take over his father's business one day and studies in Tokyo to get more culinary experience. He has been in love with Hiyori for years, but only properly tells her during high school. While he gets rejected and also agrees to focus on pursuing his dream job, it is hinted that he will pair with Hiyori in the future. His given song is .
Discography Singles Release date Title Artist(s) December 31, 2015 GUMI April 13, 2016 Sana April 20, 2016 Sphere August 14, 2016 Gom, Sana December 14, 2016 TrySail August 9, 2017 Hatsune Miku, GUMI December 6, 2017 LIPxLIP December 6, 2017 Haruka Tomatsu, Hiroshi Kamiya, Yūki Kaji, Kana Asumi, Kenichi Suzumura, Aki Toyosaki January 1, 2018 Hatsune Miku, GUMI December 1, 2018 LIPxLIP feat. Futenyan (CV. Toshiyuki Toyonaga) December 30, 2018 LOVE Fukase, flower August 26, 2020 Inori Minase and Toshiyuki Toyonaga October 21, 2020 Sora Amamiya and Shiina Natsukawa November 25, 2020 Hiroshi Kamiya, Yūki Kaji, Kenichi Suzumura, Takuya Eguchi, and Nobunaga ShimazakiDecember 23, 2020 LIPxLIP
Albums Release date Title Package number Oriconhighest chart Limited edition Standard edition November 26, 2014 SMCL-363〜5 SMCL-366 4 February 22, 2017 SMCL-466〜8 SMCL-469 4 January 15, 2020 SMCL-635〜637 SMCL-638〜639 5 March 26, 2020 TBA TBA March 26, 2020 TBA TBA March 15, 2023 TBA TBA 5
Anime adaptations Films
The first film titled Zutto Mae Kara Suki Deshita opened in Japan on April 23, 2016. The film is based on the songs "Kokuhaku Yokō Renshū," "Hatsukoi no Ehon," and "Yakimochi no Kotae," which tell the third year students' love stories. The opening theme performed by CHiCO is titled and the ending theme performed by Sphere is titled "Ippun'ichibyō Kimi to Boku no."