# Play It Cool, Guys

Play It Cool, Guys (Japanese: クールドジ男子, Hepburn: Kūru Doji Danshi, lit. 'Cool Clumsy Guys') is a Japanese web manga series written and illustrated by Kokone Nata. It has been serialized on the Pixiv website since February 2019, with its chapters collected into five
tankōbon volumes as of October 2022. An anime television series adaptation produced by Pierrot aired from October 2022 to March 2023. A television drama adaptation aired from April to July 2023.

## Characters
### Hayate Ichikura (一倉 颯, Ichikura Hayate)

    Voiced by: Chiaki Kobayashi
    Portrayed by: Yuta Nakamoto
    Hayate is a 20-year-old university student majoring in economics. He gets embarrassed whenever he becomes clumsy. He loves animals and enjoys reading.

### Shun Futami (二見 瞬, Futami Shun)

    Voiced by: Koki Uchiyama
    Portrayed by: Maito Fujioka [ja]
    Shun is a 17-year-old high school student who is athletic. He tends to pretend whatever clumsy action he has done was made on purpose. He enjoys playing sports.

### Takayuki Mima (三間 貴之, Mima Takayuki)

    Voiced by: Yūichirō Umehara
    Portrayed by: Dori Sakurada
    Mima is a 27-year-old salaryman who is seen as a mascot by his co-workers. He tends to be unfazed and oblivious whenever he becomes clumsy. He is childhood friends with Motoharu.

### Sōma Shiki (四季 蒼真, Shiki Sōma)

    Voiced by: Shōya Chiba
    Portrayed by: Takumi Kawanishi [ja]
    Sōma is a 19-year-old vocational student studying at a vocational design school. He tends to be positive whenever he does something clumsy.

### Motoharu Igarashi (五十嵐 元晴, Igarashi Motoharu)

    Voiced by: Makoto Furukawa
    Igarashi is a 27-year-old author and a friend of Mima's from elementary school. He is described as a genius who can be clumsy as well.

### Asami Futami (二見 あさみ, Futami Asami)

    Voiced by: Satomi Satō
    Portrayed by: Ryō Satō
    Asami is Shun's older sister and the owner of the cafe Hayate and Sōma work at.

### Sōta Shiki (四季 爽太, Shiki Sōta)

    Voiced by: Kazuyuki Okitsu
    Portrayed by: Kazuma Sano
    Sōta is Mima's superior at work and Sōma's older brother.

### Kurosaki (黒崎)

    Voiced by: Taku Yashiro
    Portrayed by: Kentarō Tomita

### Akai (赤井)

    Voiced by: Kengo Takanashi

### Kida (黄田)

    Voiced by: Seiichiro Yamashita

### Aoyama (青山)

    Voiced by: Kōhei Amasaki

### Momo Momosaki (桃崎 もも, Momosaki Momo)

    Voiced by: Haruka Shiraishi

### Akane Kōno (紅野 茜, Kōno Akane)

    Voiced by: Yō Taichi

### Shirakawa (白川)

    Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi

## Production

While the manga series is in full color, Kokone Nata can color one page in about 30 minutes so she can finish the coloring work of 19 pages within one day.

## Media
### Manga

Written and illustrated by Kokone Nata, Play It Cool, Guys started as a series of illustrations published on the author's Twitter account since May 11, 2018, before being serialized as a web manga on Pixiv on February 23, 2019. The manga has also been serialized on Pixiv's Pixiv Comic service. As of October 2022, five
tankōbon volumes have been released by Square Enix under its Gangan Comics Pixiv imprint. In September 2020, Yen Press announced that it had licensed the series for English publication.

#### Volumes

| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
| 1 | June 22, 2019 | 978-4-75-755934-9 | March 9, 2021 | 978-1-97-532152-9 |
| 2 | March 21, 2020 | 978-4-75-756544-9 | June 29, 2021 | 978-1-97-532408-7 |
| 3 | January 22, 2021 | 978-4-75-756821-1 | May 24, 2022 | 978-1-97-533826-8 |
| 4 | November 22, 2021 | 978-4-75-757585-1 | September 27, 2022 | 978-1-97-534668-3 |
| 5 | October 21, 2022 | 978-4-75-758150-0 | January 23, 2024 | 978-1-97-537540-9 |

### Novel

A novel adaptation written by Shino Kaida, titled Cool Doji Danshi: Connect It Cool, Guys, was published by Square Enix on March 21, 2020.

### Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced on April 22, 2022. It is produced by Pierrot and directed by Chiaki Kon, with scripts written by Makoto Uezu, and music composed by Masato Nakayama. Eri Taguchi is handling the character designs and serving as chief animation director. The series aired from October 11, 2022, to March 28, 2023, on TV Tokyo, AT-X, and BS11. It ran for two cours, and consisted of 15-minute episodes. The opening theme songs are "Seishun Kippu" (青春切符, "Youth Ticket") by Mafumafu and "Warau na!" (笑うな！, "Don't Laugh!") by Syudou. The ending theme songs are "Flash!" and "Taisetsu" (たいせつ, "Precious"), both performed by PICG, a unit composed of Chiaki Kobayashi, Koki Uchiyama, Yūichirō Umehara, and Shōya Chiba. Crunchyroll licensed the series.
A two-episode spin-off anime, titled Petit Cool Doji Danshi no Hitokoma, premiered on NTT Docomo's dTV [ja] streaming service on March 21 and March 28, 2023. It is produced by Aqua Aris, with Yū Hayata directing and providing the character designs, and Mao Emura writing the screenplay.

#### Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Storyboarded by | Original release date |
| 1 | "Ichikura Hayate" Transliteration: "Ichikura Hayate" (Japanese: 一倉颯) | Chiaki Kon | Makoto Uezu | Chiaki Kon | October 11, 2022 (2022-10-11) |
| 2 | "Futami Shun" Transliteration: "Futami Shun" (Japanese: 二見瞬) | Chiaki Kon | Yasuko Aoki | Chiaki Kon | October 18, 2022 (2022-10-18) |
| 3 | "Mima Takayuki" Transliteration: "Mima Takayuki" (Japanese: 三間貴之) | Nozomi Fukui | Tomoharu Suzuki | Chiaki Kon | October 25, 2022 (2022-10-25) |
| 4 | "Shiki Souma" Transliteration: "Shiki Sōma" (Japanese: 四季蒼真) | Nozomi Fukui | Yasuko Aoki | Chiaki Kon | November 1, 2022 (2022-11-01) |
| 5 | "Shared Table" Transliteration: "Aiseki" (Japanese: 相席) | Yūta Suzuki | Makoto Uezu | Chiaki Kon | November 8, 2022 (2022-11-08) |
| 6 | "Things in Common" Transliteration: "Kyōtsūten" (Japanese: 共通点) | Yūta Suzuki | Tomoharu Suzuki | Chiaki Kon | November 15, 2022 (2022-11-15) |
| 7 | "Loop" Transliteration: "Rūpu" (Japanese: ループ) | Takahiro Enokida | Makoto Uezu | Chiaki Kon | November 22, 2022 (2022-11-22) |
| 8 | "Detour" Transliteration: "Mawarimichi" (Japanese: まわりみち) | Takahiro Enokida | Yasuko Aoki | Chiaki Kon | November 29, 2022 (2022-11-29) |
| 9 | "Bento" Transliteration: "Obentō" (Japanese: お弁当) | Chiaki Kon | Tomoharu Suzuki | Chiaki Kon | December 6, 2022 (2022-12-06) |
| 10 | "Day Off" Transliteration: "Yasumi no Hi" (Japanese: 休みの日) | Chiaki Kon | Chiaki Kon | Chiaki Kon | December 13, 2022 (2022-12-13) |
| 11 | "Everyday" Transliteration: "Nichijō" (Japanese: 日常) | Nozomi Fukui | Tomoharu Suzuki | Chiaki Kon | December 20, 2022 (2022-12-20) |
| 12 | "Progress" Transliteration: "Zenshin" (Japanese: 前進) | Nozomi Fukui | Yasuko Aoki | Nozomi Fukui | December 27, 2022 (2022-12-27) |
| 13 | "Reunion" Transliteration: "Saikai" (Japanese: 再会) | Shizutaka Sugahara | Makoto Uezu | Shizutaka Sugahara | January 10, 2023 (2023-01-10) |
| 14 | "Nice Location" Transliteration: "Ii Tokoro" (Japanese: いいところ) | Shizutaka Sugahara | Tomoharu Suzuki | Nozomi Fukui | January 17, 2023 (2023-01-17) |
| 15 | "Talking About Love" Transliteration: "Koibana" (Japanese: 恋バナ) | Kaito Asakura | Yasuko Aoki | Yūta Suzuki | January 24, 2023 (2023-01-24) |
| 16 | "Umbrella and..." Transliteration: "Kasa to..." (Japanese: 傘と…) | Yūta Suzuki | Tomoharu Suzuki | Yūta Suzuki | January 31, 2023 (2023-01-31) |
| 17 | "Catalyst" Transliteration: "Kikkake" (Japanese: きっかけ) | Yūta Suzuki | Makoto Uezu | Yūta Suzuki | February 7, 2023 (2023-02-07) |
| 18 | "Takayuki and Motoharu" Transliteration: "Takayuki to Motoharu" (Japanese: 貴之と元晴) | Kaito Asakura | Chiaki Kon | Shizutaka Sugahara | February 14, 2023 (2023-02-14) |
| 19 | "New Member" Transliteration: "Menbā-iri" (Japanese: メンバー入り) | Nozomi Fukui | Makoto Uezu | Nozomi Fukui | February 21, 2023 (2023-02-21) |
| 20 | "Things You Don't Like" Transliteration: "Nigate na Mono" (Japanese: 苦手なもの) | Nozomi Fukui | Yasuko Aoki | Nozomi Fukui | February 28, 2023 (2023-02-28) |
| 21 | "Friends" Transliteration: "Tomodachi" (Japanese: 友達) | Yūta Suzuki | Tomoharu Suzuki | Yukihiro Matsushita | March 7, 2023 (2023-03-07) |
| 22 | "Summer Festival" Transliteration: "Natsumatsuri" (Japanese: 夏祭り) | Takahiro Enokida | Tomoharu Suzuki | Yukihiro Matsushita | March 14, 2023 (2023-03-14) |
| 23 | "Summer Sky and Sea" Transliteration: "Natsuzora to Umi" (Japanese: 夏空と海) | Takahiro Enokida | Tomoharu Suzuki | Yukihiro Matsushita | March 21, 2023 (2023-03-21) |
| 24 | "Cool and Awkward Guys" Transliteration: "Kūru Doji na Danshi-tachi" (Japanese: クールドジな男子たち) | Chiaki Kon, Nozomi Fukui | Makoto Uezu | Chiaki Kon, Yūta Suzuki, Nozomi Fukui | March 28, 2023 (2023-03-28) |

### Drama

A television drama adaptation was announced on February 24, 2023. It is directed by Hiroaki Yuasa, Yuka Eda, and Akina Yanagi, based on a screenplay by Hiroyuki Komine. The series aired on TV Tokyo from April 15 to July 1, 2023. Yuta Nakamoto of NCT 127, Takumi Kawanishi [ja] of JO1, Dori Sakurada, and Maito Fujioka [ja] were cast to play the main roles.

## Reception

In 2019, the manga was ranked 16th in Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! guidebook for best manga series in 2019 for female readers, placed 7th in Pixiv and Nippon Shuppan Hanbai's Web Manga General Election, and was placed 16th in the Next Manga Awards.