No-Rin
Plot. The sudden retirement of the famous idol Yuka Kusakabe from the entertainment business shocks the world and devastates her biggest fan, a teenager named Kosaku Hata. His classmates at the Tamo Agriculture School manage to get him out of his depression and bring him out of his room to attend his classes. However, as he does, Kusakabe enters their class under the name Ringo Kinoshita as a transfer student. Kosaku realizes he has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get to personally know his dream girl. With his group of friends, and under the persuasion of  his teacher, He tries to find out why she came to the agricultural school. Media. Light Novel. "No-Rin" began as a light novel series written by Shirow Shiratori and illustrated by Kippu. Manga. The direct manga adaptation illustrated by Maru Asakura and cooperated by Yoko Matsu'ura is being serialized on Square Enix's Young Gangan Comics starting from March 16, 2012. Another manga adaptation titled , which more focuses on the comedy, being serialized by Kotoji by August 24, 2013 on Square Enix's Big Gangan. The third manga adaptation which started on October 17, 2013 by Toshiko Machida being  titled as , serialized on SB Creative's GA Bunko Magazine. Drama CD. A drama CD adaptation was released by HOBiRECORDS on April 27, 2012. Anime. A 12-episode anime television series adaptation by Silver Link was broadcast in Japan from January 10 to March 29, 2014. The opening theme for the anime is performed by Yukari Tamura and the ending theme song is by Yukari Tamura and Kana Hanazawa. In the first episode, the opening theme was by Yukari Tamura and Jad Saxton as Yuka Kusakabe. In North America, the series was licensed for English release by Funimation. Crunchyroll also  added the series for its streaming service. Reception. "Anime News Network" had three editors review the first episode of the anime: Carl Kimlinger found the overarching romance to be "awful" and "cosmically unlikely", and the use of agriculture as a background setting pales in comparison to shows like "" and "Silver Spoon"; Rebecca Silverman commended the subtle transformation of Yuka into her alter-ego Ringo but felt the humor was either "not humorous or downright offensive" because of Kosaku and the supporting cast, concluding that the show's fish out of water romance plot has potential but might not be worth  waiting after several episodes. The third reviewer, Theron Martin, said about the episode overall: "Technical merits are respectable, including an impressively show series-opening song, but how Ringo is handled going forward is the much more potentially interesting aspect and will ultimately determine the success or failure of the series." Martin reviewed the complete anime series in 2016. He gave praise to the various comedic aspects it delivers along with some heartwarming moments through a "solid but not exceptional visual" palette, but felt that put together it makes for some underwritten storytelling in its "weak and inconsistent love triangle", concluding  that: ""No-Rin" may not come together well, but that does not keep it from being quite entertaining. Be aware going in that it's not as tame as first impressions might suggest and it can be a fun viewing experience."