“Iwa Kakeru! Sport Climbing Girls” is a twelve-episode series about a high school girl who treats climbing like a puzzle she can’t resist. The show follows Konomi Kasahara, whose analytical mind sees holds and routes as pieces of a larger problem. That comparison isn’t a gimmick — the anime leans on it from the first episode to the last, and it mostly works.
Konomi discovers her school’s climbing wall while solving a puzzle. She sees holds and routes as pieces of a larger problem, and the show spends most of its runtime letting that metaphor breathe. Her teammates at Hanamiya Girls’ High School Climbing Club push her toward bigger goals, and the story turns on whether she can translate her puzzle-solving mind into actual athletic performance.
Trailer, via Crunchyroll.
Konomi Kasahara and the Puzzle Metaphor
Sumire Uesaka voices Konomi, and the casting choice pays off early. Her delivery lands Konomi somewhere between a chess prodigy and a competitive athlete, and the show never asks viewers to believe she’s naturally gifted at climbing. Instead, it sells the idea that her analytical approach can overcome physical limitations.
The other girls in the club each bring their own strengths. Jun Uehara, voiced by Yui Ishikawa, serves as the team’s emotional core. Sayo Yotsuba, voiced by Aina Suzuki, adds comic relief. Nonoaka Sugiura, voiced by Miyu Tomita, brings technical skill. Chinari Iwamine, voiced by Mikako Komatsu, rounds out the roster with her own particular gifts.
“Sport climbing is a sport that makes use of both the body and the brain to climb walls.”
That line sums up the whole premise. The show doesn’t pretend one is more important than the other. It just wants to watch Konomi figure out how to use both at once.
The Climbing Club Dynamics
The Hanamiya Girls’ High School Climbing Club is the heart of the series. Its members don’t just compete against each other; they build trust over shared routes and shared failures. That teamwork is the show’s strongest asset, and it carries the drama when the climbing itself slows down.
The pacing is steady throughout the twelve episodes. There’s no filler, and each episode moves the story forward in some way, even when the focus drifts away from the wall. The show knows when to let a route dictate the scene and when to step back and let the characters talk about their feelings.
The Animation and Voice Work
The animation is competent but not flashy. It captures the feel of indoor climbing walls without spending too much time on detail. The character designs are distinct enough that viewers can follow who’s who during group scenes, which matters in a show with this many leads.
The voice acting holds the show together. Sumire Uesaka carries the lead with a mix of determination and wonder, and the supporting cast delivers solid, consistent work. None of the performances feel strained, and that consistency helps the series stay engaging across its full run.
What Works and What Doesn’t
The show’s strengths are also its weaknesses. The puzzle-climbing metaphor is clever, but it gets repeated often enough that it starts to feel like a trick rather than a theme. Some viewers may find the repetition wearing by the final episode.
The comedy, delivered through Sayo Yotsuba’s character, is gentle and light. It doesn’t land as hard as the drama does, but it provides a break between serious moments.
The drama is where the show finds its footing. Konomi’s growth arc is believable, and the stakes feel personal rather than manufactured. The show understands that a climbing competition is really about confidence, and it plays that angle well.
The Final Stretch
The last few episodes lean harder on the puzzle metaphor than the earlier ones do. That’s a risky move, and the show doesn’t always land the payoff. But the ending does manage to tie the two halves of Konomi’s identity together, and that resolution earns the time spent building it.
The series ends on a note of promise rather than resolution. It leaves room for more, and the cliffhanger is deliberate rather than careless.
A Solid, Well-Made Show
“Iwa Kakeru! Sport Climbing Girls” isn’t reinventing the sports anime wheel. It’s doing what it sets out to do, and it does it with care. The puzzle-climbing concept is fresh enough to sustain a full season, and the character work is strong enough to carry the weaker stretches.
The show’s weakest moments come from over-reliance on its own premise, not from any failure of execution. When it trusts its own instincts, it succeeds.
| Element | Strength | Weakness |
|---|---|---|
| Concept | Clever metaphor ties climbing to puzzle-solving | Overused by the final stretch |
| Character work | Strong ensemble, believable arcs | Comedy lands lightly |
| Animation | Competent, readable | Not flashy |
The series earns its reputation as a solid, well-made show. It’s a pleasant watch that occasionally reaches for something deeper than its premise allows. The show’s strengths are its characters and its premise, and both are used well enough to justify the time investment.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.
