“My First Girlfriend Is a Gal” is a ten-episode anime series about a high school boy who finally gets a girlfriend — and immediately starts making mistakes with her. It’s a comedy about love, embarrassment, and the awkwardness of being young and inexperienced. The show follows Jun’ichi Hashiba, voiced by Shintaro Asanuma, as he navigates his first relationship with Yukana Yame, a stylish “gal” who agrees to date him despite finding him lewd.
The premise is simple: Jun’ichi wants a girlfriend, his friends push him to confess, and Yukana says yes even though she sees right through him. That setup carries the whole series. What makes it work is how the show handles the fallout. Jun’ichi’s classmates, including his childhood friend Nene Fujinoki, voiced by Yui Ogura, and Yukana’s own friend Ranko Honjō, voiced by Eri Kitamura, keep circling around the couple.
Trailer, via Crunchyroll Dubs.
Jun’ichi’s Internal Debate
Jun’ichi is the main character, and the show spends a lot of time inside his head. He has fantasies about losing his virginity, and he debates what to do in every situation. His friends pressure him to help them hook up with girls, which adds a layer of irony to his own quest for a girlfriend. The show leans into his embarrassment, and Asanuma delivers it with a mix of nervous energy and genuine warmth.
Yukana is the opposite of Jun’ichi in almost every way. She’s confident, stylish, and openly disgusted by his lewd behavior — until she starts teasing him back. Nagaku plays the contrast well, making Yukana both aloof and genuinely caring underneath her cool exterior. Their dynamic is the engine of the series, and it rarely stalls.
The Supporting Cast
The supporting cast gives the show its depth. Ranko Honjō and Yui Kashii, voiced by Eri Kitamura and Ayana Taketatsu, add different flavors of attention to the couple. Ranko is Yukana’s friend and a gal herself, while Yui is described as the school’s “madonna.”
Nene Fujinoki, voiced by Yui Ogura, is Jun’ichi’s childhood friend and neighbor. The series also includes Ayumi Uesaka, voiced by Kazusa Aranami, and Kokoro Shiina, voiced by Natsuko Hara, rounding out the class.
Shinpei Sakamoto, voiced by Toshiyuki Toyonaga, and Keigo Ishida, voiced by Kenji Akabane, round out the ensemble. They’re less central but give the show its school feel.
What Works and What Doesn’t
The series doesn’t reinvent comedy. It knows what it is and sticks to it. The humor comes from Jun’ichi’s inability to handle himself, not from jokes aimed at the audience. That consistency means the show never becomes mean-spirited, even when Jun’ichi is at his worst.
Ten episodes is a short run, and the show tries to cover a lot of ground — Jun’ichi entering university, Yukana’s jealousy, the arrival of new girls — in a limited space. Some storylines feel rushed, and the finale wraps things up quickly after spending an episode or two building tension.
The character designs are distinct, especially Yukana’s signature look — strawberry blonde hair, green eyes, loose socks. The backgrounds are clean, and the show rarely relies on spectacle to move the story forward.
Comparing the Leads
| Character | Role | Voice Actor |
|---|---|---|
| Jun’ichi Hashiba | Protagonist, first-time boyfriend | Shintaro Asanuma |
| Yukana Yame | Girlfriend, gal stereotype | Yuki Nagaku |
Asanuma and Nagaku anchor the series with their chemistry. Asanuma’s performance as Jun’ichi is earnest enough to sell his embarrassment, while Nagaku’s Yukana balances disgust and affection in a way that keeps the show fresh. The other voices are competent, but the lead pair is the standout.
Final Verdict
“My First Girlfriend Is a Gal” is a small, focused comedy that knows what it wants to be. It doesn’t try to be more than a story about a boy getting his first girlfriend, and that honesty is its strength. The show’s weakness is its brevity — there’s so much setup and so little payoff in the final episodes that the ending feels abrupt rather than earned.
Despite that stumble, the series holds together well. The characters are distinct, the humor lands, and the animation is clean. It’s a show that rewards patience and doesn’t waste much time on filler.
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