Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai

Mahiru Kouzuki, a skilled artist, gives up on her passion after her elementary school classmates ridicule her colorful jellyfish mural. Several years later, upon encountering an unexpected admirer in Kano Yamanouchi—a former idol with a troubled past—Mahiru decides to pursue her childhood dreams once more.

Tasked with designing the mascot for Kano's new music project, JELEE, Mahiru enlists the help of her childhood friend and professional streamer Kiui Watase to make JELEE's first music video. Together with Kim Anouk Mei Takanashi, a pianist and fan of Kano's work as an idol, the girls aim to turn JELEE into a global hit. However, if they want to succeed in this ambitious endeavor, they will first have to free themselves from the shackles of their pasts.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Yamanouchi, Kano Main

Takahashi, Rie Japanese

Watase, Kiui Main

Tomita, Miyu Japanese

Kouzuki, Mahiru Main

Itou, Miku Japanese

Takanashi, Kim Anouk Mei Main

Shimabukuro, Miyuri Japanese

Baba, Shizue Supporting

Uesaka, Sumire Japanese

Honami Supporting

Shiina, Hekiru Japanese

Koharu Supporting

Seto, Asami Japanese

Setou, Mero Supporting

Okasaki, Miho Japanese

Yanagi, Momoko Supporting

Shutou, Yukina Japanese

Hayakawa, Mion Supporting

Anzai, Chika Japanese

Saitou, Shingo Producer

Suzuki, Renta Producer

Takeshita, Ryouhei Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Kimura, Eriko Sound Director

Reviews

Nov 11, 2025

CucumberOtter

Recommended

Alright, I suck at writing reviews, but I’ll try my best.

I love this show and everything it does. It feels a bit rushed towards the end and I feel like some things are left too open, but in the end, I loved every second of this show from start to finish. The characters were very well done in almost every way, with only a few characters I felt weren’t utilized to the fullest. The animation was stunning, the soundtrack was obviously great and I think the writing got a little worse after the halfway mark, and even worse after the episode 9 mark, it never ... got to the point of me being mad at anything it did, just a little underwhelmed.

But with all these minor complaints came a story that genuinely made me happier than any other story has in a while. It has some small flaws here and there, and I can understand feeling let down, but not enough for me to rank it any lower than I think it deserves, a 10/10.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by CucumberOtter (2)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Dec 3, 2025

UrsaMayor

Mixed Feelings

Started as Cinema, Ended as “It’s Fine I Guess"

Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai starts insanely strong. The first arc hits with a level of emotional clarity and vibe control that made me think this was going to be one of the standout drama titles of the year. The character writing actually feels lived-in and the themes land without trying too hard. It’s the kind of opening that makes you go “oh yeah, they cooked.”
Then the mid-series shift happens and… yeah, it trips over its own shoes. The drama gets louder but somehow feels less meaningful. A lot of the conflict turns awkward instead of compelling ... and you can tell the pacing is fighting the script. It’s the same issue some fans mentioned in other shows that start strong but can't keep the momentum. Not unwatchable, just noticeably less tight.
The ending is rushed, no sugarcoating that, but at least the emotional beats come together. And the performances? Absolute win. The JELEE girls’ final scenes hit, and Kano’s vocals stay undefeated. Production-wise, the staff genuinely put care into the music direction and sound staging. You can really tell the post-recording team carried some scenes harder than the writing did.
Overall, great first half, messy second half, solid music, strong emotional core. It’s the kind of show where you go “I liked it, but it could’ve been so much better.” Still, I respect the effort. You can feel the heart from the cast and staff even when the narrative fumbles.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by UrsaMayor (1)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Aug 2, 2025

Mehfisto

Not Recommended

I love the "cute girls doing cute things" kind of trope as long as it doesn't fall into extreme cringe and if the vibes are good. "Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night" does this really really good for the first half. The VA really delivers, the art is great and the group coming together feels so uplifting it just feels good and is extremely enjoyable.

Halfway through pacing starts to crack a bit. We have some side characters out of nowhere that we didn't feel the need for take the spotlight, as well as some forced drama about some of the girls' past that is ... just, plainly said, badly written, and the resolution is kinda meh. But still, there's few parts that shine and the show keeps going, and as i was saying i'm happy to give a lot of way as long as the vibes are there.

Unfortunately the turn in writing toward the latest episodes completely ruin what I felt could have been for me an absolute masterpiece in uplifting vibes.

I don't know what kind of problems the writers have with their ethics but we see one of the top ten anime betrayals and yet everything flows as if the betrayed is at fault while everyone else feels completely ok with it. The main villain is suddenly seen as a good person despite absolutely no change of character. Values get completely overthrown as friendship is suddenly valued less than business opportunity, and a moment of popularity can wipe off a lifetime of manipulation and trauma.

You'll be spending any minute waiting for a "redemption" that will never come, and every minute will taste more and more bitter as it becomes obvious that the dissonance in narrative is now staining the whole opera.

I really really wanted to like this anime, and the first half was so great I couldn't wait to come back here to give this a 9, but this is literally the most messed up ending in probably hundreds of anime i have watched in my life and it's extremely sad to have to give it such a low vote.

The turn of events feels so so bad it completely ruined an otherwise fantastic anime.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Mehfisto (9)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Best One Cour Originals

by Shy7161

50 Entries · 192 Restacks

2020's Essentials Part 3 [2024-2025]

by baby_minu

43 Entries · 65 Restacks

Underrated and Underappreciated Anime

by ruinthps

18 Entries · 14 Restacks

North American Anime & Manga Releases for May

Here are the North American anime, manga, and light novel releases for May. Week 1: May 6 - 12 Anime Releases Yumekui Merry (Dream Eater Merry) Complete Collection B...read more

May 4, 5:58 AM by Aiimee | Discuss (3 comments)

'Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai' Announces Additional Cast

The official website of the Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai (Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night) television anime revealed announced additional cast members on Sunda...read more

Apr 6, 2024 11:26 AM by DatRandomDude | Discuss (1 comment)

	Poll: Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Jun 8, 2024	138 replies	by perseii »» Yesterday, 9:55 PM
	Poll: Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai Episode 9 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) Pinoffin - Jun 1, 2024	212 replies	by perseii »» Yesterday, 9:20 PM
	Poll: Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai Episode 8 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - May 25, 2024	72 replies	by perseii »» Dec 3, 11:43 PM
	JELEE BAG - new mini CD album released by King Records animelatonina - Dec 3	0 replies	by animelatonina »» Dec 3, 11:05 AM
	Poll: Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai Episode 5 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) Stark700 - May 4, 2024	233 replies	by perseii »» Nov 29, 11:22 AM