Aimed at a shounen audience, Runway de Waratte is a representation of art, with fashion and modeling as part its world setting. It takes on a mix of genres together that ranges from school, slice of life, and of course, drama. Because let’s face it, drama is inescapable in such a competitive atmosphere, where everyone wants their fame and glory. The 17-year old Chiyuki has an ambition, the looks, and resources to make it to the top. Or does she? With a strong will and determination, Chiyuki strives to prove herself regardless what obstacles stands in her way. What’s actually intriguing about Chiyuki is the way her character behaves, as we see different sides of her. And on the surface, she is very strong willed and has a charming aura. But other times, Chiyuki can also be stubborn and gets defensive when things don’t go her way. She can be very outspoken about her personal beliefs that sometimes clashes against her peers, such as Ikuto Tsumura. As a patternmaker, Tsumura enters the series as an inexperienced newbie but strives to learn the ropes of the fashion industry. Unlike Chiyuki, his family faces financial struggles and in respect, he lacks the wealth to further his career. But despite that, Ikuto has a gentle spirit and is often a word of reason. And through his encouragement, he helps Chiyuki when she needs it the most. Their partnership is a core part of the show as we see the hardships and reality of the fashion industry.
Watching Runway de Waratte’s story unfolding takes on a realistic course, one that’s designated with a lot of realism. When we have characters such as Chiyuki walk on stage, she has to be more than just a runway model. She has to portray herself as an image, a marketing representation of her firm, and in essence, a person that inspires others to look like her. The fashion industry is a complex realm that deals with hardship. Behind the scenes, Chiyuki has to manage her time with a busy schedule while maintaining a healthy body through strict diet and exercise routines. Anyone familiar with runway models knows the difficult selection process to be even considered a candidate. Blessed with talent, Chiyuki sets a high expectations for herself to be a supermodel and even walk on the Paris Fashion Show stage. It’s like I said before, this anime tells a story for our characters to follow their dreams. For both Chiyuki and Tsumura, it’s in their blood to always aim for higher. And during this journey, the audience will see the hardship they must face together. Whether it’s emotional distress, financial resources, or the intense competitive field of fashion modeling, following a dream is never a walk in the park.
Over the course of the show, we also get to see other competitors outside of the main duo. And one of the most prominent one is Kokoro Hasegawa, an inspiring fashion designer with a lack of confidence. This problem becomes more than just a burden as it also limits her true potential. But throughout the series, she does slowly but surely grow out of her fragile shell. Thanks to encouragement and words of wisdom from Tsumura, she begins to live her dream. It’s important to see at this point how much influence Tsumura can have over words. It doesn’t take natural talent to convince someone to follow their dreams. It takes time, passion, and commitment. Tsumura’s personality fuels a sense of spiritual wisdom for our protagonists, to inspire them to follow their dreams. Following into the steps of these characters, there are also others that serves as foils, such as the ultra talented Toh Ayano. In respect, Ayano represents the egotistic side of the fashion industry. With a narcissist attitude and aiming for the best with personal reasons, Ayano is the anti-Tsumura. And even after he grows interest in the young man, they don’t collaborate together because of their polar differences. Welcome to the fashion industry where everyone has a story to tell.
But like most anime that limits itself to 12 episodes, the plot ultimately doesn’t fulfill an opportunity to tell the whole story. The manga contains well over 90+ ongoing chapters so brace yourself for content being omitted. It’s also daunting to know that outside of the main cast, the other side characters and secondary cast serves little more than extras. The only extra character that has an important relevance is Tsumura’s mother as she is a source of inspiration for the boy. It also shows how fragile life can be and the reality of hardships in our society. But if you’re really hoping to see character development outside of the main cast, then I’m afraid I got bad news.
Runway de Waratte is a representation with fashion art style that heavily relies on capturing the essence of photography and clothing. They say ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ and that’s no understatement for this anime. Every picture frame, runway walk, and public clothing display is a fashion sensation. It almost feels like the show itself is a brand. And walking on stage is the beautiful Chiyuki who puts on the variety of clothes to showcase her talent. She becomes the icon and poster girl of this show especially in later episodes. The overall look of the show remains faithful to the manga with a light art style and captures the emotive expressions of our characters. It succeeds at showcasing its visual quality through the characters telling their story. And for that, I commend this show with its efforts.
Let’s all take a moment and think about our own personal dreams. Because after watching Runway de Waratte, I’m sure you have one too and of course, it doesn’t have to do anything with the fashion industry. People tend to think some dreams are impossible but the characters in this show are living proof that we can succeed if we truly follow them through. Runway de Waratte is such an example that I hope in the future and beyond, we get more anime about the fashion world.
