2.43 Mini Anime: inside story

Grand Blue Dreaming

Iori Kitahara moves to the coastal town of Izu to start his college life, full of dreams about the perfect university experience. He moves into his uncle's diving shop, Grand Blue, expecting sun, sea, and beautiful women. Instead, he is immediately dragged into the wild drinking parties of the local Diving Club, led by upperclassmen Shinji Tokita and Ryuujirou Kotobuki. His cousin Chisa Kotegawa catches him in the act and loses all respect for him. Now Iori must navigate his new life, balancing his desire for a normal college experience with the chaos of his eccentric new friends. As he reluctantly joins their bizarre antics, he also begins to learn scuba diving, discovering a world beyond

Free! -Iwatobi Swim Club-

Haruka Nanase has always felt most at home in the water, and swimming has been his greatest passion since childhood. In elementary school, he won a relay race alongside his friends Makoto Tachibana, Nagisa Hazuki, and Rin Matsuoka. After that victory, the four boys went their separate ways. Years later, as high school students, they begin to cross paths again. But Rin has changed: he now attends a different school and seems determined to prove he is a better swimmer than Haruka. Stung by the bitter reunion, Haruka, Makoto, and Nagisa decide to revive the Iwatobi High School Swim Club. They recruit Rei Ryugazaki, a former track athlete, to complete the team. Together, they train hard for the

Blue Box

Taiki Inomata is a first-year high school student dedicated to badminton, training every morning in the school gym. His motivation is partly fueled by his crush on Chinatsu Kano, a second-year star player on the girls' basketball team who practices at the same time. Despite her seemingly distant demeanor, Taiki slowly finds ways to get closer to her. When Chinatsu's family has to move abroad for work, she decides to stay in Japan to pursue her dream of competing at the national level. She ends up living with Taiki's family, as his mother is a longtime friend of hers. Now sharing a home with the girl he admires, Taiki resolves to improve his own game and qualify for nationals, hoping to grow

How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?

Hibiki Sakura is a gluttonous high school girl who loves eating but is starting to worry about her expanding waistline. After failing to exercise on her own, she decides to join a nearby gym called Silverman Gym. There, she meets the student council president and school idol, Akemi Souryuuin, who turns out to be a passionate muscle enthusiast. At the gym, Hibiki is overwhelmed by the intense bodybuilders and athletes training there, but she is captivated by the handsome trainer, Naruzou Machio. On a whim, she signs up for a membership, unaware of the challenges ahead. Now, Hibiki must navigate the world of fitness, dealing with grueling workouts, eccentric gym members, and her own lack of m

Chihayafuru

Chihaya Ayase has spent most of her life supporting her older sister's modeling career. When she meets a quiet classmate named Arata Wataya, he introduces her to the world of competitive karuta, a traditional Japanese card game based on the Ogura Hundred Poets anthology. Chihaya discovers she has a natural talent for the sport and becomes determined to become the best female player in Japan, known as the Queen of Karuta. After being separated from Arata and drifting apart from her childhood friend Taichi Mashima, Chihaya enters high school still passionate about karuta. She decides to form a karuta club at her school, hoping to reunite with her old friends and pursue her dream. With Taichi'

Umamusume: Pretty Derby

In a world much like our own, legendary racehorses are reborn as "horse girls"—girls with equine ears and tails who possess incredible speed and endurance. These horse girls train at Tokyo's Tracen Academy, where they aim for fame and fortune as both racers and idols. Special Week, a horse girl from the countryside, transfers to Tracen Academy with a promise to her mother to become the best horse girl in Japan. Upon arriving, she is captivated by the graceful running style of Silence Suzuka and becomes determined to race alongside her. Recruited into Silence Suzuka's team, Spica, Special Week begins her journey to the top, one lap at a time.