Minami-kun no Koibito - My Little Lover is a 2015/2016 Japanese drama about a peppy high school girl who has a crush on a fellow classmate who is both smart and good-looking.
Synopsis[]
| “ | Chiyomi is a high school student. The only sour note in her life is her childhood sweetheart, Shunichi. One day she races out of her house and bumps into him. Then, the storm is suddenly approaching and she remembers how happy when she was a child. After that, she understands she is reduced to a paltry 16cm in height! Will she return to normal size? | ” |
—Official Amazon Prime Description[1] | ||
It's not quite what she meant when she said she wanted to be small again.
Chiyomi Horikiri (Yamamoto Maika) is a peppy high school girl who has a crush on Shunichi Minami (Nakagawa Taishi), a fellow classmate who is both smart and good-looking. They used to be very close when they were small kids and each other's first love, but they grew apart after Shunichi's father disappeared and changed his outlook on life.
On a stormy night, Chiyomi has an argument with her parents and runs out of her house. While trying to avoid getting wet, Chiyomi wishes that she could go back to the happier time of her childhood. But suddenly, Chiyomi shrinks in size and becomes 15cm tall! When Shunichi happens to come by and sees the tiny Chiyomi, he takes her home with him.
Can Shunichi figure out how to help Chiyomi return to her normal size or is Chiyomi doomed to live out her life as Shunichi's unseen companion?[2]
Cast[]
- Nakagawa Taishi as Shunichi Minami
- Former childhood friend and sweetheart of Chiyomi who used to practice kendo and whose father left them when he was younger. He is preparing himself for medical school— he hopes to become a doctor
- Yamamoto Maika as Horikiri Chiyomi
- A member of the dance club who writes her own fantasy stories, which she posts online in installments. She is the former childhood friend and sweetheart of Shunichi. She shrinks to 15cm after wishing to go back to her childhood days after a fight she had with her parents.
- Suzuki Mirai as Takagi Riku
- Nakayama Erina as Nomura Sayori
- Yoshikawa Ai as Horikiri Asuka
- Arimori Narimi as Minami Emiko
- Tsunogae Kazue as Minami Tomiko
- Miyakawa Ichirota as Minami Noboru
- Akimoto Naomi as Horikiri Ritsuko
- Watanabe Mai as Teacher Ono
- Kusano Ini as Teacher Sasaki
- Tomioka Koichiro as Sakaizawa
- Imanara Takayuki as Sano Kentaro
- Arai Yuuka as Sano Sawako
- Ohori Kouichi as Horikiri Jouji
- Hayashi Kazuyoshi as Nomura
- Kawakita Ren as Horikiri Asuka
Soundtrack[]
Episodes[]
| Episode | Aired |
|---|---|
| Episode 01 | November 9, 2015 |
| High-school seniors Chiyomi and Shunichi were once childhood sweethearts, but have since drifted apart and have not spoken for years. Chiyomi is initially pleased when her friend, Riku, confesses his feelings for her, but her joy is soon tempered by a chance sighting of Shunichi acting intimately with classmate Sayori. Suddenly, Chiyomi realizes that she has never completely gotten over Shunichi. | |
| Episode 02 | November 16, 2015 |
| Caught in a rainstorm, Chiyomi reminisces about how much happier she was when she was a child and expresses a wish "to be little again." Unfortunately, she is shrunk down to 15 centimeters! The next day, Shunichi discovers her in a park and starts pinching himself in disbelief! Although her disappearance causes her family to fret, Chiyomi begs a bewildered Shunichi to harbor her in his room. | |
| Episode 03 | November 23, 2015 |
| Chiyomi decides to lie to her parents and say that she is attending a dance workshop in Tokyo. In the meantime, Shunichi sneaks Chiyomi into a local shrine that is home to a sacred mallet. According to a legend that Shunichi's grandmother once told him, a thumb-sized princess attained human height with the help of this mallet. Shunichi hopes the mallet will save Chiyomi, but ends up disappointed. | |
| Episode 04 | November 30, 2015 |
| Shunichi initially rejects a plea from his friend Sho to rejoin the kendo team for an important match, but changes his mind after being encouraged by Chiyomi and his mother, Emiko. Although his team enters the match as underdogs, Shunichi puts up a good fight. In the end, however, he is defeated. As he wallows in self-pity behind the gym, Chiyomi finds herself unable to find words to comfort him. | |
| Episode 05 | December 7, 2015 |
| Dissatisfied with Shunichi's efforts to make clothes from a handkerchief, Chiyomi decides to head home and sneak out some outfits she used to dress her dolls with. After pulling this off, she returns to Shunichi's home-and is startled to find a mysterious couple there! Believing them to be burglars, she tries to drive them away, and eventually succeeds by playing a CD at deafening volume. | |
| Episode 06 | December 14, 2015 |
| As Chiyomi hides in the chest pocket of Shunichi's uniform, her eyes meet Takagi's, and she quickly hides herself. On the other hand, Sayori is shocked to learn that her father, a hospital director, has remarried without her knowledge. Seeing this, Emiko takes Sayori to her home, and she spends the night there. That night, Sayori comes into Shunichi's room and tries to kiss him. | |
| Episode 07 | January 11, 2016 |
| Chiyomi is discovered by Shunichi's grandmother, Tomiko. She decides to play along with Tomiko, who believes her to be the thumb-sized princess. Then, her mother, Ritsuko, comes to check up on Tomiko, who has been acting strangely recently. Hearing Ritsuko complain that her husband never proposed to her, Chiyomi devises a plan to have her father propose after 18 years of marriage. | |
| Episode 08 | January 18, 2016 |
| Tomiko falls ill and is taken to the hospital. Luckily, it is nothing serious, and she is admitted for a checkup. Shunichi is relieved, but soon after, Chiyomi is kidnapped by Miyu, a girl who is hospitalized there. Upon hearing that Miyu is worried about being hated by her mother, Miho, Chiyomi thinks of conveying Miho's true feelings to Miyu. Meanwhile, Sayori calls Shunichi out to the hallway. | |
| Episode 09 | January 25, 2016 |
| After reading Chiyomi's online novel "Chobiko in a Pocket," Takagi starts to think that the giant man the main character (Chiyomi) is in love with is Shunichi. He goes to Shunichi and demands an explanation. Afterwards, upon hearing that there is more to the legend of the thumb-sized princess, Shunichi and Chiyomi embark on a journey to get her back to normal. | |
| Episode 10 | February 1, 2016 |
| Shunichi and Chiyomi believe in the legend of the thumb-sized princess and watch the sunrise at Akebono-misaki Cape, but Chiyomi does not go back to normal. Disappointed and not wanting to cause any further trouble, Chiyomi says goodbye to Shunichi. He is shocked and ends up getting hit by a car. Ritsuko, who had been following him, discovers the tiny Chiyomi, and they rush to the hospital. | |
Production[]
The drama was produced by the same production team behind Mischievous Kiss: Love in Tokyo and Mischievous Kiss: Love in Tokyo 2.[2]
Trivia[]
- The drama was based on the manga series Minami kun no Koibito by Shungiku Uchida.[5]
Gallery[]
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Official Poster
Video Gallery[]