About “Higehiro” in a few words:

“Higehiro: After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway” is a heartwarming anime series that follows the story of Yoshida, a 26-year-old office worker who takes in a runaway high school girl named Sayu. As Yoshida helps Sayu find a place to belong, both characters grow and learn from each other’s experiences. The series explores themes of loneliness, healing, and the importance of human connections.

Meet the characters from Higehiro

Asami Yuuki

Okay, Asami is one of those characters who sneaks up on you — sweet and kind but slightly mysterious, like she has a soft playlist you can’t find on Spotify. She’s very warm and somehow manages to be both ridiculously responsible and a little flighty (she forgets her umbrella but remembers everyone’s birthdays, which is wild). There’s a hush of protectiveness about her that makes her feel like a cozy sweater, but also she has this stubborn streak that will quietly bulldoze nonsense. I love her little quirks, like the way she hums under her breath when she’s thinking — or was that someone else? — anyway, she’s low-key brilliant and totally underrated.

Airi Gotou

Airi is the sharp, practical one who actually reads the room — and then says the thing everyone else was too polite to say, which is why you kind of adore her. She’s efficient, no-nonsense, but has these random flashes of sweetness (like buying scandalously cute snacks for people she likes, don’t tell). Sometimes she comes off a bit cold but mostly because she’s introverted and secretly worries too much; very reliable in a crisis, which is basically her superpower. Also she might have a hidden obsession with cheesy romance dramas? I feel like that’s canon in my head.

Sayu Ogiwara

Sayu is messy in the best way — shy, traumatized, fiercely private but with a stubborn little core that won’t quit, and honestly it’s heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. She’s quiet and practical (gets super good at budgeting and survival stuff) yet also has these moments of pure childlike wonder, like being obsessed with instant noodles or tiny trinkets — it’s kind of adorable. Her defenses are real and sometimes confusing, but when she trusts someone she’s the most loyal, awkwardly sweet friend you could ask for. She’s both fragile and surprisingly tough; also she forgets to eat sometimes? Classic.

Yuzuha Mishima

Yuzuha feels like that sharp-edged piece of candy — sweet but with a kick; she says things bluntly and you either laugh or get roasted, no in-between. She’s street-smart, quick-tongued, and probably the type to organize a crisis with sticky notes and a glare, and yet she’ll show up with a ridiculous snack stash at midnight just because. There’s a performative confidence but you can tell she cares in tiny practical ways (fixes your shoelace, lends you exact change), which is her own weird love language. Also I swear she has a terrible singing voice that she uses proudly, and that makes her somehow ten times more lovable.

Yoshida

Yoshida is chaotic-sad-gentle in the best possible combination — like a grumpy dog who will absolutely save you and then scold you for leaving crumbs. He looks rough around the edges, drinks too much, and says the wrong thing at the wrong time but means well and is unexpectedly competent when it matters (emergency-level competent, actually). He’s kind of a walking contradiction: lazy but protective, blunt but awkwardly sweet, and prone to terrible puns while fixing everything around him. He’s the kind of person you roll your eyes at and then cry to because he actually turned up when you needed him.

Hashimoto

Hashimoto is the office-straight-arrow who acts like he’s all rules and spreadsheets but will absolutely bend over backwards for people he cares about — the reliable dad friend, honestly. He’s organized, a bit smug about being grown-up, and loves giving unsolicited advice (which is annoying but somehow also comforting). He can be exasperatingly sensible, yet also has these small, ridiculous hobbies (collecting souvenir towels? knitting? I can’t keep track) that make him oddly endearing. Sometimes he’s annoyingly moralistic, sometimes he’s the warmest presence in the room — can’t decide, and I kind of love that about him.