"Ueno-san wa Bukiyou" is a manga by tugeneko that was serialized in short bursts in the biannual manga magazine "Young Animal." It was adapted into a TV anime in January 2019 and is scheduled to air mainly on TOKYO MX. The main character is a middle school student named Ueno. The story follows Ueno as she tries various ways to confess her feelings to Tanaka, the boy she has a crush on, but always fails. In this article, we'd like to introduce the charm of Yamashita, the junior colleague who supports Ueno's love, the main character of "Ueno-san wa Bukiyou."
① A first-year middle school student in the science club
Source: Miss Ueno is Clumsy ©tugeneko, Hakusensha / Miss Ueno is Clumsy Production Committee
A first-year middle school student who is a member of the science club, just like Ueno, the protagonist of "Miss Ueno is Clumsy." She wears square glasses and has slightly squinty eyes. The top part of her hair flips up like animal ears.
② Money-hungry?
Source: Miss Ueno is Awkward ©tugeneko・Hakusensha/Miss Ueno is Awkward Production Committee
As a middle school student, Yamashita is generally unable to work part-time jobs, so he seems to be obsessed with money. One day, Ueno, the head of the science club, created a portable filtration device called "Rokka-kun" and used it to filter Ueno's own urine. Ueno urges Tanaka, the man he has a crush on, to drink the filtered water, but he seems to steadfastly refuse. So Ueno has no choice but to order Yamashita to drink it. At first, Yamashita says, "Boss, that's sexual harassment. I'll sue you," but when Ueno says, "If you drink it, I'll give you 100 yen," he immediately drinks it.
③ Yamashita Shows Understanding for Ueno
Source: Miss Ueno is Awkward ©tugeneko・Hakusensha/Miss Ueno is Awkward Production Committee
Ueno, the head of the science club, has a crush on her junior, Tanaka, and Yamashita, the youngest member, watches over her from the shadows. One time, Ueno created a portable filtering device called "Rokka-kun" and was pressuring Tanaka to drink some of it, filtered from his own urine. No matter how much Tanaka begged, he continued to adamantly refuse, and Ueno finally burst into tears. Even here, Yamashita seemed to understand Ueno's slightly unusual way of expressing affection. "I'm sure the department head really wants to tell him honestly, but he's more worried than anything. He's worried that if he tells her how he feels, it won't work out... That's why he took this approach," Yamashita said.
④ Avid Reader
Source: Miss Ueno is Awkward ©tugeneko, Hakusensha / Miss Ueno is Awkward Production Committee
Yamashita, a member of the science club, is always reading books and seems to be an avid reader. Her favorite books are not novels, but rather practical ones. In the past, I have read books such as "Kappa Distribution Map," "How to Make Melon Soda," "The Fun Triangular Horse," "Introduction to Buddhist Altar Items," "Salt Diary," "14 Rules for Dealing with Sudden Astral Projections," and "Starting Water Storage Management in the Next Life."
⑤ Maintaining a neutral stance
Source: Miss Ueno is Awkward ©tugeneko・Hakusensha/Miss Ueno is Awkward Production Committee
Ueno stubbornly insists on doing things that sometimes go illogically wrong in an attempt to convey her feelings to Tanaka, while Tanaka firmly believes that something is wrong. Amidst all this, Yamashita supports Ueno's love life and sometimes sides with her, but he seems to maintain a neutral stance as much as possible. When Ueno invented the instant deodorizing device "Dash-tan," the experiment required the most potent odor source, and Tanaka's underwear was chosen as the target. However, Tanaka seemed reluctant, saying, "Why don't we each bring something?" When Ueno once asked him, "What do you think, Yamashita?", he responded, "Your argument makes sense." Although he's the youngest, he's a reliable character who can speak his mind.
⑥ Is he also kind and considerate?
Source: Miss Ueno ©tugeneko, Hakusensha / Miss Ueno Production Committee
When Ueno created the instant deodorizing device "Dash-tan," this invention irradiates the target with mysterious electromagnetic waves, instantly transporting all odorous substances to heaven. Ueno's test subjects were tights, Yamashita's socks, and Tanaka's indoor shoes. Before conducting the experiment, each participant decided to identify the odor of a different person. Ueno sniffed Yamashita's socks and said, "They smell like the socks a girl wore after school." Next, it was Tanaka's turn to sniff Ueno's tights. Ueno grinned at the humiliation of having to smell a girl's tights in front of her and give his opinion. Meanwhile, Tanaka, who sniffed Ueno's tights, exclaimed in surprise, "They stink." Ueno responded, "It wouldn't be a test if they didn't stink," but Tanaka couldn't hide his surprise, saying, "Well, I suppose so, but these... stink." "Wait... eh... does it really turn out like this?" Ueno broke out into a cold sweat and froze. Yamashita noticed this and sniffed Ueno's tights, reassuring him, "No, that's normal. My socks are like this too." However, even after smelling Yamashita's socks, Tanaka says, "No, the chief's tights smell worse," and adds, "The chief's smells like eight pairs of socks." Tanaka then starts to suggest that they should deodorize them, but Yamashita shouts, "I'm not going to deodorize them!" He also insists, "I'm not going to deodorize them because they don't smell!" and "This is a nice smell that's unique to girls!" Yamashita's kindness can be seen in this action, which was taken into consideration when Ueno had become awkward.
⑦Yamashita watches silently
Source: Ueno-san wa Bukiyou ©tugeneko・Hakusensha/Ueno-san wa Bukiyou Production Committee
The Science Club is made up of three members: Ueno, the protagonist and club president of "Ueno-san wa Bukiyou," Tanaka, a second-year junior high school student, and Yamashita, a first-year junior high school student. The science club is constantly being overwhelmed by the club president, Ueno, and his aggressive advances on his junior colleague, Tanaka. Yamashita's role is to silently watch over the club. He participates in experiments when the whole group is doing them, quietly watches when Tanaka is working alone, and sometimes listens to Ueno and encourages her. Furthermore, while he is sometimes confused by Ueno's unusual expressions of affection, he also cooperates. Despite being the youngest member of the club, Yamashita exudes the most mature aura.
⑧ Does he sometimes utter abusive language?!
Source: Miss Ueno is Awkward ©tugeneko, Hakusensha / Miss Ueno is Awkward Production Committee
Yamashita is calm and mature, but he can also be abusive at times. This happened when he invented the "II Umbrella." This device deploys an anti-gravity field upward, creating a weak gravity wall that deflects targets. This invention allows you to wear it on your head and stay dry in the rain without getting wet. Ueno climbed onto a desk to explain the "II Umbrella" and tried to get down to the floor. She slipped and hit her butt on the desk, only to find the "II Umbrella" underneath. Tanaka asked, "Are you okay, boss?" Ueno replied, "Huh? What's wrong?" and retreated to the wall. She continued to retreat further and further, but the desk hit her butt, activating the "II Umbrella." This caused her skirt to become a bit messy, leaving Ueno completely disoriented. Yamashita then came around behind Ueno to check the condition of her butt. After confirming the situation, Yamashita remarked, "It's just stuck in your pants!!" Tanaka responded, persistently asking, "What!?" and "Hey, what's stuck in there!?" At this point, Yamashita even yelled at Tanaka, his senior, saying, "Shut up, Tanaka!!" While he can be abusive at times and in certain situations, he doesn't seem like a bad person.
⑨ Good at reading the mood and understanding other people's feelings
Source: Miss Ueno is Awkward ©tugeneko・Hakusensha/Miss Ueno is Awkward Production Committee
This is the day Ueno's plan to make Tanaka eat her underwear is put into action. For this day, Ueno had been preparing by gradually replacing the dishes in Tanaka's house with smaller ones over the course of six months and reducing the school lunch ration by 20%. They also created a pair of seemingly ordinary pants made from a special fiber derived from rice flour. Hearing this, Yamashita decided to watch the proceedings unfold. Tanaka arrived at the clubroom. Ueno immediately offered Tanaka the pair of pants on a plate, saying, "Well, eat these and take a break." Tanaka began eating without hesitation. Ueno seemed surprised, as if he hadn't expected it. After finishing, Tanaka asked, "Ah, that was delicious. Are there any more?" Ueno replied ambivalently, "Well, I wonder how it was," and "It was warm, I guess." However, Yamashita realized that he had hidden a pair of pants to reveal the secret, separate from the ones he was going to eat, and from Ueno's reaction, he realized that he hadn't really expected them to be eaten. Realizing this, he quietly watched, hoping that Ueno would make up his mind and realize that what he had just eaten was "Ueno Pants." Yamashita rarely speaks, but that doesn't mean he's completely unthinking. He seems to be able to read the situation and keep quiet, even while predicting what will happen next.
⑩ The voice actor for the anime version is Kageyama Tomo!
Source: Miss Ueno is Awkward ©tugeneko, Hakusensha / Miss Ueno is Awkward Production Committee
In the anime version of Miss Ueno is Awkward, Yamashita is voiced by Akari Kageyama. Previous roles include Nana Ebina in Himouto! Umaru-chan and Beatrice in Princess Principal.
Yamashita's Charms: A Summary!
Source: Miss Ueno is Awkward ©tugeneko, Hakusensha / Miss Ueno is Awkward Production Committee
What did you think? This time, we introduced Yamashita, the junior colleague who supports the love life of the protagonist of "Miss Ueno is Awkward." As he quietly watches over the course of Ueno's love, he shows a calmness that is hard to believe for the youngest member. This is one of his charming traits. Be sure to keep an eye on Yamashita as well. Thank you for reading to the end.
