In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki (Japanese: くノ一ツバキの胸の内, Hepburn: Kunoichi Tsubaki no Mune no Uchi) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Sōichirō Yamamoto. It was serialized in Shogakukan's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Sunday from January 2018 to May 2023, with its chapters collected in nine tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation produced by CloverWorks aired from April to July 2022.
Contents
Plot
Tsubaki, a kunoichi and the best student of the Akane Class, lives in a village where women are not allowed to have contact with men. However, she has a curiosity about them that she wants to keep hidden.
Characters
Akane Class
Tsubaki (ツバキ)
Voiced by: Yūko Natsuyoshi
Sazanka (サザンカ)
Voiced by: Miyari Nemoto
Asagao (アサガオ)
Voiced by: Sayumi Suzushiro
Rindou (リンドウ, Rindō)
Voiced by: Konomi Kohara
A newcomer to the village. She initially presented herself as a boy. She is usually seen wearing a mask.
Benisumomo (ベニスモモ)
Voiced by: Aya Yamane
Mizubashou (ミズバショウ, Mizubashō)
Voiced by: Manaka Iwami
Touwata (トウワタ, Tōwata)
Voiced by: Miyu Tomita
Hinagiku (ヒナギク)
Voiced by: Marika Kōno
A haughty girl who loves to use her cuteness to take advantage of others. She cries when others surpass her cuteness.
Kibushi (キブシ)
Voiced by: Maria Naganawa
Oniyuri (オニユリ)
Voiced by: Yō Taichi
Mokuren (モクレン)
Voiced by: Hina Yōmiya
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Sōichirō Yamamoto, In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki was serialized in Shogakukan's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Sunday from January 12, 2018, to May 12, 2023. Shogakukan collected its chapters in nine tankōbon volumes, released from July 12, 2018, to August 9, 2023.
Anime
On November 9, 2021, Aniplex announced an anime television series adaptation produced by CloverWorks. The series was directed by Takuhiro Kodachi, with the scripts handled by Konomi Shugo, character designs by Yousuke Okuda, and music composition by Yūsuke Shirato. It aired from April 10 to July 3, 2022, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme song is "Highlight - Highlight" (ハイライト・ハイライト, Hairaito Hairaito) by the Peggies. For each episode, different cast members performed a version of the ending theme song "Akane-gumi Katsudou Nisshi" (あかね組活動日誌) as their respective teams. Crunchyroll streamed the series. Medialink has licensed the series in Asia-Pacific.
Reception
Manga
In 2020, the manga was one of the 50 nominees for the sixth Next Manga Awards.
Anime
The anime adaptation was one of the 100 nominees for the Anime Fan Award during the 2023 Tokyo Anime Award Festival, placing fourth behind Tiger & Bunny 2, Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love 1000%, and Mechamato.
Anime News Network reviewers Caitlin Moore, Richard Eisenbeis, Nicholas Dupree, James Beckett, and Rebecca Silverman greatly criticized the premise, calling it "contrived, uncreative, and unfunny". While some praise was given to its art style, the series was also criticized for its "questionable artistic decisions", referring to the character designs and outfit choices.