is a Japanese seinen manga series created by Koharu Sakuraba, the author of Minami-ke. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's Bessatsu Young Magazine from 2002 to 2003, and the twenty-two chapters were later collected together in a single tankōbon volume along with two extra chapters and published on November 11, 2003 by Kodansha. The main premise of Kyō no Go no Ni is the school life of the fifth year class 5-2 (age 11-12), focusing on an elementary-school boy named Ryōta Satō.
In 2006, Shinkūkan produced a four-episode original video adaptation (OVA) directed by Makoto Sokuza. The OVAs contain a special audio track in which the female characters' voices are replaced by members of the idol unit Sweet Kiss and were released in two versions: original and special edit. Xebec produced a thirteen episode anime adaptation directed by Tsuyoshi Nagasawa, unrelated to the OVAs. It first began airing on TV Tokyo between October 5, 2008 and December 28, 2008. an OVA version of the anime was released in 2009, directed by Tsuyoshi Nagasawa, featuring the same cast as the anime.
Plot
Ever since their childhood, Ryōta Satō and Chika Koizumi have been close friends, going so far as to pinky swear to marry each other. The story begins when they are both now in their fifth year of elementary school in class 5-2 together with their group of friends Yūki Asano, Kazumi Aihara, Natsumi Hirakawa, Megumi Hidaka, Kōji Imai, Tsubasa Kawai. While making his way to sixth year, much to his own dismay, Ryōta is often forced unwillingly into compromising situations.
Characters
Ryōta is the protagonist of the series and the childhood friend of Chika, having a crush on her ever since. In the past the two often played together, even sleeping together in the same bed, and promised to marry each other once they had grown into adults. He is best friends with Kōji and good friends with Tsubasa Kawai and often challenges Kōji to see which of the two is better. He enjoys eating and playing games together with the rest of the class. Although he is not very intelligent, he is a kind person and tries to help others when he can, which often unwilling and unintentionally trap him in comprising situations that earn him a beating from either Chika or Yūki. He is naive to the desires of normal males as he is not especially interested in relationships between males and females. Once he falls asleep, not only is it extremely hard to waken him once more, but for anyone who comes into close proximity to him, he will grab them and do something strange to them before they too fall asleep. Not only that, he is also a bad sleeper as he frequently rolls around in his sleep. His seat number is 12.
Chika is the childhood friend of Ryōta and in their romantic relationship with each other, she often takes the lead role. She has a crush on him and despite her best attempts, she is unable to get Ryōta to notice. She is fond of her childhood memories that she shares with Ryōta and in the end, she up take his hand. She is usually level-headed but not always, physically abusing Ryōta should he "deserve" it (decided by her jumping to conclusions). She also has a mischievous spirit, unafraid to play pranks on Ryōta, no matter what position they leave him in. Her number on the class list is 10.
She is bright, talkative, and active. She enjoys chatting, gossiping, and talking about things such as fashion and frequently worries about the size of her breasts. Though despite having a strong sense of responsibility, she is known for being unable to keep secrets. She has a crush on Kōji and gives him chocolates for Valentine's Day. She is a terrible cook. Her number on the class list is 2.
She is quiet, mysterious, and sadistic. She is often seen taking notes down in her observational diary on whatever happens to interest her at the time rather than participating in physical activities along with everyone else. However, no one, not even Chika whom she has been friends with for a long time, has ever seen her laugh. Like Ryouta, she is a member of the health committee. Her number on the class list is 1.
She is a short, sporty and athletic girl who can beat anyone at sports. Although she generally does not have desires, when she finds a goal, she is able to single-mindely pursue it. Although she is generally a calm person, she is nyctophobic. She is very innocent, often being stopped by her friends from undressing in public in front of boys. She is a tomboy and refers to herself in a very masculine way as she uses the male-singular pronoun to refer to herself and always dresses in boys clothing except during the epilogue of the anime. Her number on the class list is 17.