”Go for It, Nakamura!” A pop BL romantic comedy with an 80’s-90’s touch will feature Chiaki Kobayashi and Yuki Sakakibara!
”Go for It, Nakamura! –Ganbare! Nakamura-kun!!-” and the 80’s-90’s retro culture boom and BL anime adaptations!
On November 9, 2024, it was announced that Chiaki Kobayashi and Yuki Sakakibara will play the roles of Okuto Nakamura and Aiki Hirose, respectively, in this BL romantic comedy with cute pictures that have a trendy Showa and Heisei pop taste and a touch reminiscent of the 80’s-90’s.
Anime adaptation of BL romantic comedy
| Description of the work quoted from the official website |
| “what to do about it, I love you, I love you…!” The main character, Nakamura Okuto, is strongly introverted high school boy who can be found anywhere. He has zero friends, and his classmate, Aiki Hirose, appears before him. What is this feeling…? He’s not even friends with Hirose yet, but every day when he sees him, he can’t stop his heart from pounding! The story of a shy high school boy, Nakamura’s “delusion and outburst over his one-sided love for Hirose” is comically expressed with a nostalgic 80’s-90’s touch. The story has gained high popularity, The Based on a comic is a royal BL love comedy by Syundei, ”Go for It, Nakamura! -Ganbare! Nakamura-kun!!-” will be adapted into an animated TV series! |
This work comically depicts the delusions and outbursts of a shy high school boy, Nakamura-kun, over his one-sided love for his classmate, Hirose Aiki, with a nostalgic touch reminiscent of the 80s and 90s.
The somewhat nostalgic design and the story that skillfully expresses the sweet and sour feelings of adolescence have captured the hearts of many readers, and the original manga has also gained high popularity.
The story begins with the shy Nakamura-kun struggling to first become friends with Hirose-kun!
The voice actors are
Okuto Nakamura: Kobayashi Chiaki
Aiki Hirose: Sakakibara Yuki
The two popular voice actors have been chosen for the role of Hisato Nakamura Okuto and Yuki Sakakibara.
In addition, veteran Seiyu Kappei Yamaguchi and Junko Takeuchi, who are well known for their roles in “Detective Conan” as Kid the phantom thief and “Naruto” as Uzumaki Naruto, respectively, have been confirmed to appear.
Anime Adaptation and Broadcast Schedule
Gambare! Nakamura-kun! will begin airing in 2025. In conjunction with the announcement of the anime adaptation, the first promotional video (PV) has been released. The PV faithfully reproduces the atmosphere of the original work, while adding movements and direction unique to the anime, and has already received high praise from fans.
The airing date has not yet been determined, so keep checking the official website and official X for additional information!
| Official Site | TV anime “Gambare! Nakamura-kun! Official site |
| Official X | @nkmr_kun_tv |
Retro culture boom in the 80s and 90s
The retro culture boom of the 80s and 90s in 2025 has become a noticeable phenomenon in various cultural fields. The retro style is now in vogue, with modern tastes, colors that are a little paler than those of the time, and sophisticated font forms, retro yet brushed up.
The Showa and Heisei retro booms, combined with imported retro booms such as the New Retro from Korea and Y2K booms , may be the result of globalization.
Showa Retro and Heisei Retro Trends in the Anime Industry
The anime industry is also paying homage to and directly influenced by the 80s and 90s.
Revival of visual style
Increased digital animation that intentionally incorporates celluloid-style textures and colors.
Re-evaluation of exaggerated movements and expressions characteristic of the 80s and 90s
Use of music
The prevalence of 80s-style background music with extensive use of synthesizers
Revival of 90’s J-POP style animation songs
Changes in storytelling
Reevaluation of the unique structure of anime of the time, such as the episodic format and long-term series structure.
Modern interpretations of genres representative of the 80s and 90s, such as robot anime and magical girl anime.
”Magilumiere Co. Ltd.” which is currently airing, incorporates long transformation scenes that are unique to magical girls like “Sailor Moon,” as well as interpretations of popular Jump manga of the past, in which newcomers gain experience and grow with their peers.
The work also incorporates modern interpretations of the genre, such as the connection of the content to a venture company.
| Related article 👉 ”Magilumiere Co. Ltd.” is a helpful business animation for venture human resource development! ｜ Seiyu Journal |
Re-animated works are scheduled to appear one after another after 2025!
The current “Ranma 1/2” also shows the influence of the 80’s and 90’s boom.
The cast members from the time when the old anime was broadcast have become veteran voice actors and have reunited to play their roles, including Mr.Kappei Yamaguchi, who was a rookie voice actor at the time.
The taste of the anime has been brushed up, and the cast is the same voice actors that fans of that time enjoyed. Anime fans should be very grateful to the voice actors for the efforts they have made to continue their work and voices!
In addition, there is a noticeable trend of other representative anime of the time, such as “Kinnikuman,” “Sailor Moon,” “Slam Dunk,” “Urusei Yatsura,” and “Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai” being brushed up in a modern style and re-animated one after the other.
In addition, while TV was the only medium for distribution at the time, today, the number of video distribution services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime is increasing, giving people around the world more opportunities to learn about the works.
The number of Japanese anime fans is expected to increase due to the revival of masterpieces.
After 2025, “Jigoku sensei Nube” and “Magic Knight Rayearth” as well as the long-running anime “ONE PIECE,” which is still being broadcast today, have been announced for re-animation.
This retro-culture boom is not merely a nostalgic trend, but is leading to the creation of a new culture that is fused with modern technology and sensibilities.
For the younger generation (Generation Z), they are seeing the culture of the time before they were born with fresh eyes and adding their own unique interpretations, creating new expressions.
(Reference) Where is Showa Retro Going–Why is it Popular with the Young People of 2025｜Culture｜Chuo Koron.jp
And in addition to “relative retro,” this phenomenon has an aspect of “absolute retro.”
“Relative retro” refers to the tendency of each generation to be attracted to the culture of the time just before they were born.
“Absolute retro” refers to a culture that has universal appeal that transcends time.
The culture of the 80s and 90s is uniquely positioned in the transition from analog to digital, and the combination of these two aspects has made it popular among a wide range of generations.
This retro boom is not merely nostalgic for the past, but also creates new values and work efficiencies by integrating modern society and technology.
For example, rather than reverting to the hand-drawn animation(cel) method of animation, animation is being re-animated using animation techniques that make full use of digital technology but still produce an analog feel.
The retro boom of the 80s and 90s will continue to evolve and become a source of new cultural creation. At the same time, it is hoped that this boom will promote intergenerational communication and cultural transmission, and foster a richer cultural fabric.
It is also a wonderful way for the younger generation to learn about past works and enjoy common topics with the original anime fans from overseas, expanding the circle of communication.
”Go for It, Nakamura! -Ganbare! Nakamura-kun!!-” About the Anime Adaptation of BL Works
(Reference) Hajimete no BL Exhibition｜Kadokawa Musashino Museum
Alpha x Ω is already “old”! The 8-year history of the Omegaverse
What is the origin of the Omegaverse, popular in the BL community [For beginners/recommended works]?
”Go for It, Nakamura! -Ganbare! Nakamura-kun!!-” is noteworthy for its touch reminiscent of the 80s and 90s, but it is also noteworthy that it is a work that has gained popularity as a BL manga.
It has a strong comical gag manga taste and may be a good introduction to BL.
Based on the sequel “More Gambare! Nakamura-kun! also exists, and it is hoped that the anime adaptation will lead to a re-evaluation of the original work and attract a new audience.
Boys’ love (BL) is a fictional genre that deals with romance between men.
Although there is much debate on gender issues such as LGBTQ, the BL genre appeared in Japan in the 1960s and 1970s.
Many people have come to regard male-on-male romance as a form of love.
In the early 2000s, BL works had the image of being read only by girls who liked BL, but nowadays many people accept it as a natural part of the romance genre, especially among women in their 20s to 40s, and it comes up as a natural topic of conversation.
In addition to the special omegaverse (alpha x omega) setting, which is said to have originated on an overseas (English-speaking) secondary creation posting site called Archive of Our Own (commonly known as AO3), BL works have been using unique sexual settings one after another.
Recently, there has been an increase in the number of BL anime works from the Chinese-speaking countries, and in Japan, BL works have been increasingly animated and dramatized, as in the case of this work.
It seems that the subculture in the BL area is moving ahead of diversity.
Gambare! Nakamura-kun! Future Development
More information is expected to be released in preparation for the start of broadcast in 2025. Character designs, additional cast members, theme song artists, and other information that fans have been eagerly awaiting will be released one by one. In addition, sales of the original manga and related goods are also expected to increase in conjunction with the anime broadcast.
This could have a ripple effect not only on the anime industry, but also on the publishing and merchandise industries.
Gambare! Nakamura-kun! has been highly anticipated by fans of the original work as well as anime fans.
Although there is still some time left before the anime begins airing in 2025, the appeal of the work is sure to be conveyed to an even greater number of people through the release of information and related events in the future. The latest animation technology will bring to life a style reminiscent of contemporary trends from the 80s and 90s, and it is hoped that this will bring a new appeal to the series.
We can’t wait to see how the sweet and sour youth and the comical development will be expressed through animation!
