The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses

Template:Nihongo is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kōji Seo. It has been serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine since February 2021, and has been compiled in 17 tankōbon volumes as of October 2024. An anime television series adaptation produced by Tezuka Productions aired from April to June 2023. A second season aired from July to September 2024.

Plot

The series is set in Miura, Kanagawa, and follows Hayato Kasukabe, an orphan who had moved to Tokyo for high school. After passing the exams for the University of Tokyo, he returns to Miura after being notified of the death of his grandmother, with the intention to close her struggling café, Cafe Terrace Familia. There, he discovers five women who had been working for the café, as well as living under his grandmother's care. After seeing their struggles and learning of their bond with his grandmother, he decides to re-open the café for business.

Characters

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The 18-year-old protagonist.Template:Efn He was orphaned at 3 years old after his parents died in an accident, and then raised by his grandmother, Sachiko Kasukabe. He leaves for Tokyo to study, following an argument with Sachiko. After her death, he decides to come home, initially to close down the café, but later on decides to keep it open. He bears a striking resemblance to his late grandfather, Masahiro.

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A 19-year-old part-timer at Familia, who is studying at a fashion school. She has a tsundere personality. She has a twin sister named Kikka. She goes overseas to France in order to study fashion, but returns to Familia after a month, having been let go from her work-study.

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An 17-year-old part-timer at Familia and a childish high school student, she is skilled in karate. A running gag in the series is her wearing masks to prank her co-workers with them somehow performing moves from the game Street Fighter (especially both Shoryuken and Tatsumaki Senpukyaku). Being airheaded, she once dropped a dumbbell in Hayato's laptop and smartphone. On occasion, Hayato would call her "Tsuruga-nidouhei" ("Private Tsuruga").

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A 20-year-old part-timer at Familia and a college student. She is the granddaughter of a famous Shōwa era actress, and used to be a popular child actress herself, until her parents' acrimonious divorce.

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A 20-year-old part-timer at Familia and Hayato's childhood friend. She is the daughter of a Michelin star chef who had studied under Sachiko Kasukabe. A running gag is Shiragiku's penchant for doing lewd things when drunk, in addition to having a fetish for smells. She is nicknamed "Kiku-chan" by Riho.

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A 19-year-old part-timer at Familia, and the vocalist and guitarist of a band, Mussy Moustache Girls. She comes from a rich family, who disapprove of her singing career. She is the heir to the Hououji household.

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Hayato's grandmother, who took care of Hayato after he was orphaned. Her death before the start of the series is what brings Hayato back to Familia. She had worked as a waitress in the previous iteration of the Familia café under Masahiro.

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Sachiko's husband, and Hayatos's grandfather. His grandson resembles him. He was the previous owner of the Familia café, and had passed away some time before Hayato's birth.

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Ouka's younger twin sister. She is a Tokyo University student, and was estranged from Ouka at the beginning of the series.

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A former ambassador, he is a debt collector who is the main antagonist of the series, him having a deep-seated grudge against the Kasukabe family. He does everything in his power (even invoking his ties with the police) to be a thorn in the side of Hayato and the Familia café, including creating a copycat rival of the café. He is deeply hated by everyone who knows him.

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A 19-year-old part-timer brought in to staff the copycat Terrace Café. She is also an aspiring author.

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A third-year college student brought in to staff the copycat Terrace Cafe. Because of her familial roots (their family owns a top restaurant), she would eventually become the head chef of the reopened diner when Shigehisa fired them all unceremoniously. One of her behaviors include turning into a different character when wearing a chef's hat, resembling that of Ryo Kurokiba from Shokugeki no Soma.

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A 19 year-old idol brought in to staff the copycat Terrace Cafe. When Shigehisa fired them and her agency fired her due to an incident, she becomes a YouTuber and helped reopen the café with help from Hayato. She considers Riho as her senpai.

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An 18 year-old traveler brought in to staff the copycat Terrace Café. After Shigehisa fired her and her co-waitresses, she later would work at the Chiyoda Diner. She is nicknamed "Tina".

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A 20-year-old part-timer brought in to staff the copycat Terrace Café. She is also an amateur model. She now works at the Chiyoda Diner. She tends to openly flirt with Hayato much to the jealousy of the Familia girls.

Media

Manga

The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses is written and illustrated by Kōji Seo. It began serialization in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine on February 17, 2021. The first tankōbon volume was released on May 17, 2021; as of October 17, 2024, the series has been compiled in 17 volumes. A special edition of the tenth volume was released to celebrate the character Akane Hououji topping the popularity poll, and is accompanied by a pamphlet titled "Akanebon", which features illustrations and bonus comics.

In September 2022, Kodansha USA announced that they licensed the series for an English digital release; the first volume was released on October 18.

Chapters not yet in tankōbon format

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Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced on September 8, 2022. It was produced by Tezuka Productions and directed by Satoshi Kuwabara, with scripts written by Keiichirō Ōchi, character designs handled by Masatsune Noguchi, and music composed by Shu Kanematsu and Miki Sakurai. The series aired from April 8 to June 24, 2023, on the Super Animeism programming block on all JNN affiliates, including MBS and TBS.Template:Efn The opening theme song is Template:Nihongo performed by NeRiAme, while the ending theme song is Template:Nihongo performed by Miki Satō. Crunchyroll streamed the series worldwide except Asia.

Following the final episode of the first season, a second season was announced, which aired from July 5 to September 20, 2024, on the Super Animeism Turbo programming block.Template:Efn The opening theme song is "Charge!" performed by Hikari Kodama, while the ending theme song is Template:Nihongo performed by VTuber Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino (a.k.a. Pepechi).

Reception

As of April 2023, the series has 1 million copies in circulation.

Anime News Network had three editors review the first episode of the anime: James Beckett found nothing "actively terrible or migrane-inducing" with the series opener but felt it was "played out and low effort," saying it lacked more lively animation to make it a "pure, shameless comedy" and recommended that people seek out "funnier comedies and sweeter romances" throughout the spring season. Nicholas Dupree commended the first half for giving its audience the cheesecake fanservice with "professional efficiency", but criticized the second half for Hayato's "extremely hackneyed" family story clashing with said fanservice, noting the cast were not "well-rounded" and "too unlikable" to deliver the drama and comedy respectively. He concluded that "there doesn't seem to be much else in the way of ecchi shows this season, so if that's your bag, I guess you can do the opposite of reading Playboy for the articles." Richard Eisenbeis respected the premiere for being an unashamed "good ol' fanservice harem rom-com" and singled out Akane as the most interesting out of the female cast, concluding: "With solid character designs, and at least one character that genuinely intrigues me, I might give this show another chance next week. I mean, it's definitely a fanservice anime, but part of me wonders if it might be something more."

Eisenbeis reviewed the complete anime series in 2024 and gave it an overall C+ grade. He criticized the first half for being "painfully cliché" with its tired setup and one-note, cookie-cutter caricatures, but praised the second half for Hayato's "arrogant asshole" character helping to guide the female cast to confront their personal issues and make them more than stereotypes, concluding that: "Ultimately, The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses has left me conflicted. The first few episodes are so boring and uninspired that I can't, in good conscience, recommend the anime. However, at the same time, the back half is good enough that I am honestly looking forward to the second season."

External links

• The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses official manga website at Pocket Shōnen Magazine Template:In lang
• The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses official anime website Template:In lang
• Template:Twitter Template:In lang
• Template:Anime News Network