is a Japanese manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 series written and illustrated by Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 manga author

Mangaka

is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...

 Yumi Nakata. The manga was first serialized in the Japanese seinen

Seinen

is a subset of manga that is generally targeted at a 20–30 year old male audience, but the audience can be older with some manga aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. In Japanese, the word Seinen means "young man" or "young men" and is not suggestive of sexual matters...

 manga magazine Comic High!

Comic High!

is a Japanese seinen manga magazine pushlished on a monthly basis by Futabasha. It was launched as a special issue of Weekly Manga Action but has since become its own independent monthly anthology...

on January 22, 2007, and is published by Futabasha

Futabasha

is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Higashigokenchō, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.-List of magazines published by Futabasha:*Bravo Ski*Comic Seed!*Futabasha Web Magazine*Manga Action ZERO*Tōji Rō*Getter Robot Saga...

. An anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 adaptation began airing on January 4, 2010 in Japan. The anime is also being streamed with English subtitles on the Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll is an American website and international online community focused on streaming East Asian media including anime, manga, drama, music, electronic entertainment, and auto racing content...

 online video service in North America, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Story

The story revolves around Nayu Hayama, who embarrasses herself on the first day of middle school by accidentally showing her adult panties. As two other students, Yako Jingūji and Haruka Shiraishi, hear rumors of her engaging in "enjo kōsai

Enjo kosai

means "compensated dating" and is a practice which originated in Japan where older men give money and/or luxury gifts to attractive women for their companionship and, possibly, for sexual favors. The female participants range from primarily school-aged girls to housewives. A common misconception is...

", or compensated dating (which often is viewed as being close to or the same as prostitution), they investigate. They soon learn that Nayu is an 'underwear monitor' who tests new underwear products, and has great insight on what underwear people should wear. Nayu hopes to help everyone get through the vital stage of their life by opening an underwear club.

Characters

The protagonist of the story, who also acts as an 'underwear monitor'. She takes keen interest in underwear research. As a result, she is pretty shameless when it comes to her underwear, or anyone else's for that matter. Determined to inform people about the necessities of underwear, she forms the Underwear Appreciation Society with the encouragement of Hiroki.

A petite girl with a generally fierce composure. Her family runs a kendo dojo, and thanks to her father's training, Yako is quite skilled in the way of the sword. She prefers to keep a tough image, and has a hard time admitting embarrassing things- such as liking cute or "girly" things.

A busty girl and Yako's best friend. She was ostracized back in grade school for developing at a young age. She often has trouble with males, as the boys at school tend to mock or objectify her because of her bust size. Helping to raise her three younger brothers, Nayu and Yako are often in awe of her motherly nature. She appears to have some romantic feelings for Nayu, leading some to suspect her of being a lesbian.

A serious boy who easily gets embarrassed at the sight of underwear. He has a one-sided rivalry with Nayu on school grades as he always ends up being second to her. Over time, he seems to have a small crush on her (which he may be unaware of). Despite his conflicted feelings (for both Nayu and the Association), he remains loyal to the group. He gets angry with anyone (usually other boys) who think he joined the group for perverted reasons.

A girl from a rich family who seems to be rather knowledgeable about the seedier side of underwear, and looks down upon Nayu for her naivety. She considers herself as adult and even breaks the school rules just to look like one. She may harbor some resentment towards her mother, believing that she has to "surpass" her.

A young and very busty teacher at Nayu's school. She seems unaware of her appearance at first, wearing clothes that is either loose or too tight. She later becomes the adviser of the Underwear Appreciation Society. She is generally nervous, but admires Nayu for giving her courage about her femininity. She seems to have a crush on Keigo, who was her senpai in high school.

Nayu's step-brother who has been looking after her since their parents died. He works as an underwear designer and often gets Nayu to test out his latest products. Because of his line of work, some characters (especially Haruku and Yako) believe that he is a pervert when first meeting him. Though the girls quickly become much more at ease around him.

Anime

The anime adaptation, produced by ZEXCS

Zexcs

is a Japanese animation studio located in Koganei, Tokyo, Japan. It was established on January 23, 1998 and is known for doing the animation production of a number of series such as MY HiMe, Sister Princess, and Speed Grapher...

, aired on AT-X

AT-X (company)

is a Japanese anime television network owned by . AT-X, Inc. was founded on June 26, 2000 as a subsidiary of TV Tokyo Medianet, which, in turn, is a subsidiary of TV Tokyo. Its headquarters are in Minato, Tokyo. AT-X network broadcasts anime via satellite and cable since December 24, 1997.AT-X is...

 on January 4, 2010. It uses two pieces of theme music; the opening theme is "Choose Bright!!" by Minori Chihara

Minori Chihara

is a Japanese voice actress who has had roles in several anime series, and a J-pop singer. As a seiyū, she works under the agency Avex Planning & Development, while in her musical career, she has been signed under King Records and is currently with Lantis...

, Minako Kotobuki

Minako Kotobuki

is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. She is best known for her role in K-On!. Her career as a musician began with her performance of the opening and ending themes of the anime series K-On! in April 2009...

, Sayuri Yahagi

Sayuri Yahagi

is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo, Japan. She has also been the narrator of Animax since October 2007.-Anime:*Asu no Yoichi! - Sakon Saginomiya*Asura Cryin - Ania Fortuna*Bakugan Battle Brawlers - Ai...

 and Yoko Hikasa

Yōko Hikasa

is a Japanese voice actress from Kanagawa who is affiliated with I'm Enterprise. Hikasa aspired to become a voice actress after watching Sailor Moon, and later attended Nihon Narration Engi Kenkyūjo, a voice actor training school. She is a member of the five-girl pop music group Ro-Kyu-Bu!, along...

, while the ending theme is "Shy Girls" by Chihara, Kotobuki, Yahagi and Hikasa. The last episode uses "We Know" by Chihara, Kotobuki, Yahagi, and Hikasa as an end theme.

Episodes

#	Episode title	Original air date

External links

• Chu-Bra!! anime at TBS
  Tokyo Broadcasting System
  , TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....