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A Star Brighter Than The Sun First Episode Impressions from Anime Expo 2025

A good romance can be hard to make sometimes because a lot of them are presented the same way. Often you have a shy girl looking up to a popular boy and them needing to learn to come into their own. I watch so many shows exactly like that yet I was far from bored from this premiere of A Star Brighter Than the Sun at Anime Expo. If anything, the audience and I found ourselves smiling and laughing at every joke.

I think that comes down to just how genuine and full of heart this feels. The protagonist, Sae, is insecure about her height and is worried about being seen as nothing more than that. The last person she hopes would see her like that is her childhood friend Koki, the one who shines so brightly, both figuratively and literally. However, this childhood friend status isn't something that's there as a throwaway line or for the sake of creating tension due to a falling out. These are two childhood friends that did care for each other a lot during their elementary school days, but slightly drifted apart due to being in different classes in middle school. However, all it took was one simple excuse for them to reignite that friendship—and you fully believe that they never stopped being friends despite that absence of time.

If there's one major praise I have to give this first episode, it's in how economical it was. There is so much that happens in this first episode for the sake of setting up what appears to be the main status quo of characters living out a high school life. Everything in this first episode takes place during their third year of middle school. We get so many glimpses into their past, their current relationship, and a firm idea of how strong the connection is going to be moving forward. It's really genuine and full of heart—which is amplified by the fantastic production and directing.

Aya Kobayashi is acting as director here and if you're familiar with her other works like My Love Story With Yamada-kun at Lv999, you can see a lot of similarities. The comedic timing with the editing and directing was spot on, the facial expressions are really cute and everything comes off as charming. I would argue a lot of techniques that were used in Yamada work better here due to the metaphors of someone that shines so brightly. Apparently, we weren't the only ones that were invested in our two main leads, as the Aya and the producer Yōko Shiraishi were split on who the production staff felt drawn to more.

I am really looking forward to this series when it comes out later this year. Not only does it check off a lot of boxes that I look for in a good solid romance, but it's also just filled with so much heart. Also the staff mentioned that the show's title will make sense by the end. I don't know if that means that the full season will be a full complete story, or if it will conclude on a definitive chapter of their lives, but either way, I am looking forward to it—and so should you.

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ANN's coverage of Anime Expo 2025 is sponsored by Yen Press and Ize Press!