The Spring 2026 Anime Preview Guide

The Ramparts of Ice

Koyuki Hikawa is an aloof high school student who struggles to get close to others and builds a wall between herself and others. Although she spends her time alone at school, for some reason, Minato Amemiya keeps getting closer to her. The frustrating story of youth follows the lives of four somewhat complicated individuals: Koyuki and Minato, plus the popular girl Miki and the laid-back boy Yōta.

The Ramparts of Ice is based on the manga series by Agasawa Tea. The anime series is streaming on Netflix on Thursdays.

Middle school is hell. At least, it was for both me and Koyuki, who appears to have spent her middle school years being bullied and “teased,” which, as she notes, is just a cute way to frame bullying. It doesn't count if they say it jokily, right? The reason for her torment seems to have been two-fold: she stood out as the short, quiet girl and her friendship with a desirable boy triggered a popular girl. It's hard to blame Koyuki for building the eponymous ramparts of ice around herself. Letting people in didn't exactly work out for her.

There's a lot this episode gets right about being in her position. The opening scenes, where we just see through her eyes as she looks at the ground or tries to shrink away from other people, are visceral. I think I knew the floors of my middle and high schools better than the walls, because it was so much safer to just look down, where you couldn't make accidental eye contact with a perky boy or incite someone into talking at you. Then, as time goes on, you learn to perfect your Ice Queen act. Koyuki's trajectory is so familiar, her coping mechanisms basically industry standard for bullied kids trying to avoid human contact.

Even better is the fact that she's not totally friendless. Miki (or “Mickey” as the dub says a few times) isn't who anyone would assume would be Koyuki's friend, but the two girls are clearly close. They don't advertise it at school, but that feels more like a product of them being in different classes than of Koyuki trying to avoid Miki. And Koyuki isn't totally averse to being friends with others, as we see with Minato and Yota; she just doesn't trust other people easily – especially not boys, and based on both the flashbacks and the post-credits scene, it's not hard to see why. I can't tell you how threatening that kind of attention can feel if you don't want it.

This level of relatability can make this hard to watch. There were definitely a few times where I was uncomfortably reminded of days I'd rather forget. But I also think that stands to be a strength of this series – Koyuki's not the only one with baggage (surely Yota has a reason for not wearing his contacts or glasses), and I do want to see where this goes. Koyuki doesn't need to melt her ice – but she might decide she's willing to cut a door in the wall.