Just Because!

As another school year begins drawing to a close, the third-year high school students move steadily toward the next milestone of their lives: graduation. Among them are Mio Natsume, a girl burdened with lingering feelings; Hazuki Morikawa, a member of the concert band but distant from the others; and Haruto Souma, an athlete obsessed with baseball. Meanwhile, second-year student Ena Komiya seeks to revive the photography club to its former glory, refusing to let the organization be disbanded. Though this group lacks a strong connection with one another, their lives suddenly cross paths with the arrival of a third-year transfer student.

While a transfer so close to graduation is unusual for most, it is business as usual for Eita Izumi. Due to his father's work, he has never been able to stay in one place for very long. But as luck would have it, their most recent relocation has returned Eita to his hometown for his final semester of high school. For better or worse, it also sparks the rekindling of old relationships left behind in the past.

With graduation already causing its own share of anxieties, Eita's sudden arrival brings these students' carefree days to an abrupt end. Long-forgotten memories, deeply buried emotions, and inspiring new passions—everything is brought to light in their bittersweet final semester.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Komiya, Ena Main

Lynn Japanese

Natsume, Mio Main

Isobe, Karin Japanese

Izumi, Eita Main

Ichikawa, Aoi Japanese

Morikawa, Hazuki Main

Yoshino, Yuna Japanese

Souma, Haruto Main

Murata, Taishi Japanese

Inui, Yoriko Supporting

Sakuraba, Arisa Japanese

Suzuki, Momoka Supporting

Kondou, Reina Japanese

Saruwatari, Junpei Supporting

Amasaki, Kouhei Japanese

Satou, Mayuko Supporting

Senbongi, Sayaka Japanese

Yamaguchi, Kaoru Supporting

Kobayashi, Daiki Japanese

Kaneko, Hirotaka Producer

Okamura, Takema Producer

Oogami, Yuuma Producer

Oomori, Shinji Producer

Reviews

Feb 8, 2026

Sid_1

Recommended

Just Because was one of the romances of last season I was most looking forward to. One of the reasons being that it strived to depict life for high school students during that interim period between college exams and graduation. Mixed with the problems of adolescent romance, it looked as though this could be a series that accomplished something different. I think we have far too many school romances that focus on the whole of high school life or the middle of it. They may depict college exams and graduation, but they don’t start their story there. This turbulent time adds to the drama and ... adds to the stress the characters are feeling as well as giving a sense of limbo to their relationships. Even with the problems surrounding this series production, I did find myself enjoying the ride through mundane life and romance.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jun 1, 2025

Northpointe

Mixed Feelings

REVIEW FROM SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT LIKE TROPES

Just Because! is an average, uninspiring romance anime. The characters are not very notable, especially the main character who has the personality of a cardboard box. The plot is extremely predictable and does not scratch into depth at all especially when it comes to conflict with the characters.

This is not to say the anime is bad, one of the highlights are that the characters are believable/more grounded in realism than most. A major complaint that is stated surrounding the anime is that the characters are beating around the bush or too shy to say what they feel. But ... from a personal standpoint, it feels closer to real life, especially in teen/high school years when it is sometimes hard to tell people around you how you feel or what you mean by what you say.

Upon this, most of the positives are the fact that the anime moves at a decent pace, some of the characters are likable, and the plot is unserious, meaning that it is a good show to throw on in the background as you will not miss major plot details often.

TLDR: The show is romance slop, but definitely more enjoyable for those who do not like extreme tropes/characters closer to real-life. If you want a standard 12 ep romance that follows through with a complete story, this show is worth a try, though it is definitely not for everyone.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jan 11, 2023

Aikalukko

Not Recommended

This review is purely from an anime only watcher's viewpoint.

First, I'm going to say that I mostly rate anime based on the enjoyment value, and everything else comes far in the second place. Slow, moody, and dialogue heavy shows like these are not usually my thing, and because of that I judge them harshly. If you have a more of a critical/analytical eye to entertainment, take everything I say with a grain of salt.

If I described this anime in one color, it would be "gray". In addition to the art's murky color scheme and the overall somber mood of the anime itself, the characters just ... feel lifeless and dull, especially Izumi. Everyone feels like they are constantly depressed, uninterested, and they have a lack of enthusiasm for anything.

There are no bright colors, or anything that pops, stands out at all, the soundtrack is mostly nonexistent, or it's slow, moody type of music. OP and ED songs are fine, but nothing memorable or catchy. Except for the couple of times they play baseball, all they do is sit, talk and/or walk around, so there isn't a lot of action in the animation department either.

There were actually a couple of hilarious moments, like when the Photography Club members were goofing off, or when Natsume got off on the wrong train stop. I also liked that every character were distinct from each other, so it was easy to follow the narrative and to not confuse them between each other. I want also add to that it was easy to follow the story and the plot itself, because there weren't any out of place jump cuts, sudden location changes, or any weird artsy stuff/editing. Voice acting was also good, but nothing exceptional.

On the story department, I didn't think this was anything extraordinary, or something I haven't seen before. In my opinion, you shouldn't go watching this with the intention to find a heartwarming, dramatic love story that would make you cry, or emotional. If you think about the character, and relationship progression from the beginning state, compared to the end, there were none, or a very little amount of it overall.

My score reflects what I said in the beginning, "gray". If "white" was 5 (Average), then "gray" would be one shade below it, 4 (Bad). Honestly, this was tiresome to watch from beginning to end, and I had one of the worst feelings after watching an anime that you can have, I thought it was a waste of my time. If I were realistic, I would give it a "Mixed Feelings", but I don't want to be indecisive, that's why I rate it as "Not Recommended". Thank you for reading until the end.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Just Because! Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Dec 28, 2017	361 replies	by Blazesword »» Dec 18, 2025 3:06 AM
	Anyone else salty about the ending? Getsug_a - Aug 1, 2022	18 replies	by Big_bro2294 »» Nov 4, 2025 10:25 PM
	Poll: Just Because! Episode 8 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Nov 30, 2017	136 replies	by Archean-Return »» May 12, 2025 10:15 AM
	Poll: Just Because! Episode 7 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) Aversa - Nov 23, 2017	219 replies	by Archean-Return »» May 12, 2025 7:52 AM
	Poll: Just Because! Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Stark700 - Oct 12, 2017	153 replies	by Archean-Return »» May 11, 2025 7:02 AM