The official website and X (formerly Twitter) for the upcoming TV anime adaptation of Hirokazu Yasuhara’s Cultural Exchange with Game Center Girl romantic comedy manga opened today, revealing the anime is set to premiere in Japan in July 2025.The official accounts also posted a teaser visual featuring the two protagonists, Lily Baker and Renji Kusakabe, at the game center arcade where they meet. Lily tries out the crane game, while Renji is working as a pert-timer and checking on her.
Teaser visual
Sally Amaki, a member of Japanese digital voice-actor idol group 22/7, voices the main heroine Lily Baker: a 13 year old girl who moved from England and is passionate about playing in Japanese arcade games.Message from Sally Amaki:
I have been following this work as a reader since the original manga. I thought strongly, “If it were to be animated, I would definitely want to play Lily-chan! At lease I want to audition for the role! I want to be a part of it anyway!” So when I received the announcement that I had been accepted for the role of Lily, I was so happy that I cried from the bottom of my heart! You can’t take your eyes off Lily-chan and Renji-kun’s relationship, which is changing rapidly through cross-cultural exchange. It’s just a slapstick! But it’s a happy slapstick! Please watch it!
Lily Baker
Sally Amaki
Shoya Chiba, best known as Kiyotaka Ayanokoji in Classroom of the Elite, voices Renji Kusakabe: an 18-year-old student who meets Lily at a game arcade near his home where he works part-time.Message from Shoya Chiba:
The work is about a comical and gentle communication between two people who meet in a game arcade. I have played music games and PvP games, and there are varous products related to the works in which I have appeared, so I was able to easily get into the story because it is familiar to me. This is the only place where we can hear so much English pronunciation and talk so much about English. I liked studying English, so it was fun to talk about foreign countries during voice recording. I was a bit intimidated at first because of all the people fluent in English, including Amaki-san. But Renji, who also does not speak English, does his best to interact with Lily, so we are able to link well. Many people may be intimidated by the English language, but Lily-chan’s cuteness is global, and it is a work with a new sensation that will easily blend into our daily lives. I think you will enjoy it with a heartwarming feeling, so please look forward to it!
Renji Kusakabe
Shoya Chiba
The main staff members include:
Director: Toshihiro Kikuchi (Pseudo Harem)
Series Composition: Yasunori Yamada (Elegant Yokai Apartment Life)
Character Design: Rikiya Okano
Art Director: Isamu Nishiyama
Art Setting Designer: Kenta Masuda (GROUND)
Color Designer: Yukiko Shigemitsu
Editor: Mutsumi Takemiya
Sound Director: Yasunori Ebina
Sound Effects: Kiyotaka Kawada
Recording Coordinator: Shumpei Takeuchi
Sound Production: zuvo.(GK Kasai Kikaku)
Casting: Wataru Matsuoka(Full Power Production)
Music: Takuro Iga (TRILLION GAME)
Animation Production: MOMAD
Production: Cultural Exchange with Game Center Girl Association
The original Cultural Exchange with Game Center Girl manga series is serialized on the Nico Nico Manga website. Kadokawa has also published eight collected volumes for the series in Japan to date. The story follows Renji Kusakabe, a young man working part-time at a game arcade center. One day he saw a British girl, Lily, who was absorbed in a crane game by herself on Valentine’s Day. She is in tears because she can’t get the prize no matter how many times she tries, so Renji lends a helping hand. Lily, who has successfully won the stuffed animal, later gives him a message card with the unexpected message, “Be My Valentine!” (Be My Boyfriend!).
Sources: “Cultural Exchange with Game Center Girl” TV anime official website / X (formerly Twitter), Press Release©Hirokazu Yasuhara/KADOKAWA/Cultural Exchange with Game Center Girl Association
