Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
AeroGunz
“Smile Down the Runway” is what happens when You have a solid idea but mediocre execution.
This show surprised me. Both positively and negatively and for the first time in years, equally on both fronts. It has solid ideas, good plot points and story beats but… it fails to utilize them properly. It uses and abuses really cheap tricks to make the viewer think it’s deeper and more dramatic than it actually is. In the beginning I didn’t mind it much, but as the show progressed and those techniques became more prevalent and heavy handed I started to grow weary, to the point I had to force myself to watch episodes 8 and 9.
I have zero knowledge about the fashion industry so I have no idea if its depiction is good or not. I interpret a lot of things that are related to it in this show as just ro…
Read at the sourcesidney1202
This review is meant more to complement to others reviews rather than write a full blown review. So I wont go into repeating everything again.
If you like personnel growth and dealing with inner challenges in your stories, you will like this one.
I'm not into the fashion thing, so the first ep irritated me, but by the third I was hooked. I really liked the growth of the characters. I also like the way the season ended in a way that is not corny, nor unrealistic, with a satisfied feeling and thirst for more.
It is well worth giving it a try and I recommend watching and least 3 ep. before making your mind. The first ep set the environment which is the fashion industry. The second and third ep really gets you into the story it self.
Hope this helps.
Enjoy!
Read at the sourcehexashadow13
tl;dr: An anime about pursuing dreams that’s somewhat messy but still hits some really strong emotional highs.
This anime is themed around fashion and modelling, but that’s really just the backdrop. Before I started this anime I knew essentially nothing about fashion and modelling, and to be honest after watching it I would still say that I know nothing about fashion and modelling. However, despite that, it was still really easy to appreciate the character stories of people trying to pursue their dreams as they’re pretty well written and have a unique feel to them.
Though it may not seem like it at first, the protagonist of this tale is Tsumura Ikuto, a high school student that has always loved making clothes and dreams of being a fashion designed. However, because he’s the eldest son in…
Read at the sourcesliceofpi
If you have ever struggled trying to succeed at your passions, this anime is for you. Now, I know that there are many anime out there about characters working hard to achieve their dreams. But in many of them, the main characters have some special talent and end up being amazing at their passion, or gaining their skills very quickly. This is NOT that type of anime and I appreciate the creators so much for creating something different. In this anime, the characters actually struggle. They get turned down. They get told they should give up. They fail. They fail again. They achieve something, and you root for them, and then they fail again. But what matters is that over time, as an outsider, you can see them growing and becoming better slowly. This is what progress REALLY looks like for norma…
Read at the sourceRakudata
Not my type of genre in anime. I watched this anime because of my friend recommendation.
I thought I won't be able to enjoy this kind of anime. But I was wrong, I enjoy watching this anime. While watching every episode, I feel jealous to Main male and female protagonist because they have a big dreams that they want to achieve at that very young age. I also learned many lessons while watching this anime. I learned that even you are a first born in a poor family, do not sacrifice your dreams for your siblings or family, instead you should find a solution to the problems of your family while you will still able to achieve your goals.
Anyway, this is my review:
Story: 8.5/10
Art: 8/10
Sound: 9.5/10
Character: 9/10
Overall: 8/10
Highly recommended!!
If you completed watching "Ballroom", I…
Read at the sourceEdenharley
Wow. Where do I even start with Runway de Waratte. I went into this expecting absolutely nothing, I watched it purely because I saw a screenshot on Twitter and thought "hmm why not, this looks like the type of show I want to watch right now". 12 episodes later and I am absolutely speechless. This was a beautiful, bitter, exciting and incredibly genuine experience, from the first episode I was totally hooked and my god did it keep up such insanely high quality throughout the entire runtime. I cannot think of a single complaint really, this was an incredibly special show.
First off I would like to mention the unfiltered realism that this show stuck to from the very beginning. It reminded me a lot of another fairly similar and also criminally underrated show called Kageki Shoujo wherein the…
Read at the sourcesilverdemon44
A unique anime about fashion designing and modeling. Never thought an anime like this would come but so glad it did!
There are 2 main characters - one boy and one girl. Both of them are in high school but are aiming to do fashion designing and modeling respectively. At first, as someone who is rarely interested in stuff like fashion designing, there was not much expectation. But it definitely came as a surprise.
The art was really good and there is really nothing to suggest for its imporvement.
The music choice was questionable. There are some moments when I didn't like the soundtracks.
The story starts off quite suddenly. We don't see anyone's academic performance in their school. The entire anime is based on their dream jobs and nothing else. They are constantly discouraged from pur…
Read at the source0Unknown0
It's been a while since I wrote a review. I just want to say that this anime is pretty good.
Story: I was not interested in the story because it is about modeling and designing clothes. But, it was nice knowing how model work. It got a bit interesting as the story went on but didn't get my full attention. Still, nice story.
Art/Animation: Prefect! *thumbs up*
Sound/Music: Absolutely stunning especially the "insert music." I wish there was a full version of the song but not everyone knows about it yet.
Character: Two main characters are great. They deal with lots of problems but try their best to fulfil their dream. Other side characters as well.
Overall: It's not a bad anime, for sure. If you finished the anime, and want to read the manga but don't want to start the beginning of the…
Read at the sourceferrid
The sports anime of fashion. from underdogs to wonderdogs! Very uplifting feel-good show with light conflict and the appropriate amount of technical worldbuilding.
I knew nothing about the world of runway models and designers besides what I saw on tv shows and I can say that I learned more from this anime than however many season I watched of the reality tv shows. Would I be able to use this knowledge? No, but I am more educated and have more enjoyment of fashion having watched this anime.
A lot of the components that make up this anime is just okay but it has a feel-good happy vibe that had me smiling all the way through. The conclusion was especially fitting and satisfying.
Read at the sourcemaragidynee
Ever since I was young I was interested in the fashion industry, especially Japan’s, so I was excited for Runway de Waratte yet didn’t hold my breath, and I’m glad I didn’t. This show has an inescapable essence of mediocrity. The cinematography is lacking and overtly boring. This doesn’t make the show itself fundamentally bad, because it’s not, but it doesn’t have any distinguishing factors to make it ‘good’. It kept my attention for the most part, and it was still enjoyable enough of a viewing experience, but it’s frustrating that it couldn’t go just that tiny bit further. The purpose of the show is to make you root for these character’s dreams, but I just wish they had given more of a reason to rather than ‘she’s short’ and ‘he’s poor’. A lot of the time the intended hard-hitting moments…
Read at the sourcepipartuuli
Pros:
A decent handling of an actual friends-who-are-rivals situation; it is actually established that the main characters (Ikuto and Chiyuki) are kind to one another before their temporary rivalry begins, which is something many shounen anime fail to do (and yes, this is a shounen anime). I'm very appreciative of the fact that the show doesn't try to convince the audience that two characters who are shown to be nothing but complete assholes to one another are somehow friends. Ikuto and Chiyuki have a good rapport and are pretty supportive of one another - their rivalry is temporary and to advance their education/careers, and then they're friends again. Cool.
Also, without spoiling too much, I appreciated the realistic depiction of what would happen if a high school sophomore entered a…
Read at the sourcehetnein
This is my first ever review I written so don't go too harsh on me if you read this..
Smile down the runway is a story about an aspiring model named Chiyuki Fujito who has everything needed to be a model, except for height, something well beyond her control. Similarly, it dives into the story of Tsumura Ikuto, the eldest son of a family struggling with hardships who has a talent of designing clothes. Unfortunately his family's financial woes is something that hinders his ability to design clothes and he resorts to using clothes donated to him by peers.
Throughout the story, both characters' personal struggles are explored and it's actually quite sad to watch at times as their own downfalls are things well beyond their control. In life, no one's height is certain and you can't really grow…
Read at the sourceBenx2019
The animation is fairly good. Runway walks are fluid and look very nice. Backgrounds are fine, but very good character detail, but it does lack from time to time. Characters have some depth, but I don't really find the characters are really all that likeable. Story is kind of interesting in that it tells the story of two characters whose stories at times intertwine. However, despite that being what is presented to the viewer at first, the show eventually just ends up almost entirely focusing on one of the two characters. The story also suffers from conflicting details occasionally, and also features characters that do nonsenesical things seemingly just to create a plot point. The pacing is alright, but there are several issues. One problem is episode 8 has a ton of rising action that clima…
Read at the sourceAlpha_Lily_Weeb
My mother is an ex famous model in my country. I have been on the runway a few times thanks that despite being short. I was the only short person in 300 people then and was only in the show because I was my moms child. So I know how the MC feels but unlike her i never wanted to be in model bis because i know how body judging it all feels. It was shown brilliantly how other models or fashion designers eyes really cut through you like glass. Despite all odds being against everyone from the main characters the MC still felt a little annoying to me personally but that is up to the watcher to decide. I also heard this show would be boring but it way more enjoyable than expected. The name and poster of the show does peak your interest tho. I wasn't bored like i was scared I might be. sooooooo YA…
Read at the sourceMissYunni
I'm not good at explaining, but all I want to say is that this anime is a hidden gem. IT'S SO UNDERRATED!
The story revolves around two characters. Chiyuki, who wants to become a model, but is too short. And Ikuto, who wants to be a fashion designer, but doesn't have a lot of money to afford the expenses to become one.
It's a very heartwarming story about not giving up on your dreams, even if it seems almost impossible.
For all those people who love fashion like I do, I highly recommend this anime.
Whether you're a guy or a girl, it doesn't matter in watching Smile Down The Runway.
An absolute 10/10. No questions asked.
Read at the sourcealgoPotaku
I was not expecting absolutely nothing from anime and it surprised me a lot but a lot. I cried, I laughed and I had a bad time with the series. The main characters are very well built as they have the hard task of "following an impossible dream", it reminded me of Naruto in the sense of never giving up on the protagonist. I think the main character reaches your heart because he is a normal person who puts his family before his dream but in the end he opens his eyes and tries to follow his dream I put a 9 because he lacks a little romance, I would have It was fair to see at least one kiss and with that he earned a 10. The truth was I saw it in one day, it was a non-stop, the chapters passed me very quickly.
En español:
No me esperaba absolutamente nada del anime y me sorprendió un montón p…
Read at the sourceanimeshitha
The life of a model. In a world where we only think of it as glitz and glamour, its nice that a show comes along which brings out some grim realities. I loved this one, and its twists and turns kept me super engaged, while the realistic take on the profession opened my eyes to a few things.
The first thing banged into our heads is a simple, but often forgotten fact. Modelling is a profession, just like any other. It requires some innate talent, a lot of acquired skill and a hell lot of hard work. Things don’t just fall into your lap. You actually (or your agent at least has to) run from pillar to post to find jobs and our portfolio is basically a resume. However it’s much more fancy and waaaay more expensive to put together the expense of which totally comes from the model’s pocket. It’s s…
Read at the sourceShiroe111
One of the few shows that truly shows the bitterness, frustrating, and hopelessness one can feel while pursuing their dream not just through MCs but other characters as well without it feeling like there's to much going on or to many characters. At the same time this shows demonstrates the courage, determination, and stubbornness needed as well while telling you you can't always do it alone either.
I've seen over 1000 anime shows and have considered writing a review many times, but this is my first review. I have no interest in the fashion industry nor modeling, and yet this show destroyed the need for me to be interested in it in order for me to enjoy this show.
Let me say first this show is not that dark nor is it light hearted, it feels perfectly balanced.
Through out the story th…
Read at the sourcesweettapioca
This show is enjoyable, but somewhat plain. Throughout every twist and turn, the audience this is aimed at is pretty clear. This is a show for kids. It's about hard work and never giving up, which is a great message. Even so, if you want something that is truly meaningful and engaging, I'd say watch something else. This show is a shounen at it's core, despite being about fashion. The themes are right on the nose, the characters are likable but definitely plain. All I can say is that I was never surprised, impressed, or engaged with this show. It's not a bad show, just definitely not meant for me. Definitely give it a go if you want something inspiring and simple. Even so, I give it a somewhat lower rating because I didn't find it worth my time at all. Not to mention that there's not much t…
Read at the sourceAgent_Redacted
Drama. I don't care if the toxic overflows. I don't care if the salts engulfs the whole world. So long as the result of all the catastrophe ends well, I am more than happy.
Smile Down the Runway was a fantastic show about a runway model and a clothing designer. I'll leave out most of the details, but let's just say that there's a lot of stingy dramas inside this show which might make you feel anxious and depressed along with the characters. However, everything ends good and well at the end. I cried pretty hard if I didn't stop the video my shirt might've been soaked wet by my own tears.
It's all about the result. The "after" determines if a drama show is good or not. If it satisfies us watchers then it did its role as a drama show. Smile Down the Runway did good as a drama show. Depict…
Read at the source
