With You and the Rain Episode 1
Based on the manga by: Ko Nikaido
Director: Tomohiro Tsukimisato
Series Composition: Toko Machida
Character Design: Ayano Owada
Studio: Lesprit
Release Date: July 5, 2025
Rating: 12+
With You and the Rain is a slice-of-life, comedy manga series by Ko Nikaido and one of the simulpub releases on Crunchyroll‘s summer anime line-up! The studio behind the series is Lesprit, also behind Yes, No or Maybe, a Boys’ Love light novel movie adaptation, and How Clumsy You Are, Miss Ueno, an ecchi romantic comedy, both available on Crunchyroll. Here’s a spoiler-free look at the first episode and whether you should add this series to your to-be-watched list or not!
As the rain starts letting up and umbrellas crowd the crossing, bumping each other at the tips, Fuji is at the bus stop. Upon overhearing someone in need, she lends her umbrella to them, though she isn’t in a hurry when walking back home, despite her clothes slowly getting soaked. On the way, she comes across a cardboard box with an abandoned… dog? Or something like that? Does it even qualify to be a pet? Fuji doesn’t know, but still takes this cute creature home.
She searches online for what to feed it, buys kibble, and asks for instructions on how to properly care for it, making decisions based on it being a dog, but even dogs aren’t as dexterous as this cheeky one. It can fold the cardboard box that Fuji has taken home, and even communicate by writing in a notebook and flipping pages! Thus, we accompany Fuji as this little decision made on the way home changes the course of her life little by little.
While I was aware of With You and the Rain’s availability in English, I wanted to experience the anime adaptation with a fresh mind.
Fuji is introduced to us as a matter-of-fact and kind person. She’s soft-spoken and gives the impression that once she undertakes something, she sees it through to the end. Her flat feels empty rather than lived-in or tidy; which might indicate a busy schedule or a lack of energy or care on Fuji’s side. With all the whites and light, natural wood color that dominates the living room area, our currently unnamed pet brings a touch of warmth with its tabby-colored fur and brown patches.
The first episode of With You and the Rain sets the tone and signals that the series will build itself on two pillars; serene, introspective moments and gags. The slow moments are full of the atmosphere created both through beautiful close-ups on flowers or the puddles that form on the pavement due to rain, through an unintrusive but moving soundtrack that accompanies scenery, and of course, the sound of the rain or the silence of Fuji’s home. These moments are wonderfully executed, and while there’s a possibility that an action fan might find them mundane, I found the scenes to be relaxing and sweet.
This isn’t to say the episode flows smoothly from start to finish. There were instances where I thought the gags on the new fella being a dog or it responding to Fuji didn’t land simply due to the timing of the joke. This was what made me all the more curious about the source material. I wanted to see for myself whether the interruption to the flow was due to the way it was adapted or not.
And let me tell you, I was surprised! I didn’t expect to find a 4-koma style gag manga because this anime episode is very much structured as if the source material had a flow of events that start at a point and end up at another, with plausible, smaller events in between that connect to each other.
I appreciated that the production team behind the adaptation restructured the events to form a narrative instead of simply carrying whatever’s on the page in the source material to the screen. Not to say one is better than the other, this new structure simply works better on screen, and in a time when fans prioritize the source material and aren’t fond of artistic liberties taken by the production team, I am all for a looser adaptation that works. This allows the atmosphere to have its own place and time as well.
I’m sure long-time anime fans or the ones who’ve at least seen Apocalypse Hotel last season on Crunchyroll immediately understood what this little fella actually is. The mythical creature version of a tanuki can shapeshift and is usually depicted with a leaf on top of its head. Tanuki may look like a raccoon, but they belong in the same family as dogs; hence, they’re usually called a raccoon-dog in English.
The tanuki Fuji invites home is true to its roots and is a trickster, alright. We can even call it the King of Gaslighting because whoever sees it, they’re very close to blurting out the true nature of this pet. But they all meet their demise and have no other choice but to accept it’s a dog because no one is immune to cuteness and soft fur. And I mean, no one. Even the veterinarian Fuji took it for its shots.
Your enjoyment of With You and the Rain will depend on what you expect from it. There are no fights, explosions, scenes that change every other second, or other methods to keep your attention on the screen aren’t to be seen here. However, what this series offers, at least with the first episode that’s available on Crunchyroll are captivating and slow, tender moments, funny gags here and there, a cute, fluffy creature that can communicate better than I can in Japanese despite my 1-year-long streak in Duolingo and a main character I’m looking forward to get to know more of!
Fuji is voiced by Saori Hayami, a veteran voice actor best known for her roles as Shinobu from Demon Slayer, Yor Forger from SPY X FAMILY, and Ameri Azazel from Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun to name a few. Character designs that are super pleasing to the eyes are done by Ayano Owada. The composing is at the hands of Rei Ishizuka, and needless to say, I can’t wait for the soundtrack album to come out! Lesprit is the studio handling the adaptation, and the first episode presents a lovely picture. We shall see whether the rest can follow up or not!
Overall, With You and the Rain‘s first episode was a quiet and pleasant watch for me. If you enjoy series such as The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today, I’m the Catlords’ Manservant or The Man & His Cat, then I highly suggest you take a look at With You and the Rain too, both the manga and the anime adaptation! And don’t forget, what you’re seeing IS a dog.
The early screening of this episode was provided by Crunchyroll. The header is taken from Ko Nikaido’s X (formerly Twitter) account.
You can catch a new episode of With You and the Rain on Saturdays at Crunchyroll!
