Hanayamata

Fourteen-year-old Naru Sekiya has always loved fairy tales, yet she can’t help feeling ordinary beside the “ideal” girls she imagines. At school, her childhood friends seem to be moving confidently into their own worlds—Yaya Sasame throws herself into her rock band, while Tami Nishimikado serves on the student council—leaving Naru wishing for the courage to step forward herself.

One night, she spots what looks like a tiny fairy perched on a torii gate and is invited to dance beneath the moonlight. By morning, the mysterious figure turns out to be Hana N. Fountainstand, an energetic transfer student from America with a long-standing fascination for yosakoi, a lively Japanese festival dance. Swept up by Hana’s drive, Naru is asked to help form a yosakoi club, and despite her shyness and fear of being watched, she gradually finds herself drawn into dancing—and into supporting Hana’s dream.