School-Live!

That adorable, pastel art style? It's a trap — this one plays dirty. Gakkougurashi starts with Yuki Takeya, a bubbly high school senior who loves her School Living Club. She hangs out with club president Yuuri, the athletic Kurumi, the level-headed Miki, their teacher Megumi, and a little dog named Taroumaru. Their one club rule: members have to live at school full-time. Sounds like a fun sleepover setup, right? Just watch the first episode all the way through before you judge anything. That's the only thing I'll say. The show presents itself as this wholesome, pastel-colored slice-of-life about girls goofing around at school, but by the end of episode one, the framing of everything you just watched shifts completely. From there, this 12-episode TV series from studio Lerche becomes something way more layered — a psychological survival story where the cheerful moments feel earned and fragile instead of hollow. The contrast between Yuki's sunny perspective and what's actually happening around her is where the tension lives, and the show handles that gap with real care rather than just shock value. The character dynamics deepen as the series goes on, and you start understanding why each person in the group behaves the way they do. If you liked the tonal whiplash of Wonder Egg Priority or the unsettling school atmosphere of Gakuen Nanafushigi, this scratches a similar itch. Fans of Asobi Asobase's bait-and-switch energy will appreciate the approach here too, just aimed in a much darker direction.