by Tazimonfire, Guest Reviewer

The summer of 2026 season has been jam-packed with yuri, leading me to dub it the summer of yuri. One show that might have flown under the radar for most this season in the sea of fantastic adaptations is Grow Up Show: Sunflower Circus an original production animated by A-1 Pictures streaming on Crunchyroll.

Taking place in 1950’s Japan during the Showa era we follow the story of Mizuka a sixteen year-old raised to live the life of a circus performer by her trapeze artist father at the famous Lotus Circus. In episode 1, we learn that Mizuka never enjoyed the circus life and holds disdain for her father who has run off leaving her penniless. She finds herself collapsed on the road, picked up by members of the Sunflower Circus, a troupe comprised of girls without any family. What begins as a one night stay to recuperate, turns into a much longer endeavor as Mizuka is saddled with paying back an IOU between her father and the ringmaster of the circus Maria. Thus begins Mizuka’s journey to help this struggling circus shine even brighter.

I’m personally a sucker for anything historical so this show piqued my interest immediately. From the first episode, the humor was snappy with a number of recurring gags that never overstay their welcome. The animation is clean, what I would expect from an A-1 production but they do sometimes skimp on the details for the actual performances mostly relying on still shots. The exception being the trapeze sequences which are mostly between Mizuka and the troupe’s ace Ouka. They have an instant connection the first time they perform together with numerous sparkles on screen, the moment slowed down so you really see them making intense eye contact as Ouka flies through the air with Mizuka catching her. It’s obvious that over the course of the show Ouka will show Mizuka a dazzling new world where she can love the circus again, but I very much look forward to the journey.

At it’s core, Grow Up Show is about performance and creating a showstopping spectacle for the audience. It actually reminds me of Revue Starlight in the way that the characters are both inspired by the magic that only a live performance can bring but also in each other as they aim to lift each other higher to make something special. As the main cast is rather large, the show divides them all into pairs to explore their relationships: Mizuka and Ouka, magician Imari and acrobat Isuzu, juggling twins Aoi and Akane, and trapeze artist Shizuku and silk aerialist Svetlana who are all supported by ringmaster Maria and assistant Rin. Time will tell how yurish these pairs will be.

So far, subsequent episodes have chosen a pair to focus on, with episode 2 showing Ouka’s further efforts to get Mizuka to fly with her again while they both bond with a young girl named Kasumi who also dreams of performing in the circus someday which ended up being very sweet. I give kudos to the young actress voicing Kasumi she did excellent work.

Episode 3 shifts the focus to Svetlana and Shizuka and how they ended up at the Sunflower Circus in the first place. To put it plainly these two are a couple, from first glance you can tell they are of the Michiru and Haruka from Sailor Moon variety which I am always happy to see. Shizuka is the masculine flirty type while Svetlana has an air of grace and a bit of a possessive streak. Shizuka proudly proclaims Svetlana as “my honey” and brags that her act is the highlight of the circus. Svetlana is quieter in her affections but they have a very touching scene in the middle of the episode where they simply hold hands in the empty main tent in a moment of quiet contemplation as they relish how happy they are being together in that moment. They clearly hold great affection for one another and I am so pleased to see a relationship between two adults who have been together for a while on screen.

Episode 4 is probably the weakest so far with the conflict between Isuzu and Imari being a typical case of miscommunication but the rest of the cast really pulls everything up and I did enjoy their shenanigans of doing an impromptu magic show on the beach to try and earn money and boost Imari’s confidence. Shizuka and Svetlana are really only there to flirt with each other while presumably working on a new act but who knows for sure. I do feel a bit bad for Ouka, since they’re doing it right in her face as she once again tries to convince Mizuka to partner with her. Shizuka even compares them to a “straight-arrow girlfriend and a good-for-nothing boyfriend” which got a chuckle out of me.

Overall, an excellent start to an original series that I hope will keep up the momentum as the season goes on. A traveling circus allows for nice pacing as we get to see new places and people. I will continue to root for Ouka and look forward to Shizuka and Svetlana being lovey dovey every week. Hopefully in this summer of yuri we will get to see an actual Lily Circus.

Ratings:

Art – 7 Nothing particular to write home about but everything overall looks nice. I give extra points for how cozy their tour bus looks.

Story – 7 Everything happens exactly as you would expect it to, but I am having a nice time.

Characters – 7 For such a large cast I think they do a good job giving everyone some time in the spotlight even if they’re not the focus for the episode. This is a group I will surely miss once the show is over, I love a found family.

Service – 3 There is a beach episode with service stills of some of the characters in swimsuits just because but at least it’s the adults. Mizuka does also spend a lot of time in the bath as it’s her thinking spot but there is minimal service which is appreciated.

Yuri – 5 I can’t describe Ouka’s feelings for Mizuka as anything other than being incredibly smitten and Shizuka and Svetlana are just that couple constantly reminding you that they are very much in love.

Overall – 7