Smile Down the Runway

Smile Down the Runway(ランウェイで笑って, Ranwei de Waratte) is a 2020 anime series based on the manga with the same name written and illustrated by Kotoba Inoya. It was serialized and published in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine from May 31, 2017 to July 14, 2021, with a total of 22 volumes.

The anime series was announced on September 16, 2019.^[1] It was animated by Ezóla, directed by Nobuyoshi Nagayama, series composition by Touko Machida, music composed by both Shuji Katayama & Akinari Suzuki, and it premiered in Japan from January 11, 2020 to March 28, 2020, consisting of 12 episodes.

FUNimation Entertainment licensed and produeced an English SimulDub of the series, which premiered on the FunimationNow streaming service on January 24, 2020.^[2]^[3]

Synopsis

Runway de Waratte starts with the story of Fujito Chiyuki, an aspiring fashion model and daughter of a fledgling Modeling Agency, Mille Neige. Ever since she was little, Chiyuki's dream was to be the star model of her dad's agency and perform at Paris Fashion Week. With great looks and a gifted environment, it seemed like she was on the right track to fulfill her dream, but she soon found herself faced with a seemingly insurmountable wall when her height stopped growing at 158 cm; too short to be a professional model.

Although Chiyuki still kept on believing in herself for years despite everyone telling her it's impossible, Chiyuki's resolve starts to crumble as she enters her last year of high school. This is when she meets Tsumura Ikuto, a lame classmate with a surprising talent for designing clothes, who is also considering giving up his dream due to unfortunate circumstances. Together, they begin the journey of doing the impossible in order to realize their dreams.

Cast[]

Image	Character	Seiyū	Dub Actor
Main Characters
	Ikuto Tsumura	Natsuki Hanae	Derick Snow
	Ikuto Tsumura	Yū Sasahara (young)	Colleen Clinkenbeard (young)
	Chiyuki Fujito	Yumiri Hanamori	Macy Anne Johnson
Secondary Characters
	Mai Ayano	Mayumi Asano	Casey Casper
	Kokoro Hasegawa	Ai Kayano	Dani Chambers
	Kaoru Kizaki	Ayaka Fukuhara	Elizabeth Maxwell
	Ichika Tsumura	Hikaru Akao	Jad Saxton
	Honoka Tsumura	Yui Ishikawa	Leah Clark
	Tō Ayano	Ryōhei Kimura	Lee George
	Shōko Takaoka	Keiko Han	Luci Christian
	Sara	Yui Makino	Madeleine Morris
	Aoi Tsumura	Hibiku Yamamura	Trina Nishimura
	Hajime Yanagida	Junichi Suwabe	John Burgmeier
	Ryūnosuke Eda	Kōhei Amasaki	Nazeeh Tarsha
	Aoi Tsumura	Hibiku Yamamura	Trina Nishimura
	Yū Igarashi	Yūko Kaida	Colleen Clinkenbeard
Recurring Characters
	Kenji Fujito	Kazuhiko Inoue	Christopher Wehkamp
	Shizuku Naruoka	Fumiko Orikasa	Stephanie Young
	Fumiyo Niimura	Ayaka Suwa	Emi Lo
	Yuriko Tsumura	Hōko Kuwashima	Brianna Roberts
	Jun Miyamoto	Michi Imase	Anastasia Muñoz
	Yagami	Toa Yukinari	Emily Neves
	Kazuya Suō	Isamu Yūsen	Robert McCollum
	Kinu Kamii	Kaho Kōda	Monica Rial
	Kanami Oguri	Kotori Koiwai	Kristen McGuire
Title
	Title

Episodic Characters[]

Character	Seiyū	Dub Actor	Ep(s).
Takahashi	Ikuto Kanemasa	Oscar Seung	1
Miwa	Mizuki Yuina	¿?
Teacher	Ai Yamamoto	Mallorie Rodak
Shōko	Rika Abe	Apphia Yu	1, 6
Iida	Taito Ban	Zach Bolton	2
Foreign Acquaintance	Ikuto Kanemasa	¿?
Preschool Teacher	Ryōko Maekawa	¿?
Kumi Moriyama	Atsumi Tanezaki	Tabitha Ray	2-3
Model	Rika Abe	Alexis Tipton	2-3
Makeup Artist	Misato Murai	Kristen McGuire	3
Shirō Kashihara	Hirofumi Nojima	Ricco Fajardo	4
Old Man	Tomomichi Nishimura	Mark Allen Jr.	4
Nurse	Yuki Kaneko	Marissa Lenti	4-5
Mika	Mizuki Yuina	Bryn Apprill	6
Ayumi Yajima	Ikumi Hasegawa	Lindsay Seidel	6
Miwako Hidaka	Ayumi Tsunematsu	Jessica Cavanagh	6-7
Akasaka	Kayuki Matsumoto	Amber Lee Connors	6-7
Haruka Sudō	Atsuko Fujibayashi	Sarah Wiedenheft	6, 10
Kanako Takahara	Risa Hayamizu	Linda Leonard	7
Cameraman	Shinya Takahashi	Chris Ryan	7
Doctor	Ikuto Kanemasa	Matt Thurston	8
Principal	¿?	David Matranga	9
Tailor	Katsuhisa Hōki	David Matranga	11
Satomi Ichihara	Ruriko Aoki	Felecia Angelle	12