Appearances often determine the roles people expect us to play. The fashion industry and how it markets itself is the apex of that sentiment. Bless (ブレス) reverses those expectations, starting with a school-festival contest and following two students into the fashion modeling world. Their creative ambitions combine style and makeup artistry in the anime premiering in January 2027.
Halloween is coming up, so we decided to have a big sale for you! Through November 3, you can get 15% off all orders shipping from Japan! That means 15% off all onaholes for male stress relief, awesome ero lotion, JAV DVDs and Blu-rays, hentai anime, and more! Browse all our sale products now!
Bless Begins With a School-Festival Role Swap
Aia Udagawa was scouted as a model, but he wants to become a makeup artist. Jun Sumisaki dreams of modeling, although she feels self-conscious about the freckles she hides at school. When their class assigns Aia to model and Jun to handle styling, she proposes a switch: he will apply the makeup, and she will walk the runway.
The school festival becomes the first public step toward both careers. Jun’s runway appearance moves her toward professional modeling opportunities, while Aia’s makeup work connects him with working models and other makeup artists who can challenge and develop his craft. Bless uses the contest as a launchpad from the classroom into the wider fashion industry.
The Cast and Staff Put Craft in the Spotlight
The Bless cast is on deck for introductions. Meet the aspiring professionals entering its makeup studios and runway circuit.
Cast
- Tomohiro Oono — Aia Udagawa, a former male model hiding his ambition to become a makeup artist.
- Chiyuki Miura — Jun Sumisaki, a self-conscious student determined to claim a place on the runway.
- Nobuhiko Okamoto — Ginga Yoyogi, a strong-spoken, hardworking young makeup artist who moved from Saga to Tokyo to build his career.
- Yoshino Aoyama — Oroka Sumeragi, the assertive Sumeragi sister and a member of the makeup school MIRROR.
- Momoka Terasawa — Shitataka Sumeragi, Oroka’s composed younger sister and fellow aspiring creative.
A-1 Pictures animates Bless, alongside specialists whose work aligns neatly with the story’s focus on appearance and presentation.
Staff
- Director — Shoutarou Kitamura
- Series composition and scripts — Fukurou Kamiza
- Character design — Honoka Yokoyama
- Costume design — Akane Takeda
- Hair and makeup supervision — Katsuyoshi Kojima
- Music — Ryou Yoshimata
- Original creator — Yukino Sonoyama
Bless adapts Sonoyama’s ongoing Kodansha manga, which began in Shonen Magazine Edge in 2022 before moving to Monthly Shonen Sirius. Kodansha USA publishes the English edition in print and digital formats. After the anime’s run, a separate live-action series will stream worldwide exclusively on Prime Video in spring 2027.
Makeup Turns Ambition Into Partnership
J-List readers who enjoyed watching Gojou’s private craft become a public performance in My Dress-Up Darling will recognize the appeal of Bless. It’s still my favorite episode of that season because Gojou transformed himself into The Artist for his classmates. The runway belongs to the model, but the transformation also reveals the artist behind it. Yoisho!
Smile Down the Runway provides another fitting comparison. Both stories pair an aspiring model with a creator whose behind-the-scenes craft helps her move forward. And it features another model with “flaws” antithetical to the runway. However, Bless trades clothing design for makeup artistry, making the face itself the canvas where the partnership becomes visible. Shortness is worse, though, because you can’t hide it with makeup like freckles. Still, if you enjoy procedural anime about fashion design, the 2027 Winter season has an open invitation.
Where and When to Watch Bless
Bless begins airing in Japan in January 2027 on Fuji TV’s nationwide Noitamina block, Fridays from 11:30 p.m. to midnight JST. Crunchyroll will stream the series internationally. The exact premiere day, international release time, dub plans, and detailed rollout remain unannounced.
Final Look: Bless offers a rare anime spotlight on makeup artistry, modeling, and the work behind a finished runway look. A-1 Pictures’ dedicated costume-design and hair-and-makeup teams should make its fashion world appeal to viewers who enjoy niche craft brought to the small screen.
Sources: Official anime website | Fuji TV | Crunchyroll | Anime News Network
Are you more interested in Aia’s makeup artistry or Jun’s modeling journey? Do you have a favorite runway model? Victoria’s Secret counts, you know. Let us know in the comments!
Let’s Chat
You made it to the end of this post! Thank you! As a token of our appreciation, enjoy an extra 5% off your next order with code BLOG at checkout. Also, don’t forget to follow J-List on all our platforms!
- Twitter/X, where Peter posts anime booba for you.
- Megumi Channel is our new YouTube channel, where Megumi-chan discusses all things anime. Please give us a follow!
- Bluesky, where we post several times a day.
- Facebook, where you can find our blog posts… though the site has become hostile to anime memes and other fun content.
- Discord, if you want to chat with other J-List customers of culture.
Halloween is coming up, so we decided to have a big sale for you! Through November 3, you can get 15% off all orders shipping from Japan! That means 15% off all onaholes for male stress relief, awesome ero lotion, JAV DVDs and Blu-rays, hentai anime, and more! Browse all our sale products now!
