Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games — They Take Crowns

The wait is finally over. The anime about girl gamers is finally upon us after a year-long delay. Aya loved playing competitive fighting games. She celebrated each win she took home. However, she slowly became burned out and lost the excitement she once felt holding the controller. She set aside her hobby and entered a private school to become a proper lady. Her ideal proper lady and school idol will drag her back into that world of digital combat. We’ll see how she fares with new opponents when Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games (Tai-Ari deshita: Ojosama wa Kakutou Game nante Shinai) premieres on July 7th, 2026.

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Eri Ejima released the original Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games manga series on January 4th, 2020. Media Factory has published ten volumes in Monthly Comic Flapper afterward. Studio NTT Docomo’s television drama premiered on May 19th, 2023.

Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games Cast

Three of the cute and fierce gamers are as follows:

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Aya Mitsuki — Ikumi Hasegawa (Ciel from Tsukihime). Aya is a retired fighting gamer who enrolled in Kuromi Girls’ Academy to become a proper young lady.
Mio Yorue — Kana Ichinose (Suletta Mercury from Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury). Mio is an idol of Kuromi Girls’ Academy who hides her love of fighting games.
Tamaki Ichinose — Shino Shimoji (Chevreuse from Genshin Impact). Tamaki is a floor manager who strictly adheres to the rules.

Studio Diomedéa maintains a website and a Twitter (X) account to promote Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games. You can find more information about the series and the key visuals at those sites.

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According to School Rules, Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games

Aya Mitsuki used to be a top-ranked fighting gamer. She lived for the challenge of taking down strong opponents online. However, the constant grinding for leaderboard scores slowly led to burnout. She put her arcade controller down and earned a scholarship to a school that would help her fulfill her new goal. Aya earned a scholarship to attend the prestigious Kuromi Girls’ Academy, the one place that could help her become a proper lady and leave her former life behind. The school idol and proper lady, Mio Yorue, dashes her plan with a beautifully executed combo move.

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Aya comes across Mio all alone in a classroom with an arcade controller on her lap. She was playing a fighting game, something absolutely forbidden by the school rules. Mio proceeds to defeat an online opponent and trash-talk him into oblivion. She asked Aya to keep it a secret, which wasn’t a problem at all. Mio later asked Aya for a match after recognizing the calluses on her hands from years of gaming. Aya accepts and slowly rediscovers her love of fighting.

Will you light up the barbecue and have a feast when you watch the premiere of Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games in July? Have you read the original manga? Will Aya and Mio ever settle it in Smash in the bedroom? Let us know in the comments below.

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