is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese shōjo

Shojo

The term refers to manga marketed to a female audience roughly between the ages of 10-18. The name romanizes the Japanese 少女 , literally: "little female". Shōjo manga covers many subjects in a variety of narrative and graphic styles, from historical drama to science fiction — often with a strong...

 manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 authored by Yuu Yabuuchi

Yuu Yabuuchi

is a Japanese manga artist who specializes in shōjo manga. Yuu Yabuchi's most famous works are Mizuiro Jidai, Shōjo-Shōnen, and Naisho no Tsubomi. The main focus of her manga are the emotional and psychological growth of pre-teen girls and boys and early romances between them. Her works are popular...

, and published by Shogakukan

Shogakukan

is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...

. As of 2011, 7 volumes have been released in Japan. An OVA anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 for the series was released on April 24, 2008. A second OVA episode was released in June, 2008. The series received the 2009 Shogakukan Manga Award

Shogakukan Manga Award

The is one of Japan's major manga awards, sponsored by Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga since 1955 and features candidates from a number of publishers.The current award categories are:...

 for children's manga.

Plot

Naisho no Tsubomi is a critically acclaimed manga that tells the story of Tsubomi Tachibana, a fifth grader dealing with rather sensitive issues such as her mother's pregnancy, her first period and the strange feelings she has started to get when around boys. When she first met Daiki, she tends to blush a lot when she is around him, she does not know what that feeling is at first, but further into the story she then discovers that she, in fact, has fallen in love with Daiki.

Main characters

A fifth grader who deals with sensitive issues while growing up. She is worried about the people around her and tries hard to help them when they are in need. This leads to her trying to handle issues such as her first menstruation alone. Although Tsubomi is a responsible and helpful girl, she is naive in a sense that she does not understand many things around her. She is happy about her mother's pregnancy.

She is troubled about lot of things like the strange feelings that she has around Nemoto, the "indecent things" that her parents have done to make a baby, and her feelings towards Saya when she gets close to Nemoto. Tsubomi is shown to have feelings for Nemoto but does not quite know it herself at first. She later confesses to Nemoto, and the two become a couple.

Seiyū: Kaori Nazuka

Kaori Nazuka

is a freelance voice actress and singer. She is a graduate of the Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music. She also announced that she got married in February 2011.-TV anime:1999:*Ojarumaru...

A beautiful new transfer student in Tsubomi's school and class. She knows many things and is a friendly character. She gets along with Tsubomi from the beginning of the story and acts like a sister to her by helping her with her problems. Not only she helps Tsubomi, she even helps Daiki. She seems more mature than other children of the same age.

Seiyū: Ami Koshimizu

Ami Koshimizu

is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with Production Baobab management. She was born in the city of Kokubunji in Tokyo Prefecture. She is an award winning voice actress.-Career:*She graduated from Aomori Yamada High School...

He is friend of Futoshi and You. He calms Tsubomi down when she is going to see her mother and gives her a toy duck which she to attaches to her bag. He is nice and popular with girls, including those who are older than himself. He starts to have feelings for Tsubomi, and realizes them after they secretly see Yae and Yō kissing. Later in the series, Tsubomi confesses to Nemoto. He returns those feelings with his own, and the two become a couple.

Seiyū: Ryoko Shiraishi

Ryoko Shiraishi

is a voice actress from Nara, Japan who works for Aoni Production. Due to her low and gentle voice, she is often cast as either the effeminate-and-kind young man or the sexually mature but sweet-and-sensitive supporting lady...

She is tall, slim and calm. She is one of Tsubomi's best friends and her nickname is "Yae-chin". She is troubled by buying bras and her flat chest. She likes Saegusa and starts going out with him in chapter 5, and they kiss in chapter 9.

Seiyū: Sanae Kobayashi

Sanae Kobayashi

is a voice actress who was born in Shizuoka Prefecture. She is affiliated with Production Baobab.-Television Animation:*.hack//Liminality as Mai Minase*.hack//Roots as Ender*.hack//Roots as Pi...

She is small, hyperactive and very curious, mostly about perverted things. She is one of Tsubomi's friends and Futoshi's childhood friend. She is teased by Futoshi many times, which makes her want to be slim and beautiful. Her nick name is "Rea-Pi".

Seiyuu: Akemi Kanda

Akemi Kanda

is a Japanese voice actress who is affiliated with Aoni Production. She was formerly a member of the voice actor unit DROPS, which included fellow voice actors Ai Nonaka, Tomoko Kaneda, Mariko Kōda, and Ryōko Shiraishi, and of the voice actor unit Aice5 along with Yui Horie, Chiaki Takahashi,...

He is quiet, very popular and considered "the class idol". He has an older sister that helps Yae with her problems. He likes Yae and becomes her boyfriend in chapter 5, but they keep it a secret because many girls would be jealous.

Seiyuu: Mitsuki Saiga

Mitsuki Saiga

is a female seiyū who was born in Saitama. Saiga works at Ken Production.-Anime:* .hack//Roots * .hack//Sign * 07-Ghost * Ashita no Nadja...

He is Yō and Daiki's friend, as well as Rae's childhood friend. He is perverted and often talks about big breasts. He also likes to tease Rea, though he actually likes her.

Seiyū: Kōki Miyata

Koki Miyata

is a Japanese voice actor who works for 81 Produce. He was formerly credited as .-Anime:*07-Ghost *Angel Tales *Baka to Test to Shōkanjū *Baka to Test to Shōkanjū: Ni!...

OVA Episode List

Episode	Title	Synopsis
1	Babies are a secret.
2	Boys♂ Girls♀
3	Why we fall in love.