Tbh, every introvert watching this series had at least 1 moment of thinking: Oh no. That's me.
How do you review School Trip: Joined a Group I'm Not Close To when your main memories are secondhand embarrassment, unexpected friendships, and Asahi looking like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole for approximately half the series?
This show really looked at every introvert's worst nightmare and said, "What if we made it gay?"
Asahi Hioki arrived at the school trip fully prepared to spend the entire time quietly existing in the background.
The universe looked at those plans and laughed.
Suddenly he finds himself grouped with the school's social elite.
The popular kids.
The influencers.
The "how do you have this much confidence at seventeen?" crowd.
Otherwise known as:
The Four Heavenly Kings.
And among them?
Watarai.
Charming.
Popular.
Dangerously good at making Asahi nervous.
The kind of person who walks into a room and somehow convinces everyone else to relax immediately.
Unfortunately for Asahi, this included him.
Watching Asahi slowly go from "please don't perceive me" to actually enjoying himself became one of the most satisfying parts of the series.
Because beneath all the awkwardness, this wasn't just a romance.
It was a story about belonging.
About realizing that maybe people like you more than you think they do.
About discovering that stepping outside your comfort zone doesn't always end in disaster.
Sometimes it ends in friendship.
Sometimes it ends in love.
And sometimes it ends with you accidentally getting adopted by an extrovert.
A tale as old as time.
The chemistry between Asahi and Watarai felt incredibly natural.
The teasing.
The awkward silences.
The tiny moments of courage.
The way Watarai seemed to understand Asahi long before Asahi understood himself.
It all felt wonderfully human.
And can we talk about the people behind the camera?
The production team understood exactly what this story needed: sincerity.
The school trip setting wasn't just a backdrop.
It became a character in itself.
The bus rides.
The shared hotel rooms.
The sightseeing stops.
The late-night conversations that only happen when you're away from home with people who suddenly feel a little less like strangers than they did that morning.
The cinematography leaned into warmth and nostalgia, making the entire series feel like a memory you haven't made yet but somehow miss already.
And the soundtrack?
The audio equivalent of your favorite high school memory.
School Trip: Joined a Group I'm Not Close To wasn't trying to reinvent the coming-of-age genre.
It didn't need to.
This wasn't mafia politics.
This wasn't corporate conspiracies.
This wasn't emotional warfare.
This was social anxiety × popular boy with excellent adoption instincts.
This was awkward smiles, shared experiences, and discovering that maybe you're not as alone as you thought you were.
10/10.
Would absolutely join the wrong group, panic for three business days, become emotionally attached to everyone involved, and watch Asahi get adopted by extroverts all over again.
This show really looked at every introvert's worst nightmare and said, "What if we made it gay?"
Asahi Hioki arrived at the school trip fully prepared to spend the entire time quietly existing in the background.
The universe looked at those plans and laughed.
Suddenly he finds himself grouped with the school's social elite.
The popular kids.
The influencers.
The "how do you have this much confidence at seventeen?" crowd.
Otherwise known as:
The Four Heavenly Kings.
And among them?
Watarai.
Charming.
Popular.
Dangerously good at making Asahi nervous.
The kind of person who walks into a room and somehow convinces everyone else to relax immediately.
Unfortunately for Asahi, this included him.
Watching Asahi slowly go from "please don't perceive me" to actually enjoying himself became one of the most satisfying parts of the series.
Because beneath all the awkwardness, this wasn't just a romance.
It was a story about belonging.
About realizing that maybe people like you more than you think they do.
About discovering that stepping outside your comfort zone doesn't always end in disaster.
Sometimes it ends in friendship.
Sometimes it ends in love.
And sometimes it ends with you accidentally getting adopted by an extrovert.
A tale as old as time.
The chemistry between Asahi and Watarai felt incredibly natural.
The teasing.
The awkward silences.
The tiny moments of courage.
The way Watarai seemed to understand Asahi long before Asahi understood himself.
It all felt wonderfully human.
And can we talk about the people behind the camera?
The production team understood exactly what this story needed: sincerity.
The school trip setting wasn't just a backdrop.
It became a character in itself.
The bus rides.
The shared hotel rooms.
The sightseeing stops.
The late-night conversations that only happen when you're away from home with people who suddenly feel a little less like strangers than they did that morning.
The cinematography leaned into warmth and nostalgia, making the entire series feel like a memory you haven't made yet but somehow miss already.
And the soundtrack?
The audio equivalent of your favorite high school memory.
School Trip: Joined a Group I'm Not Close To wasn't trying to reinvent the coming-of-age genre.
It didn't need to.
This wasn't mafia politics.
This wasn't corporate conspiracies.
This wasn't emotional warfare.
This was social anxiety × popular boy with excellent adoption instincts.
This was awkward smiles, shared experiences, and discovering that maybe you're not as alone as you thought you were.
10/10.
Would absolutely join the wrong group, panic for three business days, become emotionally attached to everyone involved, and watch Asahi get adopted by extroverts all over again.
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