The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague

“The Ice Guy & His Cool Colleague: 2023's Cutest Anime Couple”

Do you have a co-worker or colleague with whom you have a close relationship? It can be romantic or platonic, but it’s always great to have someone close to you at your workplace. Work can be chaotic and stressful more often than not, so having someone who can rely on and support you in-house is highly valuable, because you can even rant to them!

The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague: Heartwarming Anime | Pinnedupink.com

Such a person would understand the context perfectly and relate better, maybe even offering very viable solutions to our problems and backing you up when necessary. If you have someone like that, consider yourself quite lucky!

“The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague," also known as “Koori Zokusei Danshi to Cool na Douryou Joshi," is a 12-episode TV anime series that aired from the 4th of January until the 22nd of March in Winter 2023. Studios Zero-G and Liber brought it to life along with Square Enix, Lantis, Movic, Nagoya Broadcasting Network, ABC Animation, NetEase, BS Asahi, Bandai Namco Music Live, and Saber Links.

The main staff behind it included Cao Cong, Matsui Yuuko, Sotokawa Akihiro, and Kachi Hideyuki as producers. It features the genres of comedy, fantasy, and romance, along with the themes of adult cast, mythology, and workplace. Each episode ran for 23 minutes, and the show received a rating of PG-13 for teenagers 13 years of age or older.

The anime is based on the web manga titled “The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl," also known as “Koori Zokusei Danshi to Cool na Douryou Joshi," which began publication on July 22, 2019 and is still ongoing. It is the work of author and artist Tonogaya Miyuki, who first released it on their Twitter account in August 2018.

It then got published in printed format via Square Enix on July 22, 2019, while the chapters also got published on Gangan Pixiv following the release of each volume. The series has also been published digitally in English through Comikey since April 25, 2022, and through Square Enix through Manga UP! On October 10th, 2023, Square Enix also published the volumes. The anime got its Blu-ray version released in four volumes from the 28th of April 2023 up to the 27th of July 2023.

The story is centered around the protagonist, Himuro-kun, who is a very kind-hearted but unfortunate soul. Why? Whenever he enters a state of deep concentration, experiences stress, or feels flustered, he involuntarily ends up creating chilling blizzard conditions for both himself and everyone in his vicinity.

But even a man like him has to work, so on the fateful first day at his new job, he meets a beauty named Fuyutsuki-san. Not only is she his new coworker, but she aids him in breaking out of his nerve-induced ice too! It turns out she is keen on continuously helping him do so, as she starts offering quite simple yet rational solutions to his icy issues even at the office.

Her cool-headedness is what supports this endeavor the most, as she does everything from helping him garden while not freezing the plants to making sure he doesn’t melt during the span of their tropical work retreat. Needless to say, people as kind and cool as her are rare, so every time she does something kind for him, he experiences a tempest of emotions within himself, and his condition makes it quite embarrassing because it all manifests outside!

Thus, Himuro-kun's growing feelings for her have become impossible to hide thanks to the frequent snowstorms. The issue is that Fuyutsuki-san is quite unfamiliar with love. But this will not stop our protagonist from wanting to repay her priceless kindness, growing more and more determined to warm her heart in any way he possibly can.

The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl, put simply, is a very nice anime to watch, especially when you want to unwind from something. Perhaps you had a hectic work week, continuous exam stress, or did something action-packed. This is the kind of show that can restore your inner calm while providing a pleasant experience. So grab your cup of preferred hot beverage, sit back, relax, and let the event unfold at its steady pace.

This show is neither energetic nor requires you to expend any energy, which is actually one of its strengths. It emphasizes positivity and warmth among its "cool" characters, remaining wholesome throughout. In all honesty, I yearn for a colleague who is as exceptional as they are, as well as a work environment that supports their success.

We get to watch these characters go about their careers, both old and new, in an ordinary office filled with regular people. Their interactions are one of the highlights, especially when it comes to the main duo, who’re slowly but surely falling for each other over time. They are just cute and relaxing to watch, and they play off each other so well. In the event the main couple aren't doing anything engaging, the remainder of the cast pops in to replenish the energy and even things out without making anyone feel redundant or annoying.

All these personalities blend so well together to keep the ball rolling within this wholesome tale, which also has a bit of the supernatural thrown in without making it the focal point. Aside from the obvious ice powers, there are characters who are descendants of spirits, which makes for an interesting twist in the otherwise normal office.

All in all, there’s nothing major that happens story-wise; the show chooses to focus more on the Office Romance and Slice of Life aspects at a fairly slow pace, but it is in no way boring. It’s rare to see a story that manages to make the everyday happenings of such a setting so nice to watch.

It’s worth noting that the romances are handled especially well, as the story gives time for each couple to grow and shine. While these sweet love stories could’ve been explored even further, they did an amazing job with just 12 episodes. If a Season 2 ever rolls around, I hope we get to see more of them!

Both Himuro-kun and Fuyutsuki-san are a treat to watch, and their moments make the show all the more worth it. Himuro is prone to freaking out, even when it comes to good things, making it a pleasure to see it all manifest externally.

The way he expresses himself towards the end was such an endearing touch to the story too. Meanwhile, Fuyutsuki is down to earth, has a caring nature, and is obsessed with how cute her cat is. The supporting characters are adults as well, which is really refreshing after getting bombarded with teenagers in high school rom-coms. They all have unique natures and quirks, remaining warm and funny throughout, making you love every single one of them in their own right.

When it comes to the art and animation departments, it is fairly obvious that the studios did not have a huge budget to work with. But they have done an amazing job with whatever limited budget they had, as the show looks nice overall. The character designs are simple yet beautiful, and with each character wearing pretty normal clothes, you’d expect to see those settings. We can easily distinguish these characters due to their own inherent styles and preferences, and there’s little to no fan service.

Everything just looks nice, and there’s this unique sense of brightness and warmth in their colors. These masterful uses of shades expertly set the mood and bring out good vibes, in addition to being detailed and blending so well together. The character expressions are on point, and I have to give credit for the amazing eye animations, which were highly expressive and added so much to each moment.

The visuals just burst on-screen in the chillest way imaginable, like how the environments feel so warm and immerse you in their simple world without anything feeling out of place. The night scenes are among my favorites! This department is not perfect, because you notice how the quality randomly drops in some episodes, but it will not ruin the experience for you.

The Sounds and Music department does not stand out, but it’s decently done. The opening theme is "FROZEN MIDNIGHT" by Takao Sakuma, which serves as a nice prequel to help you immerse yourself in their world each episode. The ending theme, "Linaria" by Nowlu, has similar effects while being right at home in this series.

The OSTs sync with their respective scenes perfectly, serving to set the mood just right and have the feel of a positive romantic chase. Huge applause to the voice actors for doing such an amazing job embodying their characters and bringing out their best; they are a huge reason why we can love every character.

Like I stated earlier, The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague is a very warm and wholesome series. It is not a game-changer in the realm of anime and won’t get hyped up much, but it’s one of the best shows to watch after a long day. It’s cute and positive, and the romance is quite realistic thanks to its superb adult cast. I’m honestly hoping for Season 2 just so that the characters and their romances can be explored further. Highly recommended to anyone looking for a chill and adult romance!