Smile Down the Runway

Ikuto Tsumura (都村育人, Tsumura Ikuto)

Voiced by: Natsuki Hanae[2] (Japanese); Derick Snow (English)

Ikuto is the seventeen-year-old (later eighteen-year-old) male protagonist of the series and an aspiring fashion designer. Ikuto has aspired to be a fashion designer and self-taught himself since he was at least seven-year-old, but is forced put his dream on halt due to his financially struggling family. As the oldest child and only son, Ikuto helps his mother take care of his sisters and handles most of the housework and initially refuses to go college in lieu of full-time employment to support his sisters. After befriending Chiyuki and getting a part-time job at Yanagida's studio, Ikuto begins working towards his dream of being a fashion designer, though his financial situation causes him some setbacks. Despite not having any formal training or experience, Ikuto is very intuitive, hard-working, and a quick learner with a natural talent as a patternmaker. Ikuto's innate talent puts him on par with older aspiring fashion designers in the college-level Geika festival, though Ikuto is noted to have trouble with designing Haute couture by himself since he is used to making ready-to-wear clothes. While typically humble, polite, and mild-mannered, Ikuto gradually becomes more assertive, confident, less self-sacrificing, and develops a healthy ego as he becomes more involved in the fashion world. Ikuto has a special relationship with Chiyuki, crediting her as the reason for creating the opportunity that allowed him to pursue his dream, and their relationship is rooted in mutual feelings of kinship, respect, support, friendly rivalry, and romantic tension. After applying for an intern job at "Aphro I dite", Ikuto quickly distinguishes himself, rapidly climbing the ranks of the company and is eventually promoted to chief designer of the "Aphro I dite novice" branch.

Chiyuki Fujito (藤戸千雪, Fujito Chiyuki)

Voiced by: Yumiri Hanamori[2] (Japanese); Macy Anne Johnson (English)

Chiyuki is the seventeen-year-old female protagonist of the series and a model for her father's company "Mille Neige". While praised to be blessed with good looks, the proper body proportions, and her father's connections and wealth, Chiyuki lacks the minimum height requirement to be a runway model, being 158cm (5'2") tall. Despite this, Chyuki dreams of being in the Paris Fashion Week as the representative of her father's company and aims to be a top model, regardless of her short height and what other people thinks of her. Chiyuki is an energetic, charming, and strong-willed girl who speaks her mind and has a strong competitive spirit, especially when trying to prove her worth as a model to people that are dismissive of her. However, Chiyuki can also be pushy and selfish at times, though her stubborn and blunt nature can be a source of encouragement and motivation to people like Ikuto or Kokoro due their lack of confidence. Aside from being the first person outside his family to support his dream of being a fashion designer, Chiyuki serves as a source of knowledge for Ikuto to understand the fashion industry and is essentially Ikuto's de facto muse. Among the multifaceted aspects of her relationship with him, Ikuto's presence is a source of strength and hope for Chiyuki, as he is one of the few people that looks past her height to see her talent, and she is protective of him in return. As they gradually begin spending more time together, even becoming neighbors in the same apartment building, Chiyuki realizes she has romantic feelings for Ikuto. After participating in the Geika Festival as Kokoro's sole model, Chiyuki obtains some success working as an exclusive model for fashion magazine "Juvenile" and attracting more entertainment jobs, though she is indifferent to the latter.

Kokoro Hasegawa (長谷川心, Hasegawa Kokoro)

Voiced by: Ai Kayano[3], Dani Chambers (English)

Kokoro is a young aspiring, hard-working fashion designer, first-year student at the Geika Institute of Fashion, and part-time model at "Bon Rouge". Being 181cm (5'11") tall with a shy, submissive, and meek personality, Kokoro is rather self-conscious about her height, though she became less bothered by it when she was scouted in high school. Despite being talented as a model, Kokoro dislikes the nuances the job includes, but her feelings of debt towards her manager Igarashi and her lack of confidence prevents her from quitting. Upon befriending and working alongside Ikuto at Yanagida's studio, Kokoro gradually begins to be more courageous and challenging herself due his encouragement, though she is still prone to self-doubt and worries. During the Geika Festival, Kokoro and Chiyuki make a bet with Igarashi to let her quit modeling if Kokoro wins first place in the competition, which she does. Following her period abroad to study in Paris, Kokoro returns to Japan to work for Toh's upcoming brand. Kokoro greatly values her relationship with Ikuto and comes to realize she has romantic feelings for him.

Toh Ayano (綾野遠, Ayano Tō)

Voiced by: Ryōhei Kimura[4]; Lee George (English)

Toh is the 22-year-old adoptive child of the famous designer Mai Ayano and Ikuto's rival. Toh is originally from France and an orphan that lived on the streets until he was two years old. Having been personally trained by Mai for over 20 years, Toh is a prodigious fashion designer and patternmaker, skilled in all areas to flourish in the industry, and is considered the greatest senior student during his time at the Geika Institute of Fashion. Ambitious and a self-proclaimed narcissist, Toh harbors a strong fixation to surpasses his grandmother through his own efforts and even angrily quits working at her company when she offers him a position of chief designer for a new division with total authority of its operation. Due to people downplaying his skills as Mai's heir to her company and his abilities far surpassing his peers, Toh is noted to always be alone, though he is friendly with many of his people. Upon noticing Ikuto's natural skills as a patterner, Toh takes a special interest in him and even tries to recruit into working for him, though Ikuto rejects his offer. After going independent, Toh begins building up his brand as he continues to compete against his grandmother.

Hazime Yanagida (柳田一, Yanagida Hazime)

Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe[5]

Yanagida is a talented up-and-coming designer of his eponymous brand that caters to women, and Ikuto's mentor and first employer. While pleasant and nice around his customers, Yanagida is sharp-tongued, abrasive, foul-tempered, and arrogant, traits that often leaves negative impressions on other people. However, Yanagida is frank and more attentive then he often shows and see a lot of potential in Ikuto, helping him understand what it means to be a designer. Yanagida used to be an architecture student, but becomes interest in fashion after meeting Mii. While Yanagida is knowledgeable about fabrics and sewing techniques, Yanagida specializes in only design and doesn't know how to sew, as he is afraid of needles due to accidentally having his finger sewed after using a sewing machine for the first time. After his first collection did poorly in sales, Yanagida gets a job as the chief designer of the "Aphro I dite figure" branch to build up his reputation.

Kenji Fujito (藤戸 研二, Fujito Kenji)

Voiced by: Kazuhiko Inoue

Fujito is the founder and president of the modeling agency and up-and-coming brand "Mille Neige", which is affiliated with the talent agency Emmy Production, and Chiyuki's father. Fujito deeply loves Chiyuki and named his company after her ("Mille Neige" and "Chiyuki" both means "Thousand Snow" in French and Japanese respectively) when it was established. A fair yet practical man, he has great faith in Chiyuki's talent as a model, but he never shows her any favoritism and even fired her once for throwing tantrums after she stopped growing taller, but he starts to openly support her again when she got rehired. He is very fond of Ikuto and recognizes his talent as designer, even helping him out on several occasions. He is also the only person from Chiyuki’s and Ikuto’s social circles that understands the depth of their relationship and influence on each other.

Shizuku Naruoka (成岡　雫, Naruoka Shizuku)

Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa

Shizuku is a model for "Mille Neige" and is famous for being the first model from the company to take part in the prestigious Paris Fashion Week show. Having known Chiyuki since she was young, Shizuku is Chiyuki's role model, friend, and mentor at "Mille Neige", and loves her like a little sister. However, Shizuku is very blunt and realistic about Chiyuki's chances to become a top model, but tries her best advise her as Chiyuki strives for her dreams.

Yu Igarashi (Igarashi Yu)

Igarashi is Kokoro's manager and an agent of the modeling agency "Bon Rouge". Igarashi is a former model and a friend of Shizuku, having worked at "Bon Rouge" as teenagers. However, Igarashi quit after realizing her growth has halted and suffers from feelings of inferiority and jealously towards the more successful Shizuku. Her failure as a model causes Igarashi to become rather cynical and believe that natural talent triumphs over hard work, leading her to dismiss Chiyuki's efforts to be model. While very strict, fearsome, and not afraid to be a little devious to achieve her goal in making Kokoro successful, Igarashi puts in a lot of effort in nurturing Kokoro during their time together and eventually honors the bet of letting Kokoro quit after she wins the Geika festival. Igarashi is extremely fond on the British brand "Lale Faun", which collapsed due to financial issues, and her wish to model their clothes was the reason she wanted to model in the first place.

Kaoru Kizaki (木崎香留, Kizaki Kaoru)

Voiced by: Ayaka Fukuhara[6]

Kaoru is a second-year student at Geika Institute of Fashion who specializes in women's fashion and a big fan of Yanagida. Having worked as a dresser during Yanagida's first fashion show, Kaoru develops a fierce, one-sided rivalry and envy towards Ikuto after seeing him stepping up to the pressure of modifying one of Yanagida's dresses for Chiyuki. Despite treating Ikuto with an abrasive attitude, she becomes more friendly to him during the last round of the Geika festival. Kaoru is skilled at handling different types of leather and wins seventh place at the Geika festival after showcasing her skills.

Ryūnosuke Eda (江田龍之介, Eda Ryūnosuke)

Ryūnosuke is a second-year student at Geika Institute of Fashion who specializes in men's fashion and a childhood friend of Kaoru. Confident and disliking elite privilege, Ryūnosuke is very competitive and aims to surpass those who are better than him, such as Toh. While initially thinking lowly of Ikuto, he eventually becomes more friendly with him, giving him advice on men's fashion since Ikuto lacks knowledge of that area, and encourages him to attend Geika.

Voiced by: Kōhei Amasaki[6]

Shōko Takaoka (高岡祥子, Takaoka Shōko)

Voiced by: Keiko Han[6]

Takaoka is the Headmaster of the Geika Institute of Fashion and takes great pride in her school. Despite her preppy and happy-go-lucky demeanor, Takaoka has a sharp eye and is very supportive of all her students, including Ikuto, whom she greatly encourages to attend the school to nurture his talent.

Seira (セイラ, Seira)

Voiced by: Yui Makino[6] (Japanese); Madeleine Morris (English)

Seira is Japan's most famous model and an TV celebrity who is responsible for starting up Ikuto's path as an designer and reigniting Chiyuki's modeling career after taking a picture of Chiyuki wearing Ikuto's dress on her social media. Despite being 171cm (5'7), which is considered to be short for a runway model, Seira is able to keep her balance and perform on the runway no matter how high her heels are. While Seira behaves in a cheerful and air-headed manner, she actually has a devious side and is quite competitive against her modeling rivals, even biasedly voting for Kokoro during the Geika festival just to push Kokoro into leaving the modeling industry. According to Toh, Serira's father is from Switzerland, implying Seira might have a mixed heritage, and her favorite type of clothes are ones with stripes.

Mai Ayano (綾野麻衣, Ayano Mai)

Voiced by: Mayumi Asano[6]

Mai is Toh's adoptive guardian, official known as his "grandmother", and the CEO of the widely popular brand "Aphro I dite". She is considered to be one of the top designers in the world and is highly respected by many people, including Kokoro, as Mai inspires her interest in fashion. She is a strict yet fair and friendly person with an eye for talent, having high hopes of Toh and recognizing Ikuto's talent enough to promote him to chief designer of "Aphro I dite novice", one of the branches of her company.

Fumiyo Niimura (Niimura Fumiyo)

Niimura is an editor for premier fashion magazine "MODE JAPAN", having recently transferred to the department from the literature department. Being timid, shy, and of short stature, Niimura is insecure about her appearance and her ability to be fashionable, and initially has no interest in fashion. However, Niimura becomes more interested in the fashion world after seeing the short Chiyuki modeling for Yanagida's first Fashion show and develops a deep admiration of her, though she has yet to meet her in person.

Yuriko Tsumura (Tsumura Yuriko)

Yuriko is the kind and loving mother of Ikuto, Honoka, Aoi, and Ichika. Ever since her husband died when her children were very young, Yuriko is the sole provider for her family and her tendency to overwork herself leads her to be hospitalized many times. Despite the hardships she endures, Yuriko remains positive for her children's sake and maintains a playful sense of humor, especially towards Ikuto. Before her husband died, Yuriko owned a small cafe that she greatly treasures and her children hope to one day reopen it for her.

Honoka Tsumura (都村ほのか, Tsumura Honoka)

Voiced by: Yui Ishikawa[3] (Japanese); Leah Clark (English)

Honoka is the oldest daughter and second oldest child of the Tsumura family overall. Honoka is very smart and spends most of her time studying, even attending a different school from the rest of her siblings and one day dreams of working overseas. However, taking care of her family takes up a good deal of her attention, causing her grades to occasionally slip, and Honoka denies herself from going to college due to the family's financial situation. Knowing how much Ikuto sacrifices to take care of them and heartbroken over being a burden to her brother, Honoka is deeply against Ikuto working part-time jobs and wishes he focus more on himself. Honoka's favorite animal are rabbits and she loves clothes with check patterns, so the clothes Ikuto makes for her always have a check pattern on them and occasionally rabbits, though Honoka is known to stop wearing Ikuto's clothes whenever she is angry with him.

Aoi Tsumura (都村葵, Tsumura Aoi)

Voiced by: Hibiku Yamamura[3] (Japanese); Trina Nishimura (English)

Aoi is the second oldest sister of Ikuto and the third child of the Tsumura family. Aoi is very talented at volleyball and is even scouted by top schools, though Aoi turns them down due the expensive tuition. Since Aoi's sport takes up much of her time, Aoi doesn't help around the house as much as Ikuto or Honoka, but steps up to help when needed. While Aoi doesn't show to favor a particular style, Aoi prefers clothes that are easy to move in and Ikuto often makes often blue-colored clothes for her, which is also Aoi's favorite color and the meaning of her name.

Ichika Tsumura (都村いち花, Tsumura Ichika)

Voiced by: Hikaru Akao[3] (Japanese); Jad Saxton (English)

Ichika is the five-year-old sister of Ikuto and the youngest child of the Tsumura family. Precocious and sweet, Ichika deeply adores her older brother and the clothes he makes for her. Ichika loves ribbons, usually wearing one in her hair, and the clothes Ikuto makes for her will always have ribbons or ribbon patterns on them.

Mii Sakuma (Sakuma Mii)

Mii is a long-time friend of Yanagida, whom she has a crush on and was her tutor when she was a teenager. She is the daughter of the famous architect, Yoshinori Sakuma, who is also a patron of "Aphro I dite". Since she was in middle school, Mii has a passion for designing clothes and shoemaking, but lost her drive after failing at starting her own shoe brand. Using her father's connections, Mii got a job as chief designer of "Aphro I dite novice", but suffers from ridicule by many staff members since her first collection was a financial disaster and is constantly belittled for using nepotism to receive her position. This greatly damages her self-confidence, causing Mii to be laid-back in her responsibilities, becoming more of a figurehead for her branch until Ikuto takes over her position.

Smile Down the Runway is written and illustrated by Kotoba Inoya. The series began serialization in the 26th issue of Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine on May 31, 2017.[7] The first volume was published by Kodansha on September 15, 2017.[8] The series has been compiled into sixteen volumes as of June 17, 2020.[9]

An anime television series adaptation was announced on September 16, 2019. The series is animated by Ezo'la and directed by Nobuyoshi Nagayama, with Touko Machida handling series composition, and Misaki Kaneko designing the characters.[2] Shuji Katayama and Akinari Suzuki are composing the music.[10] It aired from January 10 to March 27, 2020 on the Animeism programming block on MBS, TBS, and BS-TBS.[11] Ami Sakaguchi performed the series' opening theme song "Lion", while J-JUN performed the series' ending theme song "Ray of Light".[12] Funimation has licensed the series for a simuldub.[1][13] In Southeast Asia, Muse Asia, is streaming the series.[14]