The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses

The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses (女神のカフェテラス) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kōji Seo. It was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine from February 2021 to November 2025, and was compiled into 22 volumes. An anime television series adaptation produced by Tezuka Productions aired from April to June 2023. A second season aired from July to September 2024.

Plot

The series takes place in Miura, Kanagawa,[2] and follows Hayato Kasukabe, an orphan who had moved to Tokyo for high school. After passing the exams for the University of Tokyo, he returns to Miura after being notified of the death of his grandmother, with the intention to close her struggling café, Cafe Terrace Familia. There, he discovers five women who had been working for the café, as well as living under his grandmother's care. After seeing their struggles and learning about their bond with his grandmother, he decides to reopen the café for business.

Characters

• Hayato Kasukabe (粕壁 隼)
• The 18-year-old protagonist. He was orphaned at three years old after his parents died in an accident, and raised by his grandmother, Sachiko Kasukabe. He leaves for Tokyo to study, following an argument with Sachiko. After her death, he decides to come home, initially to close down the café, but later on decides to keep it open. He bears a striking resemblance to his late grandfather, Masahiro.
• Ouka Makuzawa (幕澤 桜花)
• A 19-year-old part-timer at Familia, who is studying at a fashion school. She has a tsundere personality. She has a twin sister named Kikka. She goes overseas to France in order to study fashion, but returns to Familia after a month, having been let go from her work-study.
• Ami Tsuruga (鶴河 秋水)
• A 17-year-old part-timer at Familia and a childish high school student, she is skilled in karate. A running gag in the series is her wearing masks to prank her co-workers with them and somehow performing moves from the game Street Fighter (especially both Shoryuken and Tatsumaki Senpukyaku). Being airheaded, she once dropped a dumbbell on Hayato's laptop and smartphone. On occasion, Hayato would call her "Tsuruga-nidouhei" ("Private Tsuruga").
• Riho Tsukishima (月島 流星)
• A 20-year-old part-timer at Familia and a college student. She is the granddaughter of a famous Shōwa era actress, and used to be a popular child actress herself, until her parents' acrimonious divorce.
• Shiragiku Ono (小野 白菊)
• A 20-year-old part-timer at Familia and Hayato's childhood friend. She is the daughter of a Michelin-star chef who had studied under Sachiko Kasukabe. A running gag is Shiragiku's penchant for doing lewd things when drunk, in addition to having a fetish for smells. She is nicknamed "Kiku-chan" by Riho.
• Akane Hououji (鳳凰寺 紅葉)
• A 19-year-old part-timer at Familia, and the vocalist and guitarist of a band, Mussy Moustache Girls. She comes from a rich family who disapprove of her singing career. She is the heiress to the Hououji household. At the end of the series, she marries Hayato, although she allows the others to be close to him, giving him a harem.
• Sachiko Kasukabe (粕壁 幸子)
• Hayato's grandmother, who took care of Hayato after he was orphaned. Her death before the start of the series is what brings Hayato back to Familia. She had worked as a waitress in the previous iteration of the Familia café under Masahiro.
• Masahiro Kasukabe (粕壁 大洋)
• Sachiko's husband, and Hayato's grandfather. His grandson resembles him. He was the previous owner of the Familia café and had passed away some time before Hayato's birth.
• Kikka Makuzawa (幕澤 橘花)
• Ouka's younger twin sister. She is a Tokyo University student and was estranged from Ouka at the beginning of the series. In contrast to her sister, who was purple eyes, she has blue ones. She usually wears glasses.
• Shigehisa Fuwa (不破茂久)
• A former ambassador, Shigehisa is a debt collector who is the main antagonist of the series. He has a deep-seated grudge against the Kasukabe family. He does everything in his power (even invoking his ties with the police) to be a thorn in the side of Hayato and the Familia café, including creating a copycat rival of the café. He is deeply hated by everyone who knows him.
• Hekiru Yoshino (吉野 碧流)
• Hekiru is a 19-year-old part-timer brought in to staff the copycat Terrace Café. She is also an aspiring author.
• Moemi Sо̄ya (宗谷 萌美)
• Moemi is a third-year college student brought in to staff the copycat Terrace Cafe. Due to her familial roots (their family owns a top restaurant), she would eventually become the head chef of the reopened diner when Shigehisa fired them all unceremoniously. One of her behaviors includes turning into a different character when wearing a chef's hat, resembling that of Ryo Kurokiba from Shokugeki no Soma.
• Ririka Chiyoda (千代田 莉々歌)
• Ririka is a 19-year-old idol brought in to staff the copycat Terrace Cafe. When Shigehisa fired them and her agency fired her due to an incident, she became a YouTuber and helped reopen the café with help from Hayato. She considers Riho as her senpai.
• Valentina Azuma (ヴァレンティーナ吾妻)
• Valentina is a 18 year-old traveler brought in to staff the copycat Terrace Café. After Shigehisa fired her and her co-waitresses, she later worked at the Chiyoda Diner.
• Mao Takasaki (高崎 舞乙)
• Mao is a 20-year-old part-timer brought in to staff the copycat Terrace Café. She is also an amateur model who works at the Chiyoda Diner. She tends to openly flirt with Hayato, much to the jealousy of the Familia girls.

Media

Reception

As of April 2023, the series has 1 million copies in circulation.[69]

Anime News Network had three editors review the first episode of the anime:[70] James Beckett found nothing "actively terrible or migrane-inducing" with the series opener but felt it was "played out and low effort", saying it lacked more lively animation to make it a "pure, shameless comedy" and recommended that people seek out "funnier comedies and sweeter romances" throughout the spring season. Nicholas Dupree commended the first half for giving its audience the cheesecake fanservice with "professional efficiency", but criticized the second half for Hayato's "extremely hackneyed" family story clashing with said fanservice, noting the cast were not "well-rounded" and "too unlikable" to deliver the drama and comedy respectively. He concluded that "there doesn't seem to be much else in the way of ecchi shows this season, so if that's your bag, I guess you can do the opposite of reading Playboy for the articles." Richard Eisenbeis respected the premiere for being an unashamed "good ol' fanservice harem rom-com" and singled out Akane as the most interesting out of the female cast, concluding: "With solid character designs, and at least one character that genuinely intrigues me, I might give this show another chance next week. I mean, it's definitely a fanservice anime, but part of me wonders if it might be something more."[70]

Eisenbeis reviewed the complete first season in 2024 and gave it an overall C+ grade.[71] He criticized the first half for being "painfully cliché" with its tired setup and one-note, cookie-cutter caricatures, but praised the second half for Hayato's "arrogant asshole" character helping to guide the female cast to confront their personal issues and make them more than stereotypes, concluding that: "Ultimately, The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses has left me conflicted. The first few episodes are so boring and uninspired that I can't, in good conscience, recommend the anime. However, at the same time, the back half is good enough that I am honestly looking forward to the second season."[71]

Anime News Network had two editors review the first episode of the second season:[72] Eisenbeis was positive towards the girls' conversation over their yearning to win over Hayato, the "solid comedic twist" involving Ouka's relationship with Hayato, and the overarching plot points set up for the season. Kennedy felt it was off to "a promising start" by delivering its brand of humor from the first season and planting seeds for the rival café plot, concluding that: "I find that watching this show as a comedy—as a weird, ironic performance art of sorts—is incredibly fun. And if this episode is indicative of what the rest of this season will be like, then it'll be absolutely delightful."[72] Kennedy reviewed the complete second season and gave it an overall A grade.[73] While observing that the "aggressively corny" barrage of "ecchi harem clichés" will come across as "boring and played-out" to some viewers, Kennedy praised the self aware maturity of Hayato and the "distinct personal narratives" that each girl has throughout the episodes, critiquing that "Funny both ironically and unironically, it's found a way to be a perfectly balanced blend of unoriginality and freshness."[73]

External links

• The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses official manga website at Pocket Shōnen Magazine
• The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses official anime website