Cultural Exchange With a Game Centre Girl

Plot

Renji Kusakabe, a college student working part-time at an arcade, encounters Lily Baker, a young girl who is trying to get a koala plush from a claw machine. After he assists her in getting the plush, Lily becomes attached to him, becoming a regular at the arcade. Lily, a British girl who just recently moved to Japan, is still not fluent in Japanese. However, with Renji's help, she becomes less shy and opens up to others, finding her place in Japan.

Characters

Lily Baker (リリー・ベイカー, Rirī Beikā)

Voiced by: Nao Tōyama (voice comic, PV), Sally Amaki (anime) (Japanese); Bryn Apprill (English)

Lily is a 13-year-old British girl who moves to Japan. As Lily has only recently arrived in Japan, she is still improving her Japanese. Lily enjoys playing at the arcade, but is not good at video games. She likes koala goods.

Renji Kusakabe (草壁 蓮司, Kusakabe Renji)

Voiced by: Shōya Chiba (anime) (Japanese); Conner Allison (English)

Renji is an 18-year-old university student who works part-time at a game arcade center. He is skilled at playing video games.

Aoi Kusakabe (草壁 葵衣, Kusakabe Aoi)

Voiced by: Reo Osanai (Japanese); Kayla Parker (English)

Aoi is Renji's younger sister and Lily's classmate. Although she was not originally that interested in video games(only played them once in a while), she gains a greater interest in them after befriending Lily.

Karin Kaga (加賀 花梨, Kaga Karin)

Voiced by: Asaki Yuikawa (Japanese); Lexi Nieto (English)

Karin is a tomboyish gamer girl around Lily's age who has a rivalry with Renji in terms of fighting games. She later serves as mentor to Lily into getting better and gifts her an arcade stick on her birthday.

Hotaru Katsuragi (桂木 蛍, Katsuragi Hotaru)

Voiced by: Kaori Ishihara (Japanese); Jill Harris (English)

Hotaru is a straight-A school president within Lily's school who slowly ingratiates herself into Lily's friend circle by using her authority as a school president, before becoming a regular student.

Momoko Mochizuki (望月 桃子, Mochizuki Momoko)

Voiced by: Ai Kayano (Japanese); Morgan Lauré Garrett (English)

Sheryl Baker (シェリル・ベイカー, Sheriru Beikā)

Voiced by: Manami Tanaka (Japanese); Grainne Noel (English)

Sheryl is Lily's mother.

Oliver Baker (オリバー・ベイカー, Oribā Beikā)

Voiced by: Kentaro Tone

Oliver is Lily's father who is over-protective of Lily and was initially suspicious about their relationship, but becomes fond of him after realizing how much he meant to her.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Hirokazu Yasuhara, Cultural Exchange with Game Center Girl began serialization online via the author's Twitter and Pixiv accounts on December 22, 2019. It was later acquired by Fujimi Shobo who began publishing it on the Niconico Seiga website under their DraDra Sharp brand on May 15, 2020. The series' chapters have been collected into eleven tankōbon volumes as of December 2025.

Anime

An anime adaptation was announced on August 29, 2024. It was later confirmed to be a television series produced by Nomad and directed by Toshihiro Kikuchi, with series composition handled by Yasunori Yamada, characters designed by Rikiya Okano, and music composed by Takurō Iga. The opening theme song is "Their Start Button" (ふたりのスタートボタン, Futari no Sutāto Botan), performed by Sally Amaki and Reo Osanai as their characters, while the ending theme song is "Amusing Flavor" performed by Amaki. was aired from July 6 to September 28, 2025, on AT-X and other networks. Crunchyroll will stream the series.

Other

In commemoration of the release of the series' second volume, a promotional video was released on Kadokawa Corporation's YouTube channel on July 8, 2021. The promotional video featured the performance of Nao Tōyama as Lily.