Grow Up Show

Grow Up Show: Sunflower Circus is an original anime, which means it was made for TV and is not based on a manga or novel. Aniplex produced it, and the animation was done by A-1 Pictures together with Psyde Kick Studio. Kanta Kamei directed the show, Takeshi Kikuchi wrote it, and Yugo Kanno composed the music. It began airing on July 5, 2026, on Tokyo MX, BS11, and other channels, and it has 13 episodes. In English, it streams on Crunchyroll. A manga anthology, a book of short comics by different artists, also came out on August 21, 2026.

The show takes us back in time. It is set in Japan in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In those years, Japan's economy was growing very fast after the war. Families had a bit more money and free time, and the circus was one of the most exciting shows in town. Many circus troupes traveled across the country in trucks and trains, set up their big tents, and performed for crowds.

The troupes also compete. There is a famous festival called the Circus Collection, and only the best groups can take part. Getting there is every performer's dream. One small troupe, the Sunflower Circus, wants that dream too. But it has a serious problem: it does not have much money. Life on the road is hard, and the group is struggling to keep going. Its ringmaster, Maria, leads the troupe and takes care of its members almost like a mother.

Things change when the troupe meets Mizuka Tsurumaki. She is a young circus prodigy, which means she has amazing talent at a very young age. Mizuka is a trapeze artist. The trapeze is a swinging bar high in the air, and performers fly and flip between bars. When she joins the Sunflower Circus, she brings new hope and a new push to aim for the Circus Collection.

The cast is mostly young women, each with her own skill. Ouka Kawasumi is another trapeze artist. Other members do magic tricks, acrobatics, juggling, and aerial silk, a kind of dance done while hanging from long pieces of cloth. Each performer has her own dream and her own worries. Some come from broken families, and the troupe becomes a new home for them.

The series is about teamwork, belonging, and growing as an artist. The circus scenes are full of color and motion, and the moments between shows are warm and personal. It feels like a sports anime in some ways, with training, rivals, and big performances, but set under a circus tent. If you want a hopeful, beautiful show about girls chasing a big dream together, Sunflower Circus is a lovely pick.