Smile Down the Runway Review

This anime left me with much to talk about.

Chiyuki dreams of being a super model but is cursed with short height which for a model is not enough to succeed, too stubborn to give up one day walking down the Paris Runway, she runs into Ikuto, a high school student who dreams of being a designer but is too poor to attend any fashion school.
After making Chiyuki a dress that goes viral on social media, Ikuto gets scouted into the fashion world with the end goal of making it as a designer, but the world ain't so kind to dreamers as Ikuto will soon find out.
Three characters make this anime and they each have different issues.
Chiyuki doesn't really earn her victory at the end, she ultimately goes against Ikuto to prove a point which ends with Ikuto's low rank in the fashion show, I also find it strange that a model in a country where women have lower average height than western nations can't find work.
Then there's Kokoro who suffers with miracle rookie syndrome where she is handed her victory for hard work, at no point was she ever in danger of losing anything and despite hating modelling, she's a natural at it.
Ikuto suffers from what I call Princess Nine syndrome, this is named after the Princess Nine ending where there is intense emotional build up to the finale but ultimately gives no payoff, we know Ikuto will eventually get there, but losing the fashion show, turning down a fashion school to go straight into a design studio with his rival despite turning him down to keep some level of pride feels a little off considering that his turmoil was heartbreaking to watch, everyone is very mean spirited from grumpy inpatient designers to bitchy managers who bully you.
I get that you can't always go by emotion alone and no one is going to hand it to you but I felt that Kokoro and Chiyuki robbed Ikuto of the ending he deserved as it's his story not theres.
Dub is okay, everyone is pretty good in their roles.
Do I like this anime? It's fine but expect to be disappointed.
Final Verdict: An okay anime where the character you should be rooting for doesn't get the ending he deserves.

End