WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 1 of Adachi & Shimamura, now streaming on Funimation.
Adachi & Shimamura is a slowly budding romance story of two girls who become close friends while navigating their awkward teenage years as best they can. In many ways, it's your standard yuri/slice-of-life anime. So why, then, does it also include a supernatural alien who pops up at seemingly random intervals throughout Season 1?
Yashiro Chikama begins the series dressed in a spacesuit with cutesy decorations, refusing to show her face and speaking apparent gibberish mixed with occasional advice for Shimamura. She later ditches the suit completely, revealing the appearance of a young girl with glowing sky blue hair and a free-spirited personality. Yashiro gradually reveals shocking details about her age and species but her purpose in the story is never made clear. Let's look at what we know about her and see what clues may be lurking beneath the surface.
What We Know About Yashiro
Shimamura's friend Akira Hino first meets Yashiro at a fishing hole and accepts her story -- that she is an alien who has come to Earth in search of a lost comrade -- without question. Shimamura and Yashiro meet soon after and fish together, where Yashiro gives her some sage advice about the importance of being herself. As the season goes on, Yashiro mostly pops up at very random moments. In Episode 3, Adachi and Shimamura make plans to go out to lunch and then go bowling, but Yashiro -- sans the spacesuit -- shows up and invites herself along, much to Adachi's chagrin.
As the season goes on, Yashiro reveals more details about herself: she is 680-years-old and her species generally live to be hundreds of millions of years old. It's all so outlandish that viewers naturally question whether Yashiro really is an alien or just a kid with a creative imagination. However, her story is confirmed in Episode 8 when she actually flies in circles around Shimamura's younger sister, aka "Little Shimamura." Her light blue hair also leaves sparkles floating behind her as she runs.
Nothing specific is revealed about her supposed lost comrade or how long Yashiro has been searching for her/him, but more details about this will likely come in Season 2.
Are Yashiro and Shimamura Connected?
Yashiro's fantastical story, age and mission only seem to make her inclusion in a yuri series more confounding. But there are some additional points worth looking into. For instance, her eyes are the exact same shade of purple as Shimamura. She spends a lot of time with the Shimamura family as the season goes on, especially Little Shimamura. In the finale, the two even have a sleepover while Adachi and Shimamura are enjoying their own weekend get-together. Little Shimamura even takes on the challenge of figuring out why Yashiro's hair sparkles.
Glimpses into Shimamura's past reveal that she was free-spirited as a child -- back when she and Tarumi were inseparable best friends -- but as time passed she became more wary and cautious around other people. When Yashiro is first introduced, she wears a spacesuit and refuses to show her face to anyone. As time goes on and she grows more comfortable around the Shimamuras and Adachi, she sheds the suit to reveal her tween girl exterior. Likewise, Shimamura is initially doubtful of a long-term friendship with Adachi and her desire to grow closer, but over time becomes more open and intimate in her own right.
Despite these odd connections with Shimamura, Yashiro appears at very random moments -- sometimes giving Shimamura advice, other times asking for food and popping up at different areas around the city. No one strongly questions her presence, her story or even her ability to fly. She doesn't seem to help or harm Shimamura and Adachi's ever-evolving friendship in any meaningful way. Perhaps there's a deeper connection yet to be revealed but for now, Yashiro remains an enjoyable enigma.
