The staff for the television anime of Keigo Shinzō‘s Hirayasumi manga (a co-production with Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions Co., Ltd and Production +h.) announced five more cast members on Tuesday. 

The newly announced cast members are (image above from left to right):

• Daisuke Namikawa as Hideki Noguchi, Hiroto’s high school friend who now works in a trendy furniture store 
• Yōko Hikasa as Yomogi Tachibana, a career woman who feels empty after doing nothing but work
• Yume Miyamoto as Akari Yokoyama, Natsumi’s first-ever friend
• Yūichirō Umehara as Ryō Ishikawa, a novelist who is in a minor slump since his books don’t sell like they did in his debut
• Japanese television announcer Yūko Naitō as Narrator

Viz describes the human drama story:

At 29 years old, carefree Hiroto Ikuta doesn’t have a girlfriend, a full-time job, or a plan for the future—and he couldn’t be happier. Hiroto’s breezy attitude isn’t easy for everyone to understand, though. In a world filled with anxiety, confusion, and grief, Hiroto and the people around him are all just doing their best to figure out this thing called life.

The anime stars Yūma Uchida as Hiroto Ikuta, Mayu Takahashi as Natsumi Kobayashi and Rikako Aikawa as Hanae Wada.

Kei Suezawa (Fate/Grand Order The Movie Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot – Wandering: Agateram, FLCL Progressive) is directing the anime at Production +h. Naoyuki Asano (Urusei Yatsura, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, Mr. Osomatsu) is designing the characters. Mika Nishimura (Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, Typhoon Noruda) is the art director. Kaori Sawada (What Did You Eat Yesterday?, When Spring Comes) is composing the music.

The anime will premiere in January 2027 in Japan on the NHK General channel. Viz Media also announced an English release in 2027.

Viz Media and Japan Society hosted the world premiere screening of the first episode at Japan Society’s location in New York City on October 7.

Shinzō launched the manga in Shogakukan‘s Weekly Big Comic Spirits magazine in April 2021. Shogakukan published the manga’s 10th compiled book volume on April 30, and the series has over 1.1 million copies in circulation worldwide. The manga was nominated for the 15th Manga Taisho awards in January 2022, ranked #18 in the 2023 edition of Takarajimasha‘s Kono Manga ga Sugoi! (This Manga Is Amazing!) guidebook in December 2022, nominated for the 27th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in February 2023, and nominated for Best Continuing Manga Series in the 2nd American Manga Awards.

The series also inspired a live-action series, which premiered on NHK in November 2025.

Denpa has licensed Shinzō’s Holiday Junction collection of short manga. The book contains seven one-shot manga. Shogakukan shipped the book in Japan in July 2016.

Sources: Hirayasumi anime’s X/Twitter account, Comic Natalie

Musical last ran in Tokyo, Osaka in January 2023, as well as in New York in October 2024

---

---

---

Voice actress Manaka Iwami announced her marriage to a man outside of the industry and the birth of her first child on her official radio program on Tuesday.

“It’s been a while, everyone. This is Manaka Iwami. I’d like to take a moment at the beginning of the program to share something important with all of you who have supported me. This is a personal matter, but I have gotten married and given birth to my first child. My partner is not affiliated with the entertainment industry,” she said during the broadcast of Manaka Iwami no Radio Tekuteku.

In her written message, Iwami also expressed her gratitude to those who supported her throughout her pregnancy and childbirth, writing, “This is a personal matter, but I am pleased to announce that I have gotten married and given birth to my first child. As this was my first experience, I had some concerns, so I decided to make this announcement only after I had safely given birth and confirmed that both my child and I were doing well.”

She continued by apologizing to those involved in her work for the inconvenience caused by her pregnancy and childbirth, while expressing her appreciation for their support. “The presence of all of you who enjoy the works I am involved in and, thankfully, support me as well is an irreplaceable treasure in my life. Thank you so much, always,” she wrote.

Iwami graduated from the Pro-Fit Voice Actor Training School and began her voice acting career in 2016 under Pro-Fit. She made her first leading role appearance as Maquia in the Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana wo Kazarou. In 2019, she received the Best New Actress Award at the 13th Seiyuu Awards. In April 2022, following the closure of Pro-Fit’s management division, she transferred to the agency Raccoon Dog. In March 2024, she received the Best Supporting Actress Award at the 18th Seiyuu Awards, following recognition for her performances as Akane Kurokawa in [Oshi no Ko].

Iwami is best known for her roles as Tohru Honda in Fruits Basket, Rice Shower in Uma Musume: Pretty Derby, Mahiru Shiina in Otonari no Tenshi-sama ni Itsunomanika Dame Ningen ni Sareteita Ken, Umi Asanagi in Class de 2-banme ni Kawaii Onnanoko to Tomodachi ni Natta, Reirin Kou in Futsutsuka na Akujo dewa Gozaimasu ga: Suuguu Chouso Torikae Den, and Euphyllia Magenta in Tensei Oujo to Tensai Reijou no Mahou Kakumei.

Manaka Iwami official X: @_manaka_430

Source: Oricon News