Hiroto’s breezy, carefree attitude is coming to life in the anime adaptation of Keigo Shinzo’s award-winning manga Hirayasumi. The anime series will debut on NHK General TV in Japan in January 2027, with international streaming details to be announced.

Join us at Japan Society in New York to be one of the first fans to see for a preview screening of the first episode of the series on October 7th, three months before it comes to screens across Japan. This is an exclusive preview, straight from the animation team at Production +h, with special guests Kaori Sawada, series composer, and Junichi Katsutani, series producer. Go behind the scenes and watch a preview version of the anime that’s still undergoing finishing touches, something fans can’t see anywhere else in the world. Get your tickets here! 

The teaser offers the first chance to hear the anime’s lead cast, with Yuma Uchida as Hiroto Ikuta, Mayu Takahashi as Natsumi Kobayashi and Rikako Aikawa as Hanae Wada, affectionately known as Granny.

Uchida, whose credits include Megumi Fushiguro in JUJUTSU KAISEN, Ash Lynx in BANANA FISH and Reo Mikage in BLUE LOCK, leads the cast as the carefree 29-year-old Hiroto.

Takahashi voices Hiroto’s 18-year-old cousin Natsumi, who moves from Yamagata to Tokyo to attend art school. Takahashi was a runner-up in the Kimi Koe Project, an initiative established to discover and develop emerging voice talent, and has previously appeared in The Legendary Hero Is Dead!

Veteran voice actor Aikawa takes on the role of Granny, Hiroto’s 83-year-old neighbor whose unexpected friendship with him sets the story in motion. Aikawa’s extensive credits include Squirtle in the Pokémon series, Ishishi in the Kaiketsu Zorori series and Oxnard in Hamtaro.

More about Hirayasumi:
Published in Japan by Shogakukan since 2021 and still ongoing, it tells the story of carefree 29-year-old Hiroto Ikuta. Hiroto doesn’t have a girlfriend, a full-time job, or a plan for the future—and he couldn’t be happier. His breezy attitude isn’t easy for everyone to understand, though. In a world filled with anxiety, confusion, and grief, Hiroto and the people who surround him are all just doing their best to figure out this thing called life. A warm hug of a story, Hirayasumi is a rare wholesome reflection on life, friendship, and family.

Production is handled by Production +h., the same studio behind The Orbital Children and Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction. Series composition and screenwriting is being done by Kei Suezawa, Naoyuki Asano is overseeing character designer, Mika Nishimura is art director, and Kaori Sawada is composing the series’ music.

The Hirayasumi manga has been nominated for awards at the Manga Taisho Awards, Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize, American Manga Awards, and Eisner Awards, and it won at the Shogakukan Manga Awards. It is published in the US by VIZ.

Can’t wait for the anime? Read the manga and favorite Hirayasumi here.