After-School Hanako-kun Spinoff Manga Gets Short TV Anime in October

Square Enix and TBS both announced on Thursday that Iro Aida's After-School Hanako-kun (Hōkago Shōnen Hanako-kun) spinoff manga is inspiring a short television anime that will premiere on TBS on October 12. Crunchyroll announced that it will stream the anime on the same day but at 2:00 p.m. ET — ahead of the Japanese premiere — in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, CIS, and India.

© あいだいろ／SQUARE ENIX・「放課後少年花子くん」製作委員会

The anime will feature a returning cast from the Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun television anime.

Masaki Kitamura (Gundam 00 assistant director) is directing the anime at Lerche and Studio Hibari, and Kazuma Nagatomo is in charge of the series scripts. Aya Higami is both the character designer and chief animation director. Mizuho Shimada is the compositing director of photography. Hiroshi Takaki is returning from the Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun anime as music composer.

Other staff members include:

• Color Design: Saki Tada
• Editing: Kazuo Kajikawa
• Music Production: Pony Canyon
• Sound Director: Satoki Iida
• Recording Engineer: Tatsuhiro Amano
• Recording Studio: studio tronc
• Sound Production: HALF H·P STUDIO
• Animation Producer: Ryō Nishimura

© Iro Aida, Square Enix, Yen Press

Yen Press released the spinoff manga in English and describes the story:

The ghostly Hanako-kun and his mortal assistant Nene Yashiro usually have their hands full resolving various supernatural incidents in Kamome Academy, but how do they spend their time when they get a break from all that? Come and see what the characters of Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun do on their laid-back afterschool days!

Aida launched the manga in pixiv Comic in February 2018, and ended it with the 25th chapter in October 2021. Square Enix published one compiled book volume for the manga in August 2019. Yen Press published the volume in English in April 2021.

The official website for the television anime adaptation of Iro Aida's Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun (Jibaku Shōnen Hanako-kun) manga announced last December that the anime project is "restarting."

The anime premiered in Japan in January 2020. The show had 12 episodes. Funimation streamed the series with an English dub and with English subtitles.

Yen Press is releasing the manga digitally, and it describes the story:

"Hanako-san, Hanako-san...are you there?"

At Kamome Academy, rumors abound about the school's Seven Mysteries, one of which is Hanako-san. Said to occupy the third stall of the third floor girls' bathroom in the old school building, Hanako-san grants any wish when summoned. Nene Yashiro, an occult-loving high school girl who dreams of romance, ventures into this haunted bathroom...but the Hanako-san she meets there is nothing like she imagined! Kamome Academy's Hanako-san...is a boy!

Aida launched the manga in Square Enix's G Fantasy magazine in 2014. Square Enix shipped the manga's 18th compiled book volume on August 26. Yen Press released the 16th volume on October 4.

Sources: Comic Natalie, Crunchyroll (Kyle Cardine)