Kusunoki's Flunking Her High School Glow-Up Manga Gets TV Anime
This adaptation pairs a rising director with two studios on a rom-com premise that hinges on shared social anxiety, a tonal shift from the more action-oriented projects Passione and Hayabusa Film have recently handled.
Key Facts
- The television anime adaptation of "Kusunoki's Flunking Her High School Glow-Up" was announced on July 23, 2026.
- Yūto Uemura voices Keisuke Shizuki and Tomori Kusunoki voices Shizuka Kusunoki.
- Midori Yui directs the anime at Passione and Hayabusa Film and also oversees series scripts.
- Koji Haneda is the character designer and Hyadain composes the music.
- The manga launched on Ichijinsha's Comic POOL service in October 2022 and has seven volumes in circulation as of the announcement.
Reporting from 2 sources: Anime News Network, Anime Corner.
DMM Pictures announced on Thursday that Mitsuki Mii's manga "Kusunoki's Flunking Her High School Glow-Up" is receiving a television anime adaptation. The series will star Yūto Uemura as Keisuke Shizuki and Tomori Kusunoki as Shizuka Kusunoki. Midori Yui, who has served as an episode director on series including "Carole & Tuesday" and "Love Flops," is directing the anime at studios Passione and Hayabusa Film. Yui is also handling the series composition. Koji Haneda, known for character design on "Spice & Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf," is the character designer. Hyadain, the composer for all seasons of "Rent-A-Girlfriend," is composing the music. Suzune Ishikawa is the animation producer. The original manga launched on Ichijinsha's Comic POOL service in October 2022 and has seven volumes in circulation. Kodansha USA Publishing releases the manga in English. The story follows two high school students, Keisuke Shizuki and Shizuka Kusunoki, who were both social outcasts in middle school and are now navigating their new lives. A teaser visual and trailer accompanied the announcement.
Midori Yui is directing the anime at Passione and Hayabusa Film. Yui previously worked as an episode director on "Carole & Tuesday," "Love Flops," and "Asteroid in Love." She is also handling series composition. Koji Haneda, the character designer for "Spice & Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf" and "The Faraway Paladin," is designing the characters. Hyadain, who composed the music for all seasons of "Rent-A-Girlfriend," is composing the score. Suzune Ishikawa is the animation producer.
The manga launched on Ichijinsha's Comic POOL service on the Pixiv Comic website in October 2022. It has seven volumes in circulation. Ichijinsha will publish the eighth compiled volume in Japan on July 28. Kodansha USA Publishing released the manga's sixth volume digitally and physically on May 19.
Kodansha USA describes the story: Keisuke Shizuki and Shizuka Kusunoki are taking high school by storm with their good looks, but they share a dark secret: they were both total outcasts in middle school. Shizuki has remade himself inside and out, clearing the slate of his past life. Kusunoki is still struggling to develop social skills to match her new appearance. She wants Shizuki's help, if only he could get over his phobia of pretty girls.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime News Network News Kusunoki's Flunking Her High School Glow-Up Manga Gets TV Anime
- Anime Corner Kusunoki's Flunking Her High School Glow-Up Gets Anime