Hideki Arai

Hideki Arai's current activity centers on two moves that pull in opposite directions: a commercial adaptation and a self-published archive. In September 2026, Arai launched the website "Arai Hideki no Name de Baku," which publishes unpublished storyboards, unreleased manuscripts, and fragments of works. He said the trigger was wanting to publish rejected names out of frustration. He also plans to publish childhood works, self-commentary and corrections of past works, and his own manga theory. The site makes public material Arai had not previously released, including storyboards that were turned down.

The following month, Arai announced that his manga SPUNK! will get a live-action film next fall, written and directed by Keisuke Yoshida. Yoshida previously adapted Arai's Itoshi no Irene for live action in 2018. A crowdfunding page seeks 3 million yen (about US$20,000) over three months. Yumiko Kagami, owner of the S&M salon Eureka, joins as an advisor on the original manga and as S&M and costume supervisor. Kadokawa's Monthly Comic Beam ran the series from 2022 to 2024, and the fourth and final volume shipped in August 2024.

Coverage of Arai in this period splits between the archival and the production side. The site story is about Arai publishing his own rejected and unpublished work; the film story is about a director-led adaptation of a finished, four-volume series. The two are linked by Arai's role as the source author in both. What is settled: SPUNK! ran in Monthly Comic Beam from 2022 to 2024 and concluded in four volumes, and the film adaptation is set for next fall with Yoshida writing and directing. What is not yet established in these stories: the film's cast, its studio, or a specific release date beyond next fall.