Toilet-bound Hanako-kun

Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun (地縛少年花子くん) is a 12-episode TV anime adaptation based off of the manga of the same name by AidaIro, to be aired starting January 9, 2020 on TBS, SUN, CBC, and BS-TBS channels. The official English dub of the series is licensed by Funimation and is being released of their website.

An anime adaptation was officially announced in Square Enix's GFantasy magazine's April 2019 issue.[1 ] Its official twitter account was launched on the same day.

The anime's official site opened on July 12, 2019 and revealed a teaser visual along with that Studio Lerche is in charge of animation production, with Masaomi Andō directing the series, Yasuhiro Nakanishi handling series composition and script, Mayuka Itō as character designer, and Yūji Higa as its producer.[2 ]

Hanako's character design was revealed on October 9, 2019, with silhouettes for Nene's and Kou's designs. These were revealed a month later on November 9 in conjunction with the Animate Girls' Festival 2019, and the website was revamped with a new key visual and additional information. The main voice cast was revealed to be Ogata Megumi (Hanako), Kitō Akari (Yashiro Nene), and Chiba Shōya (Minamoto Kou). Broadcast timings and an advance screening for Episode 1 were also announced.

Synopsis
Unofficial English translation of the synopsis from the website:

"Hey, do you know about the Seven Mysteries in this school……? Rumours abound at Kamome Academy, about the most famous of the Seven Mysteries." "It's said that Hanako-san is in the third stall of the third-floor girls' bathroom in the old school building, and will grant any wish of the person who summons them. The method of summoning is simple: knock 3 times. And then––––""'Hanako-san, Hanako-san... are you there?'""'Y–e–s……'""To have her wish granted, occult girl Yashiro Nene has summoned Hanako-san. But the ghost that appeared before her is a boy,""'Hanako-kun'.""Nene gets involved in all sorts of supernatural stories by Hanako-kun, who's sadistic and slightly perverted despite being a ghost. Will Nene ever be able to lead a peaceful school life!? A heartwarming toilet comedy that no one has ever seen before begins now––"

Promotional Videos
The first promotional video was released on November 9, 2019, with Ogata and Kitō voicing Hanako and Nene respectively.

Unofficial English translation:

"Say, do you know? The most famous rumour among the 7 mysteries in this school…" "In the 3rd stall of the female toilet on the 3rd floor of the old building, it's said that there's a supernatural who'll fulfil your wish in exchange for something important.""Nene: 'Hanako-san, Hanako-san, are you there?'""Hanako: 'Y~e~s~'""Hanako: 'I'm a supernatural, the 7th of the school's 7 mysteries: Hanako-san of the Toilet. Nice to meet you!'""Will you summon 'Hanako-san of the Toilet'?"" YES NO""Hanako: 'I'm over here~' (laughter)"

Episodes
On November 9, 2019, the air date for Episode 1 on TBS was announced as 1:58am on January 10, 2020 (listed as 25:58 on January 9 in official sources). An advance screening on December 29, 2019 will be held at Ikebukuro Grand Cinema Sunshine, with guest appearances from the cast for the main 3 characters.

Cast
On November 9, 2019, the voice cast for the main 3 characters were revealed, with comments from each of them. Additional voice casts were revealed on a later date.
 * Hanako: Ogata Megumi
 * Yashiro Nene: Kitō Akari
 * Minamoto Kou: Chiba Shōya
 * Minamoto Teru: Uchida Yūma
 * Akane Aoi: Sato Minako
 * Nanamine Sakura: Chika Anzai
 * Hyuuga Natsuhiko: Mizushima Takahiro
 * Mermaid: Mitsuishi Kotono

Staff

 * Manga: AidaIro
 * Director: Masaomi Andō
 * Series composition & script: Yasuhiro Nakanishi
 * Character design & chief animation director: Mayuka Itō
 * Assistant director: Yoshihito Nishōji
 * Art director: Hiroki Kuribayashi (KUSANAGI)
 * Colour design: Saki Tada
 * Cinematography director: Junko Sakai (MAD BOX)
 * Sound director: Satoki Iida
 * Sound production: HALF H・P STUDIO
 * Music: Hiroshi Takaki
 * Music production: PONY CANYON
 * Animation producer: Yūji Higa
 * Animation production: Lerche

Trivia

 * An interview with AidaIro was published in the September issue of PASH! magazine after the announcement of the anime.[3 ]
 * Pocket tissues with the teaser visual have been distributed as promotional material for the anime at various events, including Comiket and KYOMAF 2019.[4 ]
 * The website contains comments from AidaIro, four staff members, and the main voice cast, which have revealed the following:
 * Masaomi Andou, the director, is a great fan of the Mokke.
 * Akari Kitou, Nene's VA, is a fan of the series and has been reading the manga since Volume 1 was released.
 * An official TikTok account has been created for the anime.[5 ]