Hisaya Nakajo's manga Hana-Kimi (Hanazakari no Kimitachi e) will get a new live-action drama on Nippon TV starting December 5, 2026, along with its first stage production, according to an Anime Anime report. Both are part of a project marking 30 years since the manga's serialization began.
The eight-episode drama will air Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. JST. TVer and Hulu will offer catch-up streaming after broadcast, and Hulu will exclusively stream a director's cut with scenes not shown on terrestrial TV.
Hana Kawamura, Makoto Hasegawa and Itsuki Fujiwara share lead billing. Kawamura plays Mizuki Ashiya, a girl who disguises her gender and transfers from the US to an all-boys school to meet Izumi Sano, a high jumper she admires. Hasegawa plays Sano, and Fujiwara plays classmate Shūichi Nakatsu. Hasegawa and Fujiwara are both members of THE RAMPAGE.
The other nine main cast members, as listed by Anime News Network, are:
- Keigo Itō as Shinji Noe
- Yūki Tomita as Kyōgo Sekime
- Miro Takaoka as Taiki Kayashima
- Riku Morita as Senri Nakao
- Genosuke as Megumi Tennōji
- Daigo Kobayashi as Minami Nanba
- Tomoki Nishiyama as Masao Himejima
- Yūki Sakurai as Itsuki Kujō
- Hiroto Takahashi as Makoto Kagurazaka
Solo visuals of all 12 main cast members were also released. In comments carried by Anime Anime, Kawamura said filming has begun, and Hasegawa said he is trying the high jump for the first time.
All 12 will play the same characters on stage. The production will start in Osaka the week after the drama's finale, move to Aichi and reach Tokyo in March 2027. Shintarō Sugano writes and directs, according to Anime News Network.
Other performers will also play Noe and Sekime in Osaka and Aichi, and Nanba and Himejima in Osaka, while another joins the stage cast as the school doctor. Anime Anime says the production appears set to use daily-changing segments and video effects.
The manga ran in Hakusensha's Hana to Yume from 1996 to 2004, and Anime News Network notes that Viz Media published it in North America. A TV anime aired two seasons in 2026, from January to March and from July to September.