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Anpanman Creator, Wife's Life Story Inspires Daily Live-Action TV Series in 2025
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
NHK announced on Friday that the newest entry in its six-decade-long Renzoku Terebi Shōsetsu (Serialized TV Novel, also known as "Asadora" or Morning Drama) franchise will be Anpan. The new live-action weekday morning series will center on the life story of Anpanman manga creator Takashi Yanase and his wife Nobuo Komatsu. Miho Nakazono will be the scriptwriter for the series. The series will premiere in the first half of 2025.
Froebel-kan Co., Ltd. previously produced a television biographical anime special about Yanase in February 2019 titled Yūki no Hana ga Hiraku Toki: Yanase Takashi to Anpanman no Monogatari (When the Flower of Courage Blooms - The Story of Takashi Yanase and Anpanman), based on Kumiko Kakehashi's novel of the same name.
Yanase was best known for his Soreike! Anpanman manga, which inspired a television anime that has been ongoing since 1988. The manga has also inspired 34 anime films to date. The latest film, Soreike! Anpanman Roboly to Pokapoka Present, opened on June 30. The character is well-known not only in Japan, but also overseas. Yanase passed away on October 13, 2013.
The Renzoku TV Shōsetsu franchise previously aired the Natsuzora story about the early Japanese animation industry from April to September 2019 for 156 episodes. The series is loosely based on the life of animator Reiko Okuyama. Each series in the franchise usually run for 15 minutes every weekday morning for half a year, for a total runtime of over 30 hours.
Source: NHK PR Twitter account, Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web
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