High School! Kimengumi: First new anime in 39 years, with Nobuhiko Okamoto playing the role of Nihiruta Yo

It has been announced that voice actors Nobuhiko Okamoto will play Nihiruta You, Toshiki Horikita will play Nobuhiko Okamoto, Tomoaki Asagiri will play Yoneri Kensaku, Masafumi Kobatake will play Joi Ranjin, and Kazuki Ogawa will play Tauchihi in the new TV anime adaptation of "High School! Kimengumi," a comedy manga by Motoei Shinzawa that was serialized in "Weekly Shonen Jump" (Shueisha) in the 1980s. Nihiruta You, Nakasudo Shinya, Yoneri Kensaku, Joi Ranjin, and Tauchihi are a group of five who have repeated a year of middle school. Although they are a delinquent group that violates school rules, they are tough-minded and do not engage in any despicable acts other than fighting. All the members love fighting and are skilled. The series is also attracting attention as it will be adapted into an anime for the first time in approximately 39 years.

Visuals of the leaders of each "group" will be revealed for four consecutive weeks, with the first visual being that of Nihiruta Yo, the leader of "Program," a tough group of delinquents.

Okamoto, who plays Nihiruta Yo, commented, "In this work, the names directly represent the personalities of the characters. Therefore, Nihiruta Yo is a nihilistic man, just as his name suggests. However, although he is nihilistic and cool, he also has a pitiful side. He is cool, but not cool at the same time, and I will do my best to express that surrealism through my voice."

The original series began as "3-nen Kimengumi" in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1980, and was renamed "High School! Kimengumi" in 1982 as the characters progressed to higher education. It's a slapstick school comedy featuring the Kimengumi, a group of five middle school students: Ichidou Rei, Reikoshi Go, Idese Kiyoshi, Oma Jin, and Monohoshi Dai, along with Kawa Yui and Uru Chie. The TV anime, which aired from 1985 to 1987, also gained popularity with its theme song, sung by Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi, a spin-off unit of the idol group Onyanko Club.

The new anime will be directed by Seki Kazuaki, known for films such as "Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey" and "Beethoven Fabrication," and produced by Animation Studio Seven. The cast has been completely renewed, with Tomokazu Seki as Ichidou Rei, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Reikotsu Go, Chiaki Kobayashi as Ideze Kiyoshi, Kikunosuke Toya as Oma Jin, Toya Kikunosuke as Monohoshi Dai, Shiraishi Haruka as Kawakawa Yui, and Ikumi Hasegawa as Uru Chie. It will air on Fuji TV's anime block "Noitamina" every Friday at 11:30 PM starting in January 2026.