The Neat and Beautiful Girl at My New School was My Childhood Friend anime announces 2026 release and more

On Thursday, August 28, 2025, the official staff opened a new site and X account to confirm that The Neat and Beautiful Girl at My New School was My Childhood Friend anime. According to the announcement, the television anime is set to premiere in 2026. Information about the main cast and a teaser visual are also revealed.

Fully titled The Neat and Beautiful Girl at My New School Was My Childhood Friend Whom I Thought Was a Boy and I Played Together With, the anime is based on the rom-com light novel series by author Yu Hibari and illustrator Shiso. Kadokawa Shoten has been publishing the novels since February 2021.

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The Neat and Beautiful Girl at My New School was My Childhood Friend anime debuts in 2026

On Thursday, August 28, 2025, the official staff unveiled a teaser visual and confirmed that The Neat and Beautiful Girl at My New School was My Childhood Friend anime will premiere in 2026. However, the information concerning the anime's exact release date has yet to be revealed.

The teaser visual for The Neat and Beautiful Girl at My New School was My Childhood Friend anime depicts Haruki, surrounded by sunflowers, on a captivating rural roadside. Interestingly, the visual's background is a real-life location, as confirmed by the original author through a comment. Yu Hibari's comments in Japanese, when translated into English, read as follows:

"Is there a real-life location that would be good for the background of the teaser visual? When the idea came up, I immediately sent a photo of this place. When I started writing Tenbin, I was writing about rural landscapes, and I thought this was the perfect image for rural scene in Nara (There are no sunflowers in actuality in bloom, though...) It's quite moving to see it used as the teaser visual!" (@tenbin_anime/X)

Additionally, Yu Hibari mentions that they are looking forward to the anime adaptation. Likewise, the anime's official site and X handle have shared a celebratory visual from the original light novel illustrator, Shiso. A teaser PV is also released, which teases Haruki's hidden feelings.

Shiso's celebratory illustration (Image via @tenbin_anime/X)

Furthermore, the staff confirmed that Ikumi Hasegawa will star in the rom-com anime as Haruki Nikaido. More information about the other cast members and the primary staff will be announced later.

The Neat and Beautiful Girl at My New School was My Childhood Friend anime is a romantic comedy story based on the original light novel series. The narrative follows Hayato, who transfers to a high school in a city. In his new school, Hayato is reunited with Haruki, whom he remembers as a boy he used to play with in his childhood. However, now he discovers that Haruki is actually a girl.

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