On March 14, 2025, NBC Universal made an exciting announcement regarding the production of the anime series Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Oota, based on Fuyu Azuma’s original web manga of the same name. This noteworthy update included the release of a captivating teaser trailer and visual artwork that offers a glimpse into the series.
The announcement not only unveiled the primary cast but also introduced key staff and the animation studio behind the project. However, details regarding the official release date or timeframe are yet to be disclosed, though fans can anticipate more information in the upcoming months.
Star-Studded Cast and Production Team
The anime features a talented ensemble cast, including:
- Akane Fujita as Kashiwada-san
- Kyouhei Natsume as Ota-kun
- Yuya Hirose as Tadakoro-kun
- Sohei Horikane as Sata-kun
Fans will likely recognize these voice actors from popular roles, including Akane Fujita as Rita Iizumi in A Certain Scientific Railgun and Kyouhei Natsume as Takuya Yamamoto in Tokyo Revengers.
The direction will be helmed by Tomohiro Kamitani at STUDIO POLON, with script supervision provided by Michiko Yokote. Naotto Nakamura takes on the roles of character designer and chief animation director, while music composition is entrusted to Yukari Hashimoto and Tetsuya Shitara. Additional talented staff members contributing to the series include:
- Background Art: Maho Takahashi
- Art Director: Scott MacDonald
- Color Design: Haremi Miyagawa
- Director of Photography: Yomogiko Murano
- CG Director: Daisuke Shima
- Editing: Akane Shiraishi
- Sound Director: Yukio Nagasaki
Accompanying the production announcement, a promotional video was released, highlighting the main cast and their characters. The trailer emphasizes the unique dynamic between the lead characters, showcased in a key visual where they stroll through a serene park. To commemorate the series announcement, creator Fuyu Azuma also illustrated a special celebratory piece.
About the Manga
The anime will adapt Azuma’s acclaimed manga, which was serialized on the Niconico Seiga platform’s Dra Dra Sharp# site from June 22, 2018, to June 9, 2023. The story is compiled into ten volumes, yet English translations are not currently available. Kadokawa releases the manga digitally in English, capturing its essence as follows:
“Kashiwada is a girl who never shows emotions on her face. Oota always tries to surprise her…but never succeeds. Kashiwada and Oota are classmates at a junior high school. Oota is always thinking of pranks to surprise Kashiwada, but he always fails. Kashiwada likes to look at Oota, for he shows his emotions on his face too much. They look like opposite types of people, but they care about each other.”
“Look, Oota is up to something… Other classmates love to see the unique relationship between them. A heart-warming love comedy which takes place in an ordinary junior high school in Japan.”
As anticipation grows for the Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Oota anime series, fans are eager to see how this poignant story of contrasting personalities unfolds on screen.