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Moyoco Anno's The Diary of Ochibi-san Manga Gets TV Anime by Khara

Manga creator and illustrator Moyoco Anno announced on Friday that her The Diary of Ochibi-san manga will have a television anime adaptation by Studio Khara, the studio headed by Moyoco Anno's husband Hideaki Anno. The 24 five-minute shorts will premiere on NHK on October 7 at 24:00 (effectively, October 8 at midnight JST or October 7 at 11:00 a.m. EDT).

• Manami Hanawa as Ochibi-san
• Nobuhiko Okamoto as Ozeni
• Shiori Izawa as Pankui
• Chafūrin as Ojii
• Misaki Kuno as Shiroppoi
• Hiroki Gotō as Jack
• Yui Ogura as Akame-chan
• Kōsuke Echigoya as Hebi-kun

Daisuke Onizuka (Evangelion: 2.0, 3.0, 3.0+1.0 CGI director) and Shogo Tsurii (Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time CGI lead animator) are directing the anime at Studio Khara. Khara is also supervising and writing the series scripts. Naoki Yoshibe, Taichi Atarashi, Aya Kobayashi, and Doromizu are the line directors. Masaki Ishikawa, Satoshi Yamauchi, and Yō Kyūda are the CG animation directors. Shintarō Wakazuki, Ken Yamauchi, Takashi Suzuki, and Hiromitsu Saitō are credited for 3D character modeling. Satoru Kousaki (Vivy -Fluorite Eye's Song-) is composing the music.

Seina Yaguchi is the art director. Nozomi Hiratsuka is the color key artist. Junko Sakai is the compositing director of photography. Kashiko Kimura is in charge of editing. Haru Yamada is the sound director. Hiroki Nozaki is credited for sound effects. Yoshinori Tsurumaki is the Recording Engineer.

Azuki is currently releasing the manga digitally in English, and it describes the manga:

“Even if I can make you smile, I can't erase the tears you've cried.”

In Mametsubu-cho, a little town somewhere in Japan's ancient capital of Kamakura, the cheerful Ochibi lives a free and easy life. Together with his friends — the dog Nazeni, the mischievous cat Jack, and the ever-hungry pooch Pankui — he welcomes the new discoveries and acquaintances that come with the changing seasons.

The spring brings flowers and greenery; the summer, chances to swim in the cool sea. With autumn come the fiery red maples, and winter brings hot and hearty meals.

These events and shifts of season are drawn with a soft and tender touch, bringing out the warmth in the details of everyday life.

The Diary of Ochibi-san (Ochibi-san) ran in the Monday edition of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper since August 2008. The manga ended in December 2019. Crunchyroll published the series online. Asahi Shimbun Publishing released 10 compiled book volumes for the manga.

The manga previously inspired a stop-motion animation that was part of Hideaki Anno's Japan Animator Expo project with his Studio Khara and the media company Dwango in 2014.

Sources: Moyoco Anno's Twitter account, Studio Khara's website, Comic Natalie