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5-Oku-Nen Button Anime Gets 13th Episode on September 30

The anime adaptation of the short story "5-Oku-Nen Button" from Sōta Sugahara's Minna no Tonio-chan manga series is getting a 13th episode on September 30 at 10:30 p.m. JST on Tokyo MX and other stations.

The episode will feature two stories. In "AI Emo-kun," Tonio, Jaimi, and Suneko find an AI named Emo who can calculate how to optimally clean their room. Emo gradually develops emotions that are unusual to AI as it lives with the kids. The "5th Dimension Button" story features a button that when pressed, gives the user a milllion yen but transports them to the fifth dimension.

Returning cast members include Masako Nozawa as Tonio, Suzuko Mimori as Jaibi, Naomi Ōzora as Suneko, and Marika Kōno as Inoue-hakase. Mahana Yamasaki is joining the cast as Emo-kun.

The anime debuted in July 2022 with 12 episodes.

The story centers on a button that grants a million yen (about US$7,415) to whomever pushes it, with the condition that they must spend 500 million years alone in an empty space. However, at the end of the 500 million years, the person's loses that memory and returns to the point in time when they pushed the button. A person with this button appears in front of 5-year-old Tonio, 14-year-old Jaibi, and 17-year-old Suneko - three siblings who need money to pay for their father's hospital treatment.

Original creator Sugahara directed, wrote, designed characters, and acted as one of the only staff members on the project. He is again credited for these roles in the new episode.

Virtual YouTuber Koko performed the opening theme song "TIME," and virtual YouTuber RIM performed the ending theme song "Tick-Tock Boy."

Sugahara debuted the Minna no Tonio-chan manga series in 1999. The series inspired an animated special in 2004. The thought experiment revolving around the 500 Million Year Button has been a philosophical discussion topic in Japan ever since Sugahara's story launched.

Sources: 5-Oku-Nen Button anime's website, Comic Natalie