The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All Anime: Release Date, PV and Cast

The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All premieres on January 8, 2027. The date arrived on October 8 with the first PV, five more cast members and the composers behind the soundtrack. CloverWorks is animating the series.

Sumiko Arai's manga has more than 2.25 million copies in circulation worldwide. Here's the broadcast schedule, the trailer, the full cast and staff, and the Nirvana opening theme.

The anime at a glance

• Release date: Friday, January 8, 2027
• Time slot: Fridays at 11:00 p.m. JST, Nippon TV network (FuraAni block)
• Streaming: Crunchyroll
• Studio: CloverWorks
• Director: Masashi Ishihama
• Leads: Mariya Ise (Mitsuki), Akari Kito (Aya)
• Opening theme: "Breed" by Nirvana

When does the anime come out?#

The first episode airs on Friday, January 8, 2027. New episodes follow every Friday at 11:00 p.m. JST in the FuraAni block on the Nippon TV network.

Crunchyroll will stream the anime as it airs in Japan. The episode count hasn't been announced.

The series is part of the Winter 2027 anime season, which also includes Magical Buffs on January 4.

Watch the first PV#

The first PV runs 60 seconds. It is the first chance to hear the original score, and it follows the teaser PV released in July.

What is the story about?#

Aya Osawa is a fashionable high schooler who loves Western rock. She has a crush on the clerk at a local CD shop, a mysterious "guy" dressed all in black with perfect taste in music.

The clerk is Mitsuki Koga, the quiet girl who sits next to Aya in class. Mitsuki works at her uncle's shop and keeps a low profile at school. She knows about the crush and can't bring herself to tell the truth.

The trailer's tagline sums it up: music connects worlds that would never meet.

Cast and characters#

Five cast members joined on October 8: Kenjiro Tsuda, Tasuku Hatanaka, Yurina Amami, Fairouz Ai and Maiko Nomura. The two leads were announced in July.

• Mitsuki Koga: Mariya Ise. A high schooler who loves Western rock and works part-time at her uncle's CD shop. At school she dresses plainly and stays out of sight.
• Aya Osawa: Akari Kito. A rock fan who belongs to the flashy group in class. The CD shop clerk is her favorite person.
• Joe: Kenjiro Tsuda. Mitsuki's uncle, who runs the CD shop and cares about her more than anything.
• Narita: Tasuku Hatanaka. A classmate who watches over the awkward relationship between Aya and Mitsuki.
• Chizuru: Yurina Amami. A classmate in Aya's group of friends.
• Mao: Fairouz Ai. Another classmate in Aya's group.
• Kanna: Maiko Nomura. Joe's ex-girlfriend, a stylist based in Los Angeles who is back in Japan for a while.

Mariya Ise, Akari Kito, Kenjiro Tsuda and Tasuku Hatanaka all return from the manga's earlier drama CD.

Staff#

• Original work: Sumiko Arai (KITORA, KADOKAWA)
• Director: Masashi Ishihama (Horimiya, From the New World)
• Series composition: Rino Yamasaki (The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity)
• Character design: Kanna Hirayama (Oshi no Ko)
• Music: Kousuke Noma and Takayuki "Kojiro" Sasaki
• Animation production: CloverWorks

Music: Nirvana opens the show#

The opening theme is "Breed", a 1991 song by the grunge band Nirvana. It suits a story whose two leads bond over Western rock.

Kousuke Noma and Takayuki "Kojiro" Sasaki compose the score, which was recorded in Tokyo and Los Angeles. Kousuke Noma says it is a first soundtrack project. The official site has also posted an interview video with Dave Grohl.

Where to read the manga#

Sumiko Arai began posting the manga on Twitter in April 2022, and it moved to pixiv Comic in April 2023. KADOKAWA has published four volumes in Japan.

Yen Press publishes the manga in English and released the third volume in December 2025. The series placed second among manga for female readers in the 2024 edition of the Kono Manga ga Sugoi! guidebook.

For official updates, follow the official site and the official X account. You can also track the anime on Animanga Planet.