A 70-Year-Old's First Try at Raising a Kid
The title spells out the hook: "Haru and Gen: Parenting for the First Time at 70." Gen is a 70-year-old who takes in Haru, the 3-year-old granddaughter his late daughter left behind. He has no idea what he's doing, and the story follows him figuring out parenting day by day while rethinking what family means to him.
KADOKAWA's own listing for the manga fills in why he's so unprepared. Gen divorced long ago, after his wife and daughter walked out on him for never paying attention to home life, and he lived alone until his estranged only daughter entrusted Haru to him. So this is a late second chance at a family he failed the first time, told through a toddler who makes every day unpredictable.
The manga runs under KADOKAWA's Tatesuku Comic label, the publisher's vertical-scroll (webtoon-style) imprint, and one volume of a full-color print edition is out so far. That's a small footprint for a series landing a TV adaptation, which says something about how the premise has connected with readers.
Studio Nanahoshi's Kōdai Satō Directs a Short-Form Series
According to a report from Japanese entertainment news site Comic Natalie, the anime is a short-form series that plays up Haru and Gen's noisy day-to-day life rather than a full-length drama. Short-form is a natural fit for a slice-of-life comic built on small domestic moments, and it's also the format Satō knows best.
Satō heads Studio Nanahoshi, a small outfit focused on character animation, and that studio is credited as animation production cooperation here. Animation production proper is handled by Imagica Infos / Imageworks Studio. Rounding out the staff: Taeko Miura as sound director, sound effects by 宅間麻姫 (likely Maki Takuma), music by bermei.inazawa, sound production by Ardi, and Kazuya Takahashi as production supervisor.
No voice cast has been announced. The reveal covers the key visual and staff only, so the two leads remain uncast for now.
What the Creator and Director Are Going For
Manga creator Ōshima said hearing about the adaptation felt like being in a dream, and that watching Haru and Gen move in early footage during production meetings made it finally feel real. She drew a parallel between Gen learning from raising Haru and her own experience, saying she feels she has been "raised" by the work and everyone around it, and thanked readers and the production staff.
Satō framed the appeal as two people of completely different generations and personalities slowly becoming a family while stumbling along. He said he wants to capture the warmth of ordinary days and the kindness that comes out of clumsiness, and deliver something that makes viewers want to treat someone in their life a little more gently.
Looking Ahead
The premiere is set for January 2027 on tvk, an independent station serving Kanagawa Prefecture, just south of Tokyo. No other Japanese stations or domestic streaming services have been listed yet, and there's no word on international streaming. The manga has no announced English edition either, so for now the source material is Japanese-only on KADOKAWA's vertical-scroll platforms.
With a January slot, the next beats to watch for are the voice cast and a first trailer. Until then, the key visual is the only look at the show.