At first glance, Would You Like to Be a Tanuki? sounds less like an emotional manga and more like somebody accidentally clicked the wrong reincarnation option.

That may explain why anime fans immediately started joking online after news broke that Tomo Nagawa’s manga is officially getting a television anime adaptation.

But longtime readers have been quick to issue a warning: don’t let the title fool you.

Would You Like to Be a Tanuki? (Omae, Tanuki ni Naranē ka?) is officially getting a TV anime adaptation from Nippon Animation, and a teaser trailer has already been released. While the premise may sound unusual on paper, fans familiar with the manga say the story is far more emotional, atmospheric, and bittersweet than newcomers might expect.

‘Would You Like to Be a Tanuki?’ Anime Adaptation Officially Announced

The anime adaptation was announced on May 20, 2026, with Nippon Animation handling production.

The series will be directed by Jun Kamiya, with Masaki Wachi overseeing series composition and screenplay duties. Character designs are being handled by Cocoro Takemoto, while Minako Seki is attached as composer.

A special teaser PV was also released alongside the announcement, giving fans their first glimpse at the upcoming adaptation.

At the time of writing, an official broadcast date has not yet been announced.

What Is ‘Would You Like to Be a Tanuki?’ About?

If this is your first time hearing about the series, the title alone probably raises several questions.

The story follows Koganemaru, a mysterious figure who is secretly a shapeshifting tanuki. Rather than causing chaos, Koganemaru approaches people who are struggling or emotionally exhausted and offers them an unusual proposition: becoming a tanuki themselves.

According to the official synopsis, Koganemaru travels around recruiting humans to increase the mountain’s tanuki population. But the encounters are not simply magical transformations for the sake of comedy.

As humans interact with Koganemaru and the other tanuki, they gradually begin confronting their emotional burdens and reevaluating their lives.

In other words, this is not exactly a traditional isekai or goofy animal fantasy.

The series instead leans into slice-of-life storytelling with emotional and reflective themes, following people who are worn down by life and the strange experiences that help soften their hearts.

The Manga Has Been Building a Following Since 2020

Would You Like to Be a Tanuki? is written and illustrated by Tomo Nagawa and originally debuted as a webcomic on the creator’s Pixiv account in August 2020.

The series later moved into serialization on Ichijinsha’s Comic Pool platform in April 2021 and has continued steadily growing ever since.

The manga has already released nine collected volumes, with volume 10 scheduled to release in Japan on May 25, 2026.

And despite sounding like one of those delightfully random manga titles that appear out of nowhere, the series has quietly earned significant recognition.

Would You Like to Be a Tanuki? ranked seventh in the 2022 Tsutaya Comic Award, placed fifth in the web category of the 2023 Next Manga Awards, and ranked sixth in the Web Manga General Election 2023.

Those rankings suggest this adaptation announcement is not coming out of left field.

Anime Fans Are Already Joking About the Title While Manga Readers Sound Emotional Alarms

As expected, the announcement sparked plenty of reactions online.

Some anime fans immediately focused on the title and premise, leading to exactly the kind of chaos you would expect from a series asking people whether they would like to become a tanuki.

One Reddit user joked:

“What if the answer is just ‘no’ and the anime ends there”

Another fan looked at the teaser visual and declared:

“That’s obviously a dog.”

Meanwhile, traditional tanuki discourse also made an appearance, with one commenter asking the important cultural question:

“Where’s the giant balls?”

But underneath the jokes, manga readers painted a surprisingly different picture of the story itself.

One reader described the series as:

“really really good. Very atmospheric and moody.”

Another warned:

“This is surprisingly pretty sad bittersweet series. Dont let the title fool you.”

That sentiment appeared repeatedly throughout discussion surrounding the announcement.

While some newcomers initially wondered whether the show might be a tanuki isekai, readers clarified that the series is closer to an emotional slice-of-life drama built around healing, loneliness, and personal change.

Final Thoughts on the ‘Would You Like to Be a Tanuki?’ Anime Announcement

Anime adaptation announcements happen constantly, but every so often one appears with a title strange enough to stop people mid-scroll.

Would You Like to Be a Tanuki? definitely qualifies.

But if longtime readers are right, this may end up being one of those deceptively emotional series hiding beneath a quirky premise and a very memeable title.

Until more information arrives, fans can at least enjoy the teaser trailer, continue debating whether tanuki are just suspiciously magical dogs, and wait for Nippon Animation to reveal when the series will finally air.