The television anime adaptation of Mai Matsuda’s romantic comedy manga Walking Home with You will arrive on Japanese Television in April 2027 on the NTV channel. The project’s official website opened on Wednesday, unveiling a teaser visual and confirming that the story will air as a weekly television broadcast [2]. Series creator Mai Matsuda (Hikaru in the Light!) also drew a celebratory illustration to mark the broadcast news, as reported by William Moo for Anime Trending [1]. While the adaptation was first announced in March 2025, this update gives readers their first firm broadcast window and network home [2].
Walking Home with You Television Debut in April 2027
The official website and official social media account on X confirmed that Walking Home with You is set to debut on the NTV channel in April 2027, giving viewers their first firm broadcast window after months of waiting. Fans had waited for concrete broadcast details since the anime adaptation was first announced in March 2025 [2]. The new teaser visual provides an early look at the art style [1]. Japanese broadcast schedules often set specific airtimes closer to release, so weekly broadcast hours haven’t been published yet [2].
Key creative positions remain unannounced. Details on the production staff, animation studio, and voice cast haven’t been shared as of October 2026, leaving major creative roles open for future announcements as production continues toward April 2027. The production committee hasn’t named a director or lead actors yet, so readers will need to wait for later announcements from the official website. It’s a standard reveal schedule for a project that still sits months away from broadcast, especially when television networks announce a broadcast window long before animation production wraps up [1, 2]. Future promotional updates will likely reveal the animation studio handling the series [1].
To mark the television confirmation, creator Mai Matsuda shared a celebratory illustration for fans. The artwork arrived with the new teaser visual on Wednesday, celebrating how far the romantic comedy has traveled since its magazine debut [1, 2]. As Joanna Cayanan reported for Anime News Network, Japanese television schedules finalize broadcast hours closer to release, so the NTV slot will get further timing updates as April 2027 approaches [2].
Mai Matsuda and Manga Action Origins
Matsuda launched the original romance manga under the Japanese title Hōkago Kitaku Biyori in Futabasha’s Manga Action magazine on August 1, 2023. The series has appeared regularly in the magazine ever since, building an audience for its gentle school setting. Futabasha scheduled the release of the seventh compiled volume on Thursday, October 2026, adding another volume for the ongoing print run [1, 2]. The magazine serialization began in August [1].
Before creating this after-school story, Matsuda worked on the manga Hikaru in the Light!, which ran in Manga Action from May 2021 until August 2022, which Futabasha collected across four compiled book volumes during its Japanese publication run. Digital manga publisher Omoi, which operated under the name Azuki at the time, licensed all four volumes for English readers. That earlier serialization showed Matsuda’s talent for school stories before launching Walking Home with You in August 2023. Futabasha published both series [1, 2].
Matsuda’s background with Futabasha Manga Action helped set a steady publishing rhythm for the series. With seven volumes published in Japan by October 2026, the manga offers plenty of published chapters for a television adaptation to draw from. Readers who followed Matsuda from Hikaru in the Light! will recognize the creator’s focus on character growth and daily high school moments [1, 2].
Hokago Kitaku Biyori Anime Format Confirmed for NTV
The opening of the official website on Wednesday settled questions about whether the adaptation would arrive as an online stream, an OVA release, or a television series. The confirmed television broadcast on NTV means Japanese viewers will watch Hokago Kitaku Biyori through regular weekly programming. NTV will air the broadcast [2].
The planned April 2027 launch places the show in an active television anime season that already includes several high-profile romantic comedy announcements, including Kadokawa’s Roshidere Season 2 teaser video for 2027 and SynergySP’s Chihara-San anime teaser for 2027 debut [2]. But while many school comedies lean heavily into student rivalries or classroom politics, Matsuda’s story deliberately steps away from high school drama to focus on the simple walk home after the final bell rings. That gentle approach gives the project its own identity on the NTV schedule, contrasting fast-paced school competitions with quiet suburban wandering [1, 2].
The choice of NTV gives the adaptation a major terrestrial home for its April 2027 run. Securing a terrestrial broadcast provides a solid foundation for the production committee [1, 2]. Simple after-school slice-of-life stories like this one still hold an appealing spot on weekly Japanese Television [1].
Shun and Naoki in the After-School Club
At the center of Walking Home with You is Shun, a boy whose life feels emptied out after an athletic setback. Shun was the star player on his Middle School Soccer Team until a serious injury forced him to abandon his athletic dream. Entering his first year of High School without active hobbies or ambitions, he drifts through his daily routines until he crosses paths with Naoki, an eccentric older student who refuses to head straight home when classes finish [1].
Naoki quickly pulls the drifting younger student into her own personal world. Publisher Omoi summarized the premise by explaining how Naoki ropes Shun into joining her unofficial “Hyper-Epic Heading Home Club,” a one-person organization committed to turning every stroll through local streets into an elaborate adventure. Shun joins her club. Walking beside her, Shun learns how a winding path through quiet alleys or an unplanned stop at a local neighborhood spot can transform an otherwise boring afternoon into something meaningful. Naoki runs the club alone [1].
Can the Heading Home Club bring color back into Shun’s drab everyday life? That central question drives both the comedy and the emotional heart of the story. By pairing an injured former athlete with an energetic upperclassman who invents her own games, Matsuda creates an easy comedic chemistry that fits the relaxed pace of an afternoon walk. It’s a premise built around ordinary streets rather than grand spectacles [1].
Walking Home with You English Release and Production Path
English-speaking manga fans don’t have to wait for the anime broadcast to discover the original story. Digital publisher Omoi licensed the Walking Home with You manga for English release earlier this July during Anime Expo. Anime Expo hosted the announcement. That digital release allows international readers to catch up on Shun and Naoki’s after-school detours well before the Japanese television broadcast begins in April 2027 [1, 2].
Omoi’s previous work on Matsuda’s Hikaru in the Light!, back when the publisher operated as Azuki, laid the groundwork for bringing the author’s work to global audiences. Having both of Matsuda’s major Futabasha series available in English gives readers a complete look at the author’s creative path [1, 2]. As Omoi continues its digital releases, foreign readers can follow along chapter by chapter while the Japanese television production moves forward [1].
With the April 2027 release date still well ahead on the calendar, the production committee will likely reveal its animation studio, director, and voice cast in future promotional trailers. For now, fans have Matsuda’s celebratory illustration and the new teaser visual to look at while waiting for more news [1, 2]. More updates will arrive soon [1].
- ONLINE NEWS Moo, W. (2026, October 7). Walking Home with You TV Anime Reveals Teaser Visual & April 2027 Premiere. Anime Trending. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Cayanan, J. (2026, October 7). Walking Home with You Anime Unveils April 2027 TV Debut. Anime News Network. [Article Link]
