The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All Premieres January 8, 2027, First Trailer Reveals New Cast

TV anime The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All now has an exact premiere date. The adaptation of Sumiko Arai's manga will begin airing on January 8, 2027, every Friday at 11:00 PM JST as part of Nippon TV's Friday Anime Night block.

Its first full trailer expands the world surrounding Mitsuki Koga and Aya Osawa while introducing several supporting characters. The video also marks the first release of the anime's original score by Kousuke Noma and Takayuki “Kojiro” Sasaki, reinforcing music as a central part of CloverWorks' adaptation.

Quick Summary

• Global title: The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All
• Japanese title: 気になってる人が男じゃなかった
• Romanization: Ki ni Natteru Hito ga Otoko Janakatta
• Format: TV anime
• Source: manga by Sumiko Arai
• Manga publisher: KADOKAWA
• Label: KITORA
• Studio: CloverWorks
• Status: in production
• Premiere: January 8, 2027
• Broadcast day: Friday
• Japanese airtime: 11:00 PM JST
• Network: Nippon TV network
• Programming block: Friday Anime Night / FuraAni
• Streaming: Crunchyroll
• First trailer: released online in Japan on October 9, 2026
• Trailer YouTube ID: kLO7KyjhGR0
• Director: Masashi Ishihama
• Series composition: Rino Yamasaki
• Character design: Kanna Hirayama
• Music: Kousuke Noma
• Music / composition & guitar: Takayuki “Kojiro” Sasaki
• Opening theme: Breed
• Opening artist: Nirvana
• Mitsuki Koga: Mariya Ise
• Aya Osawa: Akari Kito
• Joe: Kenjiro Tsuda
• Narita: Tasuku Hatanaka
• Chizuru: Yurina Amami
• Mao: Fairouz Ai
• Kanna: Maiko Nomura
• Main characters: Mitsuki and Aya
• Mitsuki: a high school student working part-time at her uncle's CD shop
• Aya: a high school student who loves Western rock
• Initial misunderstanding: Aya believes the black-clad record-store employee she likes is a man
• Employee's identity: the employee is actually Mitsuki
• Central theme: Mitsuki and Aya's relationship
• Central element: music and rock
• Trailer score: heard publicly for the first time in the new PV
• Score recording: took place in Tokyo and Los Angeles
• Manga circulation: more than 2.25 million copies worldwide
• Social following: more than 2 million
• Original online publication: began through Sumiko Arai's X posts in 2022
• First print volume: April 19, 2023
• Currently released print volumes: four
• Volume 5: scheduled for January 13, 2027
• Volume 5: 176 pages
• Japanese Volume 5 price: 1,485 yen including tax
• Volume 5 ISBN: 978-4-04-330271-0
• Award: Next Manga Awards 2023 Web Manga Category winner
• Award: No. 2 in the women's category of Kono Manga ga Sugoi! 2024
• Drama CD: released in 2024
• Mariya Ise and Akari Kito: also played Mitsuki and Aya in the drama CD
• Kenjiro Tsuda and Tasuku Hatanaka: previously played Joe and Narita in the drama CD

First Trailer, Teaser Visual and Anime Footage

January 8 Premiere on Friday Anime Night

The January 8 date replaces the earlier broad January 2027 window. New episodes will air Fridays at 11:00 PM on Nippon TV's Friday Anime Night block.

Crunchyroll has also confirmed it will stream the anime when it premieres, bringing the adaptation to international audiences as part of the Winter 2027 season.

Five Supporting Characters Join the First Trailer

The new trailer expands the cast around Mitsuki and Aya. Kenjiro Tsuda plays Joe, Mitsuki's uncle and owner of the CD shop where she works, while Tasuku Hatanaka returns as Narita.

The newly confirmed lineup also includes Yurina Amami as Chizuru, Fairouz Ai as Mao and Maiko Nomura as Kanna, broadening the story beyond the central pair and into their school, friendships and wider personal lives.

Original Score Recorded in Tokyo and Los Angeles

The anime's original music is handled by Kousuke Noma and Takayuki “Kojiro” Sasaki, with part of their score making its public debut in the first trailer.

Noma says recording took place in Tokyo and Los Angeles, while Sasaki highlighted the connection between the production and the grunge music that already plays an important role in the manga. Nirvana's “Breed” remains the opening theme.

Music Remains at the Heart of the Story

Aya becomes fascinated by a mysterious black-clad CD shop employee whose taste in Western rock closely matches her own. What she does not realize is that her supposed male crush is Mitsuki, the quiet classmate who normally tries not to stand out at school.

That misunderstanding becomes the starting point for a relationship built through music. The anime format now gives the story a chance to turn references, conversations and visual rhythm into music the audience can actually hear.

Why This Matters

1) The premiere date is finally locked

The anime has moved from a general January 2027 window to an exact January 8 launch.

2) The trailer broadens Mitsuki and Aya's world

Joe, Narita, Chizuru, Mao and Kanna give a clearer look at the supporting cast surrounding the two leads.

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3) Music is receiving dedicated production attention

The original score was recorded across Tokyo and Los Angeles, while Nirvana remains officially involved through “Breed”.

4) A new manga volume arrives almost alongside the anime

Volume 5 is scheduled for January 13, 2027, just days after the TV adaptation begins.

The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All Anime and Manga Information

For now, the additional important information currently known includes:

• the official English title is The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All
• the Japanese title is 『気になってる人が男じゃなかった』
• the title is romanized as Ki ni Natteru Hito ga Otoko Janakatta
• the anime adapts Sumiko Arai's manga
• KADOKAWA publishes the manga
• it is released under the KITORA label
• the story centers on Mitsuki Koga and Aya Osawa
• Mitsuki loves Western rock
• Mitsuki works at her uncle's CD shop
• Mitsuki's work appearance differs from how she presents herself at school
• Aya develops a crush on the store employee she believes is male
• that employee is actually Mitsuki
• the pair grow closer through conversations about music
• CloverWorks produces the animation
• Masashi Ishihama directs
• Rino Yamasaki handles series composition
• Kanna Hirayama handles character design
• Kousuke Noma handles music
• Takayuki “Kojiro” Sasaki handles music, composition and guitar
• the original score was recorded in Tokyo and Los Angeles
• part of the score debuts in the first trailer
• Nirvana's “Breed” is the opening theme
• Mariya Ise voices Mitsuki Koga
• Akari Kito voices Aya Osawa
• Kenjiro Tsuda voices Joe
• Tasuku Hatanaka voices Narita
• Yurina Amami voices Chizuru
• Fairouz Ai voices Mao
• Maiko Nomura voices Kanna
• Joe is Mitsuki's uncle
• the anime premieres January 8, 2027
• it airs in the Friday Anime Night block
• its Japanese airtime is Fridays at 11:00 PM
• Crunchyroll will stream the series
• the episode count has not been announced
• the ending theme has not been announced
• home video details have not been announced
• the manga began through Sumiko Arai's X posts in 2022
• the first print volume was released April 19, 2023
• the series has surpassed 2.25 million copies worldwide
• its combined social following has surpassed 2 million
• four print volumes are currently available
• Volume 5 releases January 13, 2027
• Volume 5 contains 176 pages
• Volume 5 costs 1,485 yen including tax
• its ISBN is 978-4-04-330271-0
• Volume 5 will also have a special merchandise edition
• the series won the Next Manga Awards 2023 Web Manga Category
• it ranked second in the women's category of Kono Manga ga Sugoi! 2024
• a drama CD was released in April 2024
• Mariya Ise, Akari Kito, Kenjiro Tsuda and Tasuku Hatanaka were already involved in the drama CD
• current anime information is available through the Official Website
• English information is available through the Official English Website
• official announcements are available through Official X
• the latest footage is available through the Official First Trailer
• streaming information is available through Crunchyroll
• manga information is available through KADOKAWA

Closing

The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All now has a firm premiere date, a broader supporting cast and a clearer picture of how CloverWorks plans to translate Mitsuki and Aya's music-driven relationship into animation.

The anime begins January 8, 2027, followed by manga Volume 5 on January 13. Its episode count, ending theme and further distribution details remain unannounced.