This is the first film from the founding studio “ame pippin”, director Yuasa Masaaki, director of “Inu King”! Yoshimoto Banana is making an anime adaptation of the novel “Hinagiku’s Life.”

Yoshimoto Banana’s novel “The Life of Hinagiku” has been made into a theatrical animated film by director Yuasa Masaaki and has been decided to be released nationwide in 2026. This is the first novel to be adapted into an anime by Yoshimoto, a bestselling author that has been translated and published in over 30 countries and has sold over 7 million copies.

“The Life of Hinagiku” was serialized in the monthly magazine “CUT” from the November 1998 issue to the January 2000 issue. When she was young, her best friend Dahlia was the only one who supported Hinagiku, who lost her mother, who was the only family member, in an accident. It has been more than a dozen years since Dahlia left her mother’s hometown of Brazil. One day, Hinagiku receives a letter from Brazil, where he is living in the house, making yakisoba at a restaurant run by his uncle and aunt… and the story unfolds. This story was born from the communication between the soul, in which Nara Yoshitomo draws images evoked by reading a novel by Yoshimoto, and Yoshimoto writes them while imagining the power of the painting.

The latest film adaptations include “Ping Pong THE ANIMATION” and “Don’t touch Eigaken!” The director is Yuasa Masaaki, who has worked on “The Inu King,” and was nominated for the 80th Golden Globe Awards. As the first film of his own studio “ame pippin,” which was founded in February 2025, he takes on a new visual experience with a fantasy image.

The script also features Tanaka Sachiko, who has been active in famous Japanese live-action films such as Kurosawa Kiyoshi and Hamaguchi Ryusuke, such as “The Walking Invader” and “Sleeping and Wake Up.” Tanaka’s first anime script will be his first. The characters from their childhood are created based on illustrations by Nara Yoshitomo, who is held in major art museums around the world and is extremely popular in Asia.

This is a film adaptation that brings out a miraculous collaboration that resonates with the power of each of the creative works. Following the announcement, comments were also received from the original author Yoshimoto, director Yuasa, and Tanaka, who wrote the script.

This film has also been selected for the Work in Progress category at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2025, known as the world’s largest animation film festival. On June 13th, local time, Director Yuasa and others will take the stage to present the film, which is currently under production to local fans and those around the world. It is also a work that has attracted attention from around the world as it is a collaboration between Miyu Productions, a promising French studio that has won crystal awards at the film festival, and its future developments are increasingly attracting attention.

The theatrical anime “Hinagiku’s Life,” based on Yoshimoto Banana’s novel, will be released nationwide in 2026.

Original work by Yoshimoto Banana

It was my dream to have Director Yuasa shoot filmed it, who always feels like he’s watching the same thing!
Director Yuasa is someone who can truly express “movement.” I’m happy to be able to see the moment the inner side of each character moves.

Screenplay by Tanaka Sachiko

Original story by director Yuasa and Banana, and characters by Nara! I am extremely honored to be involved in this project. He desperately takes the director’s overflowing imagination, and there are so many things to cherish… the kindness, sensitivity and strength of the human being, the movements of the protagonist’s heart…

Director Yuasa Masaaki

This novel is reminiscent of Banana’s illustrations throughout, and although there are some vivid and scary parts, the final part was very pleasant, just like I had dreamed about in the past.
I would like to depict the life of a yakisoba restaurant in a downtown area with a radius of about 100 meters on a cosmic scale.

Title: Daisy’s Life (English title: Daisy’s Life)
Public Notation: Nationwide release in 2026
Original work: “The Life of Hinagiku” by Yoshimoto Banana (published by Gentosha Bunko)
Director: Yuasa Masaaki
Character design (childhood): Nara Yoshitomo
Screenplay: Tanaka Sachiko
Animation production: ame pippin, Miyu Productions
Production: Daisy’s Life Film Partners (co-produced by Japanese)

《Nakase Kotaro》