Hourou Musuko Anime Begins In January

A fresh Moon Phase Diary update lists the upcoming TV anime series Hourou Musuko for a January 2011 debut in Japan. The report also mentions Fuji TV's popular late-night timeslot "Noitamina", which is also set to host another upcoming series called Fractale - likewise scheduled to begin airing from January 2011. I seem to recall "Noitamina" having a second timeslot nowadays, so there shouldn't be any conflict here.



The anime adaptation Hourou Musuko was first announced back in March, as a TV series project based on Takako Shimura's slice-of-life / school manga also known as Wandering Son (or The Transient Son). The manga has been serialized since 2002, with 10 compiled volumes released so far in Japan. The same author also created the Aoi Hana / Sweet Blue Flowers manga, and its anime version aired last year.

The original story centers around an effeminate 5th-grade boy named Shuuichi Nitori. On the first day at his new school, he is mistaken for his 6th-grade sister. He happens to sit next to Yoshino Takatsuki, a masculine girl who - much like him - has secrets she cannot tell anyone. Simply put: he wants to be a girl, and she wants to be a boy. And boy, does she show it!

A local Hourou Musuko gallery should be up soon... Once I figure out which drawings are of girls, and which aren't... Update: The gallery is ready. Just mind the "trap" theme-tag where present, before you do something rash.

Update #2: Studio AIC is the one animating Hourou Musuko, reportedly.