The official website for Chihayafuru -Meguri-, the new live-action television series adaptation of Yuki Suetsugu’s Chihayafuru manga, revealed the show’s main cast on Friday. Ami Tōma (Lonely Castle in the Mirror) stars in this original story set 10 years after the ending of the earlier live-action movies. Mone Kamishiraishi is returning from the films as Kanade Ōe.
© Nippon Television Network Corporation
Tōma stars as Meguru Aizawa, a second-year high school student who quietly takes part in a competitive karuta card-playing club that is in danger of disbanding due to the lack of members. Kanade Ōe is now a part-time teacher who serves as the adviser of the karuta club.
Suetsugu drew a new illustration to commemorate the announcement. The illustration features the adult versions of the Mizusawa karuta club members surrounding Kanade as a teacher.
原作・末次由紀先生特製描き下ろしイラストをこちらでも公開🎨
先生からの愛がたっぷりつまったイラストです💓
奏先生を取り囲む瑞沢かるた部のメンバー✨胸がいっぱいです…🥹
末次先生のコメントはこちらhttps://t.co/r96IqOW1jP#ちはやふる #藍沢めぐる #當真あみ #大江奏 #上白石萌音 #新ドラマ pic.twitter.com/EHg90j8vJH— ちはやふるーめぐりー【ドラマ公式】日テレ系2025年7月スタート🌸🍁🌙 (@chihaya_koshiki) April 18, 2025
The series will debut on NTV and its affiliates in July and will air on Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m. JST.
Manga creator Suetsugu is involved with the new show. The original films’ director Norihiro Koizumi is serving as the showrunner. Naoya Fujita, Daisuke Honda, Chiaki Matsumoto, and Kazuhiro Yoshida are directing the series. Monogatari Lab and Suzuyuki Kaneko are credited with the screenplay. Masaru Yokoyama is composing the music.
The first live-action film, Chihayafuru: Kami no Ku (Chihayafuru: Upper Phrase), opened in Japan in March 2016. The second film, Chihayafuru: Shimo no Ku (Chihayafuru: Lower Phrase), opened in Japan in April 2016. The third film, Chihayafuru: Musubi, opened in Japan in March 2018. A five-episode live-action tie-in series, titled Chihayafuru -Tsunagu-, premiered on Hulu Japan in February 2018.
© Yuki Suetsugu, Kodansha
Suetsugu launched the original manga in Kodansha’s Be Love monthly magazine in December 2007. Kodansha USA Publishing is releasing the manga digitally in English, and it describes the story:
Chihaya is a girl in the sixth grade, still not old enough to even know the meaning of the word zeal. But one day, she meets Arata, a transfer student from rural Fukui prefecture. Though docile and quiet, he has an unexpected skill: his ability to play competitive karuta, a traditional Japanese card game.
Chihaya is struck by his obsession with the game, along with his ability to pick out the right card and swipe it away before any of his opponents. However, Arata is transfixed by her as well, all because of her unbelievable natural talent for the game. Don’t miss this story of adolescent lives and emotions playing out in the most dramatic of ways!
The manga’s final chapter debuted in Be Love in August 2022. Be Love published a spinoff side story in November 2022. The manga’s 50th and final compiled book volume shipped in December 2022 with the spinoff manga. A sequel manga titled Chihayafuru plus Kimi ga Tame launched in Be Love in December 2023.
The manga has inspired three television anime seasons. Crunchyroll streamed all three seasons as they aired. Sentai Filmworks released all three seasons with an English dub on home video. HIDIVE is also streaming the seasons with Japanese subtitles and an English dub.
Sources: Chihayafuru -Meguri- live-action series’ website, Comic Natalie
