Anpan (TV series)

Anpan (あんぱん)^[1] is a Japanese television drama series and the 112th Asadora series^[2], following Omusubi. This drama is inspired by Nobu Komatsu, the wife of Takashi Yanase, the creator of Anpanman, but it is a fictional and original work.^[3]

Anpan
Genre	Drama
Written by	Miho Nakazono
Directed by	Tsuyoshi Yanagawa and others
Starring	Mio Imada Takumi Kitamura Ryo Kase Noriko Eguchi Yuumi Kawai Nanoka Hara Kanata Hosoda Fumiya Takahashi Motoki Nakazawa Motoki Ohmori Kazunari Ninomiya Naho Toda Miyoko Asada Kōtarō Yoshida Yutaka Takenouchi Sadao Abe Satoshi Tsumabuki Nanako Matsushima
Narrated by	Risa Hayashida
Opening theme	"Tamamono" by Radwimps
Composer	Akio Izutsu
Country of origin	Japan
Original language	Japanese
Production
Producers	Shusuke Nakamura Ryosuke Funada Shunsuke Kawaguchi
Running time	15 minutes
Production company	NHK
Original release
Network	NHK
Release	March 31, 2025 (2025-03-31) – present

Mio Imada was chosen for the lead role of Nobu Asada from among 3365 auditionees.^[4]

Plot

Nobu Asada, who was deeply influenced by militaristic ideology, experienced the horrors of war, which completely changed her values. After the war, she and her husband, Takashi, pursued "a justice that never overturns." Takashi eventually created a masterpiece picture book.

Cast

Asada family

• Mio Imada as Nobu Asada
  • Yuzuna Nagase as young Nobu
• Ryo Kase as Yutaro Asada, Nobu's father
• Noriko Eguchi as Hatako Asada, Nobu's mother
• Yuumi Kawai as Ranko Asada, Nobu's sister
  • Sakura Yoshikawa as young Ranko
• Nanoka Hara as Meiko Asada, Nobu's sister
  • Sae Nagatani as young Meiko
• Kōtarō Yoshida as Kamaji Asada, Nobu's grandfather
• Miyoko Asada as Kura Asada, Nobu's grandmother
• Kanata Hosoda as Go Hara

Yanai family

• Takumi Kitamura as Takashi Yanai, Nobu's husband
  • Yura Kimura as young Takashi
• Nanako Matsushima as Tomiko Yanai, Takashi's mother
• Kazunari Ninomiya as Kiyoshi Yanai, Takashi's father
• Motoki Nakazawa as Chihiro Yanai, Takashi's brother
  • Seigō Hirayama as young Chihiro
• Yutaka Takenouchi as Hiroshi Yanai, Takashi's uncle
• Naho Toda as Chiyoko Yanai, Takashi's aunt
• Himari Hitomi as Shin Uto

Others

• Sadao Abe as Sōkichi "Uncle Yam" Yamura, a baker
• Fumiya Takahashi as Kentaro Karashima
• Sara Shida as Usako Ogawa
• Sonim as Mimi Yamashita
• Kumi Takiuchi as Yukiko Kuroi
• Koichi Yamadera as Haruto Zama
• Satoshi Tsumabuki as Shinnosuke Yagi
• Motoki Ohmori (Mrs. Green Apple) as Takuya Ise

TV schedule

Week	Episodes	Title	Directed by	Original airdate	Rating
1	1–5	"Ningen nante Samishii ne" (人間なんてさみしいね)	Tsuyoshi Yanagawa	March 31–April 4, 2025
2	6–10	"Fushiawase-san Konnichiwa" (フシアワセさん今日は)		April 7–11, 2025