Noa Is My Senior Anime Reveals Lead Cast and 2027 Broadcast

The television anime adaptation of Noa Is My Senior and My Friend was announced for a 2027 broadcast in Japan on October 11. Rina Kawaguchi will voice Noa Saotome, while Tomoya Ito will play Rihito Otsuka. The reveal also included the production's first key visual and new character design artwork.

The leads behind the office friendship

Kawaguchi's Noa is an art director at a game company. At work, she has the confidence of her supervisors and the admiration of her juniors, projecting the image of an exceptionally capable career professional. The story begins to shift when Rihito, a second-year employee who prefers to conserve his energy, catches sight of a side of Noa that she has been keeping hidden.

That discovery turns their relationship into an after-hours friendship between coworkers with sharply different temperaments. The setup places Noa's emotional swings and Rihito's low-key attitude at the center of the comedy rather than treating their office merely as a backdrop.

The official introduction frames the pair as an overextended career woman and a calm younger man, asking whether a friendship between them can survive their opposite approaches to daily life. Their connection begins outside regular working hours, so the series' central relationship grows from a workplace secret rather than from a formal team assignment or established friendship.

The cast announcement was accompanied by line-art character sheets for both Noa and Rihito. Kawaguchi said she was already a fan of the original manga and expressed her excitement at being chosen for Noa, highlighting the character's rapidly changing emotions as part of her appeal. Ito described the recording sessions as tiring in a satisfying way, connecting that feeling to what Rihito experiences around Noa and the story's energetic ensemble.

The team adapting the manga

Shinsuke Yanagi is directing the series, with Keiichiro Ochi handling series composition. Yumiko Yamamoto is responsible for the character designs, and animation production is being handled by feel. The anime is based on Enma Akiyama's manga, which is serialized by Shueisha in Weekly Young Jump.

The premise follows Noa and Rihito as they try to make an unusual friendship work after office hours. Noa's polished professional reputation contrasts with the private face Rihito discovers, while his deliberately low-energy outlook gives their exchanges a different rhythm from a conventional workplace partnership. The new casting gives the adaptation its two central voices and clarifies which performers will carry that contrast on screen.

The first key visual marks the next stage of promotion following the anime adaptation's earlier announcement. Together with the cast and character sheets, it gives the project a more defined public identity while retaining the manga's focus on adult coworkers and the awkward boundary between professional and personal life.

A specific premiere season, Japanese broadcast networks, and international streaming plans have not yet been announced. For now, the confirmed milestone is the anime's 2027 Japanese broadcast, with Kawaguchi and Ito leading the cast under Yanagi and studio feel.