Yuki Ikeda’s anime adaptation of Insomniacs After School, also called Kimi wa Hokago Insomunia, is all set to start airing its episodes this week. Revolving around two classmates who share similar problems, this slice-of-life anime is bound to get you thinking about the significance little things in life hold.
Written by Makoto Ojiro, the manga was published back on May 20th, 2019, and is still ongoing after four years. With almost 11 volumes to date, Insomniacs After School has managed to create a name for itself after being regarded as a hidden gem in the slice-of-life/romance genre. The manga has a way of taking its readers to a calmer place without being boring or repetitive.
This Weekly Big Comic Spirits series was taken up for an anime adaptation by Liden Films, and the announcement was made in early 2022. The anime series is scheduled to start airing on TV Tokyo, with all of its music being provided by Yuki Hayashi, who has also provided his work in anime like My Hero Academia, Death Parade, and Karakuri Circus.
Insomniacs After School will not only be having an anime adaptation but also a live-action film directed by Chihiro Ikeda that is still in production and could release in the next few months of 2023. The movie will follow a similar plot but will be much faster-paced and would have minor modifications to make the storyline suitable for a lighthearted movie.
License for distribution of the anime will be held by Sentai Filmworks, which means the anime will be available to stream internationally, although in limited locations. With Liden Studios being the company responsible for the animations, the visuals of this Yuki Ikeda series will be ethereal. A glimpse of this can be seen in the trailer.
Insomniacs After School: Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWgZws6xeJ0
Liden Studios, the animation studio for Insomniacs After School, has also worked on popular anime series such as Berserk, Tokyo Revengers, and Eternal Boys. One of the main factors that made Insomniacs After School a perfect laid-back manga was not only its relatable plot but also its visually pleasing artwork. It’s only fair that Liden Studios was hired for its production.
Insomniacs After School: Plot of The Show
Set to be a slow-paced drama and romance anime, the story takes place in Nanao, a small city filled with beautiful places and people with a quiet lifestyle. Ganta Nakami, a teenager who suffers from insomnia, makes up a terrible reputation for being cold and distant when in reality, it’s just his lack of sleep that keeps him irritated at all times.
With the school preparing for an upcoming festival, everyone starts cleaning the place and Ganta Nakami is told to bring waste cardboard boxes from the abandoned astronomy club. When he arrives at the place, he notices just how cozy and inviting it is, and decides to lie down on one of the flat boxes. Just as he starts to get back up, to his surprise, he sees a girl in a nearby box, and both of them scream in shock.
After the dramatic encounter, Ganta has a closer inspection and realizes that it’s one of his classmates, Isaki Magari, who is known to be a cheerful extrovert that could care less about the worries of life. Ganta and Isaki talk to each other and find out that both of them suffer from the same problem of not being able to sleep like any other normal human.
Seeing the night turn to day every time they tried to sleep left both of them exhausted, and they decide to nap together at the observatory. Despite both of them just being there to take power naps secretly, they start becoming curious about the club and equipment that lies abandoned in the room. After using the observatory at night, they realize how beautiful nighttime can be and take up the task of reviving the club by inviting others into it.
Seeing no one taking an interest in the club, the school decides to close down the room and use it for other purposes. With the threat of losing the only place that gives them peace, the insomniac duo starts working much harder on recruiting members for their newfound club.
The task turned out to be hard at first, as rumor had spread throughout the school that Astronomy Club’s room was haunted. It was Isaki who was responsible for it in the first place, as she had wanted to keep the place secluded. Ganta only finds out about the truth after Isaki confesses her secret and is amazed by the lengths she could go to to keep other students from coming to the room.
It later backfired on her, but the duo managed to get ahold of amazing members that get along well with each other. As they start working together, they not only find something that ignites their passion but also finds the right company that motivates them to be better than they were before.
Ganta was already a high scorer in his class, but he lacked interest in any other activity due to his degrading sleeping habits. Isaki on the other hand was welcoming and fun to be around but secretly felt the same emptiness that Ganta had. By being in each other’s company, they realize what they were missing, and a lighthearted romance eventually sparks between the main characters.
The manga portrays the journey of students who once lacked the motivation to do anything but as soon as they find the one thing that makes them passionate, they try to enjoy both the ups and downs of life with people who share similar interests. It’s a visual representation of enjoying the small little details that happen every day, which eventually make up the grand scheme of life.
Insomniacs After School does not magically transform these teenagers into positive-minded astronomists, but instead, it takes us through a series of mundane events that eventually shows both Ganta and Isaki finding the one thing that completes their life. If you’re into slow-paced romance anime with amazing visuals, this anime would be the perfect choice.
Insomniacs After School: The Voice Actors
The main characters, Ganta Nakami, and Isaki Magari will be voiced by Gen Sato and Konomi Tamura, respectively. After voicing his first character, Diver from Gundam Build Divers, Gen has continued to be a part of various anime since 2018. Gen Sato is also the voice behind characters like Chrome from Dr. Stone and Red Blood Cell from Cells At Work!
Other voice actors include Haruka Tomatsu as Yui Shiromaru, Seiichiro Yamashita as Tao Ukegawa, Lynn as Motoko Kanikawa, and Natsumi Fujiwara as Kanami Anamizu. Sumire Morohoshi and Mamiko Noto will also be voicing characters from Insomniacs After School. All of these voice actors have played parts in well-known anime, for instance, Sumire Morohoshi has voiced Emma from The Promised Neverland and Kyoka Izumi from Bungou Stray Dogs.
Mamiko Noto, who voices Usako Kurashiki on Insomniacs After School has also been the voice behind Katsuyu from Naruto, Nina Fortner from Monster, Kotomi Ichinose from Clannad, and Jun Kazama from Tekken: Bloodline. Haruka Tomatsu has voiced characters from Katanagatari (Princess Hitei), Shiki (Megumi Shimizu), and Darling in the Franxx (Zero Two).
Insomniacs After School: Episode Schedule
The Liden Films anime is ordered for about 13 episodes, with a single episode being released each week on Tuesdays. Each episode of Insomniacs After School will be having a run time of 24-25 minutes.
- Episode 1: April 11th, 2023
- Episode 2: April 18th, 2023
- Episode 3: April 25th, 2023
- Episode 4: May 2nd, 2023
- Episode 5: May 9th, 2023
- Episode 6: May 16th, 2023
- Episode 7: May 23rd, 2023
- Episode 8: May 30th, 2023
- Episode 9: June 6th, 2023
- Episode 10: June 13th, 2023
- Episode 11: June 20th, 2023
- Episode 12: June 27th, 2023
- Episode 13: July 4th, 2023
Insomniacs After School: Streaming Guide
All episodes of the slice-of-life anime will be aired on TV Tokyo, at 11:00 pm EDT for Japanese viewers. Audiences from other countries will be able to stream the show at Hidive, the international distributor for Insomniacs After School. The timing of the release in other countries will be:
- United States: 10:00 am, Tuesdays
- United Kingdom: 3:00 pm, Tuesdays
- Philippines: 10:00 pm, Tuesdays
- India: 7:30 pm, Tuesdays
- Australia: 12:00 am, Wednesdays
- Germany: 4:00 pm, Tuesdays
