Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! is arguably the biggest breakout show of the season, enrapturing anime fans worldwide with it’s catchy opening, relatable characters, and incredibly gorgeous animation. The massive success and popularity of the series isn’t stopping with just a memorable anime series, though. Asakusa and the gang will be coming to the silver-screens of Japan in just a few months thanks to the upcoming live-action film version Eizōken ni wa Te o Dasu na! (Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!). On top of a live-action movie adaptation, though, the series is also spawning a special six-episode television mini-series in April.
Announced via the official website for the live-action film version of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, the six-episode television series will involve the same staff and cast members as the movie. The show is set to premiere on April 5 on MBS, with a broadcast on TBS following a few days later on April 7.
The film version of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, meanwhile, is set to premiere in theaters across Japan starting on Tuesday, May 15. The film is directed by Tsutomu Hanabusa, the director previously responsible for the live-action versions of 3D Kanojo Real Girl, Kakegurui, and Asahinagu. Interestingly enough, the iconic main trio of characters are each played by members of the idol music group Nogizaka46. Minami Umezawa plays Sayaka Kanamori, Asuka Saito plays Midori Asakusa, and Mizuki Yamashita plays Tsubame Mizusaki.
The live-action film also stars also stars Sakurako Konishi as student council president Tōru Dōtonbori, Ema Grace as student council secretary Sowande Sakaki, Riko Fukumoto as attack squad leader Hisashi Ashima, Ryō Matsuzaki as student council treasurer Shunya Ō, Suzunosuke as Kuroda, Masayuki Deai as Asakasa, and Masahiro Takashima as Fujimoto-sensei.
The anime version of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! is currenly airing across the world, having debuted on NHK General on January 5. The show is set to have 12 episodes, and is directed by Masaaki Yuasa, the legendary anime director behind Devilman Crybaby, The Tatami Galaxy, and Ping Pong The Animation. The anime is produced by his animation studio Science SARU. Crunchyroll is currently streaming the series in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, and the Middle East.
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! didn’t start out as a Masaaki Yuasa-directed anime series, though. The television anime is actually an adaptation of the manga of the same name, which was launched by Sumito Ōwara in 2016. The manga was published in Shogakukan’s Gekkan! Spirits magazine, and has gone on to be nominated for a Manga Taisho award in 2018, as well as earning the top Bros. Comic Award in 2017.
A description of the series, according to Crunchyroll:
First year high schooler Midori Asakusa loves anime so much, she insists that “concept is everything” in animation. Though she draws a variety of ideas in her sketchbook, she hasn’t taken the first step to creating anime, insisting that she can’t do it alone. The producer-type Sayaka Kanamori is the first to notice Asakusa’s genius. Then, when it becomes clear that their classmate, charismatic fashion model Tsubame Mizusaki, really wants to be an animator, they create an animation club to realize the “ultimate world” that exists in their minds.