Nandeyanen Comedy Picture Books Get 'Light Anime' on December 1

Japanese publisher Sekai Bunka-sha announced on Tuesday that Hirotaka Nakagawa, Tsubasa Suzuki, and Hiroe Aoki's Nandeyanen (a Kansai dialect expression meaning "What the heck?" or "What the heck are you doing?") picture book series will get a light anime adaptation. (Dai Nippon Printing coined the term "light anime" in 2022 to describe its process of producing an adaptation in less time with fewer costs than in traditional animation.) The project's teaser video reveals that the light anime will exclusively stream on Netflix in Japan starting on December 1.

© Hirotaka Nakagawa, Tsubasa Suzuki, Hiroe Aoki, Sekai Bunka-sha

Sekai Bunka-sha published the first Nandeyanen picture book in 2013. Nakagawa is credited for the text, Suzuki is credited for the original concept, and Aoki drew the book's illustrations.

The picture book is full of silly and hilarious stories like waking up in the morning and you find yourself with a topknot, or when you take off your pajamas and you find yourself wearing a loincloth.

Sekai Bunka-sha published the second book in the series titled Ofuro de Nandeyanen (What the Heck Are You Doing in the Bath?) in 2017, followed by Yūenchi de Nandeyanen (What the Heck Are You Doing at the Amusement Park?) in 2018, Mahō de Nandeyanen (What the Heck Are You Doing With Magic?) in 2019, and Umi de Nandeyanen (What the Heck Are You Doing at the Beach?) in 2022. Suzuki and Aoki, without Nakagawa, were credited for the text and illustrations of the four most recent books in the series.

Sources: Sekai Bunka-sha's website and YouTube channel, Comic Natalie