Based on the original manga by writer-artist duo Aidalro, Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun is a unique spin on Japanese ghost stories that’s become extremely popular due to its lush art style and surprisingly emotional storytelling. Lerche’s anime adaptation of the series has recently announced through a special illustration from Aidalro that the second season would be returning in July 2025 with a new batch of episodes, including a brand-new addition to the cast, Kana Hanazawa, who will be playing Shijima Mei – also known as the fourth school mystery for those already familiar with the story.
Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun follows Nene Yashiro, a first-year high school student and devoted lover of the occult whose yearning to find love and get a boyfriend leads her to summon one of her school’s Seven Mysteries, Hanako-san of the Toilet. Based on the Japanese urban legend of the same name, Nene believes that Hanako-san is the spirit of a girl haunting a specific stall in her school’s bathroom with the ability to grant wishes; however, Nene discovers that Hanako is nothing at all like the rumors claim, and, perhaps worst of all – he’s a boy. After an unexpected turn of events, she becomes spiritually bound to Hanako and is forced to work as his assistant and to manage the rumors surrounding the other Mysteries present in the academy.
[RELATED: Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Season 2 Gets Spooky New Trailer: Watch]
Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun Reimagines Popular Japanese Ghost Stories In a Storybook-Style Fantasy
While Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun does put a big focus into developing its core cast of characters, one of the biggest draws to the series is how well it adapts and reimagines the occult stories featured throughout the series to not only make them fit into the narrative, but also to reintroduce them to audiences that may already have some background regarding those urban legends. Everything, down to the existence of the academy’s Seven Mysteries, plays into popular occult stories from Japan. The number seven, like in other cultures, is considered to be deeply spiritual in Japan. The Seven Wonders of Hanjo is a popular example of how many of these stories often get clumped into groups of seven, and Hanako, within the series, is the “seventh” mystery in the school, with six other mysteries ranked alongside him.
Aside from the supernatural mysteries present in the school, there are other references to famous figures from Japanese culture in Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun, with one of the main characters, Kou Minamoto, being a direct descendant of Minamoto no Yorimitsu – a figure who lived in the late 900s and served the Fujiwara clan. Legends surrounding the figure often involve his encounters with different yokai and other supernatural beings. In a fun touch, one of the stories featuring Minamoto no Yorimitsu sees him facing off against the tsuchigumo, a spider-like creature that was slain by Minamoto. In Hanako-Kun, Kou’s homeroom teacher is a man named Tsuchigumori, who is secretly one of the school’s Seven Mysteries with a spider-like body. For any anime fan looking for a fun, subversive take on real urban legends and tales of the supernatural with a unique spin on the mystery genre, Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun is dedicated to delivering an emotionally impactful, fantastical story.
Source: Anime Corner
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