Tomoko Yamashita‘s josei manga Ikoku Nikki (aka Diary of a Strange Land) will get an anime adaptation. On May 3, 2024, the team’s official X (formerly Twitter) account released the teaser trailer as well as a visual. Both feature the two protagonists of the series, Makio Kōdai and Asa.
Ikoku Nikki: Everything we know about the anime adaptation
The synopsis of the series on MyAnimeList reads, “Thirty-five-year-old novelist Makio Koudai never had a good relationship with her older sister Minori, who always berated her for being different. Due to this, Makio is not stricken with grief upon hearing the news that Minori and her husband die in a car crash. But when Makio is asked to identify their bodies, she runs into her 15-year-old niece, Asa Takumi, whom she has not seen in years.”
MyAnimeList continues, “Struggling to process her parents’ death, Makio reassures Asa that her complicated feelings are valid and suggests that the teenager start writing in a diary as a way to cope with the loss. Upon learning that no other relatives wanted to take in Asa, Makio decides to become her guardian despite her lack of experience. In a world full of uncertainty, the novelist and teenager must learn to live with each other while figuring themselves out.”
With Studio Shuka set to produce the anime series, Ikoku Nikki revealed details about its crew members. This includes Miyuki Oshiro as the director, accompanied by Kōhei Kiyasu as the script composer. Kenji Hayama is responsible for character design, while Kensuku Ushio will compose the music for the series.
Yamashita began publishing the manga in Shodensha’s Feel Young magazine in June 2017 and continued until June 2023. In August 2023, the manga was eventually compiled into eleven tankōbon volumes.
In addition to the anime, the manga will anticipate a live-action film, set to release on June 7, 2024. It will be interesting to see how readers react to the two adaptations.
