Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun (Japanese:地縛少年花子くん,Hepburn:Jibaku Shōnen Hanako-kun;lit. "Earthbound Spirit Boy Hanako-kun") is a Japanesemanga series written by Iro and illustrated by Aida, which results in their conjoined name 'AidaIro'. It has been serialized inSquare Enix's magazineMonthly GFantasy since 2014. It has been collected in 25tankōbon volumes as of October 2025. The story follows Nene Yashiro, a first-year high school student fond of occult stories, who ardently desires a boyfriend. For this, she tries to invokeHanako-san from the toilet.
The manga is licensed in North America byYen Press. Ananime television series adaptation produced byLerche aired from January to March 2020. A new anime project was announced in December 2022, and was subsequently described as a "restart" of the series. The "first installment" of the project, an adaptation ofAfter-School Hanako-kun, aired from October to November 2023; a four-episode sequel aired in October 2024. A second season of the original anime aired from January to March 2025, and the secondcours aired from July to September of the same year.
As of February 2024[update],Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun had over 10 million copies in circulation.
Kamome Academy is famous for its rumors regarding its Seven Wonders and supernatural occurrences. Nene Yashiro, a first-year high-school student who wishes for a boyfriend, summons the Seventh and most famous Wonder, "Hanako-san of the Toilet", the spirit of a girl who allegedly haunts the bathroom and can grant wishes for the right price. Upon summoning her, Nene discovers that "Hanako-san" is nothing like the rumors say; Hanako-san is a boy. With a turn of events, she is spiritually bound to Hanako and becomes his assistant, helping him destroy evil supernaturals and change rumors in order to maintain the balance between the spirit world and the human world. Along the way, Nene learns about her connection to the spirit world and the dark secrets regarding Hanako and his past.
The most famous rumor in the school, Hanako-kun is the Seventh Wonder of Kamome Academy Seven Wonders. According to his rumor, Hanako can be summoned if one knocks on the third stall of the third floor of the girls' bathroom in the old school building; he is able to grant wishes to those who summon him in exchange for a suitable price. The strongest and the leader of the Seven Wonders, Hanako fights with a kitchen knife and his twohaku-joudai, spirit orbs that assist him in keeping watch on others and summon to him a cloak that grants immunity to exorcism lightning. His duty is to monitor all of the supernaturals in the school and maintain the balance between them and the humans. Something curious with him is that he has a melodious tone of voice when he speaks, giving the impression that he is always singing.[4]
Though childish and mischievous, Hanako puts up a front to mask his true emotions and is rather serious beneath the surface. He takes his duties seriously, having been promised by God that he would be absolved of his past sins if he fulfilled his duties.[5] He is secretive about his past life. Previously, his name was Amane Yugi (柚木 普,Yugi Amane) and he also attended Kamome Academy. A second-year middle school student in 1969, he often came to school with bruises and cuts, having been repeatedly abused by someone he refused to reveal the identity of. He harbored a deep passion for astronomy and had dreams of becoming an astronaut andgoing to the Moon. According to Tsuchigomori, the Fifth Wonder and his homeroom teacher at the time, Hanako was destined to become a science teacher, until his fate changed for unknown reasons. He killed his younger twin brother, Tsukasa Yugi, and died young. Hanako is the only known person to have ever altered his fate.[6]
By inflicting the Mermaid's Curse on himself, he bound his and Yashiro's souls together. Although he calls her his assistant, deep down, since Hanako-kun met her, he considers her his friend and cares a lot about her. Even more so when he finds out that she only has one year left to live. He wants to give her a long future; he protects her fiercely even though on the surface he teases her and annoys her a lot, he often hugs her and doesn't care getting closer to her whenever he can, and he tends to flirt a lot but when Yashiro takes the first step, he feels embarrassed.
Nene Yashiro is a first-year high school student at Kamome Academy. She summons Hanako and wishes for her crush, Teru Minamoto, to return her feelings. A turn of events occurs, and Yashiro swallows a mermaid's scale, inflicting the Mermaid's Curse on her and turning her into a fish. To grant her new wish of becoming human again, Hanako swallows a scale from the same mermaid to her curse on himself and spread its effects, permitting Yashiro to remain a human child unless she is immersed in water. Having bound their souls together through the curse, he has Yashiro become his human assistant as payment. Yashiro works with Hanako to change and spread new rumors of supernaturals in the school to keep them under control. She is capable of destroying a School Wonder'syorishiro, their source of power; upon doing so, she falls asleep and views the memory associated with theyorishiro.
Yashiro wears two hair clips resemblingmagatama and a skull brooch on her school uniform. Yashiro is a very positive, beautiful, sensitive, and caring girl. She is deeply insecure and genuinely fears that no one will ever love her back; after receiving the curse, she confesses to Hanako that she had realized what hertrue wish had been: she wanted someone, anyone, to return her feelings, not Teru specifically.[7] Yashiro is insecure about herlarge ankles, often being compared todaikons as a running gag in the series. Her best friend is Aoi Akane, who loves to tell her new rumors.
Despite repeatedly claiming Hanako is not her type and Hanako's relentless teasing, she cares immensely for Hanako and after learning about his past, wants to be able to protect him.[8] She is intuitive and sensitive to changes in his personality and is deeply affected whenever she learns new information about his past life.
Kou Minamoto is a third-year at Kamome Academy's middle school division and the second eldest son of theMinamoto clan, a family of strong exorcists that believe all supernaturals are inherently evil. He uses a trident-like staff called theRaiteijou, a weapon passed down in the Minamoto family that transforms the wielder's spiritual power into lightning that exorcises supernaturals. Tasked by his older brother, Teru, to exorcise all Seven Wonders, Kou attempts to exorcise Hanako but does not possess enough spiritual power to do so. Not giving up, he tags Hanako and Yashiro around the school for a while and comes to the realization that Hanako did not seem to be an 'evil' supernatural. As a result, Kou vows to learn more about him and other supernaturals (like Mitsuba) before blindly exorcising them, much to the dissatisfaction of his brother.[9]
When Kou finds Mitsuba haunting the lockers, he offers to spend the day with him in attempt to fulfill his final regrets so he can pass on peacefully. The two were in the same homeroom class in the first year and Kou feels guilty for not noticing him back then. After Tsukasa turns Mitsuba into a violent supernatural against his will, Kou watches Hanako destroy Mitsuba and is devastated by the loss of his friend. Enraged and upset, he vows to get stronger to destroy evil supernaturals like Tsukasa.[10]
Kou is a seeker of justice with a brave and kind personality, though he often finds himself in trouble due to his inexperience and low spiritual power. He is protective of Yashiro when he interprets Hanako as being mean or perverted. A running gag in the series is his earring on his right ear, anomamori that says '交通' (traffic).
Mitsuba was Kou's middle school classmate in their first year who was killed in a car accident. He became a ghost and haunted the middle school lockers, calling out to students and hoping someone would remember him. Kou sees him after hearing about his rumor and though he doesn't recognize him from school, decides to help him fulfill whatever regret was keeping him at the school in order to help him pass on.
Mitsuba was bullied in elementary school for being rude and cocky, which lead him to repress his personality in middle school in an attempt to be more palatable and polite. However, this simply lead to him going unnoticed by his classmates and making no friends, being forgotten by everyone. He regrets having no friends while he was alive, and in his wish to Tsukasa, said he wanted everyone to recognize and remember him. Because Tsukasa believed his initial wish was too vague, he decides to grant Mitsuba's wish in a way he feels fit. He changes Mitsuba's rumor, turning him into a violent and grotesque supernatural against his will. Tsukasa attempts to have Mitsuba kill Kou and fulfill his wish of being with his friend forever (through death), but Hanako arrives and destroys Mitsuba before he can do so. However, in turning Mitsuba into a supernatural, Tsukasa saved a part of his soul and recreates a new Mitsuba with it, attaching it to a body formed of low-level spirits he had killed. After killing No. 3, Tsukasa forces the new Mitsuba to eat No. 3's heart to become the new Third Mystery. Despite not being the same as the original and having no memories, the new Mitsuba has the same personality and dreams of the original Mitsuba, still desiring friendship and now wishing to become a real human.
Mitsuba was a talented and awarded photographer in the school's photography club, taking photos during his first meeting with Kou. Mitsuba makes up insulting nicknames for people; he calls Kou 'lame-ass traffic safety earring boy', Yashiro 'daikon-senpai', and Hanako 'crazy knife'.[11] However, underneath his rudeness, Mitsuba is desperate to have friends and truly cares about the people around him.
The Seven Wonders of Kamome Academy are the seven most famous supernatural rumors in the school, and their corresponding supernatural serve to maintain the students' safety from murderous supernatural. Leading them is Hanako, who is the Seventh and most famous school Wonder. Each one has their own Boundary, a divine yorishiro, and an aspect of the school that they control. Their Boundary is a section of the school where their power is the strongest. Boundaries are the 'sea' between theNear Shore, where the living reside, and theFar Shore, where other apparitions exist and thus contain a small amount of water on the ground. A divine yorishiro is an item they cherish that acts as the source of their power. When ayorishiro is destroyed (by removing its seal), the Wonder's designated seat as a School Wonder and their power is removed. Thus, they are usually kept in the deepest region of the Boundary or safeguarded by the wonder themselves.
No. 1 – The Three Clock Keepers (三人の時計守,Sannin no Tokeimori)
Voiced by:Hōchū Ōtsuka (Kako),Shun'ichi Toki (Akane),Rie Kugimiya (Mirai) (Japanese); Mac McGee (Kako), Alex Mai (Akane), Kelly Greenshield (Mirai) (English)
Representatives: Kako, Akane Aoi, and Mirai
Aspect: Time
The Three Clock Keepers guard the clock tower of Kamome Academy and control time. Kako controls the past and can rewind time. One of Yashiro's classmates, Akane Aoi (蒼井 茜,Aoi Akane), is a human who is secretly a Clock Keeper; he controls the present and can stop time for five minutes each day. Mirai controls the future and can fast-forward time for someone by touching them.
The Misaki Stairs is a staircase in front of the art room. Anyone who steps on the fourth step is rumored to be transported to the spirit world, shredded to death by "Misaki", and have their blood splattered on the staircase the following day. Yako, thekitsune spirit of a schoolinari statue, is the current No. 2. She fell in love with Misaki, a Kamome Academy school teacher who could see her, taught her how to read and write, and included her in his class photo. She never saw him again after he was rumored to have died in an accident on the school stairs. As her rumors changed, Yako was forced to shred those who entered her boundary and use their limbs to recreate Misaki. Heryorishiro is a pair of cutting shears, a gift from Misaki.
No. 3 – The Hell of Mirrors (カガミジゴク,Kagami Jigoku)
Representative: Mitsuba (ミツバ)
The Hell of Mirrors is a boundary once controlled by a bird-like supernatural monster. The Mirrors reveal one's deepest fears and insecurities, gaining power based on how much fear the person has. Tsukasa killed the previous representative, and his heart is ingested by Mitsuba, who became the new No. 3.
No. 4 – Shijima-san of the Art Room (美術室のシジマさん,Bijutsushitsu no Shijima-san)
Shijima Mei was a third-year art student rumored to have committed suicide because her parents did not approve of her choice to pursue art professionally; in reality, Mei had been gravely ill and died before she could graduate. While working on an art assignment in the hospital, Mei imagined a fictional world where her alternate, healthy self could draw happily in a tower, wishing for her alternate to draw in her place after she dies. Unknowingly, Meicreates the supernatural Shijima, her alternate, ideal self, who watched over her for the remainder of her life and vowed to protect her. After the human Mei dies, her art is showcased in the art room and sparks the false rumors, which deeply angers Shijima because they tarnish Mei's reputation. Her Boundary is the tower within Mei's painting. She has the power to paint and create fictional worlds where people can live based on their deepest wishes. Heryorishiro is her sketchbook.
No. 5 – The 4 O'clock Library (十六時の書庫,Jūroku-ji no Shoko)
The 4 pm Bookstacks is a mysterious room filled with books about every student's past, present and future, whose door is only accessible at 4 pm. The books come in three colors; white books record the living, black books record the dead, and red books contain the future and are forbidden to read. The curator of the Bookstacks is Tsuchigomori, a spider-like supernatural who lives as a human teacher at Kamome Academy. He is currently Kou's homeroom teacher and was previously Hanako's homeroom teacher before he died. As his teacher, he cared for Hanako and was deeply affected when he died. Before his death, Hanako asked Tsuchigomori to keep his most cherished possession, a rock he believed to have fallen from the Moon. The rock becomes Tsuchigomori'syorishiro after Amane Yugi dies.
On the night oftsukimi, the Reaper is rumored to steal the lives of those who fall asleep while waiting to view the moon and can be heard playing a melody on the flute by individuals who will die soon. As a result, people weave baskets all night to stay awake and protect those who can hear the melody. The current No. 6 is Shinigami-sama, the God of Death. His Boundary, which lies below the school, is the closest one to the Far Shore. Hisyorishiro is a girl named Sumire, an ancestor of Aoi who he guarded until she was sacrificed.
No. 7 – Hanako-san of the Toilet (トイレのはなこさん,Toire no Hanako-san)
Representative: Yugi Amane
The most famous School Mystery. Hanako is referred to as a female, but Hanako is actually a male. He has the power to grant wishes to the living but as compensation, he must take something dear to them in return.
Apart from the Seven Mysteries, there are other, less powerful supernaturals that roam the school. They rely on student rumors to gain power, unlike the Mysteries who already have theirs so popular and widespread among the student body.
Known as "Yousei-San", the Mokke are in fact, sweets-loving rabbit-like supernaturals. They have a slight case ofkleptomania, enjoy committing small, random acts of theft. Due to their timidness and weak appearance, the Mokke tend to merge together to create large, horrifying creatures to fight off enemies, which scares the student population.
Known as "The Confession Tree (告白の木,Kokuhaku no ki)". It was known to be planted by 'The God of Love'. Kodama is actually a spirit in the form of a tree determined to spread love among the students but can be too meddlesome and forceful with its methods. After it is defeated by Hanako, it turns to the size of a broccoli, having been greatly weakened.
Tsukasa is Hanako's younger identical twin brother who was killed by Hanako supposedly at the age of thirteen. He is cheerful and overwhelmingly childish, but his personality switches quickly to show a disturbing and deranged side. He does not think about actions and acts on whims, deciding to kill or harm living and already dead creatures merely because he feels it is fun. The twins have opposing beliefs; while Hanako believes in the importance of maintaining a peaceful balance between humans and supernaturals, Tsukasa believes that the two should behave how they desire, even if it means wreaking tremendous havoc. While Hanako grants wishes to the living, Tsukasa grants wish to the dead. He wears a black short-sleeved kimono with a greyhakama and a white button-up underneath. Opposite of Hanako, he has a black yorishiro seal on his right cheek and uses black koku-joudai willow wisps. Tsukasa works with his assistant, Sakura, to change the rumors of supernaturals in the school.
A beautiful third-year high school student at Kamome Academy. Similar to Yashiro, she became Tsukasa's assistant after he promised to grant her wish to leave the school. She is the president of the Broadcasting Club and helps him broadcast altered rumors of supernaturals. Sakura is usually stoic and gets annoyed with both Natsuhiko and Tsukasa, resorting to imagining Tsukasa as a cat rather than a boy, making his actions more palatable.
A second-year student at Kamome Academy and a member of the Broadcasting Club. He is often seen trying to win Sakura's affection but to no avail. Though not bound to Tsukasa, Natsuhiko helps in Tsukasa's schemes.
A second-year high school student, the student body president, and the most popular male student in the school. He is Kou's older brother and the eldest son of the Minamoto Clan. A prodigious exorcist, he was trained by his family elders since he was young to exorcise supernaturals and instilled with the family sentiment that all supernaturals are inherently evil. Despite his calm and gentle appearance, he is ruthless and frighteningly perceptive. He harbors a slightly sadistic streak, frequently terrorizing the Mokke to work as his servants. He dotes on his younger siblings and wants Kou to exorcise the Seven Mysteries so he can get stronger. Teru often spends his nights exorcising supernaturals, forcing him to only sleep after school.
A first-year high school student and Yashiro's best friend. The school's prettiest and most popular girl. She enjoys rumors about the Seven Mysteries and recounting their stories to Yashiro. Yashiro notes that suspiciously, all the rumors Aoi tells her about come true. This is hinted to be related to her origins as someone who possesses the blood ofKannagi. Aoi and Yashiro are both in the Gardening Club. Akane Aoi is her neighbor and childhood friend.
Voiced by: Shoutarou Uzawa (Yokoo), Teppei Uenishi (Satou) (Japanese); Kyle Phillips (Yokoo), Stephen Fu (Satou)[3] (English)
Two third-year middle school students at Kamome Academy and Kou's best friends. Yokoo enjoys sports is usually relaxed and cheerful. Satou enjoys baking and sweets, he usually has a stern and serious personality.
Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun is written by Iro and illustrated by Aida, resulting in their conjoined names 'AidaIro' . The series started in the July 2014 issue ofSquare Enix'sMonthly GFantasy, published on June 18, 2014.[14][15] Square Enix has compiled its chapters into individualtankōbon volumes. The first volume was published on May 22, 2015.[16] A volume 0 was released on December 27, 2019.[17] As of October 27, 2025, 25 volumes have been published.[18]
In North America,Yen Press announced in July 2017 that they would publish the manga digitally.[19] In July 2019, Yen Press announced the print release of the series.[20]
Aspin-off manga series titledHōkago Shōnen Hanako-kun launched online on February 22, 2018. It was licensed by Yen Press under the titleAfter-School Hanako-kun;[21] and released in April 2021.[22]
Ananime television series adaptation was announced in the April issue ofMonthly GFantasy magazine on March 18, 2019.[23][24] It is animated byStudio Hibari's subsidiary Lerche and directed by Masaomi Andō, with Yasuhiro Nakanishi handling series composition, Mayuka Itou designing the characters, and Hiroshi Takaki composing the music.[25][26] The series aired from January 10 to March 27, 2020, onTBS,SUN,CBC, andBS-TBS.[27][28][a] The opening theme song is "No.7", performed by Jibaku Shōnen Band,[29] while the ending theme song is "Tiny Light", performed byAkari Kitō.[13]Funimation licensed the series for aSimulDub,[30] which following Sony's acquisition of the namesake platform thereafter, it was moved toCrunchyroll.[31]
In December 2022, a new anime project was announced, and was subsequently described as a "restart" of the series.[32][33] In August 2023, a short anime television series adaptation ofAfter-School Hanako-kun was announced, and is labeled as the "first installment" of the project. It is produced by Lerche and directed by Masaki Kitamura, with scripts written by Kazuma Nagatomo, character designs handled by Aya Higami, who also served as chief animation director, and music composed by Hiroshi Takaki. The series aired from October 13 to November 3, 2023, and is composed of 10-minute episodes.[b] Akari Kitō,Yu-ri Yoshida,Chitose Morinaga, and Mai Kanazawa performed the ending theme song "Koi! Koi Koi" (来い！濃い恋; "Come to Me, Deep Love!").[35][36] Crunchyroll licensed the series.[37]
In November 2023, a four-episode sequel toAfter-School Hanako-kun was announced, and aired from October 7 to 28, 2024.[38][39] It was also revealed that a second season of the original anime had been greenlit,[40] which aired from January 12 to March 30, 2025, on allJNN affiliates, including TBS.[38][41] For the first cour, the opening theme song is "L'oN", performed byMasayoshi Ōishi,[42][43] while the ending theme song is "With a Wish", performed byAkari Kitō.[44][45][46] Following the finale of the second season, a secondcours was announced, and aired from July 6 to September 21, 2025.[47][48][49] For the second cour, the opening theme song is "Kagome Kagome", performed by the same artist, while the ending theme song is "mo∞ent", also performed by the same artist.[50][51][52]
A stage musical adaptation produced byPolygon Magic ran in the Cool Japan Park Osaka TT Hall from January 22 to 24, 2021 and at the Tokyo Dome City Theater G-Rosso from January 28 to 31, 2021. It was directed by Kо̄tarо̄ Yoshitani, with Sayaka Asai writing the screenplay and lyrics, tak composing the music, Rika Mizuno as the music director and singing instructor, and Mamoru as the choreographer. The musical starred Eito Konishi as Hanako,Akari Takaishi as Nene Yashiro, Riki Tanimizu as Kou Minamoto, Ginga Shitara as Tsukasa Yugi, Daiki Mihara as Mitsuba, Fuyuna Asakura as Aoi Akane, Karen Sakura as Yako, Yūna Sekine as Sakura Nanamine, Hiromu Kuroda as Natsuhiko Hyūga, and Yūya Asato as Ryuujirou Tsuchigomori.[53][54]
By February 2024,Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun had over 10 million copies in circulation.[55]
The series ranked fifth onAnimeJapan's "Most Wanted Anime Adaptation" poll in 2019.[56]
In a review of the anime series forNEO, Jones Alex praised the series and characters for being engaging, as well as the unique visuals, comparingHanako-kun to a comic book brought to life, utilizing thick outlines, vibrant colors and distinct character proportions.[57]
In 2024, the series' first box set published by Yen Press was nominated for theEisner Awards in the "Best Publication Design" category.[58]
By the end of the summer anime season in 2025 after season 2 part 2 aired theToilet Bound Hanako-Kun anime was ranked seventh on the Anitrend top ten most popular anime list. It had previously spent 11 weeks ranked on the list with its record highest rank being third most popular.[59]
^abAoki, Deb (June 3, 2020)."New Manga: What's Hot Now".Publishers Weekly.Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. RetrievedJune 24, 2020.Yen Press' breakout hit of the season isToilet-bound Hanako-kun, a supernatural comedy manga.
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