is a Japanese

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

starring members of the idol group

Hinatazaka46 is a Japanese idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. The group was established as a subgroup of Keyakizaka46 named Hiragana Keyakizaka46 on November 30, 2015, and was renamed and spun off into its own group on February 11, 2019. The group's ...

. The show follows the students daily lives as they attend a

voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

school. The show aired on

Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...

at 1:00 AM to 1:30 AM on Thursdays, and was available on

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

after it finished airing. The series is the third television series to feature Hinatazaka46, after '' Re:Mind'' and '' Dasada'', but ''Koeharu!'' is the first to not include every member.

Premise

Meiko Hinowa (

Mirei Sasaki is a Japanese singer, model, actress, and reporter. She is a member of Japanese idol group Hinatazaka46, represented by Sony Music Records, and also an exclusive model for the fashion magazine ''Non-no''. Sasaki has appeared in dramas such as ...

) decides to enroll in a

academy named "Kirameki Academy" to audition for a role in her favorite

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series that is getting an

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

adaptation. She befriends people at her dormitory and school as they all work towards their dream roles.

Cast

Hinatazaka46

as , soft-spoken and introverted student that's inspired to become a voice actor due to Enjō Kinakuji's manga work. *

Akari Nibu is a Japanese singer, voice actress, and television presenter, represented by Sony Music Records. She is a member of the idol group Hinatazaka46. Early life Nibu was born in Tochigi Prefecture and lived in Gunma Prefecture until she was eight ...

as , student at the academy and self-proclaimed Meiko's rival. *

Miho Watanabe is a Japanese actress, presenter and former idol. She is a former second generation member of the idol group Hinatazaka46. Watanabe joined Hiragana Keyakizaka46, now Hinatazaka46, in August 2017 and made her acting debut a month later in the gr ...

as , student at the academy. Attended the same high school as Meiko. *

Miku Kanemura is a Japanese singer and model. She is a member of the Japanese idol girl group Hinatazaka46 and an exclusive model for the women's magazine ''Bis''. Career Music On August 13, 2017, Kanemura passed the auditions for new members of Keyakiz ...

as , older student at the academy. Aspires to be an

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...

. * Hina Kawata as , student at the academy and admires Yukina. * Hinano Kamimura as , student at the academy. Looks up to Meiko as a mentor. * Ayaka Takamoto as , former student and dorm mother. * Konoka Matsuda as , Chizue's classmate and part of the idol duo "Maririn & Ruby" * Sarina Ushio as the voice of , the narrator and the character on Meiko's handkerchief. Also appears as herself in the final episode.

Others

Kōichi Yamadera is a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and singer from Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture. He graduated from Tohoku Gakuin University's economics school and is currently affiliated with Across Entertainment. Before that, he was affiliated with th ...

as , headmaster at the academy *

Aya Hirano is a Japanese actress and singer associated with the voice acting agency Grick. Beginning in the entertainment industry as a child actor in television commercials, she appeared in her first voice acting role in the anime television series '' A ...

as , instructor at the academy *

Naoto Takenaka is a Japanese actor, comedian, singer, and director from Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, affiliated with From First Production. He is married to idol singer and actress Midori Kinouchi. He is also known as the voice of Samuel L. Jac ...

as , manga artist *

Keiko Toda is a Japanese actress, voice actress, singer and narrator from Nagoya, Aichi. Her most famous role is the voice of the children's hero Anpanman on the long running anime ''Soreike! Anpanman''. She was also the voice of Thomas the Tank Engine in th ...

as Meiko's grandmother

Episodes

Production

The series was announced on March 27, 2021 during the second day of Hinatazaka46's 2nd anniversary concert. ''Koeharu'' aired on

between April 29 and July 1, 2021, and was available on

after its broadcast. An accompanying talk show was also included on Hulu where Sarina Ushio, the narrator of the series, interviewed other Hinatazaka46 cast members.

Soundtrack

The opening and closing theme song, "Koe no Ashiato", is included in Hinatazaka46's single "

Kimi Shika Katan is the 5th single by Japanese Japanese idol, idol group Hinatazaka46. It was released on May 26, 2021, through Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The title track featured Shiho Katō as center, which is her first appearance in the position on a sing ...

". In the storyline, there are also two musical groups who each record a song in the series' soundtrack: by Maririn & Ruby (Konoka Matsuda and Suzuka Tomita), and "Hell Rose" by Chocola Chocola (Hina Kawata, Hiyori Hamagishi, and Mei Higashimura).

References

External links

* -

* {{Authority control Hinatazaka46 2021 Japanese television series debuts Nippon TV dramas