Melvyn Tan-
July 16, 2026
TheWandance manga’s live-action film adaptation has gotten a character reveal video for main heroine Hikari Wanda, revealing the casting of actor Anji Ikehata in the role and some of Hikari’s dance movies. A visual for the character was also released
Last month saw the reveal ofJO, a member of the boy band &TEAM, as male protagonist Kaboku Kotani, along with the film’s November 27 release date. Also announced at the time were staff names like director Naoya Kusaba (Yukiko a.k.a.) and chief dance supervisorCharisma Kantaro
The Coffee-created Wandance manga, which has 15 volumes as of 2025, began serialization in Kodansha’s seinen magazine Afternoon and Magazine Pocket in January 2019. Kodansha USA describes the synopsis as such:
Kaboku Kotani is starting high school, and he plans to do what he’s always done: go along with his friends, keep quiet, and not to draw too much attention to himself. After all, it’s hard enough to get by with a stutter like his—why make things worse by standing out from the crowd? But then he sees another first-year, Hikari Wanda, dancing like no one is watching—or like she doesn’t care who sees her. It makes Kaboku wonder: Could he reach that same freedom? To find his way to Wanda, he does something he never thought he could: He joins the dance club. After all, every routine begins with a single step, right?
A TV anime adaptation of the manga aired during the Fall 2025 anime season. Michiya Kato (Kanashiki Debu Neko-chan and Nandaka Velonica director, Bubble and Trillion Game VFX supervisor) directed the series, while Madhouse and Cyclone Graphics produced.
The Wandancemovie was announced in December 2025.
