On Air Dekinai!

Alternate Title

オンエアできない！

Synopsis

Set in 2014, Mafuneko is a 23 year old and new AD at Tokyo Hajikko Television, located in a corner of Tokyo. She got the job after being excited by the glittering, glamorous world of TV, but her job so far has been nothing but menial tasks like picking up 600 acorns! Surrounded by people who are a bit off but still somehow amazing, like a sharp-tongued director and a wacky location director, Mafuneko works hard to become a full-fledged AD!

Background

On Air Dekinai! is a manga series by Kana Mafune, who works for BS TV Tokyo. It was originally published to social media in October 2017 by producer Nobuyuki Sakuma after he saw the manga, which she had drawn in her notebook during work. It was released by Asahi Shimbun Publishing as a single tankobon volume under their Sonorama+ Comics imprint that same year. A sequel manga titled On Air Dekinai! Deep was serialized on Asahi Shimbun Publishing’s Sonorama Plus website from January 2019 to 2020 and was also released as a single tankobon volume.

A TV anime adaptation was announced in November 2021. The series is being animated by Jinnan Studio and Space Neko Company (Gal & Dino, Ore, Tsushima, Pop Team Epic) and features Jun Aoki (Oshiruko - The Summertime Mischief, Zannen na Ikimono Jiten) in charge of direction, series composition, character design, writing the script, and creating the storyboards. Other staff includes Yang Liu (Banana Fish, Interviews with Monster Girls) who is handling character designs and Junpei Yamada who is composing the music at WarRock with cooperation from TV Tokyo Music. The anime will premiere in Japan in January 2022 on BS TV Tokyo, TV Tokyo, and AT-X.

Characters

Mafuneko (Voiced by: Yo Taichi)
The protagonist of the series. He is a 23-year-old new AD at Tokyo Hajikko Television. He works hard every day with the dream of becoming a TV man who creates shows that cheer people up when they’re feeling down. He is a clumsy AD with bad memory who struggles with the basics of his job.

Director Onigawara (Voiced by: Yasuhiro Mamiya)
A director who has been with the TV station for 10 years. Although strict, he is a talented director who has produced many shows with high ratings. He becomes Mafuneko’s mentor and spends his days worrying about his overly clumsy colleague.

Yori-chan (Voiced by: Riho Sugiyama)
A 23-year-old new AD just like Mafuneko. She is mainly in charge of music programs. She’s a reliable person who is bosom buddies with Mafuneko.

Chief AD Yokoyama (Voiced by: Yuya Hirose)
The head of Team AD who has been working at Tokyo Hajikko Television for three years and oversees the other ADs. He performs his duties with natural diligence and a cool, calm demeanor, but sometimes he shows a perverse obsession.

Music

Opening Theme Song: TBA
Ending Theme Song: Izuki Minato

• Anime Site (Japanese)
• Twitter (Japanese)

• Original Creator: Kana Mafune
• Director/Series Composition/Script/Storyboards: Jun Aoki
• Character Design: Jun Aoki, Yang Liu
• Sound Effects: Yuusuke Inada
• Music: Junpei Yamada
• Music Production: WarRock
• Music Assistance: TV Tokyo Music
• Animation Production: Jinnan Studio, Space Neko Company