"Pen to Wappa to Jijitsu Kon": Anime starts January 2027 – Teaser PV reveals main cast

The television anime "Pen to Wappa to Jijitsu Kon" (Japanese: "Pen to Tejo to Jijitsu-kon", English: "A Pen, Handcuffs, and a Common-Law Marriage") will premiere in January 2027 on Japanese television. To mark the announcement, the producers released a teaser PV and a teaser visual, in which the voices of the two main characters can be heard for the first time: Tomoaki Maeno voices detective Eiji Kirisame, while Inori Minase portrays his silent partner Tsugumi Kuchinashi. The adaptation had already been officially announced in April 2026 with a first promotional video.

The source material comes from author Shinichi Sawaragi and illustrator Tank Gasuyama and has been serialized since December 2022 in Hakusensha's Young Animal magazine, which also features series like "Berserk" or "Sangatsu no Lion." In Japan, seven volumes of the manga have been released so far, with a total print run of over 400,000 copies. For the English-speaking market, Yen Press secured the license; the first volume was released there in March 2026.

At the center of the story is 40-year-old, extremely dutiful investigator Eiji Kirisame from the Nanakorobi police station. While solving a case, he encounters high school student Tsugumi Kuchinashi, who does not speak a single word and communicates exclusively through a sketchbook and a pen. Her drawings are hopelessly unskilled, but the wordless young woman turns out to be a sharp observer with remarkable deductive abilities. When she finally hands the bewildered inspector a filled-out marriage application, the unusual story between crime and romance takes off – a blend that the series title playfully captures with the term "common-law marriage."

The teaser PV offers a first look at the encounter between the two mismatched partners as well as excerpts from the case they have to deal with. Among other things, you can see the visibly overwhelmed Eiji being handed a marriage form, and Tsugumi communicating through her sketchbook. The clip also provides the first audio samples of the new main cast. The teaser visual depicts Tsugumi with her sketchbook, while behind her Eiji looks into the camera with a handcuff; the vibrant pink motif combines the series' comedic tone with a mysterious note.

The production is handled by studio EMT Squared. Direction is by Takaaki Ishiyama, series composition by Shigeru Murakoshi, and character design by Miyuki Nakamura. Hiroto Morishita serves as sound director, and Kana Hashiguchi composes the music.

The two voice actors expressed their enthusiasm for their roles: Maeno describes Eiji as a serious but quick-witted character whose earnest demeanor and sharp retorts immediately appealed to him – from the first audition, he felt the character was calling out to him. Minase explained that her heroine Tsugumi is not allowed to speak a word and communicates solely through paper and pen; she therefore plays mainly with breath and movement to make the character's struggle for communication audible. The wordless high school student is by no means emotionless – the feelings that the pen carries across the paper are meant to reach the audience.

Further information is available on the official website pentowappa-anime.com; under the hashtag #pentowappa, those involved keep fans updated on production news.