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Takako Shimura Launches Manga Based on Danchi no Futari Novel

The April issue of Futabasha's Jour magazine revealed on March 3 that Takako Shimura will launch a manga adaptation of Chiya Fujino's Danchi no Futari (The Pair at the Apartment Complex) in the magazine's next issue on April 2.

The novel centers on two old friends, Natsuko Sakurai and Noe Ōta. Both women are single and in their mid-50s, and have remained steadfast friends since childhood, supporting each other while still living in the apartment complex where they both grew up. Natsuko makes a living as an illustrator while buying and selling items online. Noe works a stressful job as a part-time college lecturer.

Fujino originally released the novel digitally for subscribers of the video streaming service U-NEXT in March 2022, and it later got a paperback print version later that same month. Futabasha released a later paperback bunko version in July 2024.

Shimura is best known for her Wandering Son and Sweet Blue Flowers manga, both of which have inspired television anime series adaptations in 2011 and 2009, respectively. She also drew the original character designs for the Aldnoah.Zero anime, Battery the Animation, and the Overtake! racing anime. She drew a short-run manga adaptation for the Battery novels. Fantagraphics Books is releasing her Wandering Son manga in North America, and Viz Media is releasing Sweet Blue Flowers. Seven Seas is releasing Shimura's Even Though We're Adults (Otona ni Nattemo) manga digitally and in print. That manga inspired a live-action series that debuted in April 2025.

Shimura's Happy-Go-Lucky Days (Dōnika Naru Hibi) manga inspired an anime film that opened in Japan in October 2020. Shimura's Scenes From Awajima (Awajima Hyakkei) manga is inspiring an upcoming television anime that will premiere on April 9. Yen Press is releasing the manga in English.

Sources: Jour April issue, Takako Shimura's X/Twitter account