K-POP idol manga Girl Crush（ガールクラッシュ） by Midori Tayama（タヤマ碧） is officially leveling up to TV anime. The coming-of-age story about high schooler Tenka Momose and her friends chasing K-POP idol dreams will air on TBS and other networks, while the print volume 5 and digital volume 9 of the manga hit shelves on December 9, 2025. Billed as Japan’s first TV anime to put K-POP itself at the center of the story, it is a big moment for fans who live on trainee videos and music shows.
K-POP idol manga Girl Crush steps onto TV as an anime
Girl Crush follows Tenka Momose（百瀬天花）, a first-year high school student who seems perfect at everything except romance. Her world tilts when she meets classmate Erian Satou（佐藤恵梨杏）, a hardcore K-POP fan whose dedication to becoming an idol is anything but casual. Drawn in by that passion, Tenka steps into the world of auditions, training rooms and, eventually, the K-POP industry itself.
The newly announced TV anime adaptation is planned and produced by TBS Television and ENISHIYA, with broadcast on TBS and other networks in Japan. Promotional materials emphasize that this is the first Japanese TV anime to treat K-POP as its main theme, aiming to capture both the shine on stage and the grind behind it.
Girl Crush and its rise with K-POP-loving readers in Japan and Korea
The series began as a digital-first hit on LINE Manga under Shinchosha’s Comic Nicola label and quickly built a strong following among young women. As of late 2025, Girl Crush has surpassed 900,000 copies in total circulation across digital and print, a strong showing for a series that started online.
The Korean edition pushed the momentum even further: the local release of Girl Crush won the “New Work of the Year” prize at the 2021 RIDIBOOKS Comic Award, showing that the story of Japanese girls aiming for K-POP stardom also resonated in K-POP’s home turf.
Inspire visual and announcement movie set the anime’s tone
To celebrate the anime announcement, Tayama drew a new “inspire visual” featuring Tenka staring straight at the viewer with a confident, almost challenging gaze. Around her, key lines from the manga highlight her mix of cool style, realism and stubborn drive. It feels less like a generic idol poster and more like a character manifesto for someone who is determined to stand on stage on her own terms.
Alongside the visual, a short announcement movie has been released on YouTube, cutting between the new art and panels from the manga to underline the series’ blend of glossy performance scenes and raw trainee struggle. You can watch it here: TV anime announcement movie.
TBS broadcast plans and ways for overseas fans to stay tuned
The TV anime is slated to air on TBS and additional Japanese networks, with detailed broadcast slots and streaming platforms still to be announced. For now, overseas fans who want to stay ahead of any trailer or staff news should keep an eye on the series’ official social accounts: @girlcrush_comic on X and the matching Girl Crush Instagram, where the team is already sharing the new visual and creator comments.
Catching up on the Girl Crush manga as new volumes arrive
The anime news lands just in time for new manga releases. On December 9, 2025, Shinchosha will publish volume 5 of the print edition and volume 9 of the digital edition. The latest chapters see Tenka dealing with the fallout of collapsing during a crucial evaluation, wrestling with whether she can handle a high-profile music video shoot, and stepping into a new joint-audition project alongside fellow trainees like Jiwoo and Minchae.
New readers can sample the story from the very beginning via the free first chapter on Kurage Bunch: Read chapter 1 of Girl Crush. If you want to jump straight to the newest volume, Shinchosha’s book page for the print release is here: Girl Crush volume 5 (print). Between the manga, the new visual and the announcement movie, 2025 is shaping up to be the year Girl Crush jumps from K-POP fan favorite to full-on anime phenomenon.
©タヤマ碧・新潮社／「ガールクラッシュ」製作委員会
