Please Teacher! is finally coming back with new animation for the first time in 22 years. Under the banner of a reboot project, the team has launched a MotionGallery crowdfunding campaign to create fresh episodes that say thank you to fans and to Kizaki Lake, the lakeside campsite that became the series’ real-world pilgrimage spot.
A new Please Teacher! animation born from Kizaki Lake’s farewell
More than two decades have passed since Please Teacher! first aired, but the series has never really left Kizaki Lake. In summer 2024, a 20th anniversary event held at the Kizaki Lake campground drew over 1,000 attendees and more than 14 million yen in support, proving just how strongly the show still lives in fans’ hearts. When news later came that the beloved campsite would be closing, staff felt they could not let the “Onegai series” simply fade out. The answer was a new animation project built as a tribute to both the fans and the lakeside location that defined the show’s atmosphere.
Two untold episodes for Mizuho, Kei, Koishi and Ichigo
The reboot project will animate two “secret” stories that were never shown in the original broadcast. One episode focuses on Mizuho-sensei and Kei, while the other shines a light on Koishi and Ichigo. These are side tales that fill in parts of the emotional landscape that the TV series only hinted at, promising fans a chance to revisit these relationships from slightly different angles. It is not a full new season, but a pair of carefully chosen episodes that feel like long-lost pages from the original story.
Returning staff and cast under director Yukihiko Nakao
At the head of the project is director Yukihiko Nakao, who has often cited Please Teacher! as a key reason he entered the anime industry. He is joined by many staff members who worked on the original series, including character designer and illustrator Taraku Uon for new jacket art and background studio Kusanagi for the lakeside scenery. On the production side, Studio M2 will handle animation, with Bandai Namco Filmworks in charge of the Blu-ray and Genco producing.
The cast is also coming back: Kikuko Inoue reprises her role as Mizuho Kazami, Soichiro Hoshi returns as Kei Kusanagi, Yukari Tamura as Ichigo Morino and Ayako Kawasumi as Koishi Herikawa, among others. Long-time fans can expect the new footage to sound exactly like the series they fell in love with.
Why the reboot uses crowdfunding and how support is used
The MotionGallery campaign is designed less as an all-or-nothing funding attempt and more as a way to let fans actively participate in bringing the new episodes to life. Even if the target amount is not fully reached, the project will still move forward, with all contributions going directly toward animation costs. For a title so closely tied to fan pilgrimages and community, crowdfunding is being framed as one more form of “thank you” and “let’s do this together” rather than a simple pre-order.
Schedule, Blu-ray rewards and other thank-you items
Production on the new animation is scheduled to begin in December 2025, with completion planned for around April–May 2026. The centerpiece reward for backers will be a Blu-ray of the new episodes. Additional planned items include an anthology comic focusing on Ichigo by manga artist Mimei Kuroi, a keyholder based on the limited express Mizuho headmark, acrylic boards and high-quality fine art prints. Once the footage is complete, screening events are being planned both in Tokyo and at venues around Kizaki Lake, giving fans another reason to gather at the lakeside one more time.
Where to follow the Please Teacher! reboot and future events
The hub for pledging and checking reward tiers is the project page on MotionGallery, listed as the “Please Teacher! New Animation Production Project” within the Onegai series reboot initiative. For day-to-day updates, fans can follow the official series X account at 10please on X, as well as the Kizaki Lake 20th anniversary committee at please10kizaki on X, which will share information on any reunion-style events tied to the new animation. With original staff and cast reuniting and Kizaki Lake at the heart of the project, this reboot looks like a rare chance for Please Teacher! fans to write one more chapter together with the people who made the show.
©Please!/バンダイビジュアル
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