Horimiya: A New Story — CloverWorks Announces Original Anime Continuation
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## Horimiya Gets a Continuation — Original Anime This Time
CloverWorks has announced *Horimiya: A New Story*, a new anime project that will follow the events of the 2021 series and its 2023 sequel *The Missing Pieces*. The announcement was made at AnimeJapan 2026 with a brief key visual and a producer's message that described the project as "an original continuation developed in collaboration with the original creators."
This is notable: unlike most anime continuations, *Horimiya: A New Story* will not be adapting existing manga chapters. The manga by HERO and Daisuke Hagiwara concluded in 2021, and *The Missing Pieces* drew from alternate-timeline episodes rather than new material. This continuation will be genuinely new story.
### Why an Original Continuation Makes Sense Here
*Horimiya* completed its manga run in a place that left fans satisfied but wistful — Hori and Miyamura's relationship resolved, but the future left deliberately open. *The Missing Pieces* filled gaps in the high school timeline. *A New Story* is positioned to do something different: move the characters forward in time and show who they become.
The producer's message at AnimeJapan 2026 specified that the series would follow Hori and Miyamura "into their early adulthood," which for this particular pair of characters has significant implications. The dynamic between them — Hori's competence and need for someone who sees through her, Miyamura's withdrawal and the slow process of becoming someone who can be seen — is one that has room to deepen in a post-high-school context.
### CloverWorks Returns
CloverWorks returning to produce *A New Story* is the right call. The 2021 series was occasionally criticized for its pacing — the manga's structure required compression — but the animation quality and the rendering of the characters' emotional interiority were consistently strong. The production team managed something difficult: making a romance series feel genuinely inhabited rather than merely illustrated.
The returning director has not yet been confirmed, but CloverWorks indicated that core staff involvement from the original series is expected.
### HERO's Involvement
Original creator HERO is confirmed to have story input on *A New Story*, which meaningfully changes what this project is. Original anime continuations without creator involvement often feel like well-intentioned fan fiction. With HERO involved in the story's direction, the continuation carries legitimacy that pure studio projects lack.
### Premiere Information
No premiere window has been announced. Given the production timeline implied by an AnimeJapan 2026 announcement, an early 2027 premiere seems probable. CloverWorks has a full production slate, and original work requires additional development time.
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*Otakiva will track all Horimiya: A New Story updates. See our [Horimiya series page](/en/anime/horimiya) for the original series.*
