Apothecary Diaries Author Gets Second Anime: The Failure at God School
Natsu Hyuuga is no longer a one franchise author. The Failure at God School, the shojo manga she writes for Hakusensha’s Hana to Yume with artist Modomu Akagawara, is getting a TV anime. The announcement landed at midnight on September 18 in Japan, timed to the manga’s 15th volume, with a new official site, a teaser visual and comments from both creators. It is the first anime of a Hyuuga work that is not The Apothecary Diaries, it arrives in the middle of the busiest month the Apothecary franchise has ever had, and it is a completely different kind of story. Here is what was announced, what the series is about, why it matters, and everything the Apothecary machine is doing this autumn.
What was announced
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Title | The Failure at God School (Kami sama Gakko no Ochikobore) |
| Format | TV anime |
| Announced | September 18, 2026 JST, with the release of manga volume 15 |
| Studio, staff, cast | Not announced |
| Premiere window | Not announced |
| Production committee | Seikaisha, Hakusensha and partners |
| Source | Manga in Hana to Yume since August 2021, 15 volumes, plus a spin off novel series from Seikaisha at 5 volumes |
| English | Yen Press publishes the manga |
The story
It is modern Japan, but people with supernatural gifts exist, and the government classifies and licenses them. Anyone who can work a miracle is a “Himiko,” but only the fully certified may hold the title of god and serve at a shrine. Nagi is a high schooler who thinks she has no powers at all. Her family shrine lost its divinity when her grandmother died, and her shut in Himiko brother, who is telepathic, is no help. Then Nagi uses a technique she invented to block her brother’s mind reading to fend off an attack, and it works well enough that she is enrolled in the elite school that trains future gods. She is the failure of the title. The other named characters so far are Takeru, Tsukuyomi and Tota.
It is a school story, a contemporary supernatural comedy with shojo romance bones, which is about as far from a Chinese court poisoning mystery as Hyuuga could get.
What the creators said
Hyuuga recalled being told the project was “for Hana to Yume, and Akagawara sensei will be drawing the manga,” and said “all I can do now is keep writing the story and pray to the gods.” Akagawara said she is looking forward to seeing the characters “come to life and speak, as a viewer myself.” Hyuuga has been unusually visible this month. She was scheduled for Overload in New Zealand on September 26 and 27 but reportedly withdrew after a hospitalization, according to one outlet, which we have not been able to confirm independently.
Why this matters
Authors whose name alone gets a second, unrelated series greenlit are rare. It happened to Tappei Nagatsuki, to Kugane Maruyama, and now to Hyuuga, whose combined Apothecary circulation passed 57 million copies this month. The Failure at God School is not a small property either. Fifteen volumes in five years in Hana to Yume, the magazine that gave the world Fruits Basket and Ouran, plus a five volume novel line, is a solid base. What the anime will test is whether the Apothecary audience follows Hyuuga to a modern setting with no Maomao in it.
The Apothecary Diaries autumn, all of it
- October 2: Season 3 cour 1 premieres on Nippon TV and Crunchyroll, with Yorushika on the opening and Eve on the ending.
- September 3: a live action series was announced for 2028 with Mana Ashida as Maomao.
- September 9 and 10: the first console game, The False Imperial Brother, from Koei Tecmo and Gust, was dated for early 2027 with an author supervised story.
- December 11: the film, The Late Consort’s Hidden Treasure, opens in Japan between the two cours, with Mariya Ise joining as a boy named Mu Qing.
- April 2027: Season 3 cour 2.
- Date unknown: The Failure at God School.
FAQ
What is The Failure at God School?
A shojo manga written by Apothecary Diaries author Natsu Hyuuga and drawn by Modomu Akagawara, about a girl with no apparent powers enrolled at a school that trains future gods.
When does the anime come out?
Not announced. No studio, staff, cast or date has been revealed yet.
Is it connected to The Apothecary Diaries?
No. Same author, modern setting, different world and characters.
Where can I read it in English?
Yen Press publishes the manga.
Read our explainers and the latest anime news. Announcement via Anime Corner and Final Weapon.
My take: Announcing this in the same three weeks as Season 3, a movie, a console game and a live action series is either brilliant or a mistake, and I lean toward mistake. The Apothecary Diaries works because it is one thing done carefully. The rear palace, the poison, the two people not saying what they mean. Every one of those announcements is the committee trying to turn one careful thing into a platform, and The Failure at God School is the clearest example, because the only thing it shares with Apothecary is a name on the cover. Hana to Yume readers already know and like it on its own terms. Selling it as “from the author of” to an audience that wants Maomao is a way to disappoint both groups. The thing that would change my mind is a studio. If this lands somewhere like Studio Deen with the Fruits Basket team or at Madhouse, it becomes a real shojo event on its own and the Hyuuga name is just a bonus. If it goes to a small studio on a 2028 slot, it is a licensing play. My prediction: a 2028 premiere, a competent one cour adaptation, decent numbers from the shojo crowd, and almost no crossover from Apothecary viewers, which is fine, because that was never the audience it was written for.
