Anime
Wondering Mate: 12 episodes premiere in December on YouTube
Hurray! adapts the META TAXI avatar story as an animated series. Yuno Nakahara and Nobuhiko Okamoto voice the main characters.
The new original anime Wondering Mate premieres on December 16, 2026, on the official META TAXI YouTube channel. The project from Kodansha and the animation team Hurray! comprises twelve episodes of roughly three minutes each. A first teaser has already been released.
The release begins on December 16 at 9 p.m. Japan time. Unlike a regular TV series, Wondering Mate will be offered directly on YouTube. The announcement comes from an official Kodansha statement dated November 5.
Two avatars in a world of forgotten apps
The story is set in a world where digital avatars continue to live on even after their original applications have been shut down. They do not vanish with the discontinued services but develop a consciousness of their own.
At the center is Aco, an avatar in the form of a schoolgirl who is fascinated by humans. She observes the internet and tries to imitate human behavior. Her counterpart is Bit, a speaker-shaped avatar who views humans and Aco with far more detachment. Conversations between the two form the core of the series.
The new story builds on the world of the META TAXI project. Its YouTube channel usually shows conversations between guests who appear as avatars in a virtual taxi. According to Kodansha, Wondering Mate also works independently of these earlier videos.
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Hurray! produces, Nobuhiko Okamoto takes on Bit
The three-person team Hurray! is responsible for animation and concept. Popurika, Ohajiki and Magotsuki previously worked, among other things, on music videos and the animated film A Few Moments of Cheers from 2024. The screenplay comes from Inu Hirayama of the comedy group Tenten Hanten; it is his first work on an anime script.
Yuno Nakahara takes on a lead role in an anime for the first time with Aco. Bit is voiced by Nobuhiko Okamoto, known among other roles as Himmel in Frieren. The cast thus consists of two voices carrying the exchange between the main characters.
Wondering Mate adds to the growing number of shorter animations for online platforms. Other formats that have been reported on include the short films of Hello! Pikmin and the Matsuken anime on YouTube. For Wondering Mate, the first episode is announced for December 16, with further episodes to follow gradually.