Murai in Love

"Murai in Love" (Japanese: 村井の恋) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Junta Shima. It was serialized on Line Digital Frontier's Line Manga service from June 2018 to June 2022, with its chapters compiled into seven tankōbon volumes. The story revolves around Murai, a high school student who falls in love with his homeroom teacher, Ayano Tanaka. However, Ms. Tanaka has no interest in real-life men; she is a secret otaku obsessed with Hitotose, her favorite character from the otome game "Feudal Era Love Scroll." After being rejected by Ms. Tanaka because she dislikes men with long, black hair, Murai appears at school the next day with short, blond hair, resembling Hitotose, trying to win her over. The manga was adapted into a live-action television drama that aired from April to May 2022 and an anime adaptation produced by J.C.Staff, which aired from October to December 2024. The series ranked second in the web manga category of the Next Manga Awards in 2019. The anime was broadcast worldwide on platforms like Disney+ and Hulu, and in Japan on Tokyo MX and other networks. The anime's opening theme song is "Henshin!" by Rinu, and the ending theme is "Suko" by Yabai T-Shirt Ya-san. The anime was praised for its humor, unique art style and charm, while also acknowledging some awkward moments in earlier episodes.