On November 8, at the "Minami-ke Special Event 2026" held at TODA HALL & CONFERENCE TOKYO, it was announced that the fifth TV anime season, Minami-ke Korekara, is scheduled to premiere in April 2027. It is the first new TV series in about 14 years, since the fourth season, Minami-ke Tadaima (2013). Along with a teaser visual and PV, the event confirmed that the cast from earlier seasons is returning, led by Rina Sato, Marina Inoue and Minori Chihara as the three Minami sisters.
For score fans, the staff list is the real headline. The director is Junichi Kitamura and the animation studio is Liden Films, so the production side is new. Yet the music is once again by Yasuhiro Misawa, and the sound director is again Yasunori Ebina. The "familiar staff" who know the series are back in charge of its sound.
The studio changed four times; the composer never did
Minami-ke has an unusual anime history. Season 1 (October to December 2007) was made by Doumu. Season 2, Okawari (January to March 2008), and Season 3, Okaeri (January to March 2009), were made by Asread. Season 4, Tadaima (January to March 2013), was made by feel. Now Season 5 goes to Liden Films. In 19 years, the studio has changed four times.
Throughout all of that, Yasuhiro Misawa has written the music. When King Records released the four original soundtracks digitally for the first time on October 31, 2025, Misawa was credited as composer on all four. The track counts are:
- Minami-ke: 36 tracks
- Minami-ke Okawari: 34 tracks
- Minami-ke Okaeri: 36 tracks
- Minami-ke Tadaima: 38 tracks
That adds up to 144 tracks. For four 13-episode slice-of-life series, that is a lot of music. Misawa also composed and arranged the insert song "Coleslaw no Uta," sung by Hosaka (voiced by Daisuke Ono). He has shaped not only the background music but even the show's comic beats.
In slice-of-life anime, hearing the same music again matters
This next part is my own view. Scores for action or drama series usually get updated and "scaled up" with each new season. In a slice-of-life comedy like Minami-ke, though, the "usual sound" is the atmosphere itself: the relaxed cue that plays in the Minami family living room, the short phrase that lands right after a joke. Even when the art style and pacing change from studio to studio, the moment that music plays, you think, "Yes, this is Minami-ke." Keeping the same composer for 19 years may well have been the backbone of a series whose studio changed four times.
Bringing back the entire cast looks like the same idea. Keep the parts that reach you through your ears, the voices and the music, fixed, and let the new studio bring fresh visuals and direction. For a new series after 14 years, that may be the most reassuring combination possible.
Yasuhiro Misawa, a master of everyday comedy
Looking at his discography, Misawa's artist page on OTOTOY lists titles such as Kokoro Connect, Himouto! Umaru-chan, Ueno-san wa Bukiyou, Hinamatsuri, Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!, My Deer Friend Nokotan, and The Demon King's Daughter Is Too Kind!!, whose soundtrack came out in March 2026. Many of them are comedies or everyday stories that depend on timing, and they feel like an extension of the "music of pauses" he developed on Minami-ke.
It has not yet been announced whether the new season will bring back old themes or start with all-new music. Re-listening to those 144 tracks, which arrived on streaming services last year, while waiting for the "usual sound" of spring 2027 might be the most enjoyable way to prepare.
