The Kimikoe Project announced at the AnimeJapan 2019 event on Saturday that a television anime adaptation of Kei Ii 's Woodpecker Detective's Office ( Kitsutsuki Tantei-Dokoro ) mystery novel has been green-lit for spring 2020.

The novel's story is set in 1909 during Japan's Meiji era, and centers on fictional versions of real-life poet Takuboku Ishikawa (right in picture above) and real-life linguist Kyōsuke Kindaichi , who were acquaintances in real life. In the novel, Takuboku runs a private detective agency to support his family. Both begin to investigate a case of supposed ghost appearances at the Asakusa Jūnikai building, also known as the Ryōunkai.

Kei Ii published the novel's first edition in the regular tankōbon format through Tokyo Sogensha in 1999. Tokyo Sogensha re-released the novel in the smaller bunko format in 2008.

The first initiative in Tôhoku Shinsha 's KimiKoe Project was an audition for female voice actresses. Out of 3,000 applicants, six were chosen to create the " NOW ON AIR " voice actress unit. The voice actresses also starred in Madhouse 's Kimi no Koe o Todoketai anime film, which opened in Japan in August 2017. The second audition round for male voice actors on the new television anime ended in January with winner Rikiya Hayashi and runner-up Hayato Furusawa.

Source: AnimeJapan 2019