Anime openings get J-pop, J-rock, and the occasional Vocaloid banger. They do not get Nirvana. Until now.
At Crunchyroll's Anime Expo 2026 panel on 3 July, Dave Grohl appeared via video message to announce that Nirvana's "Breed" — the 1991 track from Nevermind — will be the opening theme for The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy At All, the anime adaptation of Sumiko Arai's beloved manga, premiering in January 2027.
Why this pairing actually makes sense
The manga — nicknamed "Green Yuri" by fans — is built on rock music. As reported by Animehunch in July 2026, Grohl told Arai in a special interview that "Breed" was one of his favourite songs to open a set with, and that Kurt Cobain would have loved the story. The characters' canonical playlist is even officially available on Spotify and Apple Music.
The premise, per Yen Press's official synopsis (2025):
"Fashionable and upbeat high schooler Aya falls head over heels for an employee at a local CD shop."
The twist: the effortlessly cool, black-clad shop employee with impeccable music taste is actually Aya's quiet female classmate, Mitsuki — who sits right next to her at school and is far too aware of the crush to admit the truth.
Who's making the anime
The teaser trailer, key visual, and staff were all revealed alongside the theme announcement:
- Studio — CloverWorks, with the series streaming on Crunchyroll.
- Director — Masashi Ishihama, who previously directed Horimiya.
- Series composition — Rino Yamasaki, with character designs by Oshi no Ko's Kanna Hirayama.
- Cast — Mariya Ise as Mitsuki Koga, and Akari Kito as Aya Osawa.
From wordless tweets to a Nirvana licence
The series has one of the stranger origin stories in modern manga. Arai began posting short, dialogue-free strips to Twitter in 2021 — deliberately wordless so international readers could follow along — before Kadokawa picked the series up for publication. Five years later, a member of Nirvana is personally announcing its theme song on an American convention stage.
Quite the glow-up.
For the record: Nevermind turns 35 just a few months before the anime premieres. Somewhere, a CD-shop employee dressed head to toe in black quietly approves.