Renowned Screenwriter Akiko Nogi Teams with WIT STUDIO for First Anime Project LONA, Set for Spring 2027

It has been announced that the completely new original TV anime LONA will begin airing in spring 2027. The series is based on an original concept and screenplay by Akiko Nogi, known for Unnatural, MIU404, and Last Mile. It is directed by Takashi Katagiri, known for SPY x FAMILY CODE: White, with WIT STUDIO, known for Attack on Titan and SPY x FAMILY, handling planning and animation production.

Alongside the announcement, three teaser visuals were revealed, as well as two preview videos: a teaser PV and a teaser commercial.

A Neuroscience Adventure Centered on Researchers Facing the Thoughts of the Dead

LONA is a neuroscience adventure that follows researchers who come into contact with the lingering thoughts of the dead and confront the world. The setting is modeled after SPring 8, the large synchrotron radiation facility operated by RIKEN in Harima Science Garden City, Hyogo Prefecture.

The newly released footage depicts Ao and Sango as they face the lingering regrets of the dead, shown together with animated scenes. It offers the first look at the characters in motion as animation, while condensing a glimpse of the neuroscience adventure at the heart of the story.

Akiko Nogi Shares Her Confidence in the Creative Team

As her first anime project begins, original creator and screenwriter Akiko Nogi expressed deep trust in the team assembled for the series.

“Director Katagiri, who is overflowing with talent, Producer Yamanaka, who is full of vitality, President Wada, whom I can trust, and WIT STUDIO. With this reassuring team, we have finally made it this far,” Nogi said.

She also shared her strong enthusiasm for the large scale of the project, saying, “We wanted to create expression that only anime can achieve, so we are taking on the brain and the world, with a large synchrotron radiation facility I had long admired as the setting. Stay alive. Please look forward to it.”

In response, director Takashi Katagiri described the joy of working on the project, saying, “Something that happens once in a lifetime has happened. We were able to create an anime written by Nogi.”

He also praised the screenplay, saying, “I still remember the emotion I felt when I first read the scenario as if it were yesterday. And I am envious of everyone who is going to watch this anime. You will be able to experience what I experienced!”

Character design concept artist Posuka Demizu also praised the project, saying, “Thinking about the designs while exploring the inner lives of the characters was difficult, but it was also a process that allowed me to immerse myself deeply in the work. When I first joined the project, I was greatly surprised by the world setting, and from the beginning, I could not stop reading the script!”

Hiroko Sebu, who is in charge of the music, revealed the miraculous beginning of the creative collaboration, saying, “Just as I was thinking that I wanted to work on more animation music, Nogi invited me to take part in this project at the Academy Awards ceremony. What a wonderful turn of fate!”

Source : ORICON NEWS