The studio behind Attack on Titan and Spy x Family has a new original project, and the creative team already makes it intriguing before seeing a single image. Wit Studio revealed LONA (Laboratory of Optics and Neural Analysis), a sci-fi anime original directed by Takashi Katagiri with a scheduled premiere in spring 2027. The announcement came with two teasers, three promotional images, the main cast, and the full production team.

The story takes place in a near future where humanity faces a new and disturbing phenomenon: people who should be dead are attacking the living. The government turns to a specialized organization to handle the situation, the Optical and Neural Analysis Laboratory, known as LONA. Investigator Ao and her apprentice Sango will try to uncover the mystery by analyzing the brains of the deceased, searching the neural circuits for recorded memories and what those people saw in their final moments. The central question guiding the narrative: What do people think before dying and what do they leave behind?

Voice Cast

• Minako Kotobuki as Ao. (Tsumugi Kotobuki in K-On! and Chitose Karasuma in Chitose Get You!!.)
• Anna Nagase as Sango.
• Fuka Izumi as Mugen.

Production Team

Direction is handled by Takashi Katagiri at Wit Studio. The script and original story are by Akiko Nogi, known for the script of the film INU-OH and live-action productions like Library Wars and I am a Hero. The original character designs are by Posuka Demizu, the creator of the manga The Promised Neverland, with Yudai Iino adapting those designs for animation. The music is composed by Hiroko Sebu, with sound direction by Shoji Hata.

About LONA

LONA is an original anime by Wit Studio whose development began hinting during the Chayamachi Oshi Festival 2026 on June 20, when the studio opened a countdown website. The full announcement on June 29 provided all the project details for the first time. The combination of screenwriter Akiko Nogi, whose work ranges from art cinema to thriller, with Posuka Demizu’s designs and Katagiri’s direction positions LONA as a sci-fi project with narrative ambition within a studio that has proven to handle stories of this caliber.

Does the concept of analyzing the brains of the dead to solve a mystery seem like an original hook to you, or do you need to see more of the trailer before deciding on LONA?