If you're
one of those who missed seeing cute girls piloting giant mechanical
hulks, Kazuhiro Takamura heard your prayers. The director who
gave us gems like Strike Witches and Vividred
Operation has just released the first trailer for Vertex Force,
an original anime that will officially land in the fall season, specifically
in October 2026. And yes, the guy doesn't hide his tastes: he
already stated without shame that this project is basically a love letter to
everything that fascinates him in the animation industry, bringing together his
creative fetishes in one place.
The
winning formula: brute force, innocence and wicks
Unlike
other productions where they release the entire cast at once, the SMDE studio
decided to release the information in dribs and drabs, to generate more
intrigue. For now, the trailer introduced us only to Haruka Todo, a 16-year-old
high school student from Okinawa. Far from being the typical fragile girl who
needs to be rescued, Haruka is pure muscle, inexhaustible energy and a rather
innocent charisma. Although they have not yet revealed who his voice
actor will be, his design already lets us see that the director is
betting heavily on that contrast between young adult light comedy and
large-scale destructive action.
A team
of veterans to polish the irons
Where they
did take out the heavy wallet was in the production team behind the machines.
To make the battles not look like recycled graphics, they brought in
Kanetake Ebikawa (the genius behind the spectacular designs in Mobile
Suit Gundam 00 and The Witch from Mercury) to take care of
the engine design. In addition, JNTHED jumped on board for
ENIA designs, while Masashi Suzuki is working closely with
Takamura on the scripts. Basically, they put together a real Dream Team to
make sure that the robots look as spectacular as the protagonists.
Synopsis
of Vertex Force
Vertex
Force is an original anime that fuses the aesthetics of adorable characters
with high-intensity mechanical combat. The story will introduce us to a world
where young, athletic girls, such as the cheerful Okinawan student Haruka Todo,
will be involved in dynamic battles using advanced technology. Through a mix of
laid-back moments of daily life and pure action sequences, the series will
explore the mysteries of these powerful machines and the weight that falls on
the shoulders of those who pilot them.
