The studio behind Attack on Titan and Spy
x Family has a new original project, and the creative team that
accompanies it already makes it interesting before seeing a single image. Wit
Studio revealed LONA (Laboratory of Optics and Neural
Analysis), an original sci-fi anime directed by Takashi Katagiri scheduled
for release in spring 2027. The announcement came with two teasers,
three promotional images, the main cast and the entire production team.
The story takes place in the near future where
humanity is facing a new and disturbing phenomenon: people who should be dead
are attacking the living. The government turns to a specialized organization to
deal with the situation, the Laboratory of Optical and Neural Analysis,
known as LONA. Researcher Ao and her apprentice Sango will
try to get to the bottom of the mystery by analyzing the brains of the
deceased, searching the neural circuits for recorded memories and what those
people saw in their last moments. The central question that guides the
narrative: what do people think before they die and what do they leave behind?
The Production Team
The direction is in charge of Takashi
Katagiri at Wit Studio. The script and original story are
by Akiko Nogi, known for the screenplay of the film INU-OH and
live-action productions such as Library Wars and I am
a Hero. The original character designs are by Posuka Demizu,
the creator of The Promised Neverland manga, 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 to be hinted at during the 2026
Chayamachi Oshi Festival on June 20, when the studio opened a countdown
website. The full announcement on June 29 provided all the details of the
project for the first time. The combination of screenwriter Akiko Nogi, whose
work oscillates between auteur cinema and thriller, with the designs of Posuka
Demizu and the direction of Katagiri positions LONA as a science fiction
project with narrative ambition within the catalog of a studio that has proven
to know how to handle stories of that caliber.
