From Live-Action Hits to Original Anime
Akiko Nogi (野木亜紀子) is a screenwriter known for the Japanese live-action dramas Unnatural (2018) and MIU404 (2020), plus the 2024 theatrical film Last Mile, which connects both series in a shared universe. LONA marks her first time creating and writing an original TV anime. According to Japanese entertainment news site Cinema Today, she chose neuroscience as the central motif for the project.
Takashi Katagiri (片桐崇), who directed the SPY x FAMILY CODE: White theatrical film, directs. WIT Studio (Spy x Family, Attack on Titan seasons 1–3) handles planning and animation production, with Posuka Demizu (出水ぽすか), the illustrator behind The Promised Neverland, providing the original character designs. Yūdai Iino (飯野雄大) adapts those designs for animation, and Hiroko Sebu (世武裕子) composes the music. The extended staff roster includes art director Yumiko Kuga, CG director Shigenori Hirozumi, and sound director Shōji Hata.
Neuroscience in a Broken World
LONA is set in a near-future world on the verge of collapse. Dead humans have begun attacking the living, and no one knows why. The government commissions a specialized research unit called the Laboratory of Optics and Neural Analysis to investigate. The team, known by its acronym LONA, analyzes the brains of the deceased to trace their final memories and piece together what triggered the crisis.
The official site frames the story around a pointed question: what do people think about before they die, and what traces do those thoughts leave behind? Rather than a straightforward zombie premise, the series appears to channel its horror through scientific investigation.
The Cast So Far
Three lead voice actors were announced alongside the project reveal.
Minako Kotobuki (寿美菜子), known for voicing Tsumugi Kotobuki in K-On! and Tōko Nanami in Bloom Into You, plays Ao, a researcher at the LONA facility. Anna Nagase (永瀬アンナ), who voiced Ushio Kofune in Summer Time Rendering and Riko Amanai in Jujutsu Kaisen, takes on Sango, a trainee researcher. Fūka Izumi (和泉風花), who voiced Utena Hiiragi in Gushing over Magical Girls, plays Mugen, the facility's mascot.
The reveal was coordinated across three X accounts in countdown format. WIT Studio posted a teaser visual focused on Sango, with Ao reflected in her eyes. Nogi's personal account shared an image of the LONA facility itself. The official anime account posted a visual centered on a mysterious object described as key to the plot. Two teaser trailers, a PV and a CM, are now available on YouTube.
Looking Ahead
LONA premieres in Spring 2027. No specific broadcast date or episode count has been announced. International streaming partners are not yet confirmed, though WIT Studio's recent projects have landed on Crunchyroll (Spy x Family) and Netflix (Bubble). A similar arrangement for LONA is plausible but unconfirmed.
As an original anime with no source manga, every story detail will be new to viewers when it airs. The official website is already live at lona-animation.com, with an English-language version available. Updates are expected on the official X account @LONA_animation.