A Neuroscience Adventure in the Near Future
LONA takes its name from the Laboratory of Optics and Neural Analysis, a research facility in a broken near-future world. Researchers Ao and Sango investigate the dead whose unresolved emotions can apparently attack the living, analyzing memories engraved in neural circuits. The fictional facility draws from SPring-8, a real synchrotron radiation lab in Hyogo Prefecture's Harima Science Garden City.
The series marks the anime debut of Akiko Nogi, a live-action screenwriter behind hit crime-suspense dramas Unnatural (2018) and MIU404 (2020), as well as the shared-universe film Last Mile. International audiences may know her from Just a Bit Espers, her Netflix original. LONA has been in development since 2020, making it a six-year project.
In her official comment, Nogi said the accumulated meeting and production time over those six years was "staggeringly enormous." She added: "We're challenging the brain and the world, set in a large synchrotron radiation facility I've always admired. Stay alive. Look forward to it!"
Three teaser visuals were released in countdown format through X. One spotlights protagonist Ao, with fellow researcher Sango reflected in her eyes. Another depicts the LONA facility, packed with environmental details that hint at the story's world. A third centers on a mysterious object tied to the plot.
The Creative Team
WIT STUDIO (SPY x FAMILY, Attack on Titan) handles both planning and animation production for the project.
Takashi Katagiri directs. He previously helmed SPY x FAMILY CODE: White, the 2023 theatrical film that grossed over $95 million worldwide. Character design concepts come from Posuka Demizu, the manga artist and illustrator behind The Promised Neverland. Yūdai Iino (飯野雄大) adapts those concepts into final character designs. Hiroko Sebu, who won Best Music at the 48th Japan Academy Film Prize for Let's Go Karaoke!, composes the score. In her official comment, Sebu revealed that Nogi invited her to the project at an Academy Awards ceremony. Kazuki Yamanaka, who produced SPY x FAMILY and Bubble, serves as animation producer.
The announced cast features Minako Kotobuki (Tsumugi Kotobuki in K-On!, Asuka Tanaka in Sound! Euphonium) as researcher Ao. Anna Nagase, who starred as Ushio Kofune in Summer Time Rendering, plays apprentice researcher Sango. Fūka Izumi rounds out the trio as the facility mascot Mugen.
Director Katagiri captured his feelings in a statement to Japanese anime news site Anime Anime: "A once-in-a-lifetime thing happened. I got to make an anime with Nogi's script. I envy everyone who will watch this anime from now on. That you all get to have the experience I had!"
Looking Ahead
LONA broadcasts in spring 2027 in Japan. A teaser PV and teaser CM are available on WIT STUDIO's YouTube channel, offering the first animated footage of Ao and Sango confronting the lingering regrets of the dead.
No international streaming partner has been announced yet. As an original anime with no existing source material, the broadcast will be the first point of entry for international fans.