Tag Archives: WIT Studio

Manga Anime

Kabaneri Turns 10: Mumei Ranman 1/6 Scale Figure Pre-Orders Now Open

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Ten years after its April 2016 debut on Fuji TV’s Noitamina block, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress is back in the spotlight. WIT Studio has launched the Mumei Ranman (無名爛漫) 10th anniversary campaign, commemorating the beloved steampunk action anime with a short animation and a striking 1/6 scale collectible figure — and pre-orders are open right now.

The Anime That Put WIT Studio on the Map

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress Mumei Ranman 1/6 scale figure — face close-up detail
Image courtesy of Union Creative

If you were watching anime in 2016, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress was impossible to miss. Produced by WIT Studio and directed by Tetsuro Araki — who had just blown audiences away with Attack on Titan Season 1 — it blended a steam-powered alternate-Edo setting with relentless zombie-action pacing. Kabaneri themselves are half-human, half-Kabane hybrids: cursed enough to wield monstrous strength, aware enough to fight on humanity’s side.

At the centre of it all was Mumei, a fearless young Kabaneri voiced by Ayaka Senbongi, whose iconic scar, her weapon, and her impossible speed made her one of the most memorable anime leads of the year. The series was followed by a recap film trilogy and the 2019 sequel film The Battle of Unato, available on Netflix — which Singapore fans can still stream today.

The Mumei Ranman Anniversary Campaign

Kabaneri Mumei Ranman figure — lower body and weapon detail
Image courtesy of Union Creative

The Mumei Ranman campaign was inspired by a commemorative illustration drawn by original character designer Haruhiko Mikimoto, depicting Mumei in a vibrant yukata-based look paired with her signature weapon. To bring the illustration to life, the original production team reunited: Tetsuro Araki handled storyboards and unit direction, Ichiro Okouchi (whose credits include Code Geass and Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury) wrote the script, and Yasuyuki Ebara reprised his role as character designer.

The resulting short animation, titled Koutetsujou no Kabaneri: Mumei Ranman, depicts Mumei trying on makeup for the very first time — a warm, character-driven slice-of-life moment that long-time fans will find endearing. The short is already circulating online with English subtitles.

The 1/6 Scale Figure — Every Detail Accounted For

Kabaneri Mumei Ranman figure — back view showing Kabaneri infection mark
Image courtesy of Union Creative

Manufactured by Union Creative under the full supervision of both Haruhiko Mikimoto and Tetsuro Araki, the 1/6 scale Mumei Ranman figure stands approximately 260mm tall. The sculpt captures Mumei mid-step, one foot raised and firearm in hand, dressed in the flowing pink patterned kimono from the campaign illustration. Close-up shots reveal the makeup blush sculpted onto her face, the fine cloth folds of her outfit, and — for fans who look closely — the Kabaneri infection scar on her back. It is a figure clearly made with the series’ lore in mind, not just the art.

  • Scale: 1/6
  • Height: Approx. 260mm (including base)
  • Material: PVC / ABS
  • Manufacturer: Union Creative
  • Japan price: ¥35,000 (before tax) via IG Port Online Store, pre-orders close 30 September 2026
  • Estimated shipping: June–July 2027

Singapore fans can pre-order the figure through online importers and hobby retailers that carry Union Creative products. Local anime merchandise specialists typically list Union Creative releases within a few weeks of the Japanese announcement, so keep an eye on the major hobby shops.

If you are new to Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, the series and its sequel film are available on Netflix in Singapore — a good excuse to catch up before the figure ships next year. For more anime news and collectibles, check out our dedicated section.

Manga Anime

LONA: WIT Studio Assembles a Dream Team for Spring 2027

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WIT Studio dropped a major announcement on June 28: LONA, an original TV anime slated for Spring 2027 — and the creative team they’ve assembled is one of the most exciting in recent anime memory. The combination of names alone is enough to put this on every list, long before a single episode airs.

LONA — official key visual showing the chaotic Neural Optical Analysis Laboratory and its eccentric research team
Image courtesy of WIT Studio

What LONA Is About

LONA stands for Laboratory of Optics and Neural Analysis. Set in the near future, the series follows researchers at this facility who analyze the brains of deceased people using synchrotron light — a real technology inspired by the SPring-8 synchrotron radiation facility operated by RIKEN in Harima Science Garden City, Hyogo, Japan. Their mission: uncover the truth behind a disturbing new phenomenon in which people believed dead are suddenly reappearing and attacking the living.

Think the institutional precision of Unnatural — cold case meets cutting-edge science — but transplanted into a world where the stakes have gone fully apocalyptic. The confirmed voice cast leading the lab is Minako Kotobuki as head researcher Ao, Anna Nagase as trainee researcher Sango, and Fuka Izumi as Mugen, the facility’s unconventional mascot. The ensemble key visual already signals the tone: a gloriously chaotic lab — equipment everywhere, staff in various states of crisis — suggesting a show that can be funny and frightening in the same scene.

LONA — second key visual showing a character reaching toward a glowing orb inside the synchrotron facility
Image courtesy of WIT Studio

The People Behind It

Every credit here is a genuine reason for excitement.

Original concept and screenplay: Akiko Nogi. Her breakthrough came writing Unnatural (2018), a forensic mystery series celebrated for its meticulous plotting and deep empathy. She then wrote Last Mile (2024), a logistics-thriller film that earned widespread acclaim for its tight structure and humane core. LONA is her first anime original. Nogi’s instinct is to build genre tension out of institutional truth — the way real systems handle (and mishandle) death — and a premise involving brain-scanning the dead lands squarely in that territory.

Director: Takashi Katagiri, whose work on SPY×FAMILY CODE: White demonstrated a sure hand with large ensemble casts and tonal range. Character design: Posuka Demizu — the artist behind The Promised Neverland manga — whose work gives even mundane expressions an uncanny interior quality, perfectly matched to a show about reading what people leave behind. The teaser poster alone, a hyper-stylized eye close-up bathed in neon purple, shows Demizu operating in full Promised Neverland mode.

Studio: WIT Studio (Attack on Titan Seasons 1–3, SPY×FAMILY, Vinland Saga). Animation producer Kazuki Yamanaka (SPY×FAMILY, Bubble) and composer Yūko Sébu complete the lineup. Director Katagiri’s words in the announcement, as reported by Anime Corner, capture the energy well: “Something that happens only once in a lifetime happened to me. I got to create an anime from a script written by Akiko Nogi.”

Watch the Teaser PV

TVアニメ 『LONA』 Teaser PV — via WIT STUDIO on YouTube
Ao, head researcher at LONA, grinning in the lab — animation still from the teaser PV
Image courtesy of WIT Studio

For Singapore Fans: What to Watch For

No streaming arrangements for Southeast Asia have been announced — Spring 2027 is still months away and rights deals typically follow closer to air date. But WIT’s recent original projects have landed in Singapore without issue: SPY×FAMILY on Crunchyroll, Vinland Saga on Netflix, Bubble on Netflix. A WIT original with this profile and this creative team is likely to attract strong platform interest, and a deal covering the region would be the expected outcome — though nothing is confirmed yet.

Singapore fans who have followed Nogi Akiko’s live-action work will have the clearest sense of what tone to expect: character-driven, procedurally exact, and willing to get dark. Combined with Demizu’s instinctively unsettling character design and WIT’s production quality, LONA is looking like the most anticipated original anime of early 2027. Follow our anime coverage as more details emerge.

Manga Anime, News

Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 4 Cour 2 Premieres July 11 on Crunchyroll

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After a four-year wait between seasons, the most determined bookworm in anime is back — and she’s not slowing down. WIT Studio’s Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 4: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke returns for its second cour on 11 July 2026, and the freshly released third promotional video confirms the stakes are higher than ever for Rozemyne.

Official Cour 2 PV3 (Japanese) — via 読売テレビ アニメ公式 on YouTube

New Themes, New Trailer — What the Cour 2 PV3 Shows

The third PV, released on 27 June on the official production website, previews new scenes of Rozemyne wielding ever-expanding arcanist powers against formidable opponents, alongside both new theme songs for the second half. Kana Nishino — one of Japan’s best-selling solo artists — performs the new opening, Power of Love. Singer adieu (Moka Kamishiraishi) handles the ending song, titled Wanna me.

adieu shared her thoughts on the project, as reported by Anime Corner: “I am truly happy to be able to contribute musically to a series that has been loved for so many years,” adding that working on the anime “taught me that believing in the things you love is also believing in yourself.”

Rozemyne close-up with magical water orbs in Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 4
Image courtesy of Ascendance of a Bookworm Production Committee

What the Adopted Daughter of an Archduke Arc Is About

If you haven’t caught the series yet, here’s the short version: Ascendance of a Bookworm follows Myne, a book-obsessed woman reincarnated into a fantasy world with no printing press and rampant illiteracy. The early seasons tracked her ingenious (and endlessly resourceful) campaign to bring books to the commoner class. Season 4 vaults her fully into noble archduke territory, adapting Volumes 8–12 of Miya Kazuki’s light novel series (Japanese), now running to over 30 published volumes.

The Adopted Daughter arc places Rozemyne — voiced by Yuka Iguchi — in a world of high-nobility politics, arcanist magic academies, and increasingly complex power plays. Ferdinand (Sho Hayami) returns as her complicated mentor figure, and the Cour 2 trailer hints at confrontations that dwarf anything from the earlier arcs. Director Yoshiaki Iwasaki and series composer Mariko Kunisawa are back at the helm, with WIT Studio continuing their detailed, lush visual style.

Rozemyne awakening with powerful magical energy in Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 4 Cour 2
Image courtesy of Ascendance of a Bookworm Production Committee

When and Where to Watch — Singapore Guide

Crunchyroll holds worldwide streaming rights for Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 4, explicitly covering Singapore. New Cour 2 episodes premiere every Saturday at 4:30pm SGT starting 11 July 2026 — a prime afternoon slot that makes it easy to slot into your weekend watchlist. All 13 Cour 1 episodes are already live on Crunchyroll if you need to catch up. Seasons 1 through 3 are also available there, giving newcomers the full run from the beginning.

Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 4 Cour 2 PV3 battle scene
Image courtesy of Ascendance of a Bookworm Production Committee

For more summer 2026 anime hitting Crunchyroll in Singapore, browse our anime coverage.

Manga Anime

THE ONE PIECE: WIT Studio’s Netflix Remake Gets Its First Teaser

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Three years after the project was first announced at Jump Festa 2024, Netflix and WIT Studio have finally dropped the first official teaser for THE ONE PIECE — a full anime remake of Eiichiro Oda’s legendary pirate saga launching worldwide in February 2027. The teaser was unveiled on 24 June 2026 at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France, and it has already set One Piece fan communities across Singapore and the region ablaze.

Monkey D. Luffy in THE ONE PIECE anime remake by WIT Studio
Image courtesy of Netflix / THE ONE PIECE Production Committee

What Is THE ONE PIECE Remake?

THE ONE PIECE (ザ・ワンピース) is a brand-new anime adaptation that retells Luffy’s journey from Chapter 1 of the manga — this time produced by WIT Studio, the house behind the first three seasons of Attack on Titan and Spy x Family. It is a five-way collaboration between WIT Studio, Shueisha, Toei Animation, Fuji Television, and Netflix, with a single mandate: deliver a definitive, filler-free version of Oda’s world that modern and new audiences can actually finish.

The original 1999 anime is beloved but notoriously difficult to recommend to newcomers. Filler arcs, pacing stretched across thousands of episodes, and decades of accumulated lore make it a hard sell. THE ONE PIECE is designed to fix all of that — going back to the very beginning with updated animation, faithful manga pacing, and none of the filler.

THE ONE PIECE announcement poster featuring Windmill Village — Netflix 2027
Image courtesy of Netflix / THE ONE PIECE Production Committee

What Season 1 Covers

Season 1 runs to seven episodes totalling approximately 300 minutes — roughly the same runtime as three feature films — and adapts the opening chapters of the manga, covering the East Blue saga from Romance Dawn through the early Baratie arc. Episode 1 is titled Romance Dawn: Dawn of Adventure, and the official key art confirms we’re going all the way back: young Luffy, the Windmill Village, and Red-Haired Shanks at the tavern.

All seven episodes will drop simultaneously on Netflix in February 2027. Worldwide. That means Singapore fans watch at the same time as viewers in Japan, the US, and Europe — no waiting, no spoilers leaking from another region first.

THE ONE PIECE Episode 1 Romance Dawn key visual — Netflix 2027
Image courtesy of Netflix / THE ONE PIECE Production Committee

Watch the Official Teaser

THE ONE PIECE | Official Teaser | Netflix — via Netflix on YouTube

The teaser opens on the iconic Fushigi Yami Bar scene and immediately shows off WIT Studio’s approach: cleaner, sharper character designs that hew closer to Oda’s original manga art than the 1999 anime ever did, combined with dynamic modern animation. Luffy’s Gomu Gomu no Mi powers look genuinely elastic and powerful in a way that feels new. Fan response since the reveal has been overwhelmingly positive.

The Team Behind the Remake

Director Masashi Koizuka leads the project, with series composition by Taku Kishimoto. Character designs are by Kyoji Asano and Takatoshi Honda, who spent months painstakingly studying Oda’s pen strokes. Asano described the process in an interview covered by Game Rant: “We repeatedly traced Oda-sensei’s art. After two full months of thoroughly studying his style, we finally achieved a level of quality that even the director was very satisfied with.”

WIT Studio CEO George Wada spoke to the reason Oda himself backed the project, as reported by Game Rant: “The reason we decided to produce a remake came from a reflection by the original author… He felt a certain regret about this and wanted younger audiences to discover and follow the story.”

On the voice cast front: Mayumi Tanaka, who has voiced Monkey D. Luffy since the original 1999 anime, is returning for THE ONE PIECE. In her official statement, Tanaka said: “I had a lot of fun recording, so I want many people to see it. The release starts in February 2027, so please look forward to it!”

Mayumi Tanaka returns as Monkey D. Luffy in THE ONE PIECE Netflix remake
Image courtesy of Netflix / THE ONE PIECE Production Committee

February 2027: Mark Your Calendar, Singapore

One Piece has one of the most loyal fanbases in Singapore and across Southeast Asia, and THE ONE PIECE is the remake this community has been quietly hoping for. Whether you stalled out in the original’s early arcs, drifted away during Dressrosa, or simply want the cleanest possible entry point into Oda’s world, this is it.

Netflix’s worldwide simultaneous release model means no geo-blocking headaches and no spoiler anxiety from watching regions getting the episodes first. The all-episodes-at-once drop also means the full East Blue saga will be there on day one. February 2027 is the date to watch — for now, the teaser is on Netflix’s YouTube channel. Check out our anime and manga coverage for more as the premiere approaches.

Manga Anime

THE ONE PIECE Gets First Episode Artwork — WIT Studio’s Remake Arrives on Netflix in February 2027

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The One Piece anime remake just revealed its first episode artwork at the world’s biggest animation festival — and it has Singapore fans counting down to February 2027 on Netflix.

THE ONE PIECE | Special Announcement — via Netflix Anime on YouTube

Romance Dawn — The First Episode Gets Its Official Artwork

At the Annecy International Animation Film Festival this week, Netflix unveiled the first episode artwork for THE ONE PIECE — the anime remake produced by WIT Studio. The art covers Episode 1, which shares its title with the manga’s legendary opening chapter: “Romance Dawn.”

Formatted like a wanted poster, the image shows a grinning Monkey D. Luffy triumphantly setting sail for the very first time. It’s both a nod to the wanted-poster culture woven throughout the One Piece world and a clean visual statement of intent: this remake honours the spirit of the original, as covered by Anime News Network.

THE ONE PIECE WIT Studio official production artwork featuring characters from the East Blue Saga
Image courtesy of Netflix / WIT Studio

What Is THE ONE PIECE, and Why Does It Matter?

THE ONE PIECE is not a sequel or a spin-off — it is a complete retelling of Eiichiro Oda’s iconic manga, starting from Chapter 1, produced by WIT Studio. If that name rings a bell, it should: WIT Studio delivered Attack on Titan Seasons 1 through 3 and co-produced Spy x Family. Now the studio is bringing that same level of craft to the East Blue Saga.

Season 1 adapts the first 50 chapters of the manga, taking Luffy from his childhood in Foosha Village all the way to his encounter with the sharp-tongued sous-chef Sanji at the floating restaurant Baratie. That’s seven episodes — all dropping simultaneously on Netflix — with a combined runtime of around 300 minutes.

For Singapore fans who have followed the original Toei Animation series for years or decades, this is a chance to revisit one of fiction’s most beloved opening arcs with production values that match a contemporary streaming blockbuster. Netflix is available here, so no workarounds needed when the series launches in February 2027.

The Creative Team

Masashi Koizuka directs, with Taku Kishimoto on series composition. Character design and chief animation director duties are shared by Kyoji Asano and Takatoshi Honda — and the team has been open about how seriously they approached capturing Oda’s unmistakable style.

“We repeatedly traced Oda-sensei’s art,” Asano told CBR. “After two full months of thoroughly studying his style, we finally achieved a level of quality that even the director was very satisfied with.”

The production is a collaboration between WIT Studio, Shueisha, Fuji Television Network, and Toei Animation — a consortium that suggests Oda has had a close hand in overseeing the adaptation, as he has with other One Piece projects.

Last words

Singapore’s One Piece fandom is one of the most passionate in the region, and a WIT Studio remake that has spent months tracing Oda-sensei’s linework is a genuinely exciting prospect. February 2027 is still several months away, but the Annecy first-episode artwork is a clear signal that this ship is on course — and when it sails, it looks set to be unmissable. Mark your Netflix calendar now, and catch up on our other anime coverage in the meantime.