Studio SHAFT has unveiled a main visual and a brand-new main promotional video for the TV anime adaptation of Just Like Mona Lisa, confirming that the series will premiere in 2027. The trailer also previews the anime’s ending theme song, “Light in Dark”, performed by Japanese singer-songwriter imase.
Hinase Arima (Credits: Tsumuji Yoshimura / SQUARE ENIX, Just Like Mona Lisa Partners)
The new trailer gives fans their clearest look yet at the adaptation of Tsumuji Yoshimura’s acclaimed romance drama, while the announcement revealed seven additional cast members joining the ensemble alongside protagonist Hinase Arima.
Ending Theme by imase
The biggest musical reveal of the announcement is the ending theme. Singer-songwriter imase will perform “Light in Dark”, which is previewed in full within the latest trailer. The song’s melancholic tone fits the series’ introspective mood, and its placement in the trailer has already sparked excitement among fans of both the manga and the artist.
A SHAFT Milestone Production
First announced by CyberAgent under the codename “Project M”, the adaptation is being animated by Studio SHAFT — the studio behind Puella Magi Madoka Magica, the Monogatari series and March Comes in Like a Lion. The production coincides with SHAFT’s 50th anniversary year, marking it as a milestone title for the legendary studio.
Chika Anzai leads the cast as Hinase Arima, with character design and chief animation direction by Nobuhiro Sugiyama and music by Yuki Hayashi. The seven newly revealed supporting cast members round out the ensemble for what is shaping up to be one of 2027’s most emotionally charged romance anime.
A Story About Identity
Just Like Mona Lisa is set in a world where everyone is born genderless, and bodies begin to shift toward the gender they wish to become around the age of twelve. Hinase Arima remains genderless at eighteen — and when childhood friends Ritsu Kaga and Shiori Takayama both confess their feelings, Hinase’s quiet life begins to change in ways that force them to confront identity, romance and self-acceptance.
Serialized in Square Enix’s Gangan Online from 2018 to 2022 with over a million copies in circulation, the manga earned a nomination for the Next Manga Awards and is available in English on Manga UP! Global.
Also Read: Just Like Mona Lisa Anime Teaser Premieres in Germany: Creator and SHAFT CEO Explain the Bold Reveal
Source: Anime Corner — read the full story there.