Today, the upcoming TV anime Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia, based on the award-winning manga A Witch’s Life in Mongol, unveiled its first main PV. The video also features the characters’ voices for the first time, while the first wave of cast members—Akira Sekine, Houko Kuwashima, Jun Saito, Ryota Suzuki, and Miyu Irino—was announced alongside cast comments and new character art.
Furthermore, the anime has been selected for the Official Competition’s TV Films category at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2026, scheduled to take place from June 21 to 27.
Serialized in Japan on AKITASHOTEN’s Souffle website and written by Tomato Soup, A Witch’s Life in Mongol is a historical court drama set in the 13th-century Mongol Empire. It depicts the story of Sitara, a young girl who strives to survive a harsh fate by using knowledge as her weapon. The series has drawn significant attention, securing 1st place in Takarajimasha’s Kono manga ga sugoi! 2023 (Women’s Category) and placing in the Manga Taisho for two consecutive years, in 2023 and 2024.
The TV anime is set to premiere in Japan in July 2026 in the IMAnimation programming block on TV Asahi and 23 of its affiliated channels, as well as on BS Asahi. Animation production will be handled by Science SARU, the internationally acclaimed studio behind works such as DAN DA DAN, The Heike Story, and Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!.
The anime brings to life the story of a girl confronting her destiny amid the sweeping tide of history.
First Cast Lineup Announced; Main PV Featuring Character Voices Released
The newly released main PV reveals the anime’s first cast lineup and features the characters’ voices for the first time.
- Akira Sekine voices Sitara, a lonely girl who lost her mother and was torn far from her homeland.
- Houko Kuwashima voices Fatima, Muhammad’s mother and kind-hearted lady of the house.
- Jun Saito, an actor active in film and dramas, makes his TV anime debut voicing Muhammad, Fatima’s son and a brilliant young boy.
- Ryota Suzuki voices Tolui, son of Emperor Genghis Khan and the fourth prince of the Mongol Empire.
- Miyu Irino voices Shira, a boy living as a captive of the Mongol Empire.
The first main PV offers a first look at the story’s opening, depicting a lonely, hopeless Sitara encountering the power of knowledge after being taken in by a scholar’s family, and the moment her fate begins to change with the Mongol Empire’s invasion.
Source: Press Release
