Just Like Mona Lisa anime airs in 2027, reveals main PV and cast

Just Like Mona Lisa (Seibetsu “Mona Lisa” no Kimi e.) will air in 2027, with the anime’s first main promotional video introducing a new ending theme and seven additional cast members. The announcement also gives viewers their clearest look yet at the classmates surrounding Hinase Arima, the series’ genderless 18-year-old protagonist.¹

The main PV features “Mayoi wa Hikari” (Hesitation Is Light), an ending song written and performed by singer-songwriter imase. CyberAgent ANIME published the video on its official YouTube channel, giving the production its first substantial trailer after the teaser shown at AnimagiC in Mannheim in August.¹³

Seven new cast members join the anime

The announcement adds Yoshino Aoyama, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Daisuke Sakuma, Chiharu, Sho Hatano, Haruna Mikawa and Shion Wakayama to the cast. The official update does not yet match each performer to a specific role, so those character assignments remain unknown.¹

Chika Anzai remains the previously announced voice of Hinase Arima. The first main visual expands the cast’s immediate circle, showing Hinase alongside childhood friends Ritsu Kaga and Shiori Takayama, as well as classmates appearing in the series for the first time.²

The story takes place in a world where people are born without a gender and develop towards the one they choose when they turn 12. Hinase is still genderless at 18, when Ritsu and Shiori confess their feelings on the same day. That premise puts the characters’ relationships, rather than a conventional battle or supernatural threat, at the centre of the anime’s coming-of-age drama.¹

Shaft leads the 2027 production

Kana Shundo, who directed Apocalypse Hotel, is directing the series, with Katsuhiko Takayama handling series composition. Nobuhiro Sugiyama is designing the characters and serving as chief animation director, while Yuki Hayashi is composing the music. Shaft is producing the animation.¹⁴

The anime adapts Tsumuji Yoshimura’s manga, which Square Enix publishes through its Gangan Comics ONLINE imprint. The manga has passed one million copies in circulation, according to the announcement. A precise 2027 premiere date and broadcast details have not yet been confirmed.¹

The combination of a new main visual, a named ending theme and a wider cast makes this a meaningful step up from the teaser campaign. It also gives the adaptation a clearer musical identity: imase’s song is not just background information in the announcement, but a featured part of the main PV’s introduction to Hinase’s world.¹³

Our opinion

This is the sort of update that earns a place on an anime news feed because it answers several useful questions at once. We now know the broadcast year, the artist behind the ending theme, the additional performers and the core creative team. The missing role assignments and exact premiere date are frustrating, but the campaign is moving from a promising premise towards a recognisable production rather than simply repeating the original teaser’s information.

The main PV also appears to understand what makes Just Like Mona Lisa distinctive. It foregrounds the characters and the emotional uncertainty around Hinase instead of selling the series as a generic romance. That does not guarantee a good adaptation, particularly when the most delicate part of the premise is how the characters’ identities and relationships are handled, but it is an encouraging direction. The next update worth watching is a full release date alongside clearer character information for the newly announced cast.