Entertainment company Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures has officially lifted the curtain on the television anime adaptation of Firehead’s light novel series Kaketa Tsuki no Mercedes: Kyuuketsuki no Kizoku ni Tensei shita kedo Suteraresou nanode Dungeon wo Seiha suru (commonly localized in English as Mercedes and the Waning Moon: The Dungeoneering Feats of a Discarded Vampire Aristocrat), unveiling the lead cast, full creative staff, a striking teaser visual, and the first promotional video. The series is now confirmed to premiere in January 2027, marking one of the more anticipated fantasy anime arrivals for that winter season. The newly launched official website and promotional materials provide the first substantive look at how the studio Teddy will translate this popular isekai-adjacent vampire narrative from page to screen.
The announcement represents a significant milestone for a franchise that began as a web novel in 2018, steadily built a dedicated readership across multiple formats, and has now attracted enough momentum to warrant a full-fledged television production. With a January 2027 premiere window, the production team has a substantial runway to deliver an adaptation that meets the expectations of the novel’s existing fanbase while courting new viewers drawn to the premise of aristocratic vampire intrigue and dungeon-crawling progression.
Lead Cast and Character: Anna Nagase Voices Mercedes Grunewald
Voice actress Anna Nagase has been confirmed as the lead performer, taking on the role of protagonist Mercedes Grunewald. Nagase, known for her work in Koori no Jouheki, will be tasked with bringing to life a character who finds herself reincarnated as a vampire aristocrat only to face abandonment and the imperative to establish her own power through dungeon conquest. The casting choice signals a preference for a performer capable of conveying both aristocratic poise and the gritty determination required for survival-driven fantasy combat. Given the centrality of Mercedes to every narrative thread, the success of the adaptation will hinge significantly on Nagase’s ability to anchor the emotional and dramatic weight of the series across what promises to be a multi-episode arc.
Creative Team and Production Staff Behind the Adaptation
The production assembly for Kaketa Tsuki no Mercedes brings together a mix of experienced directors and specialists whose previous credits span some of the most recognizable titles in recent anime. Kunihisa Sugishima, who directed Slime Taoshite 300-nen, Shiranai Uchi ni Level Max ni Nattemashita: Sono Ni, steps into the director’s chair. His experience with fantasy-comedy and long-running series will inform the pacing and tonal balance of a story that oscillates between aristocratic drama, dungeon exploration, and system-based power growth.
Series composition falls to Jun Kumagai, whose writing credits include Mizu Zokusei no Mahoutsukai. Kumagai’s role in structuring the narrative arc across an entire season will be critical, particularly for a story that originates from a web novel with a sprawling, episodic structure. The adaptation will need to condense and streamline the source material while preserving the character development and world-building that readers have come to expect.
Character design is helmed by Nami Shouyama, whose experience as an animation director on Buddy Daddies suggests a strong command of expressive, detailed character art. Shouyama’s designs will define the visual identity of the series, from Mercedes’s aristocratic wardrobe to the varied monsters and dungeon environments that populate the world.
The musical score is a collaborative effort between R・O・N (Kuroko no Basket) and Shuuhei Mutsuki (Lycoris Recoil). This dual-composer arrangement indicates a layered approach to the soundtrack, potentially blending sweeping orchestral themes for the aristocratic and dungeon exploration sequences with more intimate, character-driven pieces. Both composers have demonstrated the ability to score action-heavy and emotionally resonant content, which aligns well with the dual nature of the source material.
Studio Teddy, the animation studio entrusted with the production, is a relatively newer name in the industry but has been steadily building its portfolio. The studio’s handling of fantasy and action-oriented material will be closely scrutinized, particularly in terms of animation fluidity during dungeon combat sequences and the visual quality of character expressions during dramatic beats. The January 2027 premiere date affords the studio a reasonable production timeline, though the demands of a fantasy series with likely creature design, magic effects, and environment work should not be underestimated.
What Is the Story of Kaketa Tsuki no Mercedes?
Kaketa Tsuki no Mercedes is an adventure fantasy narrative that follows Mercedes Grunewald, a vampire aristocrat who finds herself reincarnated into a world of noble houses and dungeon-delving danger. After being cast aside by her own family, she faces a grim future unless she can carve out a place of power through sheer force of will and strategic dungeon conquest. The story combines elements of aristocratic political maneuvering with progression fantasy mechanics, as Mercedes must grow stronger, gather allies, and establish dominance over the dungeons that hold the keys to survival and influence in her new world. The narrative appeals to fans of reincarnation-based isekai and “discarded noble” tropes while distinguishing itself through its vampire-focused setting and dungeon-centric progression system.
Light Novel Origins and Publication History
Firehead originally began writing the novel on the Shousetsuka ni Narou website in October 2018, a platform that has spawned numerous successful light novel and anime franchises over the past decade. The web novel gradually accumulated a following through the typical grassroots growth pattern of the Narou ecosystem, where reader engagement, ratings, and word-of-mouth can propel a story from amateur posting to professional publication. TO Books picked up the series for print publication, with illustrations provided by KeG, whose previous work on Gaikotsu Kishi-sama, Tadaima Isekai e Odekakechuu (Skeleton Knight in Another World) gave the production team a template for fantasy character design that balances detail with readability. The first printed volume hit shelves in May 2021, and the series has since released four volumes, with the fourth arriving in August 2025 and the fifth volume going on sale July 15.
The timeline from web novel debut to print publication to anime announcement spans roughly nine years, a trajectory that aligns with the typical lifecycle of successful Narou-originated properties. The gap between the fourth and fifth light novel volumes also suggests that the anime announcement may be timed to boost interest in the latest installment, a common synergy strategy in the Japanese publishing and media landscape.
Manga Adaptation and English Localization
A manga adaptation illustrated by Pochi Edoya, known for work on Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku, began serialization in August 2021 on the Corona EX website. This simultaneous expansion into manga format allowed the franchise to reach readers who prefer visual storytelling, effectively broadening the audience base before the anime was even announced. TO Books has published six manga volumes as of July 15, with the sixth volume going on sale concurrently with the fifth light novel volume.
For English-speaking audiences, J-Novel Club licensed both the light novel and manga for digital release in November 2024. The localization effort has been steady, with the fourth light novel volume released on February 13 and the fourth manga volume published in November 2025. The fifth light novel volume is scheduled for digital release on August 5, maintaining a cadence that keeps English readers roughly in sync with the Japanese release timeline. J-Novel Club’s involvement ensures that Western fans and prospective anime viewers will have access to the source material ahead of the January 2027 premiere, an important factor for building pre-anime hype and allowing new audiences to familiarize themselves with the story and characters before the television debut.
Teaser Visual and First Promotional Video
The teaser visual, released alongside the official announcements, offers the first artistic representation of the series’ aesthetic direction. The imagery centers on Mercedes Grunewald in what appears to be aristocratic attire, framed in a composition that suggests both elegance and isolation. The visual language, combined with the taglines and color palette, hints at a series that will emphasize gothic fantasy elements alongside its progression mechanics.
The first promotional video, also released as part of the announcement package, provides preliminary footage of the animation style, character movement, and environment design. While early promotional materials for anime adaptations often feature limited animation or concept-driven sequences rather than full episode cuts, the PV gives viewers a first impression of how Studio Teddy interprets the visual identity of the franchise. The video has been made available on the official website and through standard distribution channels, serving as the primary tool for generating early awareness among the anime community.
Official Website and Social Media Presence
The official website for the anime, now live at mercedes-anime.com, aggregates all key information including cast, staff, promotional materials, and broadcast details. The site serves as the central hub for both Japanese and international audiences to track updates leading up to the January 2027 premiere. The official X account, @mercedes_anime, has also been established, providing a channel for real-time announcements, event participation details, and community engagement. These digital infrastructure components are standard for modern anime productions but are nonetheless essential for maintaining visibility and momentum during the long lead-up to broadcast.
What Makes This Adaptation Stand Out in the January 2027 Lineup?
The January 2027 season will feature a competitive slate of new and returning anime, but Kaketa Tsuki no Mercedes distinguishes itself through its specific blend of vampire aristocracy, reincarnation drama, and dungeon-based progression mechanics. The isekai and reincarnation genres have become heavily saturated in recent years, with productions needing increasingly distinct selling points to break through audience fatigue. This series leans into a more gothic, aristocratic aesthetic compared to the standard fantasy world isekai, while the dungeon-conquest framework provides a clear structure for action and progression that appeals to fans of game-like narrative systems.
The involvement of established industry veterans like Kunihisa Sugishima and Jun Kumagai suggests a production that takes its creative execution seriously, while the relative newness of Studio Teddy introduces an element of uncertainty that could go either way. The dual-composer arrangement for the music also signals an ambition to deliver a soundtrack that stands out, potentially becoming a defining element of the series’ atmosphere. For viewers who have followed the light novel or manga, the adaptation represents the culmination of years of building anticipation. For newcomers, the January 2027 premiere will be the entry point into a fully realized world that combines familiar genre elements with a protagonist-driven narrative centered on survival, ambition, and the exercise of power in a hierarchical society.
As the industry continues to adapt web novels and light novels at an accelerating pace, the success of Kaketa Tsuki no Mercedes will depend on whether the production team can translate the interiority of Firehead’s writing — the strategic thinking, the political calculations, the personal stakes — into compelling visual storytelling. The cast and staff announcements suggest a team that understands the material, but the true test will come in January 2027 when the first episode airs and viewers judge whether the anime does justice to the novel that started it all on the Narou platform a decade ago. With the promotional campaign now active and the studio actively at work, the countdown to that premiere window has officially begun, and the anime community will be watching closely to see how Mercedes Grunewald’s journey from discarded aristocrat to dungeon-conquering power broker unfolds on screen.
