Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia Behind-the-Scenes Making-of Video Gives a Look Into Science SARU’s Production Process

Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia anime has released a new behind-the-scenes video, giving a look at the production process behind the Science SARU series.

The video, titled “The Making of Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia,” explores how the production team adapted Tomato Soup’s manga A Witch’s Life in Mongol, a historical court drama set during the 13th-century Mongol Empire. Executive Director Naoko Yamada discussed the challenge of translating the manga’s passage of time into animation.

According to Yamada, the staff spent a long time considering how to approach that aspect of the adaptation. The video also features discussions between Yamada, Director Abel Góngora, and Character Design and Sakuga Chief Kenichi Yoshida, including visual techniques such as removing lines outside characters’ primary outlines.

The production team also conducted location scouting in Mongolia. The directors experienced the country’s landscapes and nomadic lifestyle firsthand, with observations from the trip subsequently informing the anime’s depiction of its setting.

The making-of video additionally includes interviews with Akira Sekine, who voices Sitara, Ami Koshimizu, who voices Töregene, and Jun Saito, who voices Muhammad. You can watch the full video below.

Based on Tomato Soup’s award-winning manga A Witch’s Life in Mongol, the anime is set during the 13th-century Mongol Empire and follows Sitara, a young girl who survives a brutal fate by relying on knowledge rather than force. After losing everything to the empire’s expansion, she infiltrates the royal court in pursuit of revenge, where her fate becomes intertwined with Töregene, a woman who harbors her own hatred toward the empire.

The series had already earned international recognition before its broadcast, receiving a selection in the Official Competition TV Films category at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2026. The original manga recently also won the Grand Prize in the Comic Division at the 55th Japan Cartoonists Association Awards.

The main staff is led by Naoko Yamada, well known for her work on K-On!, A Silent Voice, Liz and the Blue Bird, and The Heike Story, as executive director. The director’s most recent work was the The Colors Within movie, on which we had the chance to interview her. Joining her as director on Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia is Abel Góngora, who co-directed the second season of DAN DA DAN. Studio Science SARU, recently acquired by TOHO, is also well known for the quality of their anime, including hits like Devilman: Crybaby, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken, DAN DA DAN, and the recent SANDA.

The full main staff includes:

• Executive Director: Naoko Yamada (The Heike Story, The Colors Within, A Silent Voice)
• Director: Abel Gongora (DAN DA DAN Season 2, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Star Wars: Visions – T0-B1)
• Character Design And Sakuga Chief: Kenichi Yoshida (Eureka Seven, Overman King Gainer, The Orbital Children)
• Series Composition: Kanichi Kato (The Eminence in Shadow, Teasing Master Takagi-san, Black Clover)
• Music: Koshiro Hino, acclaimed for his unique musical sense and deep knowledge of traditional instruments, making his debut as an anime composer
• Animation Production: Science SARU

Tomato Soup writes and draws the A Witch’s Life in Mongol (Tenmaku no Jadugaru) historical manga series, which began serialization on Akita Shoten’s Souffle website in September 2021. Five volumes have been released as of April 2025. The manga earned the first spot in Takarajimasha’s “This Manga is Amazing! 2023” (Women’s Edition) and ranked in the Manga Taisho Awards for two consecutive years (2023 and 2024). Yen Press licensed the manga in English.

The official synopsis:

There was once a young girl in the 13th century slave markets of Iran.
This is the tale of a witch who toyed with a vast continent.
After losing her mother and being torn far from her homeland, Sitara found herself utterly alone.
Still young, with no ability to survive on her own and no hope for the future, she is taken in by Fatima, a kind hearted lady from a family of scholars.
“If you study and become wise, no matter what trouble befalls you, you’ll know the best way forward.”
Deeply moved by the words of Fatima’s son, Muhammad, Sitara came to understand the possibilities and
importance of knowledge and begins to deepen her education.
She dreams that one day, she might catch up with Muhammad, who has set off on a journey in pursuit of wisdom…
Meanwhile, under the reign of Emperor Genghis Khan, the mighty Mongol Empire continues its unstoppable march, conquering nation after nation and expanding its influence across the world.
That boundless ambition finally reaches Sitara’s city. At the hands of the empire’s fourth prince, Tolui, her peaceful everyday life comes to an end.
Having lost everything, Sitara vows revenge against the all-consuming empire.

Source: Press Release, Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia Official Website
©Tomato Soup(AKITASHOTEN)/Jaadugar Committee