Original mecha anime Vertex Force from SMDE Animation Studio will premiere in October 2026 with Strike Witches director Kazuhiro Takamura at the helm.
Vertex Force, an original mecha anime from SMDE Animation Studio, will premiere in October 2026. The project unveiled its teaser trailer, key visual, and full production staff, introducing a new entry in the mecha genre anchored by a team with deep roots in the category.
Kazuhiro Takamura, best known for his work on Strike Witches, takes on the unusual triple role of director, character designer, and co-series composer. He shares series composition duties with Masashi Suzuki, whose credits include Plunderer. Goro Kuji serves as assistant director, while Hiroyuki Tadokoro handles CG direction a critical role given the anime's hybrid visual approach.
The mechanical design team brings significant mecha pedigree. Kanetake Ebikawa, who designed mobile suits for Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, handles the Engine designs the humanoid machines central to the story. JNTHED, who contributed to both the Urusei Yatsura remake and Witch from Mercury, is responsible for ENIA design. Nobuaki Nobusawa composes the score.
The series follows Haruka Todo, a 16-year-old girl living in Okinawa who is described as cheerful and athletic with a background in karate. Her ordinary life is disrupted when she encounters mysterious humanoid machines called Engines and a silver-haired woman whose identity and purpose remain undisclosed in the current promotional materials.
The teaser trailer shows Haruka confronting a mechanical adversary by summoning a mech whose movements mirror her own martial arts techniques a synchronization system that appears to form the core combat mechanic. The Okinawa setting is a deliberate departure from the Tokyo-centric locations that dominate most anime, giving the series a distinct geographical identity.
Vertex Force combines traditional character animation with CG-rendered mechanical designs, a hybrid approach that has become increasingly common in mecha anime but requires careful execution to avoid visual dissonance between the two styles. The involvement of a dedicated CG director alongside traditional animation staff suggests SMDE is investing in making the integration seamless.
The anime's core concept a physically trained protagonist piloting a mech that responds to her body movements echoes elements of series like G Gundam and Eureka Seven while carving its own niche through the karate specialization and Okinawan setting. Whether Vertex Force can distinguish itself in a fall 2026 season that already includes several high-profile sequels remains to be seen, but the creative team's mechanical design credentials and the originality of the premise give it a strong foundation.
Further cast announcements and broadcast details are expected in the coming months ahead of the October premiere.
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