Layton Mystery Agency ~Katrielle’s Mystery Files~ anime (and manga) announced
A few months ago, we learned from License Mag about a Layton anime series, to air at an unspecified time in 2018. It’s supposed to have 26 episodes, but that’s pretty much the only thing we knew about it… until today, that is. A few minutes ago, Level-5 confirmed that the Layton anime did exist, and that it would be called Layton Mystery Agency ~Katrielle’s Mystery Files~.
With such a title, it’s pretty clear the anime is based on the “new” Layton series, featuring Katrielle, and not the original one with the famous professor. Then again, the key visual below is also pretty clear about which “series” it’s based on!
This anime series will debut in April in Japan, and if the report from License Mag is accurate, it will have 26 episodes. In other words, it will air from April to October, at least in Japan. We don’t know if/when the anime will arrive in Europe, North America, and other counties around the world. Maybe it will end up on Crunchyroll or another similar service, though nothing has been announced just yet.
As is the case for pretty much all the other anime series based on Level-5 properties, Akihiro Hino will serve as Creative Director for Layton Mystery Agency ~Katrielle’s Mystery Files~, and will also be in charge of the original draft, and Series Composition. Liden Films is in charge of Animation Production, with Susumu Mitsunaka (Haikyu!!) as Director.
Katrielle will be voiced by Kana Hanazawa. The original character designs were done by Takuzo Nagano, and the character designs for the anime were done by Yoko Takada.
The press release mentions that the anime series is aimed at a wide audience. It will have an engaging story filled with mysteries, but also comedy elements, and more.
The story is about Katrielle Layton, who solves various mysteries in London alongside Sherl (a talking dog) and Ernest. At first, she opened her Detective Agency for the sole purpose of searching for her missing father, but quickly, request kept on piling up, so much that it became her full-time occupation.
It’s not clear whether the anime will adapt the story from Layton’s Mystery Journey, the new game slated for a Summer 2018 release, or if it will have an entirely separate and brand new story. One thing’s for sure: this is a true cross-media project, as alongside the anime series (and the game), a manga will be serialised in Cioa magazine starting this Spring, and Takara Tomy will release some toys.
Here’s the key visual for the Layton Mystery Agency ~Katrielle’s Mystery Files~ anime series:
Source: Famitsu
