Science Saru Has Posted A Brilliant BTS Video For One Of The Year’s Best New Series, ‘Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia’

Science Saru, one of Japan’s most exciting studios today, has released a 25-minute making-of video for one of the year’s best new animated series, Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia. This is a must-watch video.

Based on Tomato Soup’s manga A Witch’s Life in Mongol, the series follows Sitara, a young Persian woman taken captive by the Mongol army during the 13th century. Armed primarily with her intellect, she infiltrates the imperial court and plots to undermine the empire from within.

The behind-the-scenes film features executive director Naoko Yamada, director Abel Góngora, and character designer and sakuga chief Kenichi Yoshida discussing the challenge of translating the manga’s distinctive artwork and carefully controlled pacing into animation.

“We pondered extensively over how to convey the flow of time that originally existed inside the manga panels,” Yamada explains. The filmmakers also demonstrate techniques developed for the adaptation, including selectively erasing lines outside the characters’ main outlines to preserve the loose, handmade quality of Tomato Soup’s drawings.

The production team traveled to Mongolia to research the country’s landscapes and nomadic culture firsthand. Footage from that trip appears alongside development artwork, animation materials, recording sessions, and comparisons between the manga and finished episodes.

The video also includes interviews with cast members Akira Sekine, Ami Koshimizu, and Jun Saito, who voice Sitara, Töregene, and Muhammad, respectively.

Jaadugar is currently airing in Japan on TV Asahi and streaming internationally through Crunchyroll. The series is Science Saru’s second major television production currently on air, alongside The Ghost in the Shell. Previous standout titles include Dandadan, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, and The Colors Within.