The magical fantasy anime is based on Fire Head’s light novels.
It was announced back in August 2025 that Fire Head’s light novel series “Mercedes and the Waning Moon: The Dungeoneering Feats of a Discarded Vampire Aristocrat” (Kaketa Tsuki no Mercedes: Kyūketsuki no Kizoku ni Tensei Shita kedo Suteraresō nanode Dungeon wo Seiha suru) is getting an anime adaptation. A new teaser trailer for the series finally came out, which revealed its January 2027 release window, main cast, and staff.
Mercedes and the Waning Moon
Premiere window: January 2027
Animation studio: Teddy
Streaming platform: TBA
Who are the cast and staff of the Mercedes and the Waning Moon anime?
Popular voice actress Anna Nagase will voice the titular protagonist Mercedes. Her comment states (machine translated):
I'm Anna Nagase, and I'll be voicing Mercedes in the TV anime “Mercedes and the Crescent Moon.” When I read the manga, I was strongly drawn to its profound world and unique characters. Mercedes is a young girl who struggles to forge her own path in life, burdened by regrets from her past life and anxieties about the future. I'm sure you'll be moved by her life and the way she lives. Please watch it with your own eyes. I hope you enjoy the broadcast!
Kumihisa Sugishima directs the anime at studio Teddy, with Jun Kumagai handling series scripts. Nami Shōyama designs the characters, with R.O.N and Shūhei Mutsuki composing the music.
What is Mercedes and the Waning Moon about?
The anime is based on Fire Head’s novel series, which was first serialised in the webnovel platform Shōsetsuka ni Narō from October 2018 to November 2022. In May 2021, TO Books acquired the rights for the novels and released them with illustrations by KeG. Five volumes have been published as of July 2026.
In August 2021, Pochi Edoya began illustrating the manga adaptation, which is being released on TO Books's Comic Corona website.
J Novel Club publishes the novel series in English and describes the story as:
Reincarnated as a vampire to a noble father and his shunned concubine, Mercedes Grunewald has always known that one day, her father will choose an heir that isn’t her. But what will become of her family when that time comes? Her mother has no skills, their maid is old, and Mercedes is but a small child. How will they survive in the world on their own? Luckily, dungeon crawling is a job that anyone can do—even a child. To provide for her family, Mercedes begins training at the age of a kindergartener, and because she’s from a nation of vampires, she fortunately has the potential to become strong. In her past life, she died unfulfilled, but that won’t be her fate this time. In the dungeons, she’s determined to find something that will make her moon full.