Fungus and Iron Reveals Second Teaser Visual, Keitaro Motonaga Directs the Anime

The Fungus and Iron (菌と鉄) TV anime received another major update on September 3, 2026 with the release of its second teaser visual. The artwork shows protagonist Dante facing away from the viewer as he stands across a white mycelium-covered landscape before an enormous structure belonging to Amigasa.

The production has also confirmed Keitaro Motonaga as director and Yokohama Animation Laboratory for animation production. The anime adaptation of Ayaka Katayama's manga remains in production, with its premiere date and cast still unannounced.

Quick Summary

• Official global title: Fungus and Iron
• Japanese title: 菌と鉄
• Romanization: Kin to Tetsu
• Format: TV anime
• Source: manga
• Manga creator: Ayaka Katayama
• Manga publisher: Kodansha
• Magazine: Bessatsu Shonen Magazine
• Official K MANGA genre: SF / Fantasy
• Anime announced: March 4, 2026
• Latest update: second teaser visual and main staff
• Update date: September 3, 2026
• Director: Keitaro Motonaga
• Animation Production: Yokohama Animation Laboratory
• Protagonist: Dante
• World government: Amigasa
• Rebel organization: Ether
• World concept: humanity is controlled by fungi
• Method of control: fungi inhabit human brains and strip away freedom of thought
• Dante: an Amigasa soldier who retains his sense of self
• Catalyst for Dante: meeting a young woman
• Central goal: rebel against the system controlling humanity
• Rebel power: iron / metal
• First teaser visual: depicted the fungus forest
• Second teaser visual: features Dante and Amigasa headquarters
• Second visual tagline: A soldier defies the stars
• Primary visual element: white mycelium spreading across the world
• Official tease: the second visual has a continuation still to be revealed
• Motonaga's goal: preserve the appeal of the source manga
• Character focus: Dante's growth across the story
• Promised approach: fast and bold storytelling enhanced through animation
• Cast: unannounced
• Premiere date: unannounced
• Broadcaster: unannounced
• Streaming platform: unannounced
• Additional principal staff: not yet detailed
• Current manga volumes: 9
• Latest volume: Volume 9
• Volume 9 release: April 9, 2026
• Manga finale: scheduled for the October issue of Bessatsu Shonen Magazine
• Final chapter issue date: September 9, 2026
• Final collected volume: Volume 10
• Volume 10 release: October 8, 2026
• Volume 10 price: ¥594 including tax
• Anime status: currently in production

Teaser Visual and Main Staff

Dante Stands Before Amigasa Headquarters

The second teaser visual places Dante as a comparatively small figure within a vast white environment covered in mycelium-like structures. In front of him stands an enormous facility representing the scale and power of Amigasa.

The composition makes the difference between Dante and the system he intends to challenge visually immediate. Its “A soldier defies the stars” tagline also reflects his position as a soldier who ultimately turns against the society that shaped his entire life.

The anime team additionally teased that there is more to this visual, suggesting the artwork released so far is only one portion of a larger promotional concept.

Keitaro Motonaga Directs the Adaptation

Keitaro Motonaga has been confirmed as the director of Fungus and Iron. His previous directing credits include productions such as The Kingdoms of Ruin and The Beginning After the End.

Motonaga says the team aims to create an adaptation that fully utilizes what makes the original manga compelling. He specifically points to Dante's growth as the story progresses as something viewers should watch closely.

He also describes the source as fast and bold, with the staff aiming to add excitement and tension that can be delivered specifically through animation.

Yokohama Animation Laboratory Handles Production

Yokohama Animation Laboratory is officially handling animation production.

The studio confirmation becomes the second major piece of production information alongside the director. Series composition, character design, music, art direction, sound direction and most other staff positions remain unannounced.

No anime footage has been shown yet either, leaving the final treatment of the characters, action, Amigasa architecture and fungal environments for the first video material.

A World Controlled by Fungi

Fungus and Iron takes place in a society where humanity has lost its freedom under Amigasa, a world government maintained through fungal control.

The fungi inhabit human brains and strip people of thought, emotion and independent will. Dante serves as a soldier within that system, yet an irregularity allows him to preserve his own consciousness.

A chance encounter with a young woman eventually exposes him to a different understanding of the world and pushes him toward rebellion.

Ether Uses Iron Against Amigasa

Outside Amigasa's system, Dante encounters the rebel organization Ether.

The group uses the power of iron as part of its resistance against fungal domination. Meeting Ether transforms Dante's struggle from an individual problem into a much larger battle over humanity's freedom.

That conflict also forms the central contrast behind the title Fungus and Iron: control through fungi versus rebellion through iron.

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The Manga Approaches Its Finale While the Anime Is in Production

The anime update arrives only days before an important moment for its source material. Fungus and Iron is scheduled to reach its final chapter on September 9, 2026 in the October issue of Bessatsu Shonen Magazine.

Nine collected volumes are currently available. Volume 9 launched on April 9 for ¥594 and contains 192 pages.

Kodansha has also scheduled Volume 10 for October 8, 2026. The book will be the final collected volume and is priced at ¥594 for its Japanese print edition.

Why This Matters

1) The second visual finally shows the scale of Amigasa

Dante is no longer presented only within the fungal environment; he is placed directly against an enormous structure representing the system he must challenge.

2) The anime now has a director and studio

Keitaro Motonaga and Yokohama Animation Laboratory give the adaptation a much clearer production identity following its March announcement.

3) Dante's development is a stated adaptation focus

Motonaga specifically highlights Dante's growth as one of the elements viewers should follow from episode to episode.

4) The anime advances as the manga reaches its ending

The new anime material arrives just as the source manga prepares to conclude serialization and release its tenth and final volume.

Anime and Manga Information

For now, the additional important information currently known includes:

• Fungus and Iron is the official global title used by K MANGA
• the original Japanese title is 菌と鉄
• the manga is written and illustrated by Ayaka Katayama
• serialization began with the April 2021 issue of Bessatsu Shonen Magazine
• Kodansha publishes the collected manga
• the TV anime was first announced on March 4, 2026
• the first teaser visual depicted an environment described as the fungus forest
• the second teaser visual was announced on September 3, 2026
• the latest visual shows Dante standing before Amigasa headquarters
• the artwork carries a tagline translated as A soldier defies the stars
• the official team says the second teaser visual has a continuation
• Keitaro Motonaga serves as director
• Yokohama Animation Laboratory handles animation production
• Motonaga aims to preserve the appeal of the original manga
• Dante's growth is specifically highlighted as a focus
• the anime cast remains unannounced
• Dante's voice actor remains unannounced
• the premiere date remains unannounced
• the Japanese broadcaster remains unannounced
• streaming services remain unannounced
• the episode count remains unannounced
• series composition remains unannounced
• the character designer remains unannounced
• music staff remain unannounced
• no teaser PV or anime trailer was released with the September 3 update
• the premise depicts fungi controlling humanity by inhabiting human brains
• Amigasa is the world government maintaining that system
• Dante is a soldier who retains his own consciousness
• Ether is a rebel group using the power of iron
• K MANGA classifies the series as SF / Fantasy
• nine manga volumes are currently available
• Volume 9 was released on April 9, 2026
• Volume 9 contains 192 pages and costs ¥594
• the manga is scheduled to reach its final chapter in the October issue of Bessatsu Shonen Magazine on September 9
• Kodansha lists Volume 10 for October 8, 2026
• Volume 10 costs ¥594 including tax
• official anime information is available through the Fungus and Iron Official Anime Website
• anime updates are published through Fungus and Iron Official X
• the second teaser visual is available through the Official X Post
• Japanese manga information is available through the Kodansha Fungus and Iron Page
• the official global edition is available through Fungus and Iron on K MANGA
• the manga is also available through Magazine Pocket
• studio information is available through the Yokohama Animation Laboratory Official Website

Closing

Fungus and Iron is beginning to provide a much clearer picture of its anime adaptation. The second teaser visual expands the perceived scale of Dante's conflict with Amigasa, while Keitaro Motonaga and Yokohama Animation Laboratory now form the core of its announced production team.

The anime still has no confirmed premiere date, cast or first trailer. Meanwhile, its source manga is only days away from completing serialization, with its tenth and final collected volume scheduled for October 2026.