Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia and Ghost in the Shell Reveal Abel Gongora Collaboration Art

Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia and Ghost in the Shell: THE GHOST IN THE SHELL, two Science SARU television anime currently airing in Japan, have received a special collaboration illustration.

Released on August 10, 2026, the artwork was drawn by Abel Gongora, director of Jaadugar, and brings Sitara together with Fuchikoma in a scene created specifically for the crossover artwork.

Quick Summary

• Collaboration: Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia × Ghost in the Shell: THE GHOST IN THE SHELL
• Japanese Jaadugar title: 天幕のジャードゥーガル
• Official English title: Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia
• Japanese Ghost in the Shell title: 攻殻機動隊 THE GHOST IN THE SHELL
• Artwork revealed: August 10, 2026
• Format: special collaboration illustration
• Artist: Abel Gongora
• Gongora's role: director of Jaadugar
• Jaadugar character: Sitara
• Ghost in the Shell character: Fuchikoma
• Animation studio for both anime: Science SARU
• Crossover episode: not announced
• Collaboration merchandise: not announced
• Jaadugar premiere: July 4, 2026
• Ghost in the Shell premiere: July 7, 2026
• Original Jaadugar manga: Tomato Soup
• Original Ghost in the Shell manga: Masamune Shirow

Collaboration Illustration and Key Visuals

Sitara Meets Fuchikoma

The collaboration image places Sitara, the central character of Jaadugar, opposite Fuchikoma, the multi-legged think tank from Ghost in the Shell.

Fuchikoma offers Sitara a small flower while the two sit facing each other, creating a notably peaceful encounter compared with the conflicts surrounding both characters in their respective stories.

Gongora uses a restrained palette dominated by red, cream, black, and pale green. The logos for both anime sit above the characters, with futuristic geometric elements appearing beside softer shapes associated with Sitara's historical world.

His name is also written directly along the lower edge of the illustration.

No narrative explanation has been provided for the encounter. The image is being presented as commemorative collaboration artwork rather than evidence that the two stories share a canon universe.

Science SARU Connects the Two Productions

The most direct connection between the projects is Science SARU, which is producing both television anime during the same season.

Jaadugar is led by Naoko Yamada as chief director and Abel Gongora as director. Kenichi Yoshida handles character design and serves as animation chief, while Kan Kato is responsible for series composition.

Ghost in the Shell has Mokochan as director, Toh EnJoe on series composition and scripts, and Shuhei Handa as character designer and chief animation director.

Despite sharing a studio, the projects use different creative teams and sharply different visual and narrative approaches.

The collaboration therefore works primarily as a celebration of two concurrent Science SARU productions rather than a story-driven franchise crossover.

Jaadugar Follows Sitara Through the 13th Century

Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia adapts Tomato Soup's manga serialized through Akita Shoten's Souffle.

It follows Sitara, a young girl whose life is destroyed by the expansion of the Mongol Empire.

After becoming a captive, she relies on the one weapon that remains available to her: knowledge. Taking the name Fatima, Sitara attempts to enter the imperial court and eventually undermine the empire from within.

Her path leads to Töregene, the sixth wife of Ögedei, who carries her own complicated hatred toward the empire.

The anime began broadcasting in Japan on July 4, 2026, through TV Asahi's IMAnimation programming block and BS Asahi.

Ghost in the Shell Returns to 2029

Ghost in the Shell: THE GHOST IN THE SHELL is a new television adaptation based on Masamune Shirow's manga.

Its story is set in Japan in 2029, where cyberbrains, prosthetic bodies, networked information, and cybercrime have become fundamental parts of society.

Motoko Kusanagi leads a group of specialists that develops into Public Security Section 9, the organization known as Ghost in the Shell.

Game Ad

Cult of the Lamb

Their investigation into cybercrime eventually brings them into contact with the mysterious hacker known as the Puppet Master.

The series premiered on July 7, 2026, through Kantele and Fuji TV's nationwide Ka-Anival!! block.

Fuchikoma, the machine appearing in the collaboration artwork, is one of Section 9's think tanks and comes directly from Shirow's original manga designs.

Two Worlds at Opposite Ends of History

Jaadugar uses the 13th century to explore knowledge, warfare, power, and survival inside the movement of history.

Ghost in the Shell moves in the opposite temporal direction, examining technology, cybernetic bodies, information networks, consciousness, identity, and changing definitions of humanity.

The settings appear almost impossible to combine, yet both stories follow people attempting to understand and survive within systems far larger than themselves.

Gongora's illustration does not connect them through combat. A simple flower instead becomes the point of contact between a girl from the past and an intelligent machine from the future.

Why This Matters

1) Two concurrent Science SARU series meet

The artwork serves as a rare crossover between two major projects being produced by the studio during the same anime season.

2) Abel Gongora drew it himself

The collaboration was not assigned to an unrelated promotional artist. Jaadugar's director personally created the illustration.

3) Sitara and Fuchikoma are an unexpected pairing

One belongs to a 13th-century historical drama, while the other exists in a cyberpunk Japan of 2029.

4) The main stories remain separate

No crossover episode or canonical relationship has been announced. The illustration can be enjoyed without treating the two worlds as narratively connected.

Collaboration and Anime Information

The important details currently known are:

• the collaboration artwork was revealed on August 10, 2026
• it connects Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia and Ghost in the Shell: THE GHOST IN THE SHELL
• Abel Gongora drew the illustration
• Gongora directs Jaadugar
• the artwork features Sitara and Fuchikoma
• Fuchikoma offers Sitara a flower
• Science SARU produces both anime
• both television series began broadcasting in July 2026
• no crossover episode has been announced
• no dedicated collaboration merchandise has been announced
• Jaadugar is based on Tomato Soup's manga
• Naoko Yamada serves as chief director
• Kenichi Yoshida handles character design and animation direction
• Ghost in the Shell is based on Masamune Shirow's manga
• Mokochan directs the new television series
• Toh EnJoe handles series composition and scripts
• Shuhei Handa handles character design and chief animation direction
• Jaadugar information is available through the official website
• the collaboration announcement is available through the official Jaadugar news page
• Ghost in the Shell information is available through the official anime website
• its collaboration announcement is available through the official news page
• social updates are published by the official Jaadugar X account
• Ghost in the Shell updates are published by the official anime X account

Closing

Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia and Ghost in the Shell: THE GHOST IN THE SHELL are celebrating their shared summer 2026 run with a special illustration from Abel Gongora.

Sitara and Fuchikoma do not signal a narrative crossover, but their quiet meeting provides an unusual bridge between two Science SARU productions stretching from the Mongol Empire of the 13th century to cyberpunk Japan in 2029.