Highlights
- We Are Aliens has released its first full trailer, a visual, and additional cast members ahead of its premiere in Japan.
- Directed by Kohei Kadowaki, the original anime film explores themes of friendship, memory, and loss.
- The We Are Aliens anime has already earned international recognition with selections at the Cannes Directors' Fortnight and Annecy 2026.
The original anime feature film We Are Aliens has released its first full trailer and official theatrical visual on July 27, offering the most detailed look yet at the movie. NOTHING NEW’s upcoming coming-of-age drama is set to release on Sep 25, 2026, in Japan.
The new promotional materials were unveiled alongside two additional cast members and the film’s theme song, Sasakure (Split), by adieu. The trailer introduces Ten Yamazaki (Sakurazaka46) as Konatsu, Tsubasa’s classmate and neighbor, and comedian Kemuri Matsui as Batahara, a friend of protagonist Akitaro.
We Are Aliens’ newly released key visual centers on childhood friends Tsubasa and Gyōtarō, reinforcing the film’s themes of friendship, memory, and loss. The new poster shows the leads running arm in arm through a sunflower field, a single frame meant to capture a fleeting adolescent summer.
We Are Aliens Anime Film Plot and Production Details
We Are Aliens film follows Tsubasa and Gyōtarō, childhood best friends whose bond collapses under a misunderstanding tied to Gyōtarō, then resurfaces three decades later when old memories return. Ryōta Bandō and Amane Okayama voice the adult characters, while child actors Yuto Maki and Tasuku Nakagome play their younger selves.
Director Kohei Kadowaki, who designed the season 2 ending sequence for Beastars, wrote, storyboarded, planned, and edited the We Are Aliens film himself. Miyu Productions, the studio behind Ghost Cat Anzu, joined the production in June 2025.
A Motion Gallery crowdfunding campaign that closed in March raised about ¥9.6M (~$60,467 USD), above its ¥8M ($48.8K) goal, to cover production and marketing costs, for wider distribution of We Are Aliens. The latest reveal builds on the project’s rollout that began with its announcement in late 2025 and the eventual teaser in June, confirming the September release date.
Before its domestic premiere, We Are Aliens had attracted international attention after earning selections for the Directors’ Fortnight at the 79th Cannes Film Festival and for the Feature Film Competition at the 2026 Annecy. Sales company CHARADES has licensed the film to distributors across Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand, though no North American distributor or streaming deal has been announced.
