miwa joins Belle project as new LAYRA singer

miwa will play LAYRA, the new singer born in the virtual world U, in the immersive live project Belle: The Dragon and the Freckled Princess – PROJECT LAYRA. The singer is taking on stage acting and live singing together for the first time, according to Oricon News.¹

The project is set five years after Mamoru Hosoda’s animated film Belle: The Dragon and the Freckled Princess (竜とそばかすの姫). It returns to the virtual world U with a new singer, while other performers and familiar faces also join the story. The live show is designed to work as both a performance and a continuation of the film’s world.¹

miwa steps into a new role

In the interview, miwa said Hosoda told her she had once been considered as a singing candidate during the production of Wolf Children (おおかみこどもの雨と雪). She described the revelation as a great honour, while also acknowledging that performing as an actor and singer on stage is a new challenge for her.¹

The official Oricon News video shows miwa discussing the production and the LAYRA role. Its thumbnail depicts her during the interview, while the video provides a first-party look at the project’s presentation.²

A five-year follow-up in U

The new show is not simply a concert built around the earlier film. Its premise advances the setting five years, giving LAYRA a place in U and expanding the roster of artists who inhabit that virtual space. That makes the project an unusual hybrid: part live music event, part continuation of an anime film’s story.¹

For fans of Belle, the appeal is clear. LAYRA offers a new voice for Hosoda’s world without pretending the original film’s story has been remade. The live format also gives miwa room to put her own performance stamp on a character created for this next chapter.

Our opinion

This is a meaningful update for Belle rather than a routine cast announcement. miwa’s first combined acting-and-singing stage role gives PROJECT LAYRA a clear human hook, while the five-year time jump suggests the organisers are trying to build a genuine follow-up world instead of replaying the film’s soundtrack. The project’s success will depend on how convincingly the live production balances that new story with the music that made U memorable.