We Are Aliens film’s trailer highlights the Heisei era

The upcoming anime film We Are Aliens is leaning into the memories of Japan’s Heisei era in a new trailer, placing its story of friendship, jealousy and regret against the period when its two central characters first met.

The film, also known as Ware Ware wa Uchūjin, is written and directed by Kōhei Kadowaki and opens in Japanese cinemas on 25 September 2026.

A friendship split by time

We Are Aliens follows Tsubasa and Gyōtarō, two boys who become close friends while they are still in elementary school. Jealousy and misunderstandings eventually push them apart, sending their lives in different directions.

Years later, memories of their shared past return. The two men must confront what happened between them and decide whether the distance that grew between them can ever be crossed.

The new trailer highlights the Heisei era, the period from 1989 to 2019 during which the boys’ younger years take place. That setting gives the film more than a nostalgic colour palette: it places their relationship inside a specific version of Japan that has already disappeared.

A distinctive production team

Ryōta Bandō voices the adult Tsubasa, with Amane Okayama as the adult Gyōtarō. Child actors Yūto Maki and Tasuku Nakagome voice the younger versions of the characters after being selected through auditions.

The wider cast includes Ten Yamasaki as Konatsu, Kemuri Matsui as Batahara, Gaku Sano as Seiya Toda, Reika Ōzeki as young Seiya, Arisa Sasaki as Elmo Matsushita and Edo Harumi as a calligraphy teacher.

Kadowaki is credited as planner, scriptwriter, director, storyboard artist and editor. He previously created the second season ending sequence for Beastars and music videos for YOASOBI.

French studio Miyu Productions collaborated on the production, while Yaffle composed the music. Singer adieu performs the theme song, Sasakure.

From Cannes to Japanese cinemas

The film premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival on 14 May and later screened in competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

It is also scheduled for festival screenings including the Ottawa International Animation Festival and New Zealand International Film Festival. International sales company CHARADES is handling overseas distribution, with regional deals announced for Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand.

A film built with audience support

NOTHING NEW launched a crowdfunding campaign in November to help cover production and advertising costs, with the stated aim of improving the film and distributing it more widely.

The campaign ended on 2 March after exceeding its ¥8 million target and raising ¥9,604,510. NOTHING NEW was founded in 2022 with the goal of creating a world where talent is not crushed.

Our opinion

We Are Aliens looks like the kind of anime film that understands nostalgia is not the same thing as putting an old phone in the background and adding a soft-focus filter.

The Heisei setting matters because Tsubasa and Gyōtarō’s friendship is tied to a time that has ended. Their reunion is not only about recovering a lost relationship; it is about discovering whether the people they remember ever really existed in the way they imagine.

Kadowaki’s unusually hands-on role gives the film a strong personal identity, while Miyu Productions’ involvement adds an interesting Japanese-French dimension. After its festival run, the Japanese theatrical release gives audiences the chance to see whether the film’s quiet emotional premise can survive a full feature length.

The trailer suggests a thoughtful coming-of-age drama rather than a disposable nostalgia exercise. That is a welcome change in a year when “remember when?” often feels like the entire screenplay.