New Trailer for ‘We Are Aliens’ Animated Film from Kohei Kadowaki​

“Returning to space after completing a top-notch mission on Earth.” Nothing New & Toho Next debuted the main official Japanese trailer for the animated movie known as We Are Aliens (『我々は宇宙人』) a Japanese drama from filmmaker Kohei Kadowaki. This one is not really anime – the footage in it plays more like a rotoscoped story of two friends, with some animation aesthetic on top of the performances. This premiered at both the 2026 Cannes & Annecy Film Festivals in France earlier this summer to mostly mixed reviews. Tsubasa and Gyotaro are two boys who, as elementary school students, became close friends, but jealousy & misunderstandings eventually drove them apart. Many years have passed, and the two boys have gone in different directions in life. But when the memories of their past finally return, they must face what happened between them years ago. A story spanning 30 years of time examining their friendship. With the voices of Ryota Bando × Amane Okayama. And music by Yaffle. Alas the film isn’t really about aliens and it’s not really sci-fi. It’s mostly about what happened to these two young friends and how they fell apart, creating a rift that would last decades. Some beautiful animation in this, I just wish the story wasn’t so sad.

Here’s the official Japanese trailer (+ poster) for Kohei Kadowaki’s film We Are Aliens, from YouTube:

You can rewatch the first look trailer for Kohei Kadowaki’s We Are Aliens film right here via the festival.

One summer while in third grade, a quiet boy named Tsubasa meets Kyotaro, the admired center of the class, and the two become close friends. Within their small world, they share irreplaceable moments—until a small incident suddenly tears their relationship apart. Spanning more than thirty years, this gentle and contemplative story quietly explores what it means to live through the boys’ friendship and the distance that grows between them. We Are Aliens, also known as 我々は宇宙人 in Japanese, is written and directed by Japanese filmmaker Kohei Kadowaki, making his feature directorial debut after creating the series “The Proof is Out There”. Produced by Miyu Productions. It’s looking for extra funding with a crowdfunding campaign on Motion-Gallery.net. The film will premiere at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival in the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar section. Nothing New opens Kadowaki’s We Are Aliens film in Japanese cinemas starting on September 25th, 2026. Still no US release set yet. For more info, visit the film’s official site. Curious?

Read more posts in: Animation, Foreign Films, To Watch, Trailer