We Are Aliens Adds Gaku Sano, Reika Ōzeki and Two More Cast Members
The film opens in Japan on September 25, with international festival screenings and distribution deals also announced.
We Are Aliens has announced four more cast members, including Gaku Sano as Seiya Toda and Reika Ōzeki as his younger self. Arisa Sasaki voices Elmo Matsushita, while Edo Harumi plays a calligraphy teacher.
The official website for Kōhei Kadowaki and NOTHING NEW's anime film We Are Aliens (Ware Ware wa Uchūjin) announced four additional cast members on Thursday.
The new additions are:
- Gaku Sano as Seiya Toda, Tsubasa's friend.
- Reika Ōzeki as young Seiya.
- Arisa Sasaki as Elmo Matsushita, Toda's friend.
- Edo Harumi as a calligraphy teacher.
The film opens in Japan on September 25. It screened at the Cannes Film Festival's Directors' Fortnight on May 14 and competed at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, held June 21–27.
Further screenings are planned at:
- Ottawa International Film Festival (OIAF), running September 23–27.
- Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), running August 6–23.
- New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF), running July 29–August 9.
CHARADES, which handles the film's international sales, licensed it to these distributors:
- Hooray Films in Taiwan.
- Shaw Organisation in Singapore.
- Intercontinental Film Distributors in Hong Kong.
- Sahamongkol Film in Thailand.
The previously announced cast includes:
- Ryōta Bandō (Fureru., the Japanese dub of the live-action How to Train Your Dragon) as young adult Tsubasa.
- Amane Okayama (Blue Giant, live-action I''s, Hirayasumi) as young adult Gyōtarō.
- Yūto Maki as younger Tsubasa.
- Tasuku Nakagome as younger Gyōtarō.
- Ten Yamasaki, a member of idol group Sakurazaka46, as Konatsu.
- Comedian Kemuri Matsui as Batahara.
Child actors Maki and Nakagome both won their roles through auditions.
The story follows Tsubasa and Gyōtarō, who became close friends in elementary school before jealousy and misunderstandings pulled them apart. Years later, their lives have taken different paths. Resurfacing memories force them to confront what happened between them.
Kadowaki's roles on the film span:
- Planning.
- Scriptwriting.
- Directing.
- Storyboarding.
- Editing.
Yaffle composed the score, and adieu sings the theme song, “Sasakure” (Split). NOTHING NEW planned and produced the film. French studio Miyu Productions (Ghost Cat Anzu, A New Dawn) joined the project in June 2025 and collaborated on production.
The staff began a Motion Gallery crowdfunding campaign in November to fund production and advertising. Its stated goals were to raise the work's quality and expand its distribution.
The campaign closed on March 2, raising 9,604,510 yen (about US$60,467). That surpassed its target of 8 million yen (about US$50,365).
Kadowaki previously created the ending sequence for BEASTARS' second season and music videos for YOASOBI. Yaffle has produced music for Fujii Kaze, Kenshi Yonezu and others.
Founded in 2022, small film company NOTHING NEW aims to build a world where talent can thrive without being crushed.
