We Are Aliens Film Spotlights Konatsu in New Trailer and Visual

NOTHING NEW released a new character trailer and visual for the anime film We Are Aliens on September 15, placing Konatsu Meguro and her connection with Tsubasa at the center of the latest preview. The film is scheduled to open in Japanese theaters on September 25, with a production exhibition beginning in Tokyo the same day.

What the Konatsu trailer shows

The "Konatsu Version" trailer follows moments shared by Tsubasa and Konatsu as they grow from elementary-school classmates into teenagers. Konatsu is introduced as the classmate who lives closest to Tsubasa. Their early routine includes delivering each other's school communication notebooks when one of them is sick, while later scenes show them walking home together during high school.

Ten Yamasaki of Sakurazaka46 voices the teenage Konatsu in her first voice-acting role. Saki Suzuki, selected through an audition, plays the character as a child. During recording, Yamasaki listened to Suzuki's performance so the two portrayals would feel connected. Director Kohei Kadowaki guided her on Suzuki's faster delivery and vocal qualities before they worked toward a balance between imitation and Yamasaki's own performance.

Yamasaki said she had long wanted to try voice work, while also describing the unfamiliar process as difficult. She recorded and reviewed her voice at home, developing the performance through repeated discussions with Kadowaki. Her comments also connect the material's awkwardness and unresolved feelings to memories of adolescence.

The film and its opening-day exhibition

Kadowaki planned, wrote and directed We Are Aliens, while also handling storyboards and editing. NOTHING NEW produced the feature, with MIYU PRODUCTION as co-producer, and Yaffle composed the music. Ryota Bando and Amane Okayama lead the cast as Tsubasa and Gyotaro.

Set in a rural town during Japan's Heisei era, the story begins when the shy Tsubasa befriends the popular Akitaro in elementary school. Their friendship changes after Akitaro becomes isolated by rumors and attention from classmates, leading toward an incident that continues to shape their lives. The film traces that relationship across 30 years.

Before its Japanese release, the feature held its world premiere in the Directors' Fortnight program at the 79th Cannes Film Festival and was selected for the 2026 Annecy feature competition.

The accompanying We Are Aliens: The Journey to Completion exhibition will run from September 25 through October 4 at the seventh-floor event space in Shinjuku Marui Annex. Admission is free. The display will cover the project from planning through completion using production materials, original drawings and storyboards, alongside a recreation of the creative workspace. Merchandise is also planned, and Kadowaki is scheduled to hold a signing session.

The next confirmed milestone is September 25, when We Are Aliens begins its Japanese theatrical run and the Tokyo exhibition opens.