It feels impossible to look away from the newly released teaser trailer for We Are Aliens (Wareware wa Uchujin), a new original animated film that’s set for a 2026 release and is being crowdfunded on Motion Gallery. The movie will tell a tale of two former friends, spanning more than thirty years, and based on the preview, it looks set to do so with startlingly gorgeous visuals and spellbinding (and rotoscope-aided?) animation.
The main creative figure at the center of this film is Kohei Kadowaki, who is credited as planner, scriptwriter, director, storyboard artist, and editor. His past projects include music videos for YOASOBI’s “Comet,” the Ayase ft. Hatsune Miku song “Yokubari,” and KAF’s “Sore o Sekai to Iun dane.” The NOTHING NEW film label, which was founded in 2022, is credited with planning, production (the creative/actual making process kind), and production (the business kind).
Also in the credits is France’s Miyu Productions, who’s helping with the business side of the production.
We Are Aliens‘ main characters are Tsubasa and Taro Akatsuki, who meet in their third summer of elementary school. Despite being opposites (Tsubasa is timid, Taro is the popular kid in class), the two become great friends, until a “trifling” incident changes things. According to the Motion Gallery description, the meaning of life is something the story will ask. Given how incredible the teaser looks, I say, ask away.
In We Are Aliens‘ Motion Gallery page, it’s mentioned that lots of reference footage was taken as part of the efforts to realize the character animation, and that the film strove to make the animation and backgrounds feel like one whole. Production began in 2022.
The movie is looking to raise at least 8 million yen (~US$51.6 thousand) through its crowdfunding campaign, with 10 thousand yen amassed at the time of writing. There’s 106 days left at present, and current estimates have the production wrapping up in March 2026. The film will begin screening in Japan around fall 2026, and there are plans to screen it overseas from 2027.
Source: Press release (via Comic Natalie)
