A revenge tale is next on Mamoru Hosoda‘s list, and it looks to be an emotional, action-packed, and angst-filled journey. Following an earlier teaser announcement, Toho has released the full Japanese trailer for Scarlet, featuring the fearless titular princess as she transcends time and space to enact revenge on her father’s murderer.
The dark fantasy adventure from The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Belle director will release in Japan on 21 November, while Sony Pictures is distributing it outside Japan. The latter is also co-producing and co-financing the project alongside Studio Chizu and Nippon TV, with screening specifics for overseas markets (except in the U.S., which debuts on 12 December) yet to be confirmed.
Leading the voice cast are Mana Shida (Mother) as the heroine and Masaki Okada (Drive My Car) as Hijiri, a nurse from modern Japan who helps Scarlet on her mission. The remaining roster is as follows:
- Yutaka Matsushige as Cornelius, an influential aide of Claudius
- Kōtarō Yoshida as Voltemand, an aide of Claudius who leads the knights
- Kōji Yakusho as Claudius, whose conspiracy led Scarlet onto her quest for vengeance
- Masachika Ichimura as Amulet, Scarlet’s father
- Yuki Saitō as Gertrude, Scarlet’s mother who assists Claudius in his conspiracy
- Shōta Sometani as Guildenstern
- Munetaka Aoki as Rosencrantz, a vassal of Claudius who targets Scarlet
- Kazuhiro Yamaji as Polonius, an aide of Claudius who watches over Scarlet’s movements
- Tokio Emoto as Laertes
- Kayoko Shiraishi as a mysterious old woman
- Noa Shiroyama as a girl whom Scarlet encounters in “The Land of the Dead”
Those who are familiar with William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” will recognise the similarities between the names in the classic tragedy play and the anime film, which Hosoda says is based on “a global classic”. According to the filmmaker, Scarlet is presented in a completely new look that doesn’t classify as 2D animation or “Hollywood-style CG”, and is set to have a different feel from his past works, on top of action and romance elements.
The upcoming feature marks Hosoda’s first project since 2021’s Belle. The filmmaker made his directorial debut with 1999’s Digimon Adventure and won critical acclaim for 2006’s The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. In 2009, Hosoda released Summer Wars and swept animation awards in Japan, before co-establishing Studio Chizu with producer Yuichiro Saito two years later. Under the banner, he directed and wrote the screenplay for 2012’s Wolf Children and 2015’s The Boy and the Beast, with Mirai scoring an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature in 2018.
“Scarlet, a princess who failed to avenge her father’s murder, wakes up in the ‘Land of the Dead’. In this world full of madness, if she does not take revenge on her nemesis and reach ‘The Endless Place,’ she will be reduced to ‘Emptiness’ and cease to exist,” reads the translated description of the film on its website. “An adventure beyond imagination. A never-ending struggle. A fateful encounter that transcends time and space. Can Scarlet find a way to live at the end of her endless journey?”
Scarlet hits theatres in Japan on 21 November and the U.S. on 12 December.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Ting Wei
