We Are Aliens Adds Konatsu Trailer and Tokyo Exhibition

The original animated feature We Are Aliens has released a trailer centered on heroine Konatsu and announced a free Tokyo exhibition tracing the film's creation, giving international fans two concrete milestones ahead of its September 25 Japanese theatrical release.

What Was Announced

NOTHING NEW published the announcement on September 15, 2026. It introduces a new “Konatsu version” trailer for We Are Aliens, a feature that follows the relationship between Tsubasa and his classmate Meguro Konatsu as they grow from elementary-school children into teenagers. The trailer is designed around the time they share, rather than presenting the film only through its broader science-fiction premise.

The new material also clarifies the voice performances attached to that relationship. Ten Yamasaki, a member and sub-captain of Sakurazaka46, makes her voice-acting debut as the older Konatsu. Saki Suzuki, selected through an audition, voices Konatsu during childhood. The production describes the recording process as a deliberate effort to make the two stages feel like one character growing up: Yamasaki listened to Suzuki's performance and worked with director Kohei Kadowaki to find a connected vocal approach.

The film itself is scheduled to open in Japanese theaters on September 25, 2026. Kadowaki is credited with planning, writing, and directing the project, which is produced by NOTHING NEW with cooperation from French studio MIYU PRODUCTIONS. Ryota Bando and Amane Okayama are credited as the two lead performers, and Yaffle is credited for the music.

The same announcement also sets a free exhibition, We Are Aliens: The Path to Completion, for the film's opening day. It will run from September 25 through October 4 at the event space on the seventh floor of Shinjuku Marui Annex in Tokyo. The listed hours are 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on weekdays and 10:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on weekends. Entry is free. The exhibition's merchandise lineup is separate from admission, and the release states that purchases will be cashless only.

Why It Matters

This update gives the film a more specific emotional entry point. Earlier descriptions frame We Are Aliens as a thirty-year friendship story about two boys whose memories and feelings remain entangled. The Konatsu trailer adds a parallel view of adolescence: a nearby classmate who exchanges school notebooks with Tsubasa when one of them is sick, then remains part of the story as childhood gives way to the teenage years. That detail makes the coming-of-age structure easier to read without reducing the film to a simple alien mystery.

It also makes the casting part of the film's formal design. Using one performer for young Konatsu and another for the older version creates a clear before-and-after challenge, while the reported recording process aims to preserve a sense of continuity. Yamasaki's first voice role is therefore not just an additional cast note; it is directly tied to how the film presents a character's passage through time.

The exhibition matters for a different reason. A new animated feature can be difficult to evaluate from a single trailer, especially when its project began as an original film rather than an adaptation with an established fan base. A free, time-limited display focused on the path to completion could give visitors a closer look at the visual development and production materials behind the film. The official announcement does not promise a particular quantity or format of materials, so the practical value will depend on what is actually installed.

For the wider animation scene, the film is also arriving with an international festival profile. The announcement identifies it as a selection for Directors' Fortnight at the 79th Cannes Film Festival and for the 2026 Feature Film Competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Those selections do not confirm a release in every territory, but they help explain why a Japanese original with a French production partner may interest viewers beyond its initial domestic run.

Context for International Fans

The confirmed theatrical date is for Japan: September 25, 2026. The September 15 primary announcement does not provide an overseas theatrical distributor, international streaming service, or home-video date. Those routes are therefore not yet confirmed. Fans outside Japan should avoid treating the Japanese date as a worldwide opening, and should watch the official film site and NOTHING NEW's own channels for any territory-specific update.

The festival history may offer a useful route for viewers who cannot travel to Japan, but the announcement does not state that a festival screening or online program will be available to the public in every country. It is safest to treat the Cannes and Annecy selections as context, not as a substitute for a confirmed local release.

For visitors already planning a Tokyo trip, the exhibition is unusually accessible on paper because admission is free and it begins on the same day as the film. It is still a physical event in Shinjuku, not an online exhibition. The release gives the venue, dates, and hours above, while also warning fans that merchandise transactions are cashless. The official site should be checked before traveling because schedules and event details can change.

What Happens Next

The next fixed date is September 25, 2026, when the film is scheduled to open in Japanese theaters and the Shinjuku exhibition is scheduled to begin. The immediate official checkpoints are the full trailer, the film's theater listings, and any updated guidance for the exhibition. International fans should specifically look for a confirmed overseas distributor or streaming partner; neither is named in the announcement currently available.

The Konatsu trailer also leaves room for further production updates. Additional character trailers, interviews, or music information could clarify how the film balances its long friendship narrative with the “alien” question, but those are possibilities rather than announced plans. For now, the verified news is a new character-focused trailer, a September 25 Japanese opening, and a free ten-day Tokyo exhibition tied to that opening.

Information was checked on September 16, 2026 at 2:44 AM JST.

Sources

• NOTHING NEW's primary press release dated September 15, 2026 — announces the Konatsu trailer, voice performers, Japanese release date, and Shinjuku exhibition details.
• The official We Are Aliens film site — official project page and source of the representative key visual used in this report.
• The official Konatsu-version trailer on YouTube — the video release embedded by the primary announcement.

Editorial note: This report is based on the primary sources linked above. Availability, schedules, and announcements can change; verify the latest details with the official source.