Early Trailers for ‘We Are Aliens’ – Japanese Animation About Friends

by Alex Billington
April 14, 2026
Source: YouTube

“Taro is the star of this school – and he’s not actually human.” Nothing New has revealed the first trailers for the animated film called We Are Aliens (『我々は宇宙人』) a Japanese drama from filmmaker Kohei Kadowaki. This one is not anime – the footage plays more like a rotoscoped story of two friends, with some animation aesthetic on top of the performances. Tsubasa & Gyotaro are two boys who, as elementary school students, became close friends, but jealousy & misunderstandings eventually drove them apart. Many years have passed, and the two boys have gone in different directions in life. But when the memories of their past return, they must face what happened between them years ago. A story spanning 30 years of time examining their friendship. Featuring the voices of Ryota Bando × Amane Okayama. With music by Yaffle. This was just announced as a world premiere at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival within the prestigious Directors’ Fortnight sidebar section (Quinzaine des Cinéastes) coming up in May. Which is why this new trailer is out right now. Wait – so is it actually about aliens? Or just about two boys figuring themselves out? Take a look.

Here’s the initial promo trailers (+ poster) for Kohei Kadowaki’s film We Are Aliens, direct from YouTube:

One summer while in third grade, a quiet boy named Tsubasa meets Kyotaro, the admired center of the class, and the two become close friends. Within their small world, they share irreplaceable moments—until a small incident suddenly tears their relationship apart. Spanning more than thirty years, this gentle and contemplative story quietly explores what it means to live through the boys’ friendship and the distance that grows between them. We Are Aliens, also known as 我々は宇宙人 in Japanese, is written and directed by Japanese filmmaker Kohei Kadowaki, making his feature directorial debut after creating the series “The Proof is Out There”. Produced by Miyu Productions. It’s looking for extra funding with a crowdfunding campaign on Motion-Gallery.net. The film will premiere at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival in the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar section. Nothing New opens Kadowaki’s We Are Aliens film in Japanese cinemas starting later in 2026. No US release is set yet. For more info, visit the film’s official site. Looking good? Interested?

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