School bullying and adolescent identity crises are in the spotlight in Kohei Kadowaki’s extraordinary anime feature, We Are Aliens, direct from this year’s Cannes Director’s Fortnight.
Delicate, sophisticated Japanese animation tracks the fragility of boyhood.
We Are Aliens 2026
我々は宇宙人
Don’t let the title of Kohei Kadowaki’s extraordinary anime feature, We Are Aliens, suggest this is another sci-fi anime flick concerned with otherworldly beings: the struggles here are rooted in the very-human tragedies of school bullying, adolescent identity crises and the consequences of splintered childhood friendships.
Set in an ordinary Japanese town, two boys — Gyotaro and Tsubasa — form a friendship as primary school students but as years drag on, betrayal and rejection fracture their once special bond. Later, lingering impacts of school bullying set off a chain of events that will ultimately lead to a violent confrontation as adults.
Gorgeously realised with stunning details and textures loaded into every frame, this quietly devastating youth drama tracks how childhood cruelty can evolve into adult trauma, with a sophisticated fragmented narrative structure designed to keep audiences reflecting on how seemingly insignificant moments in some people’s lives have enormous meaning for others.
With a plaintive howl at its core about a Japanese society splintering along familial and social lines, We Are Aliens is a compelling testament to animation’s capacity to express emotional nuance all the while delivering a stunning artistic vision of youth in turmoil.
– Cho Jinseok