Chizu describes the story:
Our protagonist, Suzu, is a 17-year old high school girl, who lives in the countryside of Kochi Prefecture with her father, after losing her mother at a young age.
She loves singing with her mother more than anything else, but as a result of her mother s death was no longer able to sing.
It wasn t long before she and her father grew more and more distant from each other, and Suzu closed her heart to the rest of the world.
When Suzu felt that writing music was her only purpose left in life, she then discovers the massive online space known as “U,” where she takes on her persona,
The Naked Director) is the film s music director and composer.
Eric Wong, a London-based architect and designer, created the concept artwork for the film s online world of U. According to Chizu, Hosoda personally found and commissioned Eric to come up with this universal and international internet space from both an architectural and design perspective.
(Frozen, Tangled, Big Hero 6, Moana) designed the titular protagonist Belle. According to Chizu,
Mamoru Hosoda and Jin have long respected each other s work but met for the first time when
Mirai was nominated for an Oscar in Los Angeles. There, they promised to one day work on something creatively together and finally realized that goal with
Belle (
Ryū to Sobakasu no Hime, literally The Dragon and the Freckled Princess ) anime film revealed more cast members for the film on Friday. All the new characters are fellow schoolmates of protagonist Suzu/Belle.
Ryō Narita plays Shinobu Hisatake (both upper left in image above), a childhood friend of Suzu s who worries about her. His place in the school basketball team earns him a lot of popularity with girls, but he maintains a mysterious aura. He once proposed to Suzu when they were kids.
Shōta Sometani plays Shinjirō Chikami (both upper right), the sole member of the school s canoeing team, who still aims for the nationals. He has a pure and straightforward heart committed toward his goals, but that commitment often alienates him from other people.