There were some concerns that Belle might not receive a North American theatrical release as COVID-19 continues to have a strong grip on the box office. With numbers down across the board, many anime fans assummed that only popular films franchises like Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia or Dragon Ball had a shot at being released as smaller films would be seen as a guaranteed flop.
However, GKids is allaying those fears, announcing that famed anime director Mamoru Hosoda's next feature film, Belle, will be released in North American theaters with an English dub and Japanese subtitles. To celebrate the news, GKids also released a stunning new trailer which includes English subtitles.
Hosoda's previous film Mirai (2018) was released in North America by GKids, while The Boy and the Beast (2015) was licenesed for release by Funimation. Wolf Children (2012) never received a proper theatrical run in the West, having just a small screening at the 2013 New York International Children's Film Festival before being licensed for home video release by Funimation.
Belle is currently set for release in Japan on July 16 with the promise of international release dates to be announced soon. You can visit the website for Hosoda's Studio Chizu for more details about the film.
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, Belle.
Another me. Another reality. We are no longer limited to a single world.
Suzu quickly realizes that when she is inside “U” as her avatar, Belle, she can sing quite naturally. As she continues to showcase her own music in the virtual world, she fast becomes the rising star of “U.”
Nonetheless, that surprise is short-lived. Suddenly, a mysterious dragon-shaped creature appears before her...
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