Matt Schley
July 3, 2025 
Scarlet, the upcoming film from Mamoru Hosoda and his first since 2021’s Belle, has just revealed its leads.
The titular Scarlet will be played by Mana Ashida, while the character Hijiri will be played by Masaki Okada. A new poster revealed today shows the two characters side by side.
The film is set to hit theaters in Japan on November 21 and in the US December 12. It’s produced by Hosoda’s studio, Chizu.
Mana Ashida has starred in several anime films, including Children of the Sea as Ruka as Poupelle of Chimney Town as Lubicchi. She’s primarily known as a live-action actor whose credits include BL Metamorphosis and Cells at Work!.
Similarly, Masaki Okada is known for live-action films such as the Oscar-winning Drive My Car and Last Mile. Scarlet marks his first appearance in an anime film. Okada said in a statement:
This was my first time to try my hand at voice acting for a feature-length animation, and I learned for the first time that it is very difficult to express oneself with only one’s voice, and that it is so difficult to convey one’s emotions. I have watched many different types of animation, and I have a new appreciation for the greatness of voice actors.
Meanwhile, Ashida said in part:
[Hosoda] told me, “A 19-year-old today is different from a 19-year-old living in the Middle Ages. I wanted her to have the awareness and determination of a princess of a country.” I researched women who lived through the turbulent times, such as Jeanne d’Arc and Queen Elizabeth I, and gradually worked on the role.
Ashida and Okada previously appeared together in the film Under the Stars (Hoshi no Ko) in 2020.
Source: Natalie
