#Mamoru Hosoda’s Belle Reveals Some Of Its Cast

Four cast members from Mamoru Hosoda’s upcoming anime movie Belle (Ryū to Sobakasu no Hime/The Dragon and the Freckled Princesss in Japanese) have been revealed.

The four announced cast members include Ryo Narita (Katsuhiko Teshigawara from Your Name) as Shinobu Hisatake/Shinobu-kun, Shōta Sometani (Shinichi Izumi from the Parasyte live-action movies) as Shinjirō Chikami/Kamishin, Tina Tamashiro (Sawa Nakamura from The Flowers of Evil live-action movie) as Ruka Watanabe/Ruka-chan, and Rira Ikuta (J-Pop duo Yoasobi’s singer) as Hiroka Betsuyaku/Hiro-chan. The characters are classmates of the movie’s protagonist Belle/Suzu.

For Belle/Suzu and the other main character, Ryū (Dragon), it was hinted that their respective voice actors will be the next to be revealed . 

A trailer that was released in April revealed that Belle is set to release in Japan in July, while the English-translated version stated that it is “coming soon.” The movie’s staff includes Frozen character designer Jin Kim, British architect and designer Eric Wong, and Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart from Irish studio Cartoon Saloon, which produced the Oscar-nominated Song of the Sea, The Secret of the Kells, and Wolfwalkers. Studio Chizu is handling the animation production.

The Studio Chizu website describes the story as:

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…