GKIDS has confirmed that cocoon - One Summer of Girlhood opens in North American theaters on September 4, with both Japanese subtitled and English dubbed screenings and a home video release to follow. The distributor also confirmed the September 4 rollout is unaffected by a subtitle timing issue that disrupted a separate film's screenings.
Cocoon - One Summer of Girlhood is a 63-minute historical drama set in 1945 Okinawa, following schoolgirls mobilized through the Himeyuri Student Corps. It is based on the manga by Machiko Kyo and is the debut feature of director Yukimitsu Ina and the studio Sasayuri. The film aired in Japan in 2025, first on BS-NHK in March and then on NHK General in August, before GKIDS acquired all North American rights in June 2026 and set a September 4 theatrical release.
The production team includes former Studio Ghibli animators, with Hitomi Tateno as animation producer, and music by Kensuke Ushio. The cast includes Hikari Mitsushima and Marika Ito. GKIDS has released both an English-subtitled trailer and an English-dubbed trailer, and the film will screen in Japanese with subtitles and with an English dub. A home video release is planned, with home entertainment details and the English-language cast to be announced later.
The film had its Canadian premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival, which ran July 16 to August 2 in Montreal, and its North American premiere at JAPAN CUTS in July. On September 3, GKIDS confirmed that a subtitle timing glitch affecting screenings of a different film, The Last Blossom, would not affect the cocoon rollout, which remains set for September 4.
A review of the film describes it as a restrained wartime story that handles the Himeyuri Student Corps mobilization with care, praising its oil-painting backgrounds and the silkworm metaphor at its center. The manga source was also highlighted in a June 16 column alongside Naoki Urasawa's Billy Bat, both set in the 1940s.
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GKIDS issued a statement Thursday apologizing for incorrectly timed English subtitles during screenings of The Last Blossom last Sunday, which led to cancellations on Monday. The company pulled affected shows from sale, issued refunds, and delivered a corrected version Monday, though some theaters could not update in time. GKIDS is reviewing options including makeup screenings. It also confirmed cocoon will open September 4 as planned.
Cocoon - One Summer of Girlhood is a 63-minute historical drama set in 1945 Okinawa, following schoolgirls mobilized through the Himeyuri Student Corps. Based on the manga by Machiko Kyo, the film is the debut of studio Sasayuri and first-time director Yukimitsu Ina. The review praises the restrained dialogue, the oil-painting backgrounds, and the silkworm metaphor at the story's center, calling the film a quietly joyful affirmation of life.
GKIDS began streaming an English-dubbed trailer for the cocoon anime on Tuesday. The film, based on Machiko Kyo's manga, opens in North American theaters on September 4 with both Japanese subtitled and English dubbed screenings. GKIDS will also release the anime on home video. The story follows two girls at an all-girls school as war reaches their tropical island.
GKIDS has released the English-subtitled trailer for 'Cocoon - One Summer of Girlhood', the debut feature from director Yukimitsu Ina. Based on Machiko Kyo's manga, the film follows two students whose island life is disrupted by WWII. It opens in North American theaters on September 4 in Japanese with subtitles and an English dub. The film features a notable staff including former Ghibli animators and composer Kensuke Ushio.
GKIDS began streaming an English-subtitled trailer for the anime adaptation of Machiko Kyō's Cocoon manga. The film will open in North American theaters on September 4 in Japanese with subtitles and with an English dub, with a home video release to follow. The anime, which aired in Japan in 2025, is set on a tropical island during war and follows two schoolgirls. The cast includes Hikari Mitsushima and Marika Itō, with direction by Yukimitsu Ina and music by kensuke ushio.
The 30th Fantasia International Film Festival will screen multiple anime premieres including the world premiere of CloverWorks' three-part collection Grotesqqque, two episodes of the live-action Junji Ito series, and several short films, along with the North American premiere of A New Dawn and the Canadian premiere of cocoon. The festival runs July 16 to August 2 in Montreal.
Gkids has acquired all North American rights to the wartime anime film Cocoon - One Summer of Girlhood, based on Machiko Kyo's manga, and will begin screening it in theaters on September 4. The film will be available in Japanese with English subtitles and with an English dub. It will have its North American premiere at the JAPAN CUTS event in July before the wider theatrical rollout. The 63-minute feature, directed by Yukimitsu Ina in his directorial debut, follows two schoolgirls, San and Mayu, on a tropical southern island during World War II. As war escalates, the students are ordered to nurse the wounded in a military hospital hidden in a cave, and they lose friends one by one. The anime originally debuted on BS-NHK in March 2025 and later aired on NHK General that August. The music was composed by Kensuke Ushio, and Hitomi Tateno, a former Studio Ghibli animator, served as animation producer. The studio Sasayuri produced the anime. Gkids said it will announce home entertainment plans and details about the English-language cast later this year.
Beneath the Tangles' June 16th Reader's Corner features reviews of several new manga releases, headlined by the long-awaited English release of Naoki Urasawa's Billy Bat and the one-volume historical manga cocoon about the Himeyuri schoolgirls during the Battle of Okinawa.