The feature-length anime film 'The Ribbon Hero,' based on Osamu Tezuka's 'Princess Knight,' will premiere globally on Netflix on August 8, 2026, and has been selected for an official screening at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.
Netflix announced 'The Ribbon Hero' on May 23, 2026, as a new anime adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's classic shoujo manga 'Ribbon no Kishi.' The initial announcement included a teaser visual by character designer Kei Mochizuki but no footage or story details. Three days later, on May 26, Netflix revealed an August 8 worldwide streaming date, a teaser trailer, a key visual, and the lead voice actor: Saya, a comedian from the duo Lalande, in her first feature-length voice acting role. Saya said the director told her Sapphire's background overlapped with her own, which helped her decide to take the role, and she acknowledged she expects criticism for being a non-professional voice actor.
The second trailer, released on June 23, 2026, added three new cast members: Seiran Kobayashi as Pine, Kouki Uchiyama as Velvet, and Mayumi Shintani as Zircon. The theme song 'Reborn' is performed by the pre-debut Japan-Korea girl group Girls Archives. The trailer opens with a scene of a country destroyed by the calamity Nergal and includes action sequences, a sword fight, and a transformation scene. The film is directed by Yuki Igarashi, with original character designs by Kei Mochizuki and character design cooperation by Mai Yoneyama. Production is by Twin Engine, with animation by Studio OUTLINE. The story follows Princess Sapphire, who loses her homeland Silverland to a calamity called Nergal and later gains the power to transform into the Ribbon Knight to protect her new home, Goldland.
The film has also been selected for an official screening at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival. The casting of a comedian with no feature-length voice acting experience as the lead in a major Netflix anime based on a Tezuka classic signals a deliberate break from the industry's usual reliance on professional voice actors. The film features script cooperation by Junko Komura, known for writing several Super Sentai and Kamen Rider series.
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Jun 27
Netflix unveiled the first episode art for "The One Piece," WIT Studio's remake of the original One Piece anime, during its Annecy International Animation Film Festival showcase on Tuesday. The image, titled "Romance Dawn -Dawn of the Adventure-", matches the title of Eiichiro Oda's manga's first volume and chapter. The streamer also confirmed that Mayumi Tanaka will reprise her role as Monkey D. Luffy, a role she has held since 1999. The seven-episode first season, covering the East Blue saga through the first 50 manga chapters, will run approximately 300 minutes and stream worldwide on Netflix in February 2027. Masashi Koizuka directs, with Hideaki Abe as assistant director. Character designers and chief animation directors are Kyoji Asano and Takatoshi Honda. Taku Kishimoto handles series scripts. The teaser trailer debuted at a separate "Next on Netflix Animation" panel on June 24. The remake was first announced at Jump Festa '24 in December 2023.
Jun 23
The second trailer for the feature-length anime film "The Ribbon Hero," based on Osamu Tezuka's "Princess Knight," was released on June 23, 2026. The trailer reveals three new cast members: Seiran Kobayashi as Pine, a friend of protagonist Sapphire; Kouki Uchiyama as Velvet, an executive of the religious organization Mitra; and Mayumi Shintani as Zircon, Sapphire's elderly attendant. The theme song "Reborn" is performed by the pre-debut Japan-Korea girl group Girls Archives. The trailer opens with a scene of a country destroyed by the calamity Nergal and includes action sequences, a sword fight, and a transformation scene. Sapphire is voiced by Saya of the comedy duo Lalande. The film is directed by Yuki Igarashi, with original character designs by Kei Mochizuki and character design cooperation by Mai Yoneyama. Production is by Twin Engine, with animation by Studio OUTLINE. "The Ribbon Hero" will premiere globally on Netflix on August 8, 2026. The film has also been selected for an official screening at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.
May 26
Netflix has announced an August 8 worldwide streaming date for the anime film THE RIBBON HERO, based on Osamu Tezuka's classic manga Princess Knight. The lead role of Sapphire will be voiced by Saya, a comedian from the duo Lalande, in her first feature-length voice acting role. The announcement came alongside the release of a teaser trailer and a key visual. The film is directed by Yuki Igarashi, known for his work on Star Wars: Visions and Jujutsu Kaisen season 1 ending animation, in his feature directorial debut. Animation production is handled by studio OUTLINE, with production by Twin Engine. The story follows Princess Sapphire, who loses her homeland Silverland to a calamity called Nergal and later gains the power to transform into the Ribbon Knight to protect her new home, Goldland. Saya said in a statement that the director told her Sapphire's background overlapped with her own, which helped her decide to take the role. She acknowledged that she expects criticism for being a non-professional voice actor but said she focused on conveying Sapphire's inner voice. The film also features script cooperation by Junko Komura, known for writing several Super Sentai and Kamen Rider series.
May 23
A new anime adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's classic shoujo manga 'Ribbon no Kishi' has been announced. Titled 'THE RIBBON HERO', the series will stream exclusively on Netflix starting in August. A teaser visual by character designer Kei Mochizuki has been released, but no footage or story details have been shown yet.