The Ribbon Hero Final Trailer Adds Five Cast Members Ahead of Netflix Premiere
This is the first anime project in the Princess Knight franchise in 27 years, making the film a rare revival of a classic Tezuka property for a new generation.
Key Facts
- The Ribbon Hero premieres exclusively on Netflix worldwide on August 8, 2026.
- The final trailer, streamed on July 30, reveals five new cast members: Yoshimasa Hosoya as Rock, Mito Tsukino as Hecate, Yusuke Tezuka as Chorogy, Lunlun as Chick, and Debidebi Debiru as Tack.
- Mito Tsukino, Lunlun, and Debidebi Debiru are NIJISANJI VTubers making their feature-length anime voice acting debuts.
- Saya of comedy duo Lalande voices Sapphire, her first leading role in a feature-length animated production.
- Yuuki Igarashi directs The Ribbon Hero at studio OUTLINE, his feature-length directorial debut.
Reporting from 3 sources: Anime News Network, Anime Corner, OtakuKart Anime.
Netflix began streaming the final trailer for The Ribbon Hero, the new anime film based on Osamu Tezuka's Princess Knight manga, on July 30. The trailer previews the English dub and reveals five new cast members who play Sapphire's coworkers at a mining site. Yoshimasa Hosoya voices Rock, Mito Tsukino voices Hecate, Yusuke Tezuka voices Chorogy, Lunlun voices Chick, and Debidebi Debiru voices Tack. Mito Tsukino, Lunlun, and Debidebi Debiru are VTubers affiliated with NIJISANJI, and these are their first roles in a feature-length anime. The film stars Saya of comedy duo Lalande as Sapphire, in what Netflix says is her first leading role in a feature-length animated production. Seiran Kobayashi voices Pine, Koki Uchiyama voices Velvet, Mayumi Shintani voices Zirco, and Haruhiko Jo voices Pope. Yuuki Igarashi directs the film at his new studio OUTLINE, marking his feature-length directorial debut. The film premieres exclusively on Netflix worldwide on August 8. The story follows Sapphire, a princess who loses her homeland of Silverland to a calamity called Nergal, then finds hope in Goldland before Nergal returns.
The final trailer also offers a first look at Sapphire's final battle and expands on her emotional journey from a princess who lost everything to the determined Ribbon Hero. The preview introduces the mysterious character Velvet, whose dialogue hints at a deeper story beyond the fight against Nergal. The film was featured in the non-competitive "Annecy Presents" section at this year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival, which ran in France from June 21 to 27.
The production team includes Kei Mochizuki as original character designer, with character design cooperation from Mai Yoneyama and animation character design by Issei Arakaki. Cedric Herole handles artistic direction, and Satoru Kosaki and Ryuichi Takada of MONACA compose the music. The Japanese/Korean group Girls Archives perform the theme song "Reborn." The original Princess Knight manga debuted in 1953 and received a TV anime adaptation in 1967-1968, with the most recent animated project being a short film shown in 1999. Kodansha USA Publishing released the manga as a one-volume omnibus in August 2022.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime News Network News The Ribbon Hero Anime Film's Trailer Reveals 5 Cast Members, Previews English Dub
- Anime Corner THE RIBBON HERO Reveals Final Trailer and More Cast Ahead of Next Week’s Global Premiere
- OtakuKart Anime The Ribbon Hero Reveals Final Trailer Ahead of Netflix Premiere, Confirms New Voice Cast