Scarlet

Scarlet (果てしなきスカーレット, Hateshi naki Sukāretto) is a 2025 Japanese animated fantasy action film written and directed by Mamoru Hosoda, produced by Studio Chizu. The film features a timebending adventure with action and romance elements, centering on Scarlet, a sword-wielding princess from a medieval era who embarks on a quest for vengeance following the murder of her father.

The production of Scarlet spanned four and a half years, longer than Hosoda’s previous works, due to innovative digital animation techniques that enhanced facial expressions and character detail beyond traditional 2D or Hollywood-style CG methods. Studio Chizu produced the animation in collaboration with Sony Pictures and Nippon Television, with Yuichiro Saito, Toshimi Tanio, and Nozomu Takahashi credited as producers. Mamoru Hosoda aimed to deliver a visually detailed and immersive aesthetic, prioritizing a unique animation style that sets it apart from conventional anime.

The voice cast includes Mana Ashida as Scarlet, Masaki Okada as Hijiri, Koji Yakusho as Claudius, Kazuhiro Yamaji as Polonius, Tokio Emoto as Laertes, Munetaka Aoki as Rosencrantz, and Shota Sometani as Guildenstern, among others. These performances bring life to a story where Scarlet, after failing in her mission and being fatally injured in a surreal world, encounters a young man from the present day who helps her recover and offers a vision of a future free from vengeance. Faced again with her father’s killer, Scarlet confronts the ultimate challenge: breaking the cycle of hatred and finding meaning beyond revenge.

Scarlet had its world premiere out of competition at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on September 4, 2025. It is set for theatrical release in Japan on November 21, 2025, distributed by Toho. Internationally, Sony Pictures Classics will handle the North American release with an awards-qualifying run in late 2025, followed by a wider release on February 6, 2026, while Columbia Pictures retains distribution rights in other territories.

Critics have praised the film’s visual achievements, with Matthew Joseph Jenner of International Cinephile Society noting it as “an accomplished visual and aural achievement,” and IndieWire highlighting the film’s baroque fantasy visuals, though noting the narrative as less memorable. Scarlet combines fantasy, action, and romance with cutting-edge animation, marking a significant entry in contemporary Japanese animated cinema.