{"rewrite":{"id":"r_822c1ba785515c69de116369","clusterId":"c_8a6a07fb372db25b49823f14","slug":"kadowaki-says-we-are-aliens-draws-on-his-own-childhood","model":"deepseek-v4-flash","headline":"Kadowaki Says 'We Are Aliens' Draws On His Own Childhood","summary":"Director Kohei Kadowaki's feature \"We Are Aliens\" opens September 25, following Tsubasa, a shy boy, and Akitaro, a class idol, across a 30-year friendship in a rural Heisei-era town. Kadowaki, born in 1996, wrote and directed the film. He says roughly 20 to 30 percent of its episodes come from his own experience, including a first-love episode.","whyItMatters":"Kadowaki's account puts the film's festival attention on a specific method rather than a premise: a story assembled backward from one mid-film turn, with emotion paced like a roller coaster.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eKadowaki had no experience directing TV anime before this film. He studied design at Tokyo University of the Arts, joined an animation production company, went independent, and built a career on stage visuals, commercials, and music videos before taking on \u0026#34;We are Aliens\u0026#34; as planner, screenwriter, and director.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe film was submitted to the 79th Cannes International Film Festival\u0026#39;s Directors\u0026#39; Fortnight and selected for the feature competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2026. Kadowaki met producer Hayashi four years ago and the two decided to make a feature. He says the mid-film development came first, and he built the first half around it.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Kohei Kadowaki puts 20 to 30 percent of 'We Are Aliens' episodes in his own life, including the first-love one. A film covering a 30-year friendship still leans on the director's memory for its specifics.","twitterPost":"Kohei Kadowaki wrote 'We Are Aliens' from memory: 20 to 30 percent of its episodes are his own life, first love included.","threadsPost":"The 30-year friendship in 'We Are Aliens' is where the plot lives, but Kohei Kadowaki says 20 to 30 percent of the episodes are lifted from his own life, the first-love one among them. For a Heisei-era town story, the specificity comes from memory, not research.","newsletterBlurb":"Kohei Kadowaki's \"We are Aliens\" opens September 25, following two boys across a 30-year friendship in a rural Heisei-era town. Kadowaki, who wrote and directed, says roughly 20 to 30 percent of its episodes come from his own childhood, including a first-love episode. He built the script outward from a single mid-film turn to control the film's emotional rhythm.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Anime Anime\",\"url\":\"https://animeanime.jp/article/2026/09/15/102966.html\",\"title\":\"Influenced by \\\"Doraemon\\\" and \\\"Naruto\\\"? Cannes-Acclaimed Film \\\"We are Aliens\\\" Director Kohei Kadowaki on How to Make a Nostalgic Coming-of-Age Anime [Interview]\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4656,"outputTokens":652,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1789466391,"createdAt":"2026-09-15T09:57:09.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-09-15T09:58:25.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-15T09:58:25.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_8a6a07fb372db25b49823f14","canonicalTitle":"『ドラえもん』『NARUTO』に影響を受けた？ カンヌも認めた映画『我々は宇宙人』門脇康平監督が語る、青春ノスタルジーアニメの作り方【インタビュー】","representativeArticleId":"a_71b5b56d8c4367d7b622f353","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[\"We Are Aliens\"],\"manga_titles\":[\"Doraemon\",\"Naruto\"],\"work_titles\":[],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[\"Kohei Kadowaki\"],\"type\":\"review\",\"domain\":\"anime\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-09-15T09:00:04.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-09-15T09:00:04.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-15T09:58:21.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Anime Anime","url":"https://animeanime.jp/article/2026/09/15/102966.html","title":"『ドラえもん』『NARUTO』に影響を受けた？ カンヌも認めた映画『我々は宇宙人』門脇康平監督が語る、青春ノスタルジーアニメの作り方【インタビュー】"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":["We Are Aliens"],"manga_titles":["Doraemon","Naruto"],"work_titles":[],"studios":[],"people":["Kohei Kadowaki"],"type":"review","domain":"anime","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}