GKIDS announced on Tuesday that it has acquired the North American rights to Cocoon – One Summer of Girlhood (cocoon Aru Natsu no Shōjo-tachi Yori), the anime adaptation of Machiko Kyō‘s manga of the same name.
Release Plans
The anime will open in North American theaters on September 4, screening in Japanese with English subtitles as well as in an English dub. Prior to the wide release, GKIDS will present the North American premiere at this year’s JAPAN CUTS festival in July. A home video release is also planned.
In Japan, the anime originally aired on BS-NHK in March 2025, followed by a broadcast on NHK General that August.
Staff and Cast
The anime was directed by Yukimitsu Ina, known as animation director on Tatami Time Machine Blues. Music was composed by kensuke ushio, whose credits include A Silent Voice, Chainsaw Man, and DAN DA DAN. Hitomi Tateno, a veteran animator from Studio Ghibli, served as animation producer, with Sasayuri handling production.
The voice cast features Hikari Mitsushima as Mayu and Marika Itō as San.
Story
Set on a lush southern island, the story follows best friends San and Mayu, students at the island’s prestigious all-girls school. When war reaches their country, the girls are drawn into the war effort — eventually tending to wounded soldiers behind the front lines — and begin losing their friends one by one as the conflict grows ever more devastating.
Kyō originally published the manga in 2010, marking 65 years since the end of World War II. The anime’s 2025 debut coincides with the 80th anniversary of the war’s end. Viz Media holds the North American manga license.
Creator’s Other Works
Kyō also created Mitsuami no Kami-sama, serialized in Shueisha’s now-defunct Jump X magazine in 2013, with a single compiled volume released the same year. The manga won an award at the 18th Annual Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize in March 2014. It inspired a 28-minute short anime film, Pigtails, produced by Production I.G, which made its international debut at the WorldFest Houston International Film Festival in April 2016, winning the Platinum Remi Award in the Classic Cel Animation category. The film also took the Diamond Award in the Animated Film category at the 2016 California Film Awards.
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