Anime

October 16, 2025

Peleliu: Paradise Lost – Exclusive Trailer and Theme Song Preview

Unveiling the Trailer and Visuals for Peleliu: Guernica of Paradise

The official website for the highly anticipated anime film adaptation of Kazuyoshi Takeda’s manga, Peleliu: Guernica of Paradise, revealed an exciting new trailer and key visual on Thursday. The trailer introduces and showcases the film’s theme song, “Kiseki no Yō na Koto” (Something Like a Miracle), performed by Mone Kamishiraishi.

The film features a stellar cast, with Rihito Itagaki portraying the kindhearted manga artist Hiroshi Tamaru, and Tomoya Nakamura playing his loyal sidekick, Keisuke Yoshiki. The movie is set to hit theaters in Japan on December 5.

Gorō Kuji, known for his work on Chained Soldier and as an episode director for The Fire Hunter, is at the helm of this project. The film is being produced by Shinei Animation and Fugaku. The screenplay is co-written by Junji Nishimura, who has previously worked on notable series like A Lull in the Sea, True Tears, and GLASSLIP, along with the original manga creator, Kazuyoshi Takeda. Toei will handle the distribution of the film.

The anime adaptation was first announced in April 2021, and the anticipation has been building ever since. The manga, which the film is based on, was launched in Young Animal in 2016 with story cooperation from historian Masao Hiratsuka. The main series concluded in April 2021 after 11 volumes and was nominated for the 25th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2021. It also won an award at the 46th Japan Cartoonist Awards in 2017.

Set during the Battle of Peleliu in World War II, the manga delves into the lives of soldiers stationed on the island of Peleliu in Palau. The story unfolds in the summer of 1944, amidst a prolonged battle between Japan’s 10,000 troops and the U.S.’s 50,000 troops. The narrative explores the themes of what soldiers fight for when they are far from home, set against the backdrop of a paradise with coral reefs and lush forests.

The manga has also inspired a spinoff titled Peleliu Gaiden, which began serialization in Hakusensha’s Young Animal magazine in March 2022. This spinoff is scheduled to conclude with its fourth volume around July 2025.