It has been announced that actor and singer Mone Kamishiraishi will perform the theme song " Peleliu: Guernica of Paradise, " based on the manga by Kazuyoshi Takeda, which depicts the young people who lived on Peleliu Island, a fierce battlefield during the Pacific War. The music was composed by Kazuyo Suzuki, with lyrics by Kiyosaku of the band "MONGOL800." The official trailer was released on YouTube, showcasing the song. The official visual, depicting the protagonist, Hitoshi Tamaru, and his partner, Keisuke Yoshiki, with grim expressions on their faces, supporting each other amid the flames of war, was also released. The film will be released as an animated feature film on December 5, 2025, the 80th anniversary of the end of the war.
The trailer condenses the war-torn bond between Tamaru and Yoshiki, and the fierce battle on the paradise-like island, into about 90 seconds. Kamishiraishi commented, "I am very happy to be able to deliver this work to everyone along with the theme song at the end of the 80th year since the end of the war. Just listening to the song by Kazuyo Suzuki (composer) and Kiyosaku of MONGOL800 (lyricist) makes me feel the wind and waves of the island, and like a baton that connects to the present. I sang it with care, thinking about what happens after the film."
"After I heard about the role, I read the original work in one go. The characters felt very familiar to me, and it wasn't just a historical story, but a story about individual people just like us. I think even people who are seeing this work for the first time through the movie will fall in love with Tamaru and Yoshiki. I'm really looking forward to seeing Rihito Itagaki and Tomoya Nakamura pour their voices, breath, and souls into these two characters," he said.
"In the original work, Tamaru-kun repeatedly uses the phrase 'Look carefully and think' as if he is telling himself this, and I love those words. I hope that this film will inspire and help people to look carefully and think about the world, history and the future, just like Tamaru-kun. I think this film has a strong meaning of connecting, so I would be happy if I could connect with people who watch the film to the future together."
Rihito Itagaki, the voice actor for Tamaru, commented, "It's so gentle. When I first heard this song, so many things touched my heart. Tamaru, Yoshiki, all the people who fought on that island and those waiting for their return, everyone's thoughts, and the scenes of Peleliu Island. I would like to thank them for carefully weaving all of this together with the lyrics and melody. And above all, Mone Kamishiraishi's voice, which conveys this world to us, is gentle and warms the heart from the throat. Even as Tamaru, I felt like I had been saved. I am very much looking forward to feeling this song reverberate throughout the theater. Thank you so much for the wonderful theme song."
The story is set on Peleliu Island, the site of fierce fighting during the Pacific War, where 10,000 Japanese soldiers were sent and only 34 are said to have survived. It depicts the lives of young people living on the battlefield from the perspective of Tamaru, a soldier who aspires to be a manga artist. It was serialized in the manga magazine "Young Animal" (Hakusensha) from 2016 to 2021, and won the Excellence Award at the 46th Japan Cartoonists Association Awards in 2017. A spin-off, "Peleliu Gaiden," was also serialized.
The anime will be directed by Goro Kuji, known for "Madou Seihei no Slave," and produced by Shin-Ei Animation, known for "Doraemon" and "Crayon Shin-chan chan," and Fugaku, known for "Dog Signal." The original author, Takeda, and Junji Nishimura will be writing the script.
