There’s no denying that Tatsuki Fujimoto is a huge fan of cinema. The mangaka references the film industry, iconic movies and the impact they have on other people in his works all the time, and has even based many of the emotional beats in his manga around the power of filmmaking. Fujimoto’s love for horror and action films in particular have had a major impact on his smash-hit series Chainsaw Man, with the manga paying homage to filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino with panels meant to resemble wide framing shots and dialogue-heavy standoffs.
Considering Fujimoto’s love for film, it shouldn’t be surprising that the artist would latch onto and become inspired by films that catch his eye. Recently, Fujimoto uploaded a stunning illustration from Kohei Kadowaki’s brand-new film, We Are Aliens, a co-production from Nothing New and french studio Miyu Productions that’s officially scheduled for a theatrical release in late September 2026 after premiering at the Quinzaine des Cinéastes during the Cannes Festival in France and the Melbourne International Film Festival in Australia. Tatsuki Fujimoto’s commemorative illustration for the film was uploaded shortly after the film’s festival premiere, alongside an interview with Fujimoto and the film’s director on Nothing New’s YouTube channel.
While We Are Aliens hasn’t received a wide theatrical release just yet, the film, which was written, directed, and storyboarded by Kohei Kadowaki has all the makings of the exact type of film that would make it on an eccentric artist like Tatsuki Fujimoto’s radar. We Are Aliens follows two school-aged boys, Tsubasa and Gyotaro who become close friends all through elementary school before feelings of jealousy and an inevitable betrayal tear the two boys apart. As they grow into adulthood and make carve completely different futures for themselves, memories and events from their past pull them back together to face the past together. The film plays with dual perspectives, with the first act focusing on Tsubasa’s recollection of events before jumping to Gyotaro’s perspective, with the third act culminating in both of the boys, now men, trying to work through their past.
The film itself is beautifully animated, leaning into the unsettling and uncanny beauty that rotoscoping in a heavily anime-inspired art style. The style is almost reminiscent of the 2013 animated adaptation of Shuzo Oshimi’s Flowers of Evil. Unfortunately, as of writing, there’s been no information regarding whether We Are Aliens will be receiving a theatrical release in the United States, nor if the film will be released on streaming services like Crunchyroll and Netflix to be more accessible to those interested in seeing the film outside of Japan.
Tatsuki Fujimoto’s love for film has always served as an emotional throughline for his work, even serving as one of Chainsaw Man‘s driving factors in Part 1, with Makima’s behaviors and attempts at connecting to humanity being heavily tied to her love for movies. The first season of Chainsaw Man‘s anime adaptation also heavily plays with Fujimoto’s love for movies, with the opening, featuring the song “KICK BACK” by Kenshi Yonezu, being stuffed with fifteen unique film references in the sequence, including films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!, Fight Club, and Sadako vs. Kayako, among others.
That said, it’s amazing to see the mangaka taking more steps into the world of filmmaking and collaborating with newer directors like Kohei Kadowaki to assist in promoting their work to a wider audience that will appreciate what they’re setting out to create. Previously, Tatsuki Fujimoto also released a promotional illustration for the Japanese release of 2020’s sci-fi horror comedy Psycho Goreman from Steven Kostanski. Fujimoto has, of course, released special promotional art for the theatrical releases for the animated film adaptations of his own works: Look Back and Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc.
