Sci-Fi Anime Film AS ONE Set for Summer 2025 Release in Japan!

A brand-new sci-fi anime feature film, AS ONE, was officially announced today and is set to premiere in Japan in summer 2025. Alongside the announcement, the film’s official website and X account launched, unveiling early concept art and two image board visuals.

Based on Square Enix's arcade game Starwing Paradox, which debuted in Japan in November 2018, AS ONE will serve as a prequel, unfolding 20 years before the game’s events.

The film boasts an impressive creative team, with Kobun Shizuno (Detective Conan film series) directing and Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Neon Genesis Evangelion, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) designing the characters. Notably, all characters in the film will be entirely redesigned from the game.

"This film is a prequel leading up to the epic story of the original game, which tells a story that will deeply immerse not only the fans who went wild at the arcade, but also those who are completely unfamiliar with the original," said Shizuno. "The story centers on the melody played by the protagonist (Yoh). When his voice transcends time and space to reach Meguriboshi (another planet far away from Earth), many mysteries that were not told in the original story are revealed. The secret of Rearide, the untold story of the birth of Aerial and the profound relationship between Meguriboshi and the Earth... Generations who came into contact with the original game at the arcade will be moved by the coexistence of nostalgia and new discoveries, and those who are unfamiliar with the original will presage the beginning of an epic story. We hope you will surrender yourself to the music played by the main characters and experience an epic story that transcends time and space at the theater!"

"It has been a long time since I have participated in a theatrical feature film," added Sadamoto. "With a director I am working with for the first time and many new challenges, I believe this will be an exciting film in every aspect. I hope you will all look forward to it with great anticipation."