GKIDS announced that it has acquired the North American rights for the cocoon – One Summer of Girlhood wartime drama anime. The anime will be released in North American theaters in its original Japanese with English subtitles and English dub, beginning on September 4, 2026.
© Machiko Kyo (AKITASHOTEN) / NHK, NEP
The theatrical screenings will feature a special behind-the-scenes look with music composer Kensuke Ushio (Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc) at his process for composing the anime’s score.
GKIDS will also announce plans for a home entertainment release later this year, as well as an English dub cast.
Cocoon – One Summer of Girlhood first debuted in Japan on March 30, 2025 and had its main broadcast on NHK General TV on August 25, 2025. It will make its North American premiere this coming July at the JAPAN CUTS film festival, hosted by New York City-based Japan Society.
Ina Yukimitsu directed the anime adaptation at Sasayuri, which handled the animation production.
Meanwhile, the anime’s voice cast stars:
- • Hikari Mitsushima as Mayu
- • Marika Ito as San
- • Yoko Hikasa as Tamaki
- • Rena Motomura as Hina
- • Chinatsu Akasaki as Mari
- • Aoi Koga as Yuri
- • Yume Miyamoto as Kaede
- • Miyuki Sawashiro as Kaho
- • Umeka Shoji as Teacher
- • Izumi Aoyagi as Shiho
Machiko Kyo’s Cocoon manga was serialized in Akita Shoten’s Elegance Eve from March 26, 2009 to May 27, 2010. The series was collected into a single book volume and released in Japan in August 2010. The series was published again as a single tankobon volume in April 2015, which includes a side story. VIZ Media licensed the manga for English release and it was recently nominated for “Best One-Shot Manga” at the third American Manga Awards.
NHK stated when the anime was announced in June 2023 that it was meant to serve as a thought-provoking work about war, and noted that 2025 marked the 80th year since the end of World War II.
GKIDS describes the main synopsis of cocoon – One Summer of Girlhood as:
San and Mayu attend an all-girls school on a warm and tranquil island. When war reaches their shores, they are ordered to help nurse the wounded in a military hospital hidden away in a cave. Amidst escalating death and brutality, the friends struggle to find solace in their fragile lives.
Source: press release
