Still remember the magical feeling you had after watching Summer Wars, Wolf Children or The Girl Who Leapt Through Time? Mamoru Hosoda, the creator of these wonderful films, is back to bring you yet another magical experience with his newest animation film – BELLE (竜とそばかすの姫; “The Dragon and Freckled Princess”).

The 122-minute animated spectacle made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival in July 2021, sweeping audiences with the journey of an adolescent girl living in the digital age. BELLE’s futuristic art design is helmed by a team of veteran designers and animators.

We had the pleasure to have a preview of BELLE before its public screening, and we sure are fascinated by the visuals. Alongside the brilliant visuals, viewers can also look forward to the beautifully composed OST – some of which have already taken social media sites by storm. millennium parade’s music video for BELLE’s opening track, “U”, has amassed 30 million views since it was uploaded in July. BELLE proves to be an audial masterpiece that is sure to tug at heartstrings.

BELLE tells the story of Suzu Naito, who is an unremarkable teen crippled by childhood trauma,.but is also an exceptional singer-celebrity known as Belle in the virtual world of “U”. On the other hand, there is another mysterious existence within the virtual world known only as “The Beast”, and its monstrous strength and burning rage shakes the world of “U”. The story unfolds as Belle and “The Beast” meet.

Through BELLE, Hosoda aims to tackle difficult topics including mental wellness and female empowerment. It is interesting to see how Hosoda portrays these topics through the different characters of the film. Apart from Suzu and “The Beast”, the side characters are really loveable too. For those who want to know more about the story, we do suggest you give the novel a read too.

BELLE will premiere in Singapore on 18 November. However, for those who can’t wait or want to walk away with some goodies, there will be a fans’ screening on 13 November.

BELLE Fans’ Screening
Date: 13 November 2021, Saturday
Time: 1.00PM /1.30PM / 2.00PM
Location: GV Plaza (Plaza Singapura)
Ticket Price: $38 (Member) / $40 (Public)
Includes an exclusive Desktop Acrylic Stand and Movie Poster
BELLE Singapore Site: https://l.purpleplan.com/Belle

Also good news to you guys who are reading this because we will be giving away some tickets to the fan screening that is happening on 13 November! Simply comment at the Facebook post to answer a simple question, and you might just walk away with a pair of the fan screening tickets!

1) Like Anime Festival Asia on Facebook
2) Share the contest post publicly on your timeline
3) Comment on the contest post with the answer to this question:
“Who is the director of BELLE?”

The giveaway ends on 10th November 2021 at 23:59 SGT. The winners will be contacted via DM* by AFA’s Facebook page staff by 11th November 2021. This giveaway is only applicable to participants residing in Singapore.

Hope you enjoyed our review of the movie and good luck to those participating in the movie ticket giveaway. Let us know what you think after watching the movie too!

*When winners are contacted via direct messaging, they consent to share their personal information with us, agree to the SOZO privacy policy, and consent to SOZO transferring your Personal Data outside of Singapore for any of the purposes as listed. For the complete T&C, please visit afastation.com.