Queued Up: Bubble

Take two parts Attack on Titan, one part Weathering with You, sprinkle in some high-octane parkour action, mix well, and you’ve got Bubble, the new anime film coming exclusively to Netflix. Before it lands on the platform however, it will be screened at the Berlin International Film Festival, Berlinale, in the Generation 14plus category.

The film takes place in Tokyo, but not the one we’re used to. The once-bustling metropolis has been cut off from the rest of the world, and mysterious bubbles that fall from the sky have thrown the city’s gravity for a loop. Everything that Isaac Newton taught us has gone out the window: Up is down, down is up, and leaping from buildings in a single bound is no longer just for superheroes. Oh, and half the city is now underwater.

This topsy-turvy landscape makes new Tokyo a perfect place to practice parkour, and teams skilled in the fast-paced urban sport have emerged to engage in battles around the city. Among Tokyo’s parkour hotshots is Hibiki, whose reckless style sends him plummeting into the sea. Luckily for Hibiki, he’s saved by a girl with mysterious powers named Uta — and their chance encounter soon leads to a revelation that will change the world.

Bubble has been hotly anticipated by anime fans since it was announced, in no small part because of its incredible lineup of talent. At the helm is Tetsuro Araki, the director known for series like Death Note, Attack on Titan, and Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress. Speaking of Death Note, the film features character designs by Takeshi Obata, the illustrator behind the original Death Note manga. It’s written by Gen Urobuchi, the lauded screenwriter who has penned popular series like Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Psycho-Pass. And providing the soundtrack is Hiroyuki Sawano, whose booming, epic soundtracks have been featured in titles such as Attack on Titan and Promare. In short, Bubble is being produced by a team of anime all-stars. And it’s being animated by WIT Studio, the team behind hits like Attack on Titan and Great Pretender, so it’s no surprise the film looks absolutely stunning.

There’s plenty of talent on the other side of the camera (or microphones, rather) as well. The cast includes anime fan favorites like Yûki Kaji (Attack on Titan, The Seven Deadly Sins), Mamoru Miyano (Zombie Land Saga, Free!) and Tasuku Hatanaka (Ushio & Tora, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress) plus Jun Shison, a popular actor known for his roles in live-action films like The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window and It’s a Flickering Life, as Hibiki.

Where exactly did these gravity-altering bubbles come from? What do Hibiki and Uta discover, and how will it change the world? And what was behind the explosion that destroyed Tokyo Tower in the trailer? The answers to those questions — and a whole lot of propulsive parkour action — will be leaping onto a screen near you soon.