On Sunday, Netflix shared the news that it will be streaming the original anime film created by Mari Okada and MAPPA, titled "Alice to Therese no Maboroshi Kōjō" (Alice and Therese’s Illusory Factory), under the title "maboroshi" starting from January 15. Additionally, Netflix unveiled a teaser and an exclusive visual for the film.
This cinematic work made its debut in Japan on September 15 and features standout performances by Junya Enoki, who portrays the 14-year-old protagonist Masamune Kikuiri, Reina Ueda as Masamune's classmate Mutsumi Sagami, and Misaki Kuno as the mysterious girl Itsumi.
The plot follows Masamune, a third-year high school student living in a city frozen in time due to a sudden explosion in a steel factory that blocked all exits. In an effort to return to normalcy, residents are forbidden from changing their daily routine, trapped in a bleak existence. One day, Mutsumi, Masamune's mysterious classmate, leads him to the fifth blast furnace of the steelworks, where they encounter a girl as wild as a wolf and unable to speak. This encounter disrupts the delicate balance of the world, unleashing the unstoppable "love impulse" of young people tired of their monotonous daily lives and threatening to destroy the world as they know it.
The film, written and directed by Okada, was originally announced by MAPPA in 2021, with Okada credited for the original work. Additionally, Okada wrote a supplementary novel released by Kadokawa Bunko on June 13.
In the creative team, Tadashi Hiramatsu took on the role of assistant director, while Yuriko Ishii (known for works like Another and Persona -trinity soul-) designed the characters and supervised the animation. Kazuki Higashiji (with involvement in works like Angel Beats!, Hanasaku Iroha – Blossoms for Tomorrow, and The Piano Forest) was in charge of art direction. All these collaborators previously worked on Okada's film "Maquia – When the Promised Flower Blooms." The musical composition was handled by Masaru Yokoyama (contributing to works like Her Blue Sky and Horimiya). The film's distribution was done by Warner Bros. The renowned singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima performed the film's main theme, titled "Shin-on" (Heartbeat).
