All You Need Is Kill's Anime Trailer Is Breathtaking

"The time loop novel told the story of Keiji Kiriya, who had recently joined the United Defense Force to help battle an alien race called the Mimics. The war is not going well, and like so many, Keiji appears to be killed on his very first mission. Except, for some reason, he wakes up to find himself back at the start of the same day, Groundhog Day style."

"This movie, however, flips the script, focusing on Rita's perspective of the events, where we see her early experiences of the time loop as she's repeatedly killed by a giant alien flower, and her eventual discovery of Keiji's involvement. It's due to release in Japan on January 9, and then come to the U.S. by January 16, distributed by GKIDS, the company that released The Boy and the Heron in 2024."

All You Need Is Kill originates as a 2004 Japanese light novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka and inspired the live-action film Edge of Tomorrow. Kenichiro Akimoto directs a new anime adaptation that adheres more closely to the source material and premieres in Japan on January 9, with a U.S. release via GKIDS on January 16. The narrative centers on soldier Keiji Kiriya's Groundhog Day-style loop and in the anime shifts focus to Rita Vrataski's experience, showing her repeated deaths by a giant alien and her discovery of Keiji. The trailer features striking mixed-media visuals and a brief first-person moment, and early festival responses were positive.

Read at Kotaku