During Anime Expo 2026, CloverWorks announced that the upcoming original film Grotesqqque will open in theaters on November 6 in Japan. Grotesqqque will make its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal from July 16 to August 2. What’s more, a new key visual and official trailer were released, with the latter featuring the opening theme song “Shoot Shoot Shoot” by METALVERSE.
The cast of the movie includes:
- Chika Anzai
- Kana Ichinose
- Miku Ichinose
- Nagi Inoue
- Maaya Uchida
- Rumi Ōkubo
- Rie Kugimiya
- Nao Tomisato
- Miyu Tomita
- Aruno Nakanishi
- Ikumi Hasegawa
- Saori Hayami
- Gen Hoshino
- Sara Minami
Miku Ichinose, Nagi Inoue, Nao Tomisato, and Aruno Nakanishi are members of the Japanese idol group Nogizaka 46.
The film will be an omnibus combining three stories, each with their own themes and outlook. All three stories will also have their own unique characters.
From Aeliens:
- Ellie
- Kento Kurikura
From 4649 Girl (4649 is a pun on the Japanese “yoroshiku”, translating to Nice to Meet You Girl):
- Stella
- Unknown (Nanashi)
- Hikarin
- Gorgeous Mika
- Sword
- Chiffon
- Papico
- Poyomi
From Nocturne: Kono Grotesque na Yoru ni (Nocturne on This Grotesque Night):
- Ayame
- Shion
- Momo
- Canna
Atsushi Nishigori will direct Grotesqqque, along with both writing the screenplay and designing the characters. JOEN are co-producing, the company created by the film’s distributor Aniplex, WIT Studio, and Shueisha. Yūichi Fukushima from CloverWorks and Tetsuya Nakatake from WIT Studio are representative directors for JOEN. Grotesqque was originally revealed as Grotesque and slated for a 2025 release, but was later pushed back to 2026.
Nishigori is known for directing Darling in the FranXX and The iDOLM@STER, as well as his key animation and animation direction on a variety of projects. In 2008, he won the Tokyo Anime Award for Character Design for his work on Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
