Review: We Are Aliens at OIAF

Synopsis
In a rural town during the Heisei era, two boys meet. Tsubasa, who struggles with being “ordinary,” and Gyotaro, who is seen as “special.” As subtle distortions begin to creep into their everyday lives, an irreversible incident changes their relationship forever. Is this a story of youth? Or a memory that should never be revisited?

We Are Aliens, the directorial debut from Japanese filmmaker Kohei Kadowaki, is a beautifully animated and emotionally heavy coming-of-age drama. We meet the main characters in elementary school. Tsubasa is introverted and shy, while Gyotaro is outgoing and popular. Despite their differences, the two boys form an unlikely bond. As the years pass, miscommunication, changing social circles, and quiet resentments drive them apart. By charting their lives through alternating perspectives, the film explores the impact of lingering childhood trauma, alienation, and the vastly different paths two connected lives can take.

Kadowaki translates a fractured bond between childhood friends into a unique visual style. Hand-drawn animation captures how emotional memory often reshapes the past. The story is set against stark industrial backdrops and cinematic urban rain.

Explaining his decision to structure the story around these two contrasting lives and perspectives, Kadowaki notes: “In We Are Aliens, I wanted to share a personal perspective on life, society, and human relationships, while confronting the differing viewpoints that arise from them. It wasn’t simply about confronting a life where everything seems to succeed, against one that has come to a standstill.”

We Are Aliens screens as part of the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF), one of the world’s leading animation events and North America’s oldest festival of its kind. Celebrating its landmark 50th anniversary, this year’s festival runs from September 23 to September 27 across multiple venues in downtown Ottawa.

More info & links:

• Director: Kohei Kadowaki
• Writer: Kohei Kadowaki
• Cast: Ryôta Bandô, Harumi Edo, Yûto Maki
• We Are Aliens on IMDB

Jith Paul

Web Designer, Editor, Film Reviewer

Jith Paul is a communications professional, digital strategist, and filmmaker whose career spans digital systems, platform architecture, and cinematic storytelling. A Waterloo Engineering and Algonquin Television Broadcasting graduate, he founded Treepot Media and co-founded the Ottawa Canadian Film Festival. His award-winning films have screened internationally, including Algebra at Entr’2 marches in Cannes and A Clean Slate, winner of Best Short at Valle d’Itria in Italy. He leads film613, which celebrates local Ottawa–Outaouais screen culture.

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