Over 100 years, ‘our hero’ becomes a J-pop idol, an outcast, and an oracle in Jinsei, a sweeping, hand-drawn anime odyssey from director Ryuya Suzuki.
The film compresses a century of existence into one singular narrative, following a protagonist voiced by ACE COOL alongside a wide ensemble including Taketo Tanaka, Shohei Uno, and Tsubaki Nekoze.
Jinsei premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and screened at the New York Asian Film Festival, where it was part of the Uncaged competition. It is slated to be released in US cinemas by Greenwich Entertainment, starting with a limited theatrical release beginning June 5, 2026, in New York at IFC Center, before expanding nationwide on June 12.
Our hero (voiced by rapper ACE COOL), called by a different name in each chapter of his life, becomes a J-pop idol, an outcast, a leader, and an oracle in this hundred-year chronicle spanning the past, present, and future. Through a chance encounter with a transfer student, he trains to become an idol, starting his search for self-identity and a journey toward greatness beyond superstardom.
Written, directed, edited, and entirely hand-drawn by newcomer Ryuya Suzuki over eighteen months, JINSEI (meaning “life” in Japanese) is an anime tour-de-force that announces Suzuki to the world as a bold new talent in independent animation.
“I wanted to show the sorrowful beauty of life through this protagonist and the people he encounters. I poured everything into this—my own childhood admiration for idols, my anxieties about the world, the things I want to celebrate, and the things I want to tear down. Even as an ‘unknown’ myself, I wanted to take this challenge,” said director Ryuya Suzuki.
In his review, critic James Hadfield for The Japan Times described the film as “a work of true vision,” and noted that the “one-man indie wonder is a work of true vision.”
Watch the official trailer for Jinsei above.
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