Studio Chizu revealed on Wednesday that the role of the main character Suzu in the upcoming Mamoru Hosoda movie “Belle” will be played by the Japanese singer-songwriter Kaho Nakamura.

In addition, Nakamura will also be the voice actor of Belle, who appears in Suzu’s huge Internet world of “U”. She will also be in charge of the song in the movie;which is the core of the story.

Director Hosoda knew Nakamura from her live concerts  in Nara. and was impressed by Nakamura’s song “Sono Inochi”. When looking for the role of Suzu, Nakamura enthusiastically auditioned and Mr. Hosoda was overwhelmed by her singing voice, claiming he has found his main character “Suzu”.

Previously announced cast for “The Dragon and the Freckled Princess” included:

• Ryō Narita as Shinobu Hisatake
• Shōta Sometani as Shinjirō Chikami
• Tina Tamashiro as Ruka Watanabe
• Rira Ikuta as Hiroka Betsuyaku
• Toshiyuki Morikawa as Justian
• Kenjiro Tsuda as Jelinek
• Mami Koyama as Swan
• Mamoru Miyano plays both Muitarō Hitokawa and Tokoraemaru

Studio Chizu also revealed the members of the choir recently:

• Sachio Nakao as Hatanaka
• Fuyumi Sakamoto as Okumoto
• Ryoko Moriyama as Yoshitani
• Yoshimi Iwasaki as Nakai
• Michiko Shimizu as Kita

Furthermore, veteran actor Koji Yakusho has also joined the cast of “Belle” to voice the protagonist Suzu’s father. This will be the third time he has voiced a character in a Mamoru Hosoda film after The Boy and the Beast (2015) as Kumatetsu and Mirai (2018) as The grandfather. Yakusho is 65 years old.

The film will open in Japan on July 16 to commemorate Studio Chizu’s 10th anniversary.

“Ryu to Soba Kasumi no Hime” depicts a 17-year-old high school girl, Suzu, who lives with her father in a depopulated rural town of Kochi. Suzu lost her mother in an accident and has a big wound in her heart. She enters the huge Internet world called “U” and joins with an avatar name Belle. As she continues to showcase her own music in the virtual world, she fast becomes the rising star of “U.”

Source: MANTAN, Comic Natalie