Anime Movie The Ribbon Hero Main Visual & Trailer Released, Starring Saaya

It has been announced that The Ribbon Hero, an original anime movie based on Osamu Tezuka's manga Princess Knight, will be released exclusively worldwide on Netflix starting Saturday, August 8, 2026. Along with this, the main visual, the first trailer, and the cast for the main character, Sapphire, have been revealed.

This feature-length animation film depicts the story of a girl who decides to fight against her cruel fate. Saaya, from the comedy duo Laland, will voice the protagonist Sapphire, marking her first voice acting role in a feature-length production.

Yūki Igarashi, who directed the ending sequence for the first season of Jujutsu Kaisen and Star Wars: Visions (“Lop and Ochō”), will serve as the director, making this his first feature-length directorial work. The original character designs are handled by Kei Mochizuki, known for character designs in titles such as Fate/Grand Order. Mai Yoneyama, who directed the ending sequence for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, joins as the original character design assistant, with Issei Arakaki as the animation character designer and Cédric Hérole as the art director. The animation production will be handled by OUTLINE, a studio led by Igarashi.

The released main visual prominently features the transformed Sapphire holding a sword, with her pre-transformed self and three new characters positioned in the center. The first trailer opens with the grim state of the kingdom and Sapphire's painful cry, capturing her journey up to the point where she gains the power to transform and stands up to fight.