What Is Animmersive Live, a New Form of Stage? Press Preview Report on Belle - PROJECT LAYRA - Featuring miwa's Performance

Animmersive Live "Belle - PROJECT LAYRA -" has been running since October 10, 2026, at MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives Box1000 in Tokyo. Billed as "Animmersive," a fusion of anime and immersive entertainment, the show is said to offer a new kind of experience in which audiences become one with the world of the work.

This article presents comments from the cast and from Mamoru Hosoda, who wrote, directed, and created the original work for the anime film Belle, taken from a press preview that included the dress rehearsal held ahead of the performances.

Immersive entertainment, in which audiences step inside a story world, has become increasingly well known. Some immersive experiences combine it with VR and AR, but with "Animmersive," which blends anime and immersive elements, audiences are said to enjoy the live show as if immersed in the world of Belle, the work that inspired it.

In "Belle - PROJECT LAYRA -," the story unfolds in U, where the diva "Belle" has stopped appearing. To launch a new artist, "LAYRA," the largest music festival in U's history, "Utopia," is held, and the audience takes part in it.

At the venue, MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives Box1000, which is directly connected to Takanawa Gateway Station, visuals are shown not only on the front screen but also on the side screens. Audience members' own smartphones are also incorporated into the staging, and anticipation was high for what kind of live show was about to begin.

LAYRA and the others appear at "Utopia," and the audience cheers on the live show unfolding in the virtual world. The story develops from there: LAYRA, having unveiled herself, becomes "Kotomi," her "Origin," and miwa, who plays the role, appears on the real-world stage. A live performance that transcends the boundary between virtual and real begins.

Under the audience's gaze, the virtual LAYRA and Kotomi, played by miwa on stage, synced up and performed the songs "Watashi wa LAYRA" and "Anata e." The performance brought together visuals, dance, and singing.

Using audio synchronization, audience members' smartphones played sounds matched to the unfolding story to create a sense of presence, and they also lit up like penlights in time with the live show, heightening the sense of unity in the venue.

After the dress rehearsal, four of the five singers who play LAYRA/Kotomi in the performances, including miwa but not Konomi Suzuki, took the stage together with director Mamoru Hosoda and others. After a photo session, they shared their comments.

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