Suzu is a 17-year-old high-school student living in a rural town with her father. Wounded by the loss of her mother at a young age, Suzu one day discovers the massive online world "U" and dives into this alternate reality as her avatar, Belle. Before long, all of U's eyes are fixed on Belle, when, suddenly, a mysterious, dragon-like figure appears before her.
Direction
Hosoda's virtual world is jaw-droppingly gorgeous.
Score
Kaho Nakamura's voice will shatter your heart.
Writing
Deftly weaves Beauty and the Beast into something raw.
Director
Mamoru Hosoda
Kaho Nakamura
Suzu Naito / Belle (voice)
Ryo Narita
Shinobu Hisatake (voice)
Shota Sometani
Shinjiro 'Kamishin' Chikami (voice)
Tina Tamashiro
Ruka Watanabe (voice)
Lilas Ikuta
Hiroka 'Hiro' Betsuyaku (voice)
Ryoko Moriyama
Yoshitani (voice)
Michiko Shimizu
Kita (voice)
Fuyumi Sakamoto
Okumoto (voice)
Yoshimi Iwasaki
Nakai (voice)
Sachiyo Nakao
Hatanaka (voice)
Toshiyuki Morikawa
Justin (voice)
Mamoru Miyano
Muitaro Hitokawa / Guttokoraemaru (voice)
Sumi Shimamoto
Suzu's Mother (voice)
Koji Yakusho
Suzu's Father (voice)
Ken Ishiguro
Kei and Tomo's Father (voice)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Hosoda recruited 200 real internet creators to design background avatars in U, making it genuinely crowdsourced.
JP
