A world where only the chosen are meant to work: trailer released for dark dystopia from the director of “One-Punch Man” and studio Madhouse

“Ghost” will be the first original feature-length work by Shingo Natsume.

Bandai Namco Filmworks has presented a new trailer and poster for the anime film “Ghost” (ghost — end of night). The story takes place in the near future, where technology has freed people from the necessity to work. Now people’s destinies are determined by the virtual reality network “Altverse”: at the age of 18, the system decides whether a person is needed by society. Those who fail the selection are left to search for the meaning of life on their own.

The protagonist, Nike, passed the selection back when she was 15, but even among the chosen ones, she feels like an outsider. She works at an observatory and is responsible for the “Starry Sky”—a corner of the “Altverse” reminiscent of the afterlife. The girl dreams of making it flawlessly beautiful, though she still does not truly understand what beauty means to her.

One day, Nike notices a star born from the memories of a deceased person. It leads her to Masu, a man who, following the death of his family, lives merely by inertia and continues covering his body in tattoos. Meeting him makes Nike take a fresh look at what is genuinely valuable in her world.

Studio Madhouse (“Hunter × Hunter”) is handling the animation. The director’s chair was taken by Shingo Natsume, known for the first season of “One-Punch Man” and Sonny Boy. He also wrote the screenplay for the film, which will be his debut in the original feature-length format.

“Ghost” will hit Japanese theaters on February 11, 2027.