The second Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dear Friend trailer went up on the Aniplex Channel on August 30, 2026. It runs 94 seconds, confirms the October 16 Japanese release, and does something the June trailer carefully avoided: it stops asking who Tōko Kirishima is and flat-out tells you she’s the person who rewrote the world.
Trailer via the Aniplex Channel (アニプレックス チャンネル) on YouTube. The trailer is in Japanese with no English subtitles, so the English versions of the on-screen text below are our translations.
Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dear Friend: The Facts
Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dear Friend is the next Aobuta movie, adapting the fifteenth and final novel in Hajime Kamoshida’s light-novel series. It opens in Japanese theatres on October 16, 2026, with the core TV staff and cast back. This second trailer is its first new promo since June.
| Detail | Confirmed |
|---|---|
| Japanese release | October 16, 2026 (Friday) |
| Advance screening | October 4, 2026, Shinjuku Wald 9, Tokyo, with cast (per Anime News Network) |
| Original work | Hajime Kamoshida (Dengeki Bunko), illustrations by Keji Mizoguchi |
| Director | Sōichi Masui |
| Script / series composition | Masahiro Yokotani |
| Character design | Satomi Tamura |
| Music | fox capture plan |
| Animation production | CloverWorks |
| Distribution | ANIMEC (as credited on screen) |
| Theme song | “Suihei-sen wa Boku no Furukizu finale”, performed by the character Tōko Kirishima |
| Trailer runtime | 94 seconds |
Now It Opens on the Concert
The June trailer opened on the ANIMEC and Aniplex logos. This one skips straight to a concert: a silver-haired performer alone at a microphone under stage lights, then a pull back to a packed arena. The distributor logo doesn’t show up until about ten seconds in.
Then the first title card arrives: 「この日、世界が書き換わった」, “On this day, the world was rewritten.” It’s in the past tense, laid over the concert that just happened. June’s version of that card read 「SNSで拡散される 現実になる夢」, “dreams that become reality, spread across social media.” One is a premise. The other is something that has already happened.
From “Who Is She?” to “It Was Her”
The clearest difference between the two trailers is how much they’ll say about Tōko Kirishima. In June she was a mystery. This time, less than half a minute in, the trailer puts her name on a white card and tells you what she did. Both cards use the same typeface and the same white background, so the swap feels deliberate.
Aniplex’s own YouTube description for the new trailer spells out the shift. Its prologue opens with 「実は、私が霧島透子なんです」, “actually, I am Tōko Kirishima,” and goes on to describe the reveal that the hugely popular net singer is really the national actress Mai Sakurajima. That part comes from Aniplex’s description, not the footage.
Wait, That’s Not the New Theme Song
Here’s a detail that’s easy to mix up. Anime News Network reports that the second trailer announces and previews the film’s theme song, “Suihei-sen wa Boku no Furukizu finale” (“The Horizon Is My Old Wound: Finale”), sung in character by Tōko Kirishima. But the only music credit that actually appears on screen names a different song.
A little before the halfway point, a small caption in the lower third reads 霧島透子「Turn The World Upside Down」. That’s the insert song the June trailer previewed, per Anime News Network’s June 15 report on the first trailer. There’s no second music caption anywhere else, so the new theme song is never credited on screen.
The New Footage (and One Shot Fans Will Argue About)
The back half is where the new material lives. June’s winter and city shots are gone, replaced by something quieter and a lot more domestic.
New this time: a big rabbit mascot costume, green-tinted night scenes in a park, the close-up above where one hand holds another with a ring clearly visible on the finger, two people walking hand in hand, a long night sequence by the sea with city lights behind, and a character sprinting. The trailer also brings back June’s card 「これが最後の“思春期症候群”」, “this is the last Adolescence Syndrome,” but moves it twenty seconds later.
The closing shot is new too, and the trailer holds it for four full seconds, longer than any other shot: a long-haired character in a pink cardigan standing in front of the sea at dusk, facing the camera, not saying a word. She isn’t named on screen. Fans who know the franchise will draw their own conclusions, and that’s clearly the point.
The Credits and a Ticket Date
The trailer wraps up with a full staff and cast card, a “10.16 ON SCREEN” card and a ticket card.
The staff card matches the table above, with the Aobuta Project as the production committee. The cast card lists Kaito Ishikawa as Sakuta Azusagawa, Asami Seto as Mai Sakurajima, Manaka Iwami as Miori Mitō, Sora Amamiya as Uzuki Hirokawa, Aya Yamane as Ikumi Akagi, Konomi Kohara as Sara Himeji, Reina Ueda as Nene Iwamizawa, Nao Tōyama as Tomoe Koga, Atsumi Tanezaki as Rio Futaba, Maaya Uchida as Nodoka Toyohama, Yurika Kubo as Kaede Azusagawa and Inori Minase as Shōko Makinohara.
One small mismatch: the trailer’s credit card lists the distributor (配給) as ANIMEC, while Anime News Network’s August 30 report says Aniplex is distributing the film. ANIMEC is the name credited in both trailers, so it’s most likely a labelling difference rather than a real contradiction.
That last card is the most concrete info in the whole trailer, and English coverage almost never mentions it: the second wave of mubichike advance tickets goes on sale September 4, 2026 (Friday) at 1,600 yen including tax, bundled with an A3 clear poster. June’s wave-one card had the same price. The ticket carries the new key visual: two figures in blue stage dresses against a starfield over a night sea, with a Ferris wheel at the lower left.
June vs. August: What Changed
Same length, plenty of shared footage. What changed is the order, the emphasis and how much they give away.
| Moment | First trailer (June 15, 2026) | Second trailer (August 30, 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Runtime | 96 seconds | 94 seconds |
| Opens on | ANIMEC and Aniplex logos | The concert, cold. Logos held back about ten seconds |
| How Tōko Kirishima is introduced | “The mysterious net singer” | “The one who rewrote the world is Tōko Kirishima” |
| Premise card | “Dreams that become reality, spread across social media” | “On this day, the world was rewritten” — past tense |
| “Last Adolescence Syndrome” card | Just before the halfway point | Twenty seconds later in the running order |
| On-screen song credit | Tōko Kirishima, “Turn The World Upside Down” | Tōko Kirishima, “Turn The World Upside Down” (unchanged) |
| Advance tickets | Wave one, on sale now, 1,600 yen | Wave two, on sale September 4, 1,600 yen, A3 clear poster |
| Closing image | A figure on a sunset beach | A four-second hold on a character by the sea |
Shots that carry over include the writing on the palm, the music-software upload dialogue, the night waterfront with the Ferris wheel, the dressing-room scene and the purple-lit crowd. Shots dropped from June include the magazine rack, the Santa-costume crowd, the phone clock and the sunset beach.
What the Trailer Doesn’t Show
For the second full trailer of a franchise finale, a few things are missing.
- No international release info. The card says 10.16 and stops. No overseas distributor, no streaming partner, no subtitle or dub plans.
- No runtime and no rating. Neither appears anywhere.
- No theme-song caption. The newly announced theme song is never credited on screen, even though it was the big news of the day.
- No character visual for Miori Mitō. Anime News Network reports one was released alongside the trailer, but it isn’t in the video.
- No mention of the advance screening. The October 4 Shinjuku Wald 9 event with the cast was in the day’s announcements, not the trailer.
Verdict
The June trailer sold a mystery. This one sells an ending. The cold open, the past-tense premise card, naming Tōko outright and the silent four-second closing shot are the same decision made four times: stop teasing the hook and start selling the finale. For a franchise on volume fifteen of fifteen, showing your hand this early is a confident move.
Want more? The Ramparts of Ice Season 2 trailer breakdown does the same for a Netflix anime trailer, Spy x Family watch order covers the other CloverWorks franchise most readers arrive from, and Jujutsu Kaisen Season 4’s new teaser visual is the other big anime visual reveal of the same week.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dear Friend come out?
The film opens in Japanese theatres on October 16, 2026. An advance screening with the cast is scheduled for October 4, 2026 at the Shinjuku Wald 9 theatre in Tokyo, per Anime News Network. The trailer and the day’s announcements cover the Japanese release only.
What is the theme song for Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dear Friend?
The theme song is “Suihei-sen wa Boku no Furukizu finale” (“The Horizon Is My Old Wound: Finale”), performed in character by Tōko Kirishima, announced alongside the second trailer on August 30, 2026. The insert song “Turn The World Upside Down” is the one credited on screen inside the trailer.
Which novel volume does the Dear Friend film adapt?
It shares its title with the fifteenth and final volume of Hajime Kamoshida’s Rascal Does Not Dream light-novel series, and is positioned as taking the story to its finale.
Who is returning for the film?
Sōichi Masui directs at CloverWorks, with Masahiro Yokotani on script, Satomi Tamura on character design and fox capture plan on music. Kaito Ishikawa and Asami Seto return as Sakuta Azusagawa and Mai Sakurajima, alongside the wider TV cast, all named on the trailer’s credit card.
How much are the advance tickets?
The second wave of mubichike advance tickets goes on sale September 4, 2026 at 1,600 yen including tax, bundled with an A3 clear poster. That’s the same price as the first wave.
Sources: the second official trailer (Aniplex Channel, August 30, 2026) and the first official trailer (Aniplex Channel, June 15, 2026); Anime News Network’s August 30 report; the film’s official website. Last updated: August 30, 2026.
