PROJECT LAYRA Announces Cast for Immersive ‘Belle’ Spin-Off

A major live production set in the world of Mamoru Hosoda’s acclaimed anime film Belle (2021) has revealed its full cast. Titled PROJECT LAYRA, the “animerus” show picks up five years after the movie’s events and follows the producer Hiro-chan (voiced again by YOASOBI’s ikura) as she scouts a new virtual diva inside the massive online world . The performance will run at MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives Box1000 beginning in October.

The virtual singer LAYRA will be performed on stage by five established vocalists: miwa, Kon Natsumi, Suzuki Konomi, Miki Maria, and ASCA. Each brings a distinct background—from miwa’s four consecutive NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen appearances to ASCA’s anime theme hits and international touring. The character design is by illustrator Mika Pikazo, known for her vibrant, dynamic style, while the music is produced by TeddyLoid, who has written the new track “Watashi wa LAYRA” for the show.

The event builds on a concept introduced in the film: ’s largest-ever music festival, “Utopia.” Audiences will enter a hybrid space where a real stage and virtual world converge, experiencing the concert as if they were among the 6 billion avatars inside . Also returning are ikura as Hiro-chan and Kurosawa Tomoyo as the autonomous AI Puck.

The Rise of Mixed-Reality Live Entertainment in Japan

Why Multiple Voices for One Virtual Singer?

Casting five singers for a single character is an unusual but practical choice for a live production that fuses animation, motion capture, and real-time performance. It allows for continuous stage presence without exhausting any one performer, and it mirrors the way virtual idols in Japan often exist as a collaborative creation among writers, illustrators, and musicians. The model has been pioneered by acts like Hatsune Miku and more recently by VTuber agencies, where the “talent” behind the avatar can change while the character maintains a consistent identity. Here, the character LAYRA gains vocal variety while the franchise retains a single, marketable name.

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Sony’s Echoes Label and the Virtual Artist Market

LAYRA is being managed under Sony Music’s Echoes label, which already houses artists like YOASOBI and Kitani Tatsuya. Signing a virtual singer marks Echoes’ first foray into a character-based music act. It signals that major labels see long-term revenue potential in virtual talent that can perform via technology in multiple countries without the physical constraints of a human artist. TeddyLoid’s involvement—he also wrote songs for Ado—ties the project directly to a hit-maker who understands the streaming-era audience. For Sony, LAYRA is not just a show but a test case for scaling a digitally native music act.

Immersive Theater Meets Anime Fandom

The venue, MoN Takanawa, is backed by a foundation with a stated mission to connect culture and technology for the next 100 years. By staging an event that projects a virtual world onto a physical theater and wraps the audience in the narrative, the producers are targeting the overlap between anime tourists, tech early-adopters, and live-event fans. It’s a format that depends as much on the strength of the underlying IP (Belle) as on the novelty of the execution. If successful, it could provide a template for other media franchises looking to extend their stories into paid live experiences.

Attending PROJECT LAYRA’s ‘Utopia’ Festival

Tickets for PROJECT LAYRA are currently on sale through Lawson Ticket. Check the official MoN Takanawa website for exact performance dates and session times.