Aniplex used its One Focus livestream on September 14 to run a new video for Rakuen Tsuihō -Expelled from Paradise- Kokoro no Resonance, the sequel to the 2014 cult sci-fi film, and to fill out its cast. It opens in Japan on November 13, 2026. If your reaction to that sentence was "wait, there's a sequel to what?", this one's for you.
Quick answer
Expelled from Paradise (*Rakuen Tsuihō*, 2014) is a 104-minute full-CG sci-fi film written by Gen Urobuchi (*Psycho-Pass*, Madoka Magica) and animated by Graphinica, about a digitised bureaucrat forced back into a physical body to hunt a hacker on a ruined Earth. It holds a 7.29 adjusted score on SenpaiRanks from a full voter pool. The sequel, Kokoro no Resonance (*Heart's Resonance*), opens November 13, 2026 in Japan from Toei Animation, with Seiji Mizushima directing, Urobuchi writing again and Rie Kugimiya back as Angela Balzac. In the US the original streams on Netflix and is on Blu-ray from Aniplex of America.
What the original actually is
A 2014 theatrical original that ran in thirteen Japanese cinemas, sold about 110,000 tickets, and took Best Animation at the 24th Japan Movie Critics Awards. It's one of the earliest anime features to go all-in on cel-shaded CG for its characters, which is why it looked strange in 2014 and looks unremarkable now — the rest of the industry caught up to it.
The pitch: Angela Balzac is a security agent inside DEVA, a digital society orbiting a post-collapse Earth. A hacker called Frontier Setter keeps breaching it. To chase him she has to be materialised into an actual body, on the actual planet, with an actual freelance agent as backup. It's Urobuchi in a good mood — the questions are about what you give up to live as data, and it answers them without gutting anyone.
Expelled from Paradise (2014) — Graphinica
Is it good?
7.29 on our board is a solid-not-spectacular number, and it's honest about the film: the mecha action is excellent, the CG has aged into being fine, the middle act slows down. What it has over most of its 2014 cohort is that it commits to a thesis instead of gesturing at one. If you liked Ghost in the Shell's questions but wanted them delivered in under two hours with a lighter touch, this is that.
For a cross-check, our cyberpunk anime ranking places it against the genre's heavyweights, and the sci-fi board widens the field. The Akira 4K re-release piece covers the film this whole lineage descends from.
What the sequel is bringing
Toei Animation takes over production, with Aniplex producing. Mizushima directs, Urobuchi writes, Masatsugu Saitō designs characters, NARASAKI scores, and the mecha are by Kanetake Ebikawa, Junya Ishigaki and Takayuki Yanase — a heavier mechanical-design bench than the first film had.
Kugimiya returns as Angela. New to the cast: Ayane Sakura as Gabriel, Saori Hayami as Alma, Yoshino Aoyama as Danel, Sally Amaki as Raguel and Sumire Morohoshi as Penem. There's also a visual novel, Expelled from Paradise -The Stellar Angel-, landing November 26, 2026 on Switch and Steam.
The sequel has no score yet — it hasn't screened, so nobody has voted. That's the honest version: MyAnimeList would still show you a number, IMDb would average one out of a handful of early ratings. We leave the board open until there's something real on it. When it screens, rate it and you're part of setting where it lands.
Where to watch
The 2014 film streams on Netflix in the US and several other regions, and Aniplex of America's Blu-ray is still in print. No Western distributor has announced Kokoro no Resonance yet — it's a November 13 Japanese theatrical release first, with an overseas plan presumably to follow. Our 2026 Japanese box office ranking tracks how the year's films are actually performing, and the Expelled from Paradise ranking page has the score breakdown.
Frequently asked questions
Q: When does Expelled from Paradise: Kokoro no Resonance release?
A: November 13, 2026 in Japanese theaters. No international release date has been announced yet.
Q: Where can I watch the original Expelled from Paradise?
A: It streams on Netflix in the US and several other regions, and Aniplex of America released it on Blu-ray.
Q: Do I need to watch the 2014 film before the sequel?
A: Yes. Angela Balzac, DEVA and the events of the first film are the sequel's starting point, and it's only 104 minutes.
Q: Is Expelled from Paradise good?
A: It holds a 7.29 adjusted score on SenpaiRanks — strong mecha action and a clean Urobuchi thesis, with a slow middle act and CG that has aged unevenly.
Q: Who is making the sequel?
A: Toei Animation animates, Aniplex produces, Seiji Mizushima directs and Gen Urobuchi writes. Rie Kugimiya returns as Angela Balzac.