Scarlet (Japanese title: Hateshinaki Sukāretto) is a 2025 Japanese animated fantasy-action film by Mamoru Hosoda. Hosoda wrote and directed the film, which is produced by Studio Chizu and co-financed with Sony Pictures and Nippon Television.
The main Japanese voice cast includes Mana Ashida as Scarlet, Masaki Okada as Hijiri, and Kōji Yakusho as Claudius. The film premiered out of competition at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on September 4, 2025, and opened in Japan on November 21, 2025.
Scarlet Age Rating
Scarlet is rated PG-13 for strong violence and bloody images. This rating reflects frequent scenes of combat, blood, and tense peril that are more intense than typical family animation but stop short of explicit gore. The film’s themes are mature: revenge, grief, and the psychological cost of violence are central to the story. These factors combine to make the film best suited to older children and teens with parental guidance.
Violence & Peril
Violence in Scarlet is frequent and visceral for an animated feature. Sword fights, battlefield sequences, and bloody images appear throughout, sometimes shown up close and occasionally lingering long enough to unsettle sensitive viewers. Death and physical harm are integral to the plot; the film opens with regicide and moves into sustained scenes of combat and wounding. The atmosphere is tense and often dark, with a persistent sense of danger as Scarlet pursues revenge across war-torn, surreal realms.
Language
The film uses mostly muted or age-appropriate language in its Japanese original, but tense confrontations carry strong emotional outbursts and aggressive phrasing. Localized dubs/subtitles for different territories may vary in the strength of profanity. Parents should note that the tone is frequently intense and that some dialogue is explicitly bitter, vengeful, or confrontational to serve the story’s darker themes.
Mature Themes
Scarlet explores revenge, grief, existential erasure (“becoming Emptiness”), and the cycle of hatred. It reframes elements of Shakespeare’s Hamlet into a darker moral and philosophical tale about forgiveness versus revenge. Themes of death, trauma, and psychological recovery are central; characters wrestle with moral ambiguity and the ethics of violence. Sexual content is minimal to none; the maturity chiefly arises from the emotional and violent material.
Is Scarlet Suitable for Teens?
Ages 8–12: Not suitable. The frequent violence, bloody imagery, and heavy themes are inappropriate for most children in this group. The film’s moral complexity and upsetting battle scenes may be frightening.
Ages 13–15: With guidance. Mature teens in this bracket may handle the movie if a parent pre-screens it and discusses themes beforehand. Expect questions about revenge, justice, and grief; pre-viewing helps prepare them.
Ages 16–17: Yes, with context. Older teens will likely understand the film’s themes and symbolic framing. It can prompt valuable conversations about the consequences of violence, forgiveness, and the cost of vengeance.
Final recommendation: Suitable for viewers aged 15–17 and older with parental guidance; stronger caution for younger teens and a firm recommendation that children under 13 do not watch unsupervised.
What Parents Can Do
Preview first: Watch the film before sharing it with a teen to judge whether your child can handle the visual intensity and thematic weight.
Frame the themes: Talk about revenge versus justice, and how the story uses fantasy to dramatise real moral questions. Encourage your teen to name the feelings the film raised.
Discuss media literacy: Explain why violence appears in the story and how filmmakers use blood and danger to make a point, not to glamorise harm.
Official Trailer
FAQs
Q: What is the age rating for Scarlet?
A: Scarlet is rated PG-13 for strong violence and bloody images.
Q: Is Scarlet appropriate for younger teens?
A: Younger teens may find the imagery and themes intense. Parental guidance and pre-screening are recommended for ages 13–15.
Q: How violent or bloody is the film?
A: The film contains frequent combat, battlefield scenes, and bloody images. The violence serves the narrative and is visually explicit enough to be upsetting for sensitive viewers.
Q: Is there sexual content or nudity?
A: No significant sexual content is reported; the film’s maturity comes from violence and psychological themes rather than sexual material.
Q: Where and when did Scarlet premiere?
A: Scarlet premiered out of competition at the Venice Film Festival on September 4, 2025, and opened in Japan on November 21, 2025, with North American release plans in December 2025/early 2026.