The sequel film to Expelled from Paradise has a trailer and a theme song. The official site for Rakuen Tsuihō -Expelled from Paradise- Kokoro no Resonance began streaming the video on Tuesday, revealing “Beyond the Night” by TeddyLoid featuring Ayane Sakura as Gabriel and Nagi Inoue of Nogizaka46.
The song is set for a digital release on November 11 and a physical release on November 18. No theatrical date for the film itself has been announced yet, so the trailer is the firmest piece of news so far.
Who is returning
Rie Kugimiya reprises her role as Angela Balzac. The film is also bringing back much of the original production team: director Seiji Mizushima, scriptwriter Gen Urobuchi of Nitroplus, character designer Masatsugu Saitō, and composer NARASAKI. Toei Animation is producing.
That is close to the same core that made the 2014 film, which is the main reason this project has drawn attention since it was first teased. Urobuchi’s scripts and Mizushima’s direction were the original’s defining qualities, so their return is a stronger signal than any visual could be.
A title that keeps changing
The film has been announced under more than one name. The first announcement used Rakuen Tsuihō: Liberated from Paradise. A later one switched to Rakuen Tsuihō -Expelled from Paradise- Kokoro no Resonance, and some listings shorten it to Rakuen Tsuihō: Kokoro no Resonance. Kokoro no Resonance translates roughly to “Heart’s Resonance.” The shifting title suggests the film’s branding is still being finalised.
What the original did
Expelled from Paradise opened in 13 theatres in Japan in November 2014 and sold about 110,000 tickets. Its Blu-ray and DVD release in Japan moved more than 70,000 copies. In May 2015 the film took Best Animation of the Year at the 24th Japan Movie Critics Awards.
It also travelled. Aniplex of America released it in 15 theatres across the United States in December 2014 and put it out on Blu-ray for North, Central, and South America in June 2015. Ten years after release, the film returned to Japanese theatres in 4K in November 2024 as a 10th-anniversary run.
Those numbers are modest by blockbuster standards, but they explain why a sequel exists at all. A film that clears 110,000 tickets in a limited Japanese release, then sells another 70,000 home video copies, has proven there is an audience willing to pay rather than stream.
The original still works as a standalone story, so a sequel is a genuine test of whether that ending needed extending. For more on the theatrical side of anime, see our coverage of Madoka Magica: Walpurgisnacht Rising’s U.S. release and Ninja Scroll’s 4K theatrical run.
Why it matters
Long gaps between an original anime and its sequel are usually a sign that the follow-up spent years in development limbo. That is not the case here, since the staff came back intact and the project has been moving steadily through announcements rather than restarting from scratch. The open question is timing. Until Toei and the production committee name a date, the film sits in the same crowded queue as everything else headed for theatres in the next year or so, and the theme song release in November is likely the closest thing to a schedule hint for now.
Source: Anime News Network
Featured image: Trailer still from Rakuen Tsuihō -Expelled from Paradise- Kokoro no Resonance, via Toei Animation / Anime News Network.
