Belle

Belle is the online persona of Suzu Naito, the teenage protagonist of the 2021 Japanese animated film Belle (竜とそばかすの姫), directed by Mamoru Hosoda. Inside the vast virtual world «U», the shy, grief-stricken Suzu creates an avatar and, through it, discovers a singing voice she has been unable to use in real life since her mother's death, becoming a viral sensation known as Belle.

The film's soundtrack, largely composed by Taisei Iwasaki and Ludvig Forssell with songs performed in-character, blends orchestral pop, J-pop balladry and electronic textures to match Belle's dual existence between the mundane and the virtual. In the Japanese version Belle is voiced and sung by Kaho Nakamura; the English dub uses Kylie McNeill, and the French dub features Louane, each bringing a distinct vocal color to songs like «A Million Miles Away» and «Gales of Song».

Belle extends Hosoda's recurring fascination with virtual identity and adolescent coming-of-age, echoing his earlier film Summer Wars while updating the theme for an era of livestreaming and online fame. The character became a touchstone for discussions of anonymity, performance and self-expression through avatars, with the film's soundtrack achieving crossover popularity well beyond typical anime scoring.