It’s March 2020, and I’m headed to the offices of film distributor Shochiku to speak with Kyohei Ishiguro about his new animated film, “Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop.” I’ve been asked to wear a mask while conducting the interview, a first for me. Arriving a few minutes early, I take a walk through Tsukiji fish market, which is eerily quiet — a month earlier, I would’ve been pushing through throngs of tourists. At this point, the film’s release date of May 15, 2020, is still on, with the hope that this whole COVID-19 situation will blow over by then.

Of course, things did not work out that way.

Over a year later, “Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop” is set to hit theaters in Japan (and Netflix accounts elsewhere) on July 22. Set in a rural Japanese town, the story largely takes place at the local mall, which forms the town’s social hub. One mallrat is Cherry (Ichikawa Somegoro VIII, real name Itsuki Fujima), a shy 17-year-old boy who expresses himself through the haiku he posts online. There’s also Smile (Hana Sugisaki), a girl about Cherry’s age. Sociable and outgoing, Smile is a popular YouTuber — but she’s also self-conscious about her teeth, so she always wears a white surgical mask (she’d fit in just fine these days).