Monday, November 28, 2016

Discovery: five new anime to watch

In This Corner of the World


While watching the news on NHK World earlier today, I saw a report on a new anime movie that sounds quite interesting. Based on a manga by Fumiyo Kōno, this historical animated drama tells the daily life of young newly wed Suzu in the Japanese countryside of Kure during the years leading to WWII.

In This Corner of the World (この世界の片隅に / Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni): Japan, 2016, 130 min.; Dir./Scr.: Sunao Katabuchi; Anim. Dir.: Hidenori Matsubara; Char. Des.: Hidenori Matsubara; Mus.: Kotringo; Prod.: Masao Maruyama (MAPPA), Taro Maki (GENCO); Voice cast: Rena Nōnen (Suzu), Yoshimasa Hosoya (Shūsaku), Natsuki Inaba (Harumi), Minori Omi (Keiko), Daisuke Ono (Tetsu), Megumi Han (Sumi), Shigeru Ushiyama (Entaro), Mayumi Shintani (San), Nanase Iwai (Rin).

ANN / IMdB / Japan Times / Official website / Wikipedia / Youtube


Four more anime titles have caught our attention in the last few months:


Miss Hokusai


This animated feature is a little older and is already being shown in North-American theatres. It is based on the manga by Hinako Sugiura and tells the story of Katsushika Ōi, the daughter of famous ukiyo-e artist Hokusai.

Miss Hokusai (百日紅 / Sarusuberi / Lit. “crape myrtle”): Japan, 2015, 90 min.; Dir.: Keiichi Hara; Scr.: Miho Maruo; Char. Des.: Yoshimi Itazu; Art Dir.: Hiroshi Ohno; Anim. Dir.: Yoshimi Itazu; Mus.: Harumi Fuki, Yo Tsuji; Prod.: Production I.G; Jap. Voice Cast: Anne Watanabe (Ōi), Yutaka Matsushige (Hokusai), Gaku Hamada (Zenjirō Ikeda), Kengo Kora (Kuninao Utagawa), Jun Miho (Koto), Miyu Irino (Kagema).

ANN / Gkids Official website / IMdB / Indy Wire / New York Times / Wikipedia / Youtube



Ronja the Robber's Daughter


Another older title, this time an animated TV series, which has the great merit to be produced by the famous Studio Ghibli and set to stream on Amazon Prime later this year. Based on the novel by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren (Pippi Longstocking), it is the turn-of-age story of a young girl, set in early-Medieval Scandinavia. The series was originally broadcast on NHK BS Premium from October 11, 2014 to March 28, 2015.

Ronja the Robber's Daughter (山賊の娘ローニャ / Sanzoku no Musume Rōnya): Japan, 2014, 26 episodes of 25 min.; Dir.: Gorō Miyazaki; Scr.: Hiroyuki Kawasaki; Mus.: Satoshi Takebe; Char. Des.: Katsuya Kondo; Anim. Dir.: Hiroshi Shimada, Tan Se Lee, Yukiko Inaishi;Prod.: Polygon Pictures, Studio Ghibli; Jap. Voice Cast: Haruka Shiraishi (Ronja), Atsuki Tani (Borka), Gōki Ogawa (Tjorm), Keiji Himeno (Lill-Klippen),Kenji Sugimura (Sturkas), Mika Doi (Undis), Reika Uyama (Birk), Rintarou Nishi (Tjegge), Saori Kato (Harpy), Shoichiro Akaboshi (Fjosok), Takaaki Seki (Mattis), Takahiro Shimada (Knotas), Umeji Sasaki (Skalle-Per),Yukari Nozawa (Lovis), Yuusuke Tezuka (Pelje).

ANN / IMdB / Kotaku / Official website / The Verge / Wikipedia / Youtube



A Silent Voice


Based on the manga by Yoshitoki Ōima, this animated drama tells the story of delinquent Shōya Ishida who eventualy becomes friends with Shōko Nishimiya, a deaf young girl he bullied in elementary school.

A Silent Voice (聲の形 / Koe no Katachi): Japan, 2016, 130 min.; Dir.: Naoko Yamada; Scr.: Reiko Yoshida; Char. Des.: Futoshi Nishiya; Mus.: Kensuke Ushio; Prod.: Kyoto Animation; Ja. Voice Cast: Miyu Irino (Shōya Ishida), Saori Hayami (Shōko Nishimiya), Aoi Yūki (Yuzuru Nishimiya), Kensho Ono (Tomohiro Nagatsuka), Mayu Matsuoka (young Shōya Ishida), Megumi Han (Miki Kawai), Toshiyuki Toyonaga (Satoshi Mashiba), Yui Ishikawa (Miyoko Sahara), Yuki Kaneko (Naoka Ueno).

ANN / IMdB / Official website / Wikipedia / Youtube



your name.


This animated fantasy feature is the latest Makoto Shinkai's animation. It is based on his own novel and tells a classic body-swap story between Mitsuha, a high school girl from Itomori who's bored of the countryside, and Taki, a boy from Tokyo. It has been licensed in the U.S. by Funimation.

your name. (君の名は。/ Kimi no Na wa.): Japan, 2016, 107 min.; Dir./Scr.: Makoto Shinkai; Char. Des.: Masayoshi Tanaka; Mus.: Radwimps; Prod.: CoMix Wave Films; Jap. Voice Cast: Mone Kamishiraishi (Mitsuha Miyamizu), Ryunosuke Kamiki (Taki Tachibana), Aoi Yūki (Sayaka Natori), Etsuko Ichihara (Hitoha Miyamizu), Kanon Tani (Yotsuba Miyamizu), Masami Nagasawa (Miki Okudera), Nobunaga Shimazaki (Tsukasa Fujii), Ryō Narita (Katsuhiko Teshigawara), Kana Hanazawa (Mitsuha's Teacher).

ANN / BBC / Fast Japan / Forbes / IMdB / News Everyday / Official website / Wikipedia / Youtube



[ Traduire ]

No comments: