Tag: Based on Manga

Poupelle of Chimney Town is Headed to Cinemas!

“Poupelle of Chimney Town is an incredibly impactful animated feature that audiences will relate to and be deeply moved by,” said Ko Mori, CEO of Eleven Arts.

Poupelle of Chimney TownPoupelle of Chimney Town will soon hit in cinemas nationwide (USA) and into other territories starting December 30, 2021! Please check local listings for locations in the Pacific Northwest (USA) in the first week of the New Year, and stay tuned for Canada.

This film based on the bestselling picture book by internationally known Japanese comedian and illustrator Akihiro Nishino made its English World Premiere at the Animation Is Film Festival in Los Angeles and it continues to screen at film festivals so it can qualify for the Academy Awards in 2022.

“We are very proud to bring Poupelle of Chimney Town to North American audiences. It’s an incredibly impactful animated feature that audiences will relate to and be deeply moved by,” said Ko Mori, CEO of Eleven Arts.

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[Fantasia 2021] When All You Need is Love, Life and Goldfish

The tunes are catchy, and I’d buy the soundtrack to Love, Life and Goldfish.

Sukutte goran (2021) - IMDbFantasia Film Festival 2021
Spoiler Alert

Love, Life and Goldfish (すくってごらん) is one of those rare Japanese musicals where it’s tough not to smile at the end. The tunes are catchy, and I’d buy the soundtrack. I’ll have to watch it again when it hits other festivals (or arrives on home video) to affirm one minor detail which stuck out near the end—namely, was that fan featuring the shape of Jingoro the cat from Kimagure Orange Road (KOR)? 

Makoto Kashiba (Matsuya Onoe) used to work at a prestigious bank in Tokyo, but due to some weird mistake, he gets sent out to work at this firm’s operation in a small town. He can’t deal, much less cope. He had a bright future as an accountant … or not. It seems he was never pleased with his life even when he thought he was going places with his firm. I’m fairly sure he tried to speak his mind, and it was frowned upon, hence his transfer and personality change. 

One night while getting to know this new township, he meets Yoshino Ikoma (Kanako Momota). She runs an arcade of sorts. One game involves participants catching as many goldfish as possible in a set amount of time. Its significance is not just about the fact there’s plenty of fish in the sea but also, why should he catch one? In this film’s case, why fall in love with this particular girl? The answer is simple: he was smitten. She’s very much like Hikaru Hiyama.

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[Fantasia 2021] When the Future is in the Hands of “Yakuza Princess”

Although Yakuza Princess didn’t have the budget to be like Blade Runner, I can only imagine what a blockbuster version would look like.

Yakuza Princess poster.jpgAvailable Aug 18 & 20

There is no honour amongst thieves in the families vying for absolute leadership in Yakuza Princess. This stylish neo-noir revenge thriller establishes that a very young girl, Akemi, will inherit a regime. But after a huge assassination attempt to which many members of the Takikawa clan get slain, she’s taken into hiding.

Instead of a feudal setting, this story by Vicente Amorim (director), Kimi Lee, Tubaldini Shelling and Fernando Toste (writers) sets the tale in modern times and in a world not everyone is familiar with. Akemi (MASUMI) is all grown up now and is being hunted in São Paulo, Brazil. She doesn’t know why until she questions a few people and learns about her heritage. Those that are after her knows she’s the true heir of the Yakuza crime syndicate. They won’t settle for controlling half of the organization and need to dispose of her.

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[Fantasia 2021] Lights! Camera! Pompo: The Cinéphile, A Movie Review

Pompo is an established producer of B-rated hits, but there’s just something missing. Can she be taken seriously?

Pompo: The Cinéphile Anime Film Delayed From March 19 To June 4 Due to COVID-19 - News - Anime News Network
Avex Pictures
Fantasia Film Festival 2021
North American Premiere
Cinéma Impérialt
Montreal, Quebec
August 7, 1:00 pm

Making a movie with Joelle Davidovich Pomponette (Hiroya Shimizu) is tough. She grew up with Peterzen, her grandad, in front of a big screen. He was a big time filmmaker back in the Golden age of Nyallywood, and he taught the young girl everything he knew. Pompo is an established producer of B-rated hits, but there’s just something missing. Can she be taken seriously? To say she’s Pompo: The Cinéphile is bold–which is also this anime film’s title.

For that matter, what about the precocious Gene Fini (Hiroya Shimizu), her production assistant? And how does Natalie Woodward (Rinka Ōtani) fit in? This aspiring actress had a rough go in her first audition, but that hasn’t dissuaded her from pursuing her dreams.

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Where to Find Studio4°C’s Children of the Sea in the USA

Children of the Sea has now crossed the ocean barrier to get limited screenings across the United States.

Poster image for Children of the SeaPlease visit the official website to find a screening near you.

Children of the Sea is the latest feature from Japan’s STUDIO4°C (known for Tekkonkinkreet, MFKZ, Mind Game, Animatrix, Batman: Gotham Knight, and others) that’s now crossed the ocean and is screening in theatres across the United States. Screenings in other countries are coming, and it’s just a matter of patience.

This highly anticipated movie is directed by Ayumu Watanabe. Longtime Studio Ghibli collaborator Joe Hisaishi (Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, My Neighbor Totoro) has composed the soundtrack. Children Of The Sea is adapted from the manga of the same name by author Daisuke Igarashi, which won the Excellence Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival.

Plot Synopsis:

When Ruka was younger, she saw a ghost in the water at the aquarium where her dad works. Now she feels drawn toward the aquarium and the two mysterious boys she meets there, Umi and Sora. They were raised by dugongs and hear the same strange calls from the sea as she does. Ruka’s dad and the other adults who work at the aquarium are only distantly aware of what the children are experiencing as they get caught up in the mystery of the worldwide disappearance of the oceans’ fish.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOhRCIv-VOE&w=460&h=215%5D

There’s No Need to Cry Over Spilled Milk in Island of Cats

No big plot drives Island of Cats. What we see is more like a documentary about man and nature.

Island of Cats PosterBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Available on
Region 2 DVD/Blu-ray
Sept 4

Played at Fantasia 2019
July 28, 2019

Whether the reverence of cats is explored in manga—like What’s Michael—is played at within a cat cafe or is studied through folklore, there’s no denying these felines have a power. In Island of Cats, these kitties have more than just staying power. In Japan, Tama is a station master at Kishi Station who greets nearly every traveller. Even the building itself was redesigned in her honour.

The star of this film even takes on this name, but here, this felis catus is a he and his master is Daikichi (Shinosuke Tatekawa), a retiree/widower. His son lives on the mainland and his wife died two years ago. This old man has no desire to move off his idyllic paradise.

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