Screen Anime January 2021 Line-up Adds Miss Hokusai, Genius Party Beyond, Jin-Roh, Tatami Galaxy & Place Promised in our Early Days
Online film festival Screen Anime announced their next batch of anime films and a series for their platform starting Sunday 27th December 2020 to Monday 25th January 2021.
The titles below will be replacing Millennium Actress, Perfect Blue, Fate/Stay Night Heaven’s Feel II Lost Butterfly, Psycho Pass Sinners of the System and the series Anonymous Noise.
Miss Hokusai
(Sarusuberi)
Audio: English, Japanese
Screen Anime’s Premiere title is Keiichi Hara’s 2015 film Miss Hokusai from studio Production I.G. The film is based on Hinako Sugiura’s manga of the same name, and adapted by Miho Maruo with music composed by Harumi Fuki and Yo Tsuji.
“You’ve heard of Katsushika Hokusai, the legendary artist of The Great Wave Off Kanagawa and others, but few are aware of the daughter who assisted him, and remained caught in his shadow – until now. Set in 1814 Edo (Tokyo), this is the story of O-Ei Hokusai, the free-spirited understudy who inherited both her father’s stubbornness and talent, with art so powerful that it leads her to trouble.”
This is a UK premiere in terms of its English dub commissioned by GKIDS, which came after Anime Limited provided a standard Blu-ray in May 2016 and an ultimate edition Blu-ray box set in November 2016.
The Place Promised in our Early Days
(Kumo no Mukō, Yakusoku no Basho)
Audio: English, Japanese
Screen Anime’s Classic title is Makoto Shinkai’s 2004 film The Place Promised in our Early Days from studio CoMix Wave Inc. The film was Makoto Shinkai’s feature length debut as director but he also wrote, produced and storyboarded the film. Tenmon composed the music.
“Can three school friends keep a promise they made as kids? Hiroyuki, Takuya and Sayuri vowed to build an aircraft and uncover the secrets of an enormous tower that appeared in Hokkaido, but went their separate ways after Sayuri fell ill and moved to Tokyo. Three years later when Hiroyuki and Takuya learn that Sayuri has been in a coma since then – and it might be connected to the tower, can they come together to fulfill the promise made in their early days?”
The Place Promised in our Early Days was one of the very first titles Anime Limited acquired when they began in late 2012 to early 2013. It was licensed in 2013 alongside Voices of a Distant Star but did not make its official release until November 2016 as a collector’s edition Blu-ray & DVD combo pack. The film is available as a regular Blu-ray release.
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
Audio: English, Japanese
Screen Anime’s Festival Favourite title is Hiroyuki Okiura’s 1999 film Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade from studio Production I.G. Mamoru Oshii wrote the script for Jin-Roh, which is also loosely based on his manga Kerberos Panzer Cop. Hajime Mizoguchi composed the music.
“Kazuki Fuse works in a special police unit combatting riots and social disorder in a totalitarian alternate version of 1950s Japan when he witnesses the horrific suicide of a young girl amidst an operation. He’s haunted by what he’s seen, but as he tries to come to terms with the horror, Fuse forms an unlikely friendship with the girl’s sister, that leaves him questioning what’s right or real, and throws him into the middle of a conspiracy where nothing is quite what it seems.”
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade was first released in the UK by Studio Canal’s Optimum Releasing/Asia label on DVD, before being rescued by Anime Limited in 2018 for a collector’s edition Blu-ray & DVD release in the same year. The film is available as a regular Blu-ray release.
Genius Party Beyond
Audio: Japanese
Screen Anime’s Curated title is Studio 4°C’s 2008 anthology film Genius Party Beyond. The film offers five additional short stores following its 2007 film Genius Party. The stories include:
- Gala (dir. Mahiro Maeda – Director for Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo & Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo)
- Dimension Bomb (dir. Koji Morimoto – Director for Memories & Art Director for Mind Game)
- Moondrive (dir. Kazuto Nakazawa – Director for B: The Beginning & Character Designer for Samurai Champloo)
- ‘Wanwa’ the Doggy (dir. Shinya Ohira – Key Animator for Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence & Redline)
- Toujin Kit (dir. Tatsuyuki Tanaka – Key Animator for Riding Bean & Storyboard and Layout Artist for Roujin Z)
“The wacky and wonderful anthology returns with five short films that take us through a child’s vivid dreams about the arrival of a new sibling, alien stuffed animals in a steampunk world, and more by leading animators such as Mahiro Maeda, Kazuto Nakazawa, and Studio 4°C co-founder Kōji Morimoto.”
Genius Party Beyond was released alongside Genius Party as a double film pack by Anime Limited in 2017 for a shop exclusive collector’s edition Blu-ray & DVD release in the same year. The film collection is available as a regular Blu-ray release.
The Tatami Galaxy
(Yojōhan Shinwa Taikei)
Audio: Japanese
Screen Anime’s Series Marathon title is Masaaki Yuasa’s 2010 series The Tatami Galaxy from studio Madhouse. The series is based on Tomihiko Morimi’s novel of the same name and adapted by Makoto Ueda with music composed by Michiru Ōshima.
“When a college dropout stops for a late night bite at a mysterious ramen stand, he crosses paths with a self-proclaimed deity of matrimony. This bizarre meeting sends the young man hurtling through a horrifying flashback to his not-so-glorious college days when the influence of a cruel new friend turned him from a hopeless romantic into a mischievous black cupid.”
The Tatami Galaxy was first released in the UK by Beez Entertainment on DVD, before being rescued by Anime Limited in 2016 for a collector’s edition Blu-ray release in the same year. The series is available as a regular Blu-ray release.
Source: Screen Anime Press Release
