It has been announced that the animated film "In This Corner of the World" (directed by Katabuchi Sunao, released in 2016), based on the manga by Kono Fumiyo, will be screened again for a limited time from August 1st this year, the 80th anniversary of the end of the war. In conjunction with the re-screening, a new key visual drawn by Director Katabuchi has been made public. The visual depicts a special scene from the story, in August 1945, when the main character Suzu faces her fateful moment.
"In This Corner of the World" is a manga by Kono that was serialized in the manga magazine Manga Action (Futabasha) and won the Excellence Award in the Manga Division at the 2009 Japan Media Arts Festival. It depicts how 18-year-old Suzu, who moved from Hiroshima to Kure to marry during the war, falls apart as the war intensifies. The animated feature film was released in November 2016 and, although it was a standalone film, it was an unprecedented hit, drawing an audience of 2.1 million people and grossing over 2.7 billion yen, with the film being shown in a total of 484 theaters.
This year would be the year that Suzu would turn 100 if she were still living somewhere in this world. Non, the voice actress for Suzu, commented, "Suzu draws pictures. She eats delicious food. She does household chores, goes out with her family, and goes on dates. As she goes through her days, the differences with modern-day Japan become apparent. And as I watched, I felt my heart melt at the happiness of the ordinary things in life. It makes me cherish every day. Whether you've seen this movie before or not, I hope you'll check it out on the big screen at the theater."
Kono said, "When I wrote it, I hoped that even though it was a small character, it would be familiar to people for a long time. Everyone involved in the film helped me to nurture it to be strong and to soar high. Now I can only watch over it with confidence and pride. I am full of gratitude!"
Director Katabuchi said, "I made this film because I wanted to understand the people who lived during the war. It's been 80 years since those days. We now live in a world that is connected to those days. Suzu may now be 100 years old and still living somewhere. It's been nine years since this film was first released. The world cannot escape war. I would like to once again feel the meaning of how irreplaceable the small corner of the world where Suzu lived is."
