The Japan premiere of the animated film "The One Who Steals This Book," based on the popular novel by Fukamidori Nobune, which was nominated for the 2021 Bookstore Award, was held at Shinjuku Wald 9 (Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo) on December 1st. Kataoka Rin, who played the main character, Mikura Mifuyu, a girl who hates books, and this was her first leading role in a film and her first attempt at voice acting. She said, "It was all new to me, and it was fresh and challenging, but I couldn't contain my excitement."
Kataoka said about the character she plays, Mifuyu, "I thought she was a bit like me. I also do this job and every day is like an adventure, so I was able to empathize with her while acting and understand what she was saying."
Tamaki Sora, who played Mashiro, the mysterious girl who invites Mifuyu into the world of books, also tried voice acting for the first time. She smiled and said, "It was a lot of fun, and I was excited because I'd always been interested in voice acting."
The recording took place over a period of about a month, divided into five sessions, and Kataoka revealed that the most memorable moment was "the kabedon. There was a scene where Mashiro-chan had to make a cool voice, so the director suggested that we do a kabedon and make the voice." Tamaki nodded, saying, "I felt like we got the cool part," and Director Fukuoka University praised her, saying, "It was cooler than I expected."
Also appearing at the Japan premiere were Nao Toyama, who plays Mifuyu's aunt Hirune Makura, Shizuka Ito, who plays Yosano Hotaru, a woman who calls herself a wanderer, Shinba Tsuchiya, who plays Haruta Takafumi, a university student and bookstore clerk, and character designer and animation director Keiko Kurosawa.
The story is about a town of books, Yominagacho, that is suddenly swallowed up by the world of stories, and high school student Mifuyu Mikura sets out on a journey with a mysterious girl named Mashiro to catch a book thief in order to save the town. The film will be released on December 26th.
