Animated Film Children of the Sea Collaborates With Odakyu Odawara Line Trains

25.April.2019 | ANIME&GAME / MOVIE / SPOT

Children of the Sea is an upcoming animated film adaptation of Daisuke Igarashi’s manga of the same name. It is being animated by Studio 4°C and is set for release in Japan on June 7, 2019.

 

In the meantime, as part of its promotion, it has been announced that the Odakyu Odawara Line will collaborate with the film.

From May 13 onward, trains along this train line will be decorated with Children of the Sea promotional posters and information. And on June 1, those who board the Enoshima Limited Express Romancecar will hear announcements made by Hiiro Ishibashi who is voicing Umi in the film.

But the fun doesn’t stop there. A stamp rally will take place from June 1 to June 30. If you collect more than two of the six stamps available across six areas in the Enoshima area (where the film is set) and major stations on the Odakyu Line you’ll receive an original novelty. Those who manage to obtain all the stamps will be randomly selected to win signed merchandise, poster and more. Stamps are to be presented at the Enoshima Aquarium where a model of a dugong will be housed, the marine animal that Umi and Sora are raised by in the film.

Board the Odakyu Odawara Line and take a trip to Enoshima where the film is set and immerse yourself in the world of Children of the Sea.

 

©2019 Daisuke Igarashi・Shogakukan / “Children of the Sea” Production Committee

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    Kenshi Yonezu’s newest single Umi no Yuurei was released just last Monday and clocked in at number one on both Oricon’s Weekly Digital Singles for June 17 as well as on Billboard JAPAN’s “Download Songs.” It has now been revealed that the track has dominated not only the daily charts but the weekly charts too for a 2019 release.

     

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  • Beautiful Storybook Children of the Sea Author Depicts the Film’s Hidden Secrets

    06.June.2019 | ANIME&GAME / MOVIE

    Critically acclaimed manga artist Daisuke Igarashi is famous for his respect for the natural world that he so often illustrates in a unique and liberating style. His high tension manga series Children of the Sea has been picked up by animation studio STUDIO4℃. The upcoming animated feature film Children of the Sea, which has become big global news, will be released in Japan on June 7, 2019.

     

    In the run up to the film’s release, the official Children of the Sea Visual Storybook will be released in most bookstores across Japan on June 28.

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    The luxurious volume contains 112 pages of cast interviews, staff interviews and hidden behind-the-scenes content. The book covers interviews of all of the wonderful  creatives such as Director Ayumu Watanabe, Character Designer/Chief Animation Director Kenichi Konishi, Art Director Shinji Kimura, CGI Directors Kenichiro Akimoto and Kotaro Hirano, Miyuki Itou, who was in charge of the Colour Design, and Joe Hisaishi who created the music. STUDIO4℃ location scouters who searched for beautiful areas as inspiration the film were also interviewed.

     

    The storybook also contains details on the animation process and showcases original sketches by the animators. Konishi’s layout corrections and edits of these sketches are also featured. From start to finish, this storybook is full of fascinating information and even includes the techniques used to create the film. This is one for all fans to enjoy―fans of the upcoming film, the original manga and STUDIO4℃!

     

    ©Daisuke Igarashi / Shogakukan / “Children of the Sea” Production Committee

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  • Kenshi Yonezu Releases Animated Music Video For ‘Children of the Sea’ Theme Song ‘Umi no Yuurei’

    28.May.2019 | ANIME&GAME / MOVIE / MUSIC

    Kenshi Yonezu will release his new digital single Umi no Yuurei on June 3. The song will be used as the main theme for the upcoming animated film Children of the Sea which is set to hit Japanese cinemas on June 7.

     

    Until now, the song could previously only be heard in the film’s trailer. 100 lucky people were also invited to an event for the film where they enjoyed an early screening of the song’s official music video.

     

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  • Hear Children of the Sea’s Main Theme ‘Umi no Yuurei’ by Kenshi Yonezu in New Trailer

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    Manga artist Daisuke Igarashi enthralls his readers with his unique representation of nature and his respect for the natural world. This manga has been turned into an intense film by world-famous animation studio STUDIO4℃. The film will be released in Japan on Friday 7th June! The second sneaky movie preview has now been released!

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    You could get your hands on the first volume of the Children of the Sea for free via the LINE campaign that is being launched today so please check it out!

     

    ©2019 Daisuke Igarashi・Shogakukan / “Children of the Sea” Production Committee

     

    Cameraman: Tomokazu Yamada

  • Kenshi Yonezu’s New Song ‘Umi no Yuurei’ to be Used as Anime Film ‘Children of the Sea’ Main Theme

    25.April.2019 | ANIME&GAME / MOVIE / MUSIC

    It has been announced that Kenshi Yonezu’s new song Umi no Yuurei (“Ghost of the Sea”) will be used as the main theme for the upcoming animated film Children of the Sea which is set to hit Japanese theatres on June 7, 2019. This is the first main theme Yonezu has written for a film.

    The film is an adaptation of Daisuke Igarashi’s manga series of the same name. The manga has received high praise, going on to win the 38th Japan Cartoonists Association Award and the top award in the manga category at the 13th Japan Media Arts Festival.

     

    It is being animated by Studio 4°C who are known for their anime adaptations of Mind Game and Tekkonkinkreet amongst others.

     

    The film follows Ruka Azumi (Mana Ashida) who encounters two boys, Umi and Sora, who were raised by dugongs. Hiiro Ishibashi will play the part of Umi and Seishuu Uragami will play the part of his older brother Sora. Win Morisaki will voice Anglade, a genius marine biologist who is pursuing the mystery surrounding Umi and Sora, while Min Tanaka will voice his former friend Jim who now takes care of the two brothers.

     

    Daisuke Igarashi has admired Kenshi Yonezu since he made the official image song Number Nine for a special manga exhibition at the Louvre Museum.

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    New artist photos of Kenshi Yonezu has been released in line with the announcement. It was taken by Tomokazu Yamada who directed Yonezu’s music video for Lemon which now has over 360 million views on YouTube.

     

    Photographer: Tomokazu Yamada

    Kenshi Yonezu released the following statement surrounding the release: “I think I must have been in my teens the first time I read [Children of the Sea], but I remember how overwhelmed I was over how amazing it is. Even if I go back and read it now it’s still as impacting now as it was back then. What’s more is that I have discovered new things reading it. I remember thinking if it ever became a film then I would want to make a song for it. I am deeply moved that the day has come where that has become a reality. Every day these paths few months have been filled with questions and answers to ensure what I make stays true to what the manga has while also adding to it. I’m looking forward to the day I hear it play in the movie theatre.”

     

    Daisuke Igarashi also commented: “I wonder how many years it’s been since I first met Kenshi Yonezu. Since then I made connections with numerous people, and when it came to talking about having him do the theme song for Children of the Sea, I felt a strange uplift, like something that was always supposed to happen happened. While my heart is spread tall and deep, at the same time I feel nothing but inexpressible emotions in getting to hear this beautiful song, one which indicates the arrival point.”

     

    ©2019 Daisuke Igarashi・Shogakukan / “Children of the Sea” Production Committee

  • Additional Cast Announced For Animated Film Children of the Sea

    17.April.2019 | ANIME&GAME / MOVIE

    The first trailer for the upcoming animated film adaptation of Daisuke Igarashi’s manga series Children of the Sea was released last week. Animated by Studio 4°C, the film is set for release in Japan on June 7, 2019, and new cast members have just been revealed.

    The film follows Ruka Azumi (Mana Ashida) who encounters two boys, Umi and Sora, who were raised by dugongs. Hiiro Ishibashi will play the part of Umi and Seishuu Uragami will play the part of his older brother Sora. Win Morisaki will voice Anglade, a genius marine biologist who is pursuing the mystery surrounding Umi and Sora, while Min Tanaka will voice his former friend Jim who now takes care of the two brothers.

    Seishuu Uragami (Sora) appeared in the 2016 NHK drama Sanada Maru and received praise for his acting skills during the drama sequence of the variety show Tsuukai TV Sukatto Japan. He is also set to perform in the upcoming stage play adaptation of Hayao Miyazaki’s Saihin Zensen this fall. Speaking about his first ever voice acting role in Children of the Sea, he comments: “I was very anxious at first, but it was so much fun as I began to put my voice to it. Sora brings out a different atmosphere. He has a particular tempo and rhythm in his speech. I spoke lots with director [Ayumu] Watanabe and made sure I was aware of the balance between how adults speak while sometimes letting out a younger voice.”

     

    Win Morisaki (Anglade) is the main vocalist of the J-pop dance and vocal unit PrizmaX. He also played the part of Daito in Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One (2018). This also marks his first time voice acting in an animated film. He comments: “I felt that I had to breathe together with the characters. Me and Anglade are two people in one. It felt great the moment our breathing matched.”

     

    Min Tanaka has appeared in multiple films and has performed in many of Studio 4°C’s films over the past 13 years including Nezumi in Tekkonkinkreet. Speaking about his role in Children of the Sea he commented how it felt like his voice became part of his body for the role.

     

    ©2019 Daisuke Igarashi・Shogakukan / “Children of the Sea” Production Committee

  • Ocean mystery adventure movie Children of the Sea art book release!

    16.April.2019 | MOVIE

    Manga artist Daisuke Igarashi enthrals his readers with his unique representation of nature and his respect for the natural world. When the news of the STUDIO4℃ film adaptation of his fantasy manga Children of the Sea, the world just could not wait. The film will be released in Japan on Friday 7th June!

    A few days ago, the official film trailer was released. Then, there was an announcement of the sale of an original picture book to which many commented with words of admiration and praise over its overwhelmingly high quality.

    The enormous 238-page art book is crammed with the trail of the making process. After browsing the book there’s no doubt that your perspective on the film will change!

     

    The adaptation’s art director Shinji Kimura previously worked on the epoch-making film adaptations for a number of works including SteamboyTekkonkinkreet, Blue Exorcist and Blood Blockade Battlefront. He produced the following statement about the Children of the Sea film adaptation:

     

     “The manga is so wonderful that I wonder whether there is even a point in making a film adaptation! Is it expected that countless numbers of staff members are required to complete this project? At the initial stages, Director Watanabe and Character Designer/ General Director and Producer Konishi also bore these concerns. We had the responsibility of recreating Igarashi’s special world through animation alone. Everyday life was our starting point. From there, we moved on to create the sea and space. We created an artistic background as a neverending story and it is from this perspective that we created the film.

    ー Film art director Shinji Kimura

     

    Book your trip to the cinema to discover the secrets of the Children of the Sea and plunge further into Igarashi’s world by uncovering the mysteries of the art book!

  • Children of the Sea Film Adaptation 1st Trailer Released

    09.April.2019 | ANIME&GAME / MOVIE

    The first trailer for the upcoming animated film adaptation of Daisuke Igarashi’s manga series Children of the Sea has been released.

    The film is set for release in Japan on June 7, 2019. It is being animated by Studio 4°C who are known for their adaptation of Taiyō Matsumoto’s Tekkonkinkreet which won the 2008 Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year.

     

    Check out the trailer below.

     

    The trailer opens with a scene of a humpback whale with the words “Nobody is aware of most of what goes on in the ocean” overlaid. It mentions the earth being made up of 71% water and from that how much we can really see or know. The film is set to explore these adventures for us.

    From there we see the beginning of protagonist Ruka’s (Mana Ashida) summer holiday. She encounters two boys, Umi and Sora, who were raised by dugongs. We also witness a mysterious memory Ruka has of when she was a child followed by the start of the trio’s adventure to solve the mysteries of the ocean.

     

    The trailer is accompanied by music from Joe Hisaishi who captures the wildness of the ocean in his melodies. He released the following statement: “What’s interesting about this movie is that it has things you wouldn’t expect as story. You could call it philosophical. I stuck to a minimalist music style for the entire picture, so it has been quite a challenge as a film score. The film inspires the viewer’s imagination of the universe’s memories and the effervescence of life.”

     

    ©2019 Daisuke Igarashi・Shogakukan / “Children of the Sea” Production Committee

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