To celebrate the first anniversary of the animated Studio Chizu film Belle, a special Cinematic Orchestra will be held on August 14 at the Tokyo International Forum. The event will feature a number of other beloved Studio Chizu works.

The event will feature a symphony orchestra performing songs from many Studio Chizu films while famous scenes play on an oversized screen. The works to be featured include The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Wolf Children, The Boy and the Beast, Mirai, and Belle.

Masakatsu Takagi will be playing piano while Hanako Oku and Ann Sally will be attending as guest vocalists.

Original merchandise will also be on sale at the venue, with some pieces featuring an incredible illustration of Belle from the feature film.

Which Studio Chizu film is your favorite?

Featured Works

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)
Summer Wars (2009)
Wolf Children (2012)
The Boy and the Beast (2015)
Mirai (2018)
Belle (2021)

Attack on Titan The Final Season Part 2 is currently airing, and to keep up the hype, a live video of the popular track Ashes on the Fire has been posted to YouTube. The internationally acclaimed song was composed by Kohta Yamamoto and appears in a pivotal scene in the anime series. The video is a specially edited version of footage sourced from the Attack on Titan Orchestra Concert held at Pacifico Yokohama last year mixed with scenes from the show. Fans can’t miss it!

 Attack on Titan OST – Ashes on The Fire [Official Live Video]

Attack on Titan OST – ətˈæk 0N tάɪtn ᐸWMIdᐳ [Official Live Video]

Attack on Titan OST – Footsteps of Doom [Official Audio]

Attack on Titan The Final Season Part 2 is currently airing on NHK General on Sundays at 24:05. It’s available to stream on dTV, d Anime Store, GYAO!, Netflix, TELASA, Hikari TV, and Amazon Prime Video.

©諫山創・講談社／「進撃の巨人」The Final Season製作委員会

The concert featuring the TV anime series Run with the Wind based on the novel Run with the Wind  by Shion Miura, will be held on December 29, 2021 at Ebisu The Garden Hall.

For this concert, Production I.G, the animation company that produced the anime series Run with the Wind, will be involved in the video production. Based on scenes selected by composer Yuki Hayashi, the video has been re-edited for the concert and will be delivered with a live performance by the gorgeous musicians.

The day will surely be a special one, where you can enjoy the music of the special band orchestra alongside a number of masterly scenes. Don’t miss this chance to experience the world of the film before the Hakone Ekiden, the university relay race in January that the characters are striving for!

Original work: Run with the Wind by Shion Miura (Shincho Bunko)

©三浦しをん・新潮社／寛政大学陸上競技部後援会

A number of tracks set to be performed at the upcoming online Monster Hunter Orchestra have been announced! The concert will be held on September 28 at 19:00 and will have no live audience. Tickets for the online streaming event are on sale now until October 11, 2021. A number of pieces from the Monster Hunter series will be performed by a full orchestra, and fans won’t want to miss it!

Seven songs have been announced, including tracks from the newest entry to the franchise Monster Hunter Rise. Vocalist Izumi Kato, who provided Hinoa’s singing voice,  will also be present to perform the song Kamura’s Song of Purification. Hirofumi Kurita is returning as the maestro for the performance and has conducted the Monster Hunter Orchestra since 2014. Hideki Ishigaki will play the traditional shakuhachi, while Momoka Enomoto plays the biwa. Sho Asano will be on the Tsugaru-shamisen, while the shredding electric guitar will be expertly handled by Daisuke Miyazaki. A special behind-the-scenes speech will also be given by Ryozo Tsujimoto, the producer of Capcom’s Monster Hunter series. 

Program Sneak-Peek (☆=First Performance)

Kamura’s Song of Purification☆

Treacherous/Magnamalo☆

The Rampage Medley☆

Bonding Winds: Monster Hunter Stories 2 Version☆

Sparkling Blue Light/Zinogre

Splendiferous Silver Sovereign/Velkhana

Soaring Legend/Fatalis: World Version ~With Infinite Courage

*Please note that the music performed is subject to change. 

Images from Previous Performance

©CAPCOM CO., LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

In promotion of Studio Chizu’s upcoming animated film Belle, Animate is holding a free online tour which will begin on July 15.

Studio Chizu’s past works have enjoyed great success both in Japan overseas and include Wolf Children (2012), The Boy and the Beast (2015), Mirai (2018), and the highly-anticipated forthcoming entry Belle, which will be released in Japan on July 16, 2021. All the films are directed by the Academy Award-nominated Mamoru Hosoda.

The online tour will be offer early-access digital entry to Animate’s upcoming Studio Chizu Exhibition which is set to open at Animate Yokohama Vivre on July 16. Shotaro Otan, the store manager of Animate Yokohama Vivre who is also active as a YouTuber, will guide viewers through the exhibition as well as show products that will be sold online as part of the event.

Ten random people who purchase Studio Chizu-related goods from Animate once the tour ends will be randomly chosen to win some free Belle merchandise too.

©スタジオ地図　©2021 スタジオ地図

Tokyo-based amusement park Yomiuri Land and flower park HANA・BIYORI are celebrating 10 years of Studio Chizu, the animation studio spearheaded by director Mamoru Hosoda, as well as the upcoming release of their new film Belle with a special event that is running from July 17 to September 5.

Studio Chizu 10th Cross Park in Yomiuri Land

Flowers collide with digital art at HANA・BIYORI

Solve puzzles in an AR rally

Themed food

Exclusive merchandise

The events will celebrate Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu’s entire filmography including The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Wolf Children, The Boy and the Beast, Mirai, and their upcoming film Belle which will be released in Japan on July 16. This includes themed attraction, food, merchandise, and more. There will also be a special AR rally where guests will need to locate hidden characters around the park. A digital art show will also take place at HANA・BIYORI which is connected to Yomiuri Land.

More details about the attractions and food will roll out in early July.

An Attack on Titan orchestra concert has been announced and will take place at Pacifico Yokohama National Convention Hall on August 22, 2021. Scheduled to perform are guests are Hiroyuki Sawano and Kohta Yamamoto as well as guest vocalists Aimee Blackschleger, Eliana, Laco, and mpi. Priority tickets can be applied for by purchasing Volume 1 of the DVD or Blu-ray volume of Attack on Titan The Final Season which is set to be released in Japan on July 7.

©諫山創・講談社／「進撃の巨人」The Final Season製作委員会

The final season’s original soundtrack was also released digitally on June 23 with 23 tracks by Kohta Yamamoto and Hiroyuki Sawano. Check out the preview below.

Attack on Titan The Final Season Original Soundtrack

After a successful run back in August 2019, the My Hero Academia themed wind orchestra concert is set to return this year with a brand new show at Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre’s Concert Hall on July 17.

Yuki Hayashi (Composer)

Daiki Yamashita (Izuku Midoriya)

Nobuhiko Okamoto (Katsuki Bakugo)

My Hero Academia is an ongoing manga series by Kōhei Horikoshi’s serialised in Weekly Shonen Jump. It’s set in a world where 80% of people have special powers known as “Quirks.” In the story, people with Quirks aspire to become heroes to protect people and the society they live in. The fifth season of the series’ anime adaptation began airing in February, and a new anime film, My Hero Academia The Movie: World Heroes’ Mission, is slated for release this year.

The performance will see orchestral renditions of tracks by Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra that have been carefully selected from My Hero Academia‘s OST, which was originally composed by Yuki Hayashi. This will include popular songs instantly-recognisable to fans such as You Say Run and Watashi ga Kita!!. Hayashi himself will be present at the concert to talk about the songs, and there will even be a talk with Deku and Bakugo’s voice actors Daiki Yamashita and Nobuhiko Okamoto.

Japanese music streaming site RecoChoku has revealed the top song and album rankings of artists for April 2021 who earn the site’s RecoChoku Award for the month. Taking the number one spot for the monthly single charts is YOASOBI with Mou Sukoshi Dake (‘Just a Little More’) which released on May 10 as the theme song for Fuji TV’s Mezamashi TV.

RecoChoku Award Monthly Music – May 2021

Single Charts

1st Place: “Mou Sukoshi Dake” – YOASOBI (Released May 20, 2021)
2nd Place: “Kaitou” – back number
3rd Place: “Kirari” – Fujii Kaze
4th Place: “Butter” – BTS
5th Place: “Cry Baby” – Official HIGE DANdism

Album Charts

1st Place: “ZZ’s II” – Momoiro Clover Z (Releasing May 17, 2021)
2nd Place: “THE BOOK” – YOASOBI
3rd Place: “Kimi Shika Katan (Special Edition)” – Hinatazaka46
4th Place: “Butter” – BTS
5th Place: “LADYBUG” – LiSA

YOASOBI’s Mou Sukoshi Dake is inspired by the novel Meguru. by Chiharu and first hit the air on March 29 as the main theme for the weekly Japanese news show Mezamashi TV. Excited words of praise flooded social media in Japan when it played on the show. The single’s cover art was created by hmng and captures a scene of a schoolgirl bathed in light. This girl also appears in the novel, giving a peek into its story as well as the feeling of the song itself. Mou Sukoshi Dake has ranked number one two weeks in a row for RecoChoku’s weekly rankings on May 12 and 19 and has now taken the monthly spot.

YOASOBI’s success doesn’t stop there however as it was recently announced that band member ikura is receiving her voice acting role in Studio Chizu’s upcoming anime film Belle which is set for release this July. 

Momoiro Clover Z’s compilation album ZZ’s II is set to release on May 17 in celebration of the group’s 13th anniversary. The tracks were re-recorded by the current four members. There are 10 songs in title including Nippon Egao Hyakkei -ZZ ver.-, Saraba Itoshiki Kanashimi-tachi yo which features arrangement and guitar work by Tomoyasu Hotei, and more.

Momoiro Clover Z have been posting videos of songs from the album on their official YouTube channel. The album came in at number one on the daily charts and that has continued in the weekly and monthly charts.

Fuji TV’s anime programming block Noitamina celebrated its 15th anniversary with a special anniversary orchestra concert held at Tokyo International Forum Hall C on May 29.

The breathtaking concert featured a line-up of anime songs that play during iconic scenes from different anime series. It was conducted by Satoshi Yoneda and performed by the incredible Tokyo 21C Philharmonic who lent their dynamic sound to the set list. The set invited each song’s respective composer on piano including Yugo Kanno for the main theme of Library War, Takahiro Obata for the first main theme of The Promised Neverland, Masaru Yokoyama for Yuujin A-Kun o Watashi No Bansousha Ni Ninmeishimasu from Your Lie in April, and more. Sarah Àlainn also made an appearance to sing the insert song Isabella no Uta from The Promisd Neverland.

The performance included scenes and visuals from each anime series edited specially for this cocnert.

Since January, Studio Chizu has been teamed up with the Japanese apparel brand Graniph to release a new t-shirt design every month in celebration of their 10th anniversary. The fifth and final design was released on May 26.

Studio Chizu’s past works have enjoyed great success both in Japan overseas and include Wolf Children (2012), The Boy and the Beast (2015), Mirai (2018), and the highly-anticipated forthcoming entry Belle (2021). All the films are directed by the Academy Award-nominated Mamoru Hosoda.

Mirai x tupera tupera

The past four t-shirt designs have included The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Wolf Children, andThe Boy and the Beast, each illustrated by a different popular artist. The fifth and final design is for Mirai which was drawn by tupera tupera and features Mirai, Kun, the mother, the father, and the pet dog Yukko.

Graniph posted an interview with tupera tupera on their YouTube channel which you can watch below in Japanese.

tupera tupera Interview

(C)2018 スタジオ地図
(C)STUDIO CHIZU

Studio Chizu, the Japanese animation studio working on the upcoming anime film Belle which is set for release sometime this summer, has announced an exhibition at TeNQ Space Museum in celebration of their 10th anniversary and in promotion of their newest work. It will be held from July 7 to November 14.

Studio Chizu’s past works have enjoyed great success both in Japan overseas and include Wolf Children (2012), The Boy and the Beast (2015), Mirai (2018), and the highly-anticipated forthcoming entry Belle (2021). All the films are directed by the Academy Award-nominated Mamoru Hosoda.

One of the biggest aspects when it comes to creating an animated world are the backgrounds used. This exhibition will focus on two key background features threaded throughout Hosoda’s creations: the sky and clouds. Both of these sceneries are showcased in different ways in all four of his films and will be explored throughout the event with a special, exclusive showing of a slideshow with various scenes of the sky and clouds littered in the filmography, as well as a more ‘academic’ exhibit of the cumulonimbus, a cloud that symbolises Studio Chizu, and more.

Limited edition mask case 

There will also be a selection of original merchandise for anime fans to pick up, as well as a limited stock face mask case when purchased together with select tickets.

Exhibits to look out for at the event

Who are Studio Chizu?

Learn about the 10 year history of the Japanese animation studio Studio Chizu.

Studio Chizu and the cumulonimbus

The cumulonimbus is a cloud synonymous with Studio Chizu’s works – see it in all forms from their filmography in this special exhibit.

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