Actualités

'To All the Corners of the World' Anime Film Reaches Crowdfunding Goal

The crowdfunding campaign for the anime film of Fumiyo Kōno's To All The Corners Of The World (Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni) manga reached its goal on Wednesday. The campaign launched in Japan on March 9.

The campaign's goal was to reach 20 million yen (about US$164,873) in funding, and as of press time the campaign had raised 20,354,000 yen (US$167,788) from 1,736 backers.

The crowdfunding campaign offers six tiers of rewards from 2,000 yen (about US$17, with a member's pin badge and a letter from the lead character Suzu) to 1,000,000 yen (about US$8,000 with the badge, the letter, an invitation to one of three production support member meetings in July, and a name listing in the ending credits). The campaign will end on the Makuake website on May 29.

The award-winning story of Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni follows a bride named Suzu Urano as she moves to her new life in Kure City on the coast of Hiroshima Prefecture. Suzu perseveres through World War II with pluck and determination. The tagline on the site for the film's production support members reads:

Family.
Meals.
Sketchbook.

Shōwa Years 19 and 20…
Kure, Hiroshima…
In that place and time was my humble daily life.

Director and writer Sunao Katabuchi (Mai Mai Miracle, Black Lagoon) had announced the feature film in 2012. Early concept art featured designs by Chie Uratani (Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail, Mai Mai Miracle, Tekkonkinkreet animation director), and the staff completed the scenario and storyboards. The studio MAPPA (Kids on the Slope, Terror in Resonance) is animating the film, and GENCO is producing.

JManga had released Kono's manga in English online. The manga series won an Excellence Prize in the 13th Japan Media Arts Festival, and it already inspired a live-action television special starring Keiko Kitagawa (live-action Sailor Moon's Sailor Mars, Paradise Kiss) as Suzu Urano in 2011. Last Gasp Publishing and jaPRESS released Kono's manga Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms in North America.

[Via Yaraon!]