From the director of the award winning anime “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” Hosoda Mamoru and Evangelion character designer Sadamoto Yoshiyuki comes “Summer Wars”, a new feature animation produced by Madhouse Studio (Paprika, Denno Coil).
While the story behind the film is still a little murky ( The synopsis link on the film’s official page is grayed out ), the plot will revolve around a modern-day family that embarks on a midsummer adventure together at the behest of a 90-year-old woman. ( source Animation News Network )
Check out the official trailer below :
Is it just me or do the alternate reality sequences in the above trailer resemble Murakami Haruki’s Takashi’s KaiKai and KiKi, both in visual style and character design ?
I managed to get my paws on several copies of the film’s promotional flyer (image above) before catching Star Trek at a cinema in Shinjuku, and I’ll be giving out these free to those who purchase any artbook from my ebay store or from this blog. *While stocks last, remember to mention “Summer Wars” promotional flyer giveaway.*
Summer Wars will be released in Japan on the 1st of August. check out the official website. Anyone here a fan of Tokikake ( Girl Who Leapt Through Time ) ? I’m still waiting for a US blu-ray version to be released.
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There are 3 famous Murakamis from Japan… Ryu (writer), Haruki (writer) and Takeshi (arti$t)… I think You talking about Haruki Murakami.
Yeah, I think you meant Takashi Murakami. I agree that the alternate sequences remind of Takashi Murakami’s Superflat style and the abundance of bright colors. It also reminds me of the sequence in The Girl Who Leapt Through Time where she is falling through the alternate time reality.
And yes, I enjoyed The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. I even found time to watch it a second time a little while after I watched it for the first time.
Hey folks, I was referring to Murakami Takashi alright. Thanks for pointing out the mistake, I’ve already corrected that. :]
Hosoda directed a short promotion video (Superflat Monogram) in 2003, which has (character) designs by Murakami. Maybe he became fond of Murakami’s style and decided to use it also in other works.
And I really look forward to Summer Wars, Hosoda is definitely one of the best active anime directors.
I’m a fan of Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Since we are on topics of movies, Storm Raiders II trailer is out. Have you seen it?
raito-kun – Thanks for the heads up ! Gotta hunt down that PV !
gordon – Yes I have ! It looks so much better than the blatant 300 rip off trailer a while back. Still, its going to take forever to reach Japan I think.
oh… im really interested in the look of this one…really look forwards to being able to see it!
Yeah, you really must check out that Louis Vuitton Takashi Murakami PV that Hosoda directed – it has all his trademarks like the white space with the colours in it! Features a star-studded list of animators, too. The music is by Fantastic Plastic Machine (“different colors”)
I think a strong theme of Hosoda’s is to use that line of design and mostly flat colours, with little shading – I personally love it.
And I loved TokiKake, so I have to watch this even if it’s starting to seem a bit derivative. Have you watched Hosoda’s Digimon movie Bokura no War Game? I was intensely reminded of that when watching the SW trailer.
tragic comedy – Me too, can’t wait ! :]
w – Great, another anime to check out. Thanks for the heads up on that too !
I watched TokiKake before post here, love it!, the animation, the backgrounds art and the story are awesome!!
Waiting for Summer Wars, and like W mentioned, when i saw the SW trailers, i resembled Murakami´s Luis Vuitton add inmediatly, that white limbo and the chacarters are so his style.
Also i like the Sadamoto Yoshiyuki´s style so much, evangelion art was one of my favorite when i was younger next to Yuuki Nobuteru.
thanks younghow for the recommendations!!
Wow! I like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and the character design of Sadamoto Yoshiyuki. Seems interesting in some part of the trailer. Will watch if I have the chance.
Looks promising. When does it come out?
I like the scene when Kenji discovers his “summer job” is to pretend to be Natsuki’s fiance and dance with her at the birthday celebration. As Kenji attempts to keep up with Natsuki’s act around her family.