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Umibe no Étranger Boys-Love Anime Film's Trailer Previews Theme Song

Space Shower Music began streaming a teaser video for the anime film of Kanna Kii's Umibe no Étranger (L'étranger du Plage or The Stranger on the Beach) manga on Wednesday. The video features band MONO NO AWARE's theme song "Zokkon" (From the Bottom of My Heart), which they wrote specifically for the film.

The film will open in Japan on Friday.

The story centers on Mio, a high school boy who lost his parents at an early age. Shun, a gay aspiring novelist living near Mio's house on a remote island in Okinawa, noticed Mio sitting for hours at a bench on the beach. They grew closer to each other, but Mio had to leave Okinawa. Three years later, Mio returns to face his feelings.

Taishi Murata is playing Shin Hashimoto in the film, while Yoshitsugu Matsuoka is playing Mio Chibana. Yu Shimamura is playing Sakurako.

Akiyo Ohashi (Land of the Lustrous manga's 2013 promotional video, Sakura Capsule) is directing the anime at Studio Hibari, and is also serving as scriptwriter and storyboarder. Kii, a former animator, is supervising the film, and is also drawing the film's character designs. Mayumi Watanabe is the chief animation director, while Takashi Hashimoto is the effects animation director. Composer and musician Mina Kubota (Aria the Animation, Macross Delta, A Whisker Away) is composing the film's music.

Umibe no Étranger is Kii's debut work as a manga creator, and it ran in Shodensha's On Blue magazine in 2013. Kii launched a sequel manga titled Harukaze no Étranger (L'étranger du zéphyr or The Stranger of the Spring Breeze) in On Blue in July 2014. Shodensha published the manga's third compiled book volume in July 2017.

Sources: Space Shower Music's YouTube channel, Umibe no Étranger's website, Mainichi Shimbun's