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Sunao Katabuchi's New Film Reveals Title, Video, Teaser Visual
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
The MAPPA Stage 2023 event on Sunday revealed The Mourning Children: Nagiko and the Girls Wearing Tsurubami Black (Tsurubami-Iro no Nagiko-tachi) title, musical composer Akira Senju (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Mobile Suit Victory Gundam), making-of video, and teaser visual for director Sunao Katabuchi's new feature-length animated film.
Katabuchi began developing the project in 2017. The story is set in Kyoto during the 10th century "when The Pillow Book was written" by real-life literary figure Sei Shōnagon.
A previous video for the film teased that the film's story will feature an epidemic, and teased that Sei Shōnagon will be a character in the film, alongside character names such as Koretada, Tokinaka, Chikatada, and Takaie.
Chie Uratani (Hijikata Toshizo: Shiro no Kiseki, Princess Arete, Ushiro no Shōmen Daare) is serving as directing assistant (translated as co-director in a previous video), and Masashi Ando (The Deer King, Princess Mononoke) is the chief animation director. Toshiharu Mizutani (Akira, Children of the Whales, Banana Fish, Little Busters!) is directing the art.
Contrail, the anime studio that Katabuchi established in September 2019, is producing the film. MAPPA's Manabu Ohtsuka is Contrail's representative director, and Katabuchi is a board member. The company is located in Tokyo's Suginami ward.
Katabuchi has directed such anime as Black Lagoon, Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail, Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage, Mai Mai Miracle, Princess Arete, and Meiken Lassie. He wrote the screenplay and directed the critically acclaimed In This Corner of the World film, which opened in November 2016. The extended version of the film, In This Corner (and Other Corners) of the World, opened in Japan in December 2019.
Sources: Press release, MAPPA Stage 2023 livestream
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