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Full Trailer for I.G's Hand-Drawn Anime Film Giovanni's Island Posted

The Movie Collection website began streaming the full trailer for Production I.G 's hand-drawn Giovanni no Shima (Giovanni's Island) animated feature film on Tuesday.

The trailer tells the story of two brothers living on the island of Shikotan. Their family and the people of the island hear of Japan's loss in the war and are told not to worry. However, their island gets caught in the middle of the continuing conflict in the west and are invaded by Russian soldiers. The boys meet a western girl on the island named Tanya and the older of the brothers, despite their language barriers, cultural differences, and warnings from friends, starts to fall in love with her. The boys' father gets lured out by the army is and is captured and taken to Siberia. The brothers embark on a journey to see their father again.

The film will star Masachika Ichimura, Yukie Nakama, comedian Kanako Yanagihara, Yusuke Santamaria, Hiroshi Inuzuka, Kaoru Yachigusa, Tatsuya Nakadai, and Saburo Kitajima.

This will be Nakama's first voice-acting role in an anime film in 16 years; she played Lapis Lazuli in Martian Successor Nadesico: The Motion Picture - Prince of Darkness.

Production I.G describes the story:

In the aftermath of the most devastating conflict mankind had ever experienced, the tiny island of Shikotan became part of the Sakhalin Oblast... and on the unhealed border of this remote corner of the world, friendship among children from two different countries timidly blossomed, striving to overcome language barriers and the waves of history. Inspired by true events.

On August 15th, they told us we had lost the war.

At that time, we did not really understand.

Then one day, everything changed.

Many soldiers, wearing uniforms we had never seen before, arrived on the island.

That was the day I met Tanya.

Mizuho Nishikubo (Musashi: The Dream of the Last Samurai, Video Girl Ai) is directing the film from a screenplay by Shigemichi Sugita (From the Northern Lands) and Yoshiki Sakurai (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Blood+). The film is being presented by the Japan Association of Music Enterprises (JAME) in order to celebrate the organization's 50th anniversary. Warner Entertainment Japan will open the movie in Japanese theaters in early spring 2014, while Production I.G will be handling international release of the film worldwide.

The film will open in Japan on February 22.