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Anthem of the Heart Has 2016's Highest 1st-Week Sales for Anime Films Thus Far
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
The Blu-ray Disc release of The Anthem of the Heart (Kokoro ga Sakebitagatterun Da.) anime film has the highest first-week sales for anime films in 2016 thus far, according to Oricon's overall Blu-ray Disc sales chart for the week of March 28-April 3. The film's Blu-ray Disc sold 22,966 copies in its first week. It beat the previous record holder, Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio: Ars Nova Cadenza, whose Blu-ray Disc sold 20,808 copies (combining the sales of its limited first pressing edition and its standard edition) in its first week last month.
The Anthem of the Heart is ranked the 35th highest grossing domestic Japanese film for 2015, and earned 1.12 billion yen (about US$9.46 million). The film premiered in Japan last September, and opened in selected theaters in the United States and Canada last November.
The official English website for the film describes the story:
Jun is a girl whose words have been sealed away. She was once a happy girl, but because of a [certain thing] she said when she was very young, her family was torn apart. One day, the egg fairy appeared in front of her and sealed away her ability to talk in order to stop her from hurting anybody else. Since this traumatic experience, Jun lives in the shadows away from the limelight. But, one day she is nominated to become an executive member of the "community outreach council." On top of that, Jun is also appointed to play the main lead in their musical...
The film reunited staff members from the anohana and Toradora! anime. Tatsuyuki Nagai (A Certain Scientific Railgun, Waiting in the Summer) again directied the film at the studio A-1 Pictures. Mari Okada (M3 the dark metal, Hana-Saku Iroha) wrote the script, and Masayoshi Tanaka (Highschool of the Dead, Joshiraku) designed the characters. Like the anohana anime, the story of the new film is set in Chichibu. The idols of the Nogizaka46 group contributed their 13th single, "Ima, Hanashitai Dareka ga Iru" (Now, There Is Someone I Want to Talk With) as the film's theme song.
Source: Music.jp
Update: Corrected numbers. Thanks Alabaster Spectrum!
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