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Saudi Arabia's Manga Productions, Toei to Open The Journey Film in Japan on June 25

A new official website opened on Thursday for Saudi Arabian media company Manga Productions and Toei Animation's animated collaboration film The Journey (Journey: Taiko Arabia Hantо̄ de no Kiseki to Tatakai no Monogatari, or Journey: A Tale of Miracles and Battles on the Ancient Arabian Peninsula), and it reveals that the anime will premiere in Japan on June 25. The staff also revealed a poster visual:

The film was originally scheduled to open in 2020.

Manga Productions had scheduled to premiere the film at the Cannes Film Festival last May until the physical event was canceled.

Manga Productions has signed theatrical distribution deals for the movie with VOX Cinemas in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and with Toei's distribution company T-Joy in Japan.

The cast includes:

• Tōru Furuya as Aus
• Kotono Mitsuishi as Hind
• Hiroshi Kamiya as Zurara
• Yūichi Nakamura as nizar
• Kazuya Nakai as Musab
• Takaya Kuroda as Abraha

Kobun Shizuno (Detective Conan films) is directing the film, and Atsuhiro Tomioka (Pokémon films) is writing the script. Tatsurō Iwamoto (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney game series) is the film's lead character designer, and Kaoru Wada (Ninja Scroll, Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas, Inuyasha, Ace Attorney) is composing the music. The companies are producing the film in both Japan and Saudi Arabia (Manga Productions has branches in Riyadh and Tokyo). Manga Productions is fully financing the film, and has the worldwide distribution rights.

Manga Productions previously streamed a teaser trailer in November 2017 for "The Woodcutter's Treasure," its first collaboration with Toei Animation. The project is a 25-minute animation based on Saudi Arabian folklore and aimed at children and families, and it served as a pilot for a television series. The company stated in November 2017 that it has two upcoming projects with Toei Animation: a 13-episode television series and a 90-minute film.

Manga Productions is a subsidiary of the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Foundation, also known as MiSK, and named for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia. The company aims to create animation, comic, and video game projects to "promote Saudi ideas and messages internationally." MiSK signed a memorandum with Japan's Digital Hollywood University in October 2017 to train Saudi designers and programmers in creating animation and games.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman established MiSK in 2011. In February, the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence assessed that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi was a Saudi journalist who relocated to the United States and wrote for The Washington Post newspaper before being killed in 2018. The Saudi Arabian government "completely reject[ed]" the U.S. assessment.

Update: Clarified Khashoggi's citizenship, and added more details to balance the final paragraph.

Source: Comic Natalie