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NEWS: Anthem of the Heart Film's 22-Minute English-Subtitled Video Features Clips, Interviews

The thing I don't like about the rather aggressive promotion of this movie in Japan is that the obviously pre-written press packages for it keeps going on about how it's this huge original success that didn't have a lead-in anime or game for it, but then they neglect to mention that they hawked the crap out of the fact that it was the staff for the popular Ano Hana series as much as they possibly could and that it would be a film in a similar vein (really this is practically all I remember the promo packages talking about besides the obvious fact that it would be a Japanese style melodramatic tear-jerker) and also used one of the most popular idol acts in all of Japan (Nogizaka46 signed under Sony Music label) that has nothing to do with the story or themes of the film simply to promote the film as much as possible in videos of them crying or advocating for the film rather blatantly in the producers voices and even used them for the theme song.

All of these are factors that no doubt contributed the most towards it's attention and ability to attract viewers so it's obviously not just an original hit film out of nowhere with nothing backing it like the marketing packages want people to believe. Hell it had one of the most extensive ad campaigns and press packages for an animated film this side of Disney/Ghibli boasting about how it was going to be a film of comparable prestige to those of Ghibli and Mamoru Hosoda's greatest classics.

The whole film and painfully canned and carefully structure promotion with it's constant box office updates really feels like one big ego trip for Sony and I'm glad it doesn't look like it's going to set any records or really even come close to The Boy and The Beast's genuine popularity (which is clearly what mattered most to the films promoters) for them to brag even further about and give them even funnier ideas of trying to use more mainstream acts and staff gimmicks to promote films with. Over-promoted film if ever there was one, makes me wonder how much the overall ad campaign for it actually cost cause it's got to be one of the more expensive ones in recent memory along with one of the widest theater releases for a film.

The thing I don't like about the rather aggressive promotion of this movie in Japan is that the obviously pre-written press packages for it keeps going on about how it's this huge original success that didn't have a lead-in anime or game for it, but then they neglect to mention that they hawked the crap out of the fact that it was the staff for the popular Ano Hana series as much as they possibly could and that it would be a film in a similar vein (really this is practically all I remember the promo packages talking about besides the obvious fact that it would be a Japanese style melodramatic tear-jerker) and also used one of the most popular idol acts in all of Japan (Nogizaka46 signed under Sony Music label) that has nothing to do with the story or themes of the film simply to promote the film as much as possible in videos of them crying or advocating for the film rather blatantly in the producers voices and even used them for the theme song.

All of these are factors that no doubt contributed the most towards it's attention and ability to attract viewers so it's obviously not just an original hit film out of nowhere with nothing backing it like the marketing packages want people to believe. Hell it had one of the most extensive ad campaigns and press packages for an animated film this side of Disney/Ghibli boasting about how it was going to be a film of comparable prestige to those of Ghibli and Mamoru Hosoda's greatest classics.

The whole film and painfully canned and carefully structure promotion with it's constant box office updates really feels like one big ego trip for Sony and I'm glad it doesn't look like it's going to set any records or really even come close to The Boy and The Beast's genuine popularity (which is clearly what mattered most to the films promoters) for them to brag even further about and give them even funnier ideas of trying to use more mainstream acts and staff gimmicks to promote films with. Over-promoted film if ever there was one, makes me wonder how much the overall ad campaign for it actually cost cause it's got to be one of the more expensive ones in recent memory along with one of the widest theater releases for a film.

@Alabaster Spectrum

Obviously they are doing something right. You felt the need to write out three large paragraphs for a movie you haven't even seen yet. If the lead in publicity can get you that passionate for the film, it is money well spent.

Just because of Anohana and Toradora, I will watch this movie.

How was the advertising for this on the trains versus say the Boy and the Beast?

I've been on the fence about seeing this; I like the art style and promo images, but what I saw of "AnoHana" is scaring me away. That series was was one of the most maudlin things I've ever seen, and I'd rather not pay Japanese ticket prices for long stretches of characters bawling their eyes out and weeping at the top of their lungs.

If anyone's seen this film and found it to be more tastefully restrained, let me know. I can do sad and tragic -- "Windaria" is one of my all-time favorites. But wallowing in tragedy isn't in and of itself a selling point for me.