News

The Camphorwood Custodian Anime Film's Trailer Unveils More Cast, Composer

The staff for the anime film of Keigo Higashino's The Camphorwood Custodian (Kusunoki no Bannin) novel revealed the first full trailer, key visual, more cast members, and more staff members on Wednesday.

The cast includes (left to right):

• Asuka Saitō as Yumi Saji, a college student who asks Reito to uncover why her father is visiting the camphorwood tree secretly
• Ryūbi Miyase as Sōki Ōba, the heir of a storied Japanese-style confectioner who reluctantly begins attending the shrine
• Takao Ōsawa as Toshiaki Saji, a regular visitor to the camphorwood tree who is hiding other secret from his family

Yūgo Kanno (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, Ajin, Psycho-Pass) will compose the music for the film. The other newly announced staff members include:

The film will open in Japanese theaters on January 30.

Fumiya Takahashi stars as Reito Naoi and Yūki Amami stars as Chifune Yanagisawa.

Taku Kishimoto (Haikyu!!, 91 Days, Sakamoto Days) is penning the film's script. Blue Period manga creator Tsubasa Yamaguchi is designing the characters alongside Akiko Itagaki (Lonely Castle in the Mirror assistant character design). Hiroshi Takiguchi is the art director.

The novel's story centers on Reito, a young man who was unreasonably fired from his job, and in revenge has committed a crime and gets arrested. He tries to appeal to the investigator to no avail, and he is sent to the prosecutor's office, where he waits for his indictment. Suddenly, a lawyer appears and tells Reito that he can be released if he follows his client's order.

Reito takes the gamble and accepts the condition, and the client turns out to be his late mother's half-sister, Chifune Yanagisawa. Chifune has only one order for Reito: to become the camphorwood tree custodian at Tsukigō shrine. Reito becomes the camphorwood tree custodian and meets different people who visit the temple grounds for different reasons.

Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha published Higashino's novel in 2020 in hardcover, and released the novel in paperback in 2023. The novel has over 1 million copies in circulation.

Higashino's The Miracles of the Namiya General Store (Namiya Zakkaten no Kiseki) novel was serialized in Kadokawa's Shosetsu Yasei Jidai literary and novel magazine in 2011. Kadokawa published the novel in one volume in 2012. Yen Press published the novel in English in 2019. The novel inspired stage play adaptations in 2013 and 2016, musical stage plays in 2017 and recently in March, and a live-action film also in 2017.

Higashino's 1998 Himitsu (Secret) novel inspired a live-action film in 1999 and a live-action drama in 2010. Vertical published the novel under the English title Naoko: A Novel in 2004.

Sources: Comic Natalie, Aniplex's YouTube channel, The Camphowood Custodian's official website (link 2)