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Story, Theme Song Details Revealed for Saga Prefecture's 'Okaeri' Anime Short

Japan's Saga Prefecture has two promotional anime shorts in the works, "Tadaima" (I'm Home) and "Okaeri" (Welcome Back). Staff revealed more information about the second short, including a key visual and theme song information on Thursday.

"Okaeri" follows high school senior Sora who is aiming to be a professional soccer player. Unfortunately, Sora is injured and finds that the path to being a pro in Tokyo is now closed to him. He decides to find a new path in Saga Prefecture's Karatsu city.

Kappei Yamaguchi stars as Sora. Kotono Mitsuishi will voice the character's mother, Miyoko.

Saga native Sayaka Matsuya is performing the short's ending theme "Taisetsuna Basho" (Important Place). Matsuya's audition took first place in a popularity vote sponsored by Toyota Corolla Fukuoka in 2015 and won the fourth Hakata Music Award.

Hajime Kamegaki is directing the short at TMS Entertainment with a script by Hideki Sonoda (Beyblade Burst, Pokémon the Movie: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction) and character designs by Junko Yamanaka.

Both shorts will premiere on March 11 at the Saga Prefectural Museum of Art during a public event commemorating animation about Saga Prefecture. Hideki Sonoda and Kappei Yamaguchi will attend the event with a mini-live concert by Sayaka Matsuya. The shorts will then air on YouTube on March 12.

Pony Canyon produced two earlier shorts for Saga prefecture last year. The shorts are titled "Yakusoku no Utsuwa - Arita no Hatsukoi" (The Pot of Promise - First Love in Arita), and "Fuyu no Chikai, Natsu no Matsuri - Takeoshi no Dai-Kusunoki," (The Oath of Winter, The Festival of Summer - The Great Camphor Tree of Takeoshi). Seven Arcs Pictures animated both shorts.

Source: Anime! Anime!