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Shinkai's Hoshi o Ou Kodomo, Gantz Trailers Streamed (Updated)

The Yahoo! Movies Japan website began streaming the latest 87-second trailer from Makoto Shinkai's Hoshi o Ou Kodomo: Children who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below film on Thursday. The trailer features part of the theme song that singer/songwriter Anri Kumaki created for the project. The film is the latest work by the creator of Voices of a Distant Star, The Place Promised in Our Early Days, and 5 Centimeters Per Second. The new film will open in Japan on May 7.

The film centers on Asuna, a girl who spends her solitary days listening to the mysterious music emanating from the crystal radio she received from her father as a memento. However, she embarks on a journey of adventure to meet a boy again, and thus comes to know the cruelty and beauty of the world, as well as loss.

Takayo Nishimura (5 Centimeters Per Second, Before Green Gables) is designing the characters and overseeing the animation process. Takumi Tanji (5 Centimeters Per Second, The Place Promised in Our Early Days) is directing the art, and musical composer Tenmon (5 Centimeters Per Second, The Place Promised in Our Early Days, Voices of a Distant Star) is collaborating with Shinkai again.

The official website for the live-action film adaptation of Hiroya Oku's Gantz science-fiction action manga is streaming a 32-second teaser trailer and a 92-second full trailer for the second film. (In the linked page, select the "Trailer" option in the bottom menu.)

Kazunari Ninomiya (Tekkonkinkreet, Letters from Iwo Jima) of the Arashi musical group and award-winning actor Ken'ichi Matsuyama (Death Note, Detroit Metal City, NANA, The Legend of Kamui) star as two friends who are resurrected after a deadly subway accident and forced to take on violent, mysterious missions. Yuriko Yoshitaka (Kaiji), Natsuna, and Takayuki Yamada (Train Man, Crows Zero, H2: Kimi to Ita Hibi) also star in these two films from director Shinsuke Sato (The Princess Blade, Suna-dokei, Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror). The first film opened on January 29, and the second film will follow on April 23.

The official website for the live-action film adaptation of Shigeto Yamagara's Flash anime Kimi to Boku (You and I) also began streaming a teaser trailer on Tuesday. Actor Aoi Nakamura (Beck, Q.E.D., Ōoku: The Inner Chambers) plays the aspiring manga creator who is the "kimi" of the title, while voice actress/singer Maaya Sakamoto voices Gin-Ō-gō the American Shorthair cat who is the "boku" of the title. The story follows the friendship between the cat and the young man from when they first meet up to when they must part.

Yamagara based his self-produced Flash anime on his own real-life experiences. Since he launched the anime online in 2001, it has garnered 4.8 million page views. The anime was translated into English under the name Everlasting Heart. Takashi Kubota (Bad Boys, Mr. Children's "Hibiki" music video) is directing the 45-minute film for a May 14 opening.

The Yahoo! Movies Japan website posted a new 33-second teaser trailer and a 94-second full trailer for Tomoyuki Takimoto's live-action film adaptation of Takashi Murakami's Hoshi Mamoru Inu manga on Tuesday. The story follows the final journey that a middle-aged man (Tsuri Baka Nisshi's Toshiyuki Nishida) takes to Hokkaido with his faithful canine companion. The film will open on June 11.

[Via Moon Phase, Nippon Cinema (link 2, link 3), Saishin Anime Jōhō]

Images © Makoto Shinkai/CMMMY
© Hiroya Oku/Shueisha © 2011 “GANTZ” Film Partners

Update: Media Factory and CW Films have uploaded the Hoshi o Ou Kodomo trailer in high definition to YouTube.