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Miyagi Studio's Tohoku Earthquake Memorial Anime Short Streamed
posted on by Sarah Nelkin
Ima, Futari no Michi, the anime short produced by Asahi Production's spinoff studio in Miyagi disaster, began streaming on Wednesday. Miyagi was one of the prefectures hardest hit by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami:
Before the 2011 tsunami and earthquake, the male protagonist Kunpei wants to become a fisherman. The heroine Jun is thinking about becoming a doctor like her father, but is still undecided. Jun admires Kunpei for his decision to follow a dream, while he admires her for her endless possibilities.
As Jun rides her bike in the year 2011, she explains that although her father suggested that she remain in Tokyo to work as a medical intern, she returned to her town, because she wanted to help with the town's restoration in even the smallest way. Kunpei, on the other hand, has started working on a farm. He admits that he started working as a farmer in order to escape the scent of the sea. Despite his pain, as time passed by, he felt that he should be more positive.
Now in 2014, Jun has started working at a hospital in Iwanuma, Miyagi Prefecture. After Kunpei is complimented for his vegetables, the two reunite after years of being apart. They compliment each other on their looks. Each tells the other that their new look suits them.
Three people connected to Miyagi Prefecture were chosen to voice the short's characters. The stage actress and Sendai native Natsu Yasumuro stars with voice actors and Shiogama natives Nobunaga Shimazaki (Ace of Diamond, Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club, Silver Spoon) and Kouichi Yamadera (Ghost in the Shell, Evangelion, Ranma ½).
The Sendai Mediatheque library held the anime's premiere at the "Anime Gyōkai Seminar" (Anime Industry Seminar) in Sendai's Aoba ward last month. Studio Pierrot founding CEO Yūji Nunokawa spoke at the event that ran from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Nunokawa is from Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture, which is part of the Tohoku region that was heavily affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The anime aired on the BS11 channel's news program Onze on March 8 at 6:00 p.m. The online video service Niconico began streaming the video for free on Wednesday, the fourth anniversary of the Tohoku disaster. The video will be available for one month.
Thanks to Xavier for the news tip
[Via Kai-You]
