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BONES' 'Josee, The Tiger and the Fish' Anime Selected to Close Busan Int'l Film Fest
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
The Busan International Film Festival in South Korea announced on Thursday that it has selected BONES' anime film of Seiko Tanabe's short story Josee to Tora to Sakana-tachi (Josee, The Tiger and the Fish) as the closing film for the festival. The festival will take place on October 21 to 30.
The film will open in Japan on December 25, delayed from its scheduled summer opening due to the spread of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
The film's story centers on the relationship between Tsuneo and Josee. Tsuneo is a university student, and Josee is a young girl who has rarely gone out of the house by herself due to her being unable to walk. The two meet when Tsuneo finds Josee's grandmother taking her out for a morning walk.
Kotaro Tamura (Noragami, Noragami Aragoto) is directing the anime. Nao Emoto (O Maidens in Your Savage Season) drew the original characters designs, and Haruko Iizuka (Tamayura, Children of the Whales, Endro~!) is designing those characters for animation, as well as serving as chief animation director. Sayaka Kuwamura (Strobe Edge) is writing the script. loundraw (Tsuki ga Kirei, I want to eat your pancreas character design) is credited for concept design. Evan Call (Violet Evergarden, Schwarzes Marken) is composing the music. Shochiku and Kadokawa will distribute the film. Eve is performing the film's theme song "Ao no Waltz" (Blue Waltz).
Tanabe published the original story in the 1985 short story collection of the same name. The story inspired a live-action film in 2003.
Sources: Busan International Film Festival's website, Animation Business Journal (Tadashi Sudo)