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BELLE Anime Film's Japanese TV Airing on Friday Canceled (Updated)
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Japanese channel NTV announced on Friday that it has canceled the planned airing of Mamoru Hosoda's BELLE (Ryū to Sobakasu no Hime) anime film. The film was scheduled to air on Friday at 9:00 p.m. JST. NTV stated it will announce a new air date at a later time.
Many Japanese channels have suspended planned programming for most of the day on Friday due to the death of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe was shot at a campaign event in Nara on Friday around 11:30 a.m. JST, and was pronounced dead at 5:03 p.m. JST.
BELLE opened in Japan in July 2021. The film had IMAX screenings in 38 theaters throughout Japan. This makes BELLE the first of Hosoda's films to have IMAX screenings. The film has earned a cumulative total of 6.53 billion yen (about US$56.9 million) as of December 12. The film is Hosoda's highest-grossing film. MX4D screenings for the film opened on October 22.
Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, The Boy and The Beast, Mirai) directed and scripted the film, and is also credited for the original work. The film marks Studio Chizu's 10th anniversary. Taisei Iwasaki (Blood Blockade Battlefront, Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan, The Naked Director) was the film's music director and composer.
GKIDS began screening the film in English and in Japanese with English subtitles in the U.S. on January 14. GKIDS and Shout! Factory then released the film on digital platforms on May 3 and on Blu-ray Disc on May 17.
Update: The film is now scheduled to air on September 23. Source: Comic Natalie
Source: NTV via Game Yoridori SubCul Midori Park
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