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Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko Will Have U.K. Cinema Screenings on August 10
posted on by Andrew Osmond
Anime Limited has Tweeted that it will release Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko, Studio 4°C's anime film of Kanako Nishi's Gyokō no Nikuko-chan (Nikuko of the Fishing Harbour) novel, in UK cinemas on August 10. Venue details and booking links are available at https://nikukofilm.co.uk/.
The film is described on the website:
"From acclaimed director Ayumu Watanabe (Children of the Sea) and STUDIO4°C (Tekkon Kinkreet, Mind Game) comes a heartwarming and moving comedy-drama with touches of magical realism. Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko is about an unconventional family and the bonds that they share in their sleepy seaside town.
"Brash single mother Nikuko is well-known for her bold spirit, much to the embarrassment of Kikuko, her pensive yet imaginative daughter. In contrast to her mother, Kikuko wants nothing more than to fit in as she navigates the everyday social dramas of middle school. Life in the harbour is peaceful until a shocking revelation from the past threatens to uproot the pairs tender relationship."
The film opened in Japan in June 2021.
Watanabe (Children of the Sea, Space Brothers) directed the anime at Studio 4°C. Satomi Ooshima (Hataraki Man) wrote the script. Kenichi Konishi (Children of the Sea, A Good Librarian Like a Good Shepherd) was the character designer and chief animation director. Akashiya (Santa Claus Tsukamaeta! screenwriter and original creator) planned and produced the film. ASMIK Ace distributed the film.
10-year-old Kurumi Inagaki performed a GReeeeN-produced cover of "Image no Uta," the debut single of veteran singer-songwriter Takuro Yoshida, as the film's theme song. GReeeeN performed the film's ending theme song "Taketen."
The film won the "Axis: The Satoshi Kon Award for Excellence in Animation" award as a Special Mention at Montreal's 25th Fantasia International Film Festival in August, and also won the Korean Society of Cartoon and Animation Studies (KOSCAS) President's Prize in the Special Awards category at the 23rd Bucheon International Animation Festival (BIAF) in October. Additionally, the film won the Scotland Loves Anime Festival's Jury Award in October. The film won the animation category in the Hochi Shimbun's 46th Hochi Film Award in December. The film also won the Excellence Award at the 25th Japan Media Arts Festival Awards earlier this month.
Gentosha published the original novel in April 2014. The "human drama" novel centers on a mother named Nikuko and her daughter, Kikuko, who live on a boat. The novel follows their paths in life, and their growth. The novels have more than 350,000 copies in print.
