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The Last Blossom, Odd Taxi Director Will Attend Manchester Animation Festival on November 12

The Manchester Animation Festival, which will run at the HOME complex and other Manchester venues from November 9 to 13, will include a screening of Baku Kinoshita;s original anime film The Last Blossom (Housenka on Wednesday November 12 a 6.20 p.m. (tickets), including a Q&A with the director.

There will also be an earlier screening of the film (without a Q&A) on Monday November 10 at 12 p.m.

The film previously screened at this June's Annecy International Animation Film Festival, which describes the story:

Autumn 2023. Akutsu, an elderly inmate serving life in prison, is on the verge of a lonely death in his single cell. A talking Housenka flower says to him, "What a rotten life you had." Akutsu starts reflecting on his past. Summer 1986. Akutsu is living with Nana and her son Kensuke in a shabby apartment with a garden full of Housenkas. It is the tale of a one-night victorious comeback by a dying yakuza, and his family's story told by a flower that blooms in prison.

Kaoru Kobayashi and Junki Tozuka both play protagonist Minoru Akutsu at both his past and present, respectively. Hikari Mitsushima and Yoshiko Miyazaki similarly voice Akutsu's partner Nana Nagata at different points in her life. Pierre Taki voices the talking Housenka flower.

Kinoshita directed the film, written by Kadzuya Konomoto, who is credited for the script and the original concept. CLAP (Pompo: The Cinéphile, The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes) is in charge of animation production, and Michinoku-Toge is credited for concept art. The band cero is composing the film's music. cero will perform the film's theme song "Moving Still Life."

Kinoshita and Konomoto previously collaborated on the ODDTAXI anime from 2021.

The festival will also have two screenings of the 4K remaster of Angel's Egg, on Tuesday November 11 at 6.30 p.m. and on Thursday November 13 at 5.30 p.m. (tickets). The Tuesday screening will include an introduction by the film curator Paul Farrell.

The remaster is based on a new scan of a 35mm film negative of the anime. The Angel's Egg original video anime (OVA) debuted in Japan in 1985. Oshii directed the OVA at Studio DEEN. Oshii and Yoshitaka Amano conceived the story, and Oshii wrote the screenplay and directed. Amano also handled the art direction. Hiroshi Hasegawa, Masao Kobayashi, Mitsunori Miura, and Yutaka Wada produced the film. Yoshihiro Kanno composed the music.