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New Anime Films Screening at Leeds in November

There will be two new anime films at the Leeds International Film Festival in November.

ChaO will have screenings on Saturday November 8 (at 10.30 a.m.), Monday November 10 (at 5 p.m.) and Wednesday November 12 (at 2 p.m.). The venue for all the screenings is the Vue in the Light cinema.

All You Need Is Kill will have screenings on Monday November 10 (at 8.45 p.m.) and Thursday November 13 (at 3.45 p.m.) The venue for both screenings is also the Vue in the Light cinema.

GKIDS, which licensed ChaO the film in America, describes the story:

From acclaimed Japanese animation production house Studio 4°C comes a wild romantic comedy and true “fish out of water” story. In a futuristic world where humans and mermaids coexist, ChaO follows Stephan, a mild-mannered office worker at a shipbuilding company, whose life is upended when he is suddenly proposed to by Chao — a princess from the mermaid kingdom. With no time to make sense of what's happening, Stephan soon finds himself living with the unpredictable, wholehearted Chao. As her sincere love begins to break down his emotional barriers, an unexpected and touching romance begins to unfold.

Ōji Suzuka (Kimi ni Todoke, The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes) plays Stefan, a salaryman at a ship-making company. Anna Yamada (live-action Golden Kamuy, Saki) plays Chao, the pure princess of the mermaid kingdom.

Aoki (Kimagure Robot, Tweeny Witches) directed the film at Studio 4°C, and Hirokazu Kojima (Deadman Wonderland, Coyote Ragtime Show) was the character designer and chief animation director. Hiroshi Takiguchi (Ajin, The Case of Hana & Alice, The Garden of Words) was the art director. Takatsugu Muramatsu (Mary and The Witch's Flower, Phoenix: Eden17) composed the soundtrack. Toei is distributing the film.

Kumi Kōda performs the opening theme song "ChaO!," written specifically for the film.

STUDIO4°C's All You Need Is Kill anime film is adapted from Hiroshi Sakurazaka's science fiction novel. The novel is set on a future Earth under attack by alien invaders known as Mimics. Humanity's infantry goes into battle in powered armor suits that enhance their deadliness, but they are still losing the war. Keiji Kiriya is a newly enlisted soldier, but dies in his first battle. After he dies, he finds himself awakening to a time prior to the battle, having inexplicably entered a time loop. Through a repeating process of dying and learning from his mistakes, he slowly finds a way to live longer and longer, and finds himself drawn to an elite soldier named Rita Vrataski.

The anime retells the story from Rita's viewpoint, a different viewpoint from the novel and Hollywood's Edge of Tomorrow film adaptation.

Shueisha published the novel in December 2004. Viz Media published Sakurazaka's novel in English to launch its Haikasoru imprint for Japanese science fiction and fantasy in 2009. The novel inspired the live-action Hollywood movie adaptation Edge of Tomorrow in 2014, starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. Edge of Tomorrow made over US$100 million in the U.S., US$15 million in Japan, and US$370,541,256 worldwide.