Crunchyroll Presents a Limited-City, One-Night-Only North American Theatrical Event for Kenshi Yonezu 2023 Tour / Fantasy
Crunchyroll Has Acquired North American and Select International Rights and Will Distribute the Film with Sony Pictures Entertainment
Culver City, California, August 21, 2024 – Crunchyroll, the ultimate home for anime worldwide, announced today that they will release J-pop mega-superstar Kenshi Yonezu's concert film KENSHI YONEZU 2023 TOUR / FANTASY in select North American cities for one-day-only on September 24 (with the exception of Los Angeles, which will have a two-day run on September 24 and 25). Fans are invited to experience the cinematic concert film in celebration of Yonezu's highly anticipated sixth album, LOST CORNER, which has dropped and is now available digitally worldwide.
KENSHI YONEZU 2023 TOUR / FANTASY was taped during Yonezu's last concert performance held in Yokohama, Japan, at the Yokohama Arena on July 2, 2023. The show features some of his chart-topping hits, including “Lemon,” the long-running theme song for the TV series Unnatural, for which Yonezu made Billboard chart history by becoming the first-ever act to score song of the year with the same song for two years; “Chikyugi - Spinning Globe” the theme song for Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar-winning film The Boy and the Heron; “KICK BACK”the opening theme for TV anime Chainsaw Man, for which Yonezu became the first-ever Japanese language song to reach RIAA Gold certification and many more. Experience the raw emotion and passion of Kenshi Yonezu's music as well as his electric stage presence as it unfolds on the big screen.
The film, acquired by Crunchyroll and distributed by Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment, will screen from September 24 to 28, exclusively at Regal LA LIVE in Los Angeles, Regal Union Square in New York, Cineplex Yonge Dundas in Toronto, and in select cinemas in the ten markets below.
*September 24: Los Angeles, London, Paris
*September 25: Los Angeles, New York, Toronto
*September 26: Sydney
*September 28: Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile (cities to be announced)
KENSHI YONEZU 2023 TOUR /FANTASY is directed by Daisuke Shimada and produced by Reissue Records. Run time: 106 minutes.
LOST CORNER is Kenshi Yonezu's first album in nearly four years: “Chikyugi - Spinning Globe” - the theme song of Studio Ghibli's Hayao Miyazaki-directed animation film The Boy and the Heron, which won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature; “KICK BACK” - the opening theme for TV anime Chainsaw Man, for which Yonezu became the first ever Japanese artist to rank into Spotify's “Top 50 – Global” chart and was the first-ever Japanese language song to reach RIAA Gold certification; “Tsuki Wo Miteita – Moongazing” - the theme song of the latest Final Fantasy XVI, which is a world popular video game series, plus eight brand new never-before-heard songs. The localized physical album will be available on Friday, August 23, in North America (from Milan Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music's Masterworks), in Taiwan (from Sony Music Taiwan), and in Hong Kong (from Sony Music Hong Kong). Additionally, the LOST CORNER physical CD will be available worldwide – the North American version is being released in Europe, including the U.K., and the Taiwanese version in South Korea. The digital release is available starting today at https://kenshiyonezu.lnk.to/lostcorner.
About Kenshi Yonezu:
After taking the Vocaloid scene by storm under the moniker Hachi, Kenshi Yonezu began releasing materials under his real name in 2012.
In 2023, Yonezu wrote “LADY” for the TV commercial of the Georgia coffee product line, followed by “Tsuki Wo Miteita - Moongazing” as the theme song of the action role-playing game FINAL FANTASY XVI. In July, he wrote “Chikyugi - Spinning Globe” for The Boy and the Heron, Studio Ghibli's latest movie directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The song also turned out to be the 100th song released under Kenshi Yonezu's real name. He appeared in fashion brand LOEWE's FW23 men's collection campaign, coinciding with the brand's 50th anniversary in Japan. August saw the gold certification of “KICK BACK” by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), which allowed Yonezu to achieve such a feat “for the first time in history” as a song “with Japanese lyrics.” He was selected as the first and only Japanese artist to be a part of the “RIAA Class of 2023,” with which the association summarized the artists who had flourished in the year, and the news was widely picked up and reported as a highlight of 2023.
In April 2024, Yonezu wrote “Sayonara, Mata Itsuka! – Sayonara” as the theme song of NHK Morning Drama The Tiger and Her Wings and in May released “Mainichi - Every Day” featured in another Coca-Cola Japan, Georgia commercial. His new song, “Garakuta – JUNK” - the theme song of the movie LAST MILE - will be released in theaters in Japan on August 23.
Yonezu's sixth studio album, LOST CORNER, is available worldwide starting today, Wednesday, August 21. Included within the 20-track collection are selections from Yonezu's creative output the last four years, including “Chikyugi - Spinning Globe,” his theme to Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar-winning film The Boy and The Heron, “KICK BACK,” the opening theme for TV anime Chainsaw Man, which Yonezu became the first-ever Japanese language song to reach RIAA Gold certification, plus eight brand new never-before-heard songs.
LOST CORNER marks Yonezu's highly anticipated follow-up to 2020's STRAY SHEEP, which broke previous IFPI Global All Format Chart records and became the highest-placing Japanese artist ever to appear on the IFPI year-end global ranking chart and shipped over 1.9 million cumulative CD units. That same year, he became the first Asian artist ever to collaborate with FORTNITE for a virtual event – “Kenshi Yonezu 2020 Event / STRAY SHEEP in FORTNITE” in Fortnite. The innovative and global virtual concert, which reached the game's audience of over 350 million players, is just one of the many contributing factors to Yonezu's ever-growing acclaim both within and outside of Japan.
As for Yonezu's music videos, “Lemon” has surpassed 860 million views, continuing to break the records of Japanese artists. It is one of the 16 music videos of his songs that garnered him a commanding record of surpassing 100 million views each (“Lemon,” “Eine Kleine,” “LOSER,” “Peace Sign,” “Haiirotoao (+Masaki Suda),” “orion,” “Flamingo,” “Kanden,” “Fireworks,” “Paprika,” “Shunrai,” “Uma to Shika,” “Spirits of the Sea,” “KICK BACK,” Foorin's “Paprika” and Masaki Suda's “Machigaisagashi”). He has over 7.22 million subscribers on his official YouTube channel.
About Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll, LLC is an independently operated joint venture between U.S.-based Sony Pictures Entertainment and Japan's Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., both subsidiaries of Tokyo-based Sony Group.
Films distributed and marketed by Crunchyroll—domestically and internationally—have a proven track record of both box office and critical success. Crunchyroll's theatrical team has been behind 10 of the Top 20 best-performing anime films in U.S. box office history, including Demon Slayer -Kitmetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train, Suzume, Jujutsu Kaisen 0, Dragon Ball Super: SUPER HERO, One Piece Film: Red, and more. Not only have Crunchyroll films seen box office success, but have also been recognized with numerous awards and accolades and been accepted and screened at international film festivals around the globe.
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