In This Corner of the World

In This Corner of the World
Poster
Directed by	Sunao Katabuchi
Produced by	Masao Maruyama Taro Maki
Written by	Sunao Katabuchi Chie Uratani
Based on	Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni by Fumiyo Kōno
Starring	Rena Nōnen Yoshimasa Hosoya Natsuki Inaba Minori Omi Daisuke Ono Megumi Han Shigeru Ushiyama Mayumi Shintani Nanase Iwai Tengai Shibuya III
Music by	Kotringo
Production company	MAPPA
Distributed by	Tokyo Theatres Animatsu Entertainment[1][2]
Release dates	October 28, 2016 (2016-10-28) (TIFF) November 12, 2016 (2016-11-12) (Japan)
Running time	128 minutes [3]
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Budget	¥250 million (US$2.2 million}[4]
Box office	¥300 million (US$2.7 million)[5]

In This Corner of the World (この世界の片隅に, Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni) is a 2016 Japanese animated historical drama film produced by MAPPA, directed and written by Sunao Katabuchi,^[6][7] featuring character designs by Hidenori Matsubara and music by Kotringo.^[8] It premiered in Japan on November 12, 2016.^[9] It is based on Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni, Fumiyo Kōno's manga of the same name.^[10][11] The film is set in the 1930s-1940s in Hiroshima and Kure in Japan, roughly 10 years before and after the atomic bomb, but mainly in 1944-45. In the film, the nature and the traditional culture in Japan are clearly described and contrasted with the cruel and irredeemable scenes brought by the war. The project was announced in August 2012 and began crowdfunding in March 2015 to raise funds.^[12] The crowdfunding was a success, with a Japanese record of 3,374 contributors and the ¥39 million raised^[13] exceeding the ¥20 million goal.^[14] Another crowdfunding, to send Katabuchi overseas for promotion, was started on November 22, 2016 and reached the goal of ¥10 million within eleven hours.^[15]

Plot

This is the story about one young Japanese woman named "Suzu", who is an innocent character and good at drawing the pictures, and her family living in Hiroshima and Kure, Japan during World War II. In 1944, Suzu was an 18-year-old woman and working for a small family business in a seaside town of Hiroshima City. One day, an unknown young man suddenly proposed marriage to her. The man, named "Shūsaku", who lived in Kure, remembered seeing Suzu ten years ago, in the business & commercial area of Hiroshima, in the midst of the year-end shopping season, with fantasic experiences. Soon, Suzu got married to him, moved to Kure from Hiroshima and join Shūsaku's family. Suzu was loved and welcomed by Shūsaku's parents.

Kure is located within an hour by local train from Hiroshima and a large port city, facing Seto Inland Sea, known as the military base of Imperial Japanese Navy. It was the time that Japan was gradually losing to US. The living conditions in Japan were getting worse and worse and many Japanese men were serving as military soldiers, including "Yoichi", Suzu's brother. US military force was threatening Japanese ordinary people. In Kure, both Grand Fleet of Imperial Japanese Navy & Naval facilities and the residents could be targeted by air raid. As the Japanese government tried to control the ordinary people more under military strategy, Tonarigumi, a neighboring association as a unit in the society, was organized in all over Japan. Official food distribution started and warning & exacuation against US air raid were planned by the government. Suzu, as a young member among the housewifes in a Tonarigumi, was in charge of food distribution in turn and attended the training against air raid etc. The allocated food was too scarce to feed the family and Suzu earnestly looked for any plant in the gardens and even the roadside to cook. Suzu made efforts to get over the hard living conditions and also to prepare to mitigate the damage by air raid with a help from her family and neighboring people. Suzu’s active lives with full of humorous episodes are given.

Suzu & Shūsaku's family house, in a hilly side and a little far from the city area of Kure, was surrounded by the gardens and the woods and from there a magnificent view covered the naval fleet in the harbour. Suzu enjoyed touching the nature and viewing warships moving on the sea, with a kid, a niece of Suzu, called "Harumi". One day, Harumi recognized the warships including the largest battleship, Yamato, but no aircraft carriers were found. Suzu and Harumi did not know that many aircraft carriers were sunk by US navy at the marine battles in the Paific Ocean. The control of Japanese military became too strict to the people. One day, Suzu had fun to draw the pictures of floating warships from a hilly garden, but military police took and broke the pictures and held her for a while. As warships were the military secrets, she was suspected of being a spy.

In 1945, US air raid attacked naval fleet and facilities in Kure. In July, the city areas in Kure were almost burnt down after the air strike. US low-level strafing run was also targeting the people escaping. Like a lot of Japanese, Suzu could not avoid inevitable tragedy, brought by the war, and the war deprived Suzu of the precious persons including Harumi and Yoichi, and also an irreplaceable part of her body. As she was too depressed because of the tragedy, Suzu planned to go back to Hiroshima before the 6th August, the day of Summer Festa of hometown. But in the morning on the 6th August, occasionally Suzu was still in Kure. AM 8:15, she knew one terrible and never-experienced thing happened in Hiroshima by seeing a huge and marvelous cloud rising over the mountain from the direction of Hiroshima and listened to the radio. Namely, the atomic bombing in Hiroshima horribly destroyed countless people and houses in Hiroshima, including Suzu's parents.

When the war was over nine days after the atomic bombing, she lost her own purpose to live due to the abrupt change. Soon, Shūsaku safely returned home from naval service and the family started the new lives at the time of new born Japan. Shūsaku found a new job, but one survivor of Suzu's family in Hiroshima, her sister "Sumi", got seriously ill by the atomic bomb and did not recover. Suzu regained the motivation to live with courage and affection for her and the ones she loves. Finally one heartful episode is given. There was one street girl who lost her mother by atomic bomb and could not have famiy, walking awound the deserted area in Hiroshima like a beggar in january 1946. The girl was taken by Suzu to Suzu's family in Kure, took a bath and was given new clothes. Last scenes include that the grown-up girl was sewing clothes by herself, maybe for the family.

In the film, the lost townscape of prewar Hiroshima, damaged by the atomic bomb, is accurately revived in the scenes, following the old photos, the documents and the memories of the living people.

Cast

• Rena Nōnen^[16] – Suzu ( Got married in her teens and moved from her hometown in Hiroshima to Shūsaku's home in Kure. An innocent character and good at drawing the pictures. She made efforts to overcome a lot of difficulties during the wartime but later hit by tragedy.)
• Yoshimasa Hosoya^[16] – Shūsaku (Suzu's husband. Earnest and quiet person. A judicial officer at Military Court in Kure.)
• Natsuki Inaba^[16] – Harumi (A six or seven years old girl. Suzu's niece. Keiko's daughter. Later killed by US bomb in Kure, when walking with Suzu.)
• Minori Omi^[16] – Keiko (Shūsaku's sister and a widow. Harumi's mother. Firstly, she was not friendly with Suzu. After the death of Harumi, she much blamed Suzu, who attended with Harumi at the blast of US bomb. But, later she accpeted Suzu warmly.)
• Daisuke Ono^[16] – Tetsu (A navy sailor of Japanese cruiser Aoba. Suzu's friend from childhood. Tetsu dropped in the house of Suzu & Shūsaku and asked stay for a night, before serving in the cruiser. Shūsaku reluctantly agreed Tetsu may stay but in the barn apart from the house. However, at night Shūsaku let Suzu talk with Tetsu in person for a while. Japanese cruiser Aoba sank in the harbour of Kure but Tetsu survived.)
• Megumi Han^[16] – Sumi (Suzu's youger sister. Later got serious ill by the atomic bomb in Hiroshima.)
• Shigeru Ushiyama^[16] – Entaro (Shūsaku's father. An engineer of Hiro Naval Arsenal. Later missing after the air raid attacked naval facilities, but survived and found in the hospital.)
• Mayumi Shintani^[16] – San (Shūsaku's mother.)
• Nanase Iwai^[16] – Rin (A woman in the licensed quarters of Kure. Suzu met her and had a conversation when Suzu got lost in the city area of Kure.)
• Tengai Shibuya III^[16]

Reception

Box office

The film on its opening weekend opened at #10 at the Japanese box office, debuting in 63 theaters across Japan and grossed a total of ¥47 million from 32,032 admissions.^[17] As of November 27, 2016, the film has grossed a total of approximately ¥300 million from 220,000 admissions.^[5]

Accolades

References

External links

• Official website (Japanese)
• In This Corner of the World at the Internet Movie Database
• In This Corner of the World (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

MAPPA
Television series	Kids on the Slope (2012) Teekyu (2012–2013) Hajime no Ippo: Rising (2013–2014) Terror in Resonance (2014) Garo: The Animation (2014–2015) Rage of Bahamut: Genesis (2014) Punch Line (2015) Ushio and Tora (2015–2016) Garo: Crimson Moon (2015–2016) Days (2016) Yuri on Ice (2016) Idol Incidents (2017) Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul (TBA)
Feature films	Garo: Divine Flame (2016) In This Corner of the World (2016)
Category