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In this Corner of the World Named Kinema Jumpo's Best Film of the Year

Film magazine Kinema Jumpo revealed its list of the 10 best Japanese movies of the year on Tuesday, with Sunao Katabuchi's In This Corner of the World anime film at #1. The magazine has not awarded the #1 spot to an animated film since Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's My Neighbor Totoro in 1988, almost 30 years ago. In addition, the magazine awarded Katabuchi with the Best Director Award.

Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi's Shin Godzilla holds the #2 rank. The magazine also awarded Anno with the Best Scriptwriter award.

In This Corner of the World debuted in 63 Japanese theaters on November 12 and sold 32,032 tickets to earn 47,042,090 yen (US$434,288), ranking #10 in its opening weekend. All screenings at Theatre Shinjuku, Theatre Umeda, and Cine Libre Umeda were sold out on the first day, and more locations held sold-out screenings on the second day. Due to the film's popularity, more theaters are adding screenings; the film's website lists more than 200 theaters that have screened or will screen the film. As of January 4, the film has earned 1 billion yen (about US$8.53 million) at the Japanese box office.

Animatsu Entertainment acquired the global rights to the film. The film is slated to open in 14 foreign countries, beginning in England, France, and South America, and it will eventually travel to Germany, Mexico, and other countries.

The film is based on Fumiyo Kōno's To All The Corners Of The World (Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni) manga. The award-winning manga follows a bride named Suzu Urano as she moves to her new life in Kure City on the coast of Hiroshima Prefecture. Suzu perseveres through World War II with pluck and determination.

Director and writer Sunao Katabuchi (Mai Mai Miracle, Black Lagoon) had announced the feature film in 2012. Additional staff for the film includes Chie Uratani (Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail, Mai Mai Miracle, Tekkonkinkreet animation director) as assistant director and screen composition, Hidenori Matsubara (Oh! My Goddess, Sakura Wars, King of Thorn) as character designer and animation director, kotringo (The Bears' School, Gourmet Girl Graffiti) on the music, and Tarō Maki as producer at GENCO. MAPPA studio founder and producer Masao Maruyama is credited for planning. Tokyo Theatres Company is distributing the film.

The film won the Hiroshima Peace Film Award at the Hiroshima International Film Festival in November, and it screened at Annecy in a Work in Progress session in June.

JManga had released Kono's manga in English online. The manga series won an Excellence Prize in the 13th Japan Media Arts Festival, and it already inspired a live-action television special starring Keiko Kitagawa (live-action Sailor Moon's Sailor Mars, Paradise Kiss) as Suzu Urano in 2011. Last Gasp Publishing and jaPRESS released Kono's Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms manga in North America.

[Via Yaraon!]