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Hana-Kimi's Shun Oguri Stars in Guskou Budori Anime Remake
posted on by Egan Loo
Actor Shun Oguri (Hana Yori Dango, Hana-Kimi, Detective Conan, Uchū Kyōdai, Arakawa Under the Bridge) will star in the title role of The Life of Guskou Budori film. This is the second anime film adaptation of the classic story Guskou Budori no Denki by Kenji Miyazawa (Night on the Galactic Railroad).
Miyazawa's fairy tale follows a young man named Guskou in the Tohoku forests of northeastern Japan in the 1920s. After an onslaught of droughts and natural disasters, Guskou is forced to leave his home and search for a better life elsewhere. Guskou joins a group of scientists at the Ihatov Volcano Department, which deals with the same natural disasters that drove Guskou from his home.
Oguri will play Guskou, while actress Shiori Kutsuna (live-action Beck & Detective Conan) will make her voice-acting debut as Guskou's little sister Neri. Gisaburô Sugii (Night on the Galactic Railroad) is writing, storyboarding, and directing the film.
Tezuka Production took over The Life of Guskou Budori after Group TAC, the production company that was originally producing the remake, went bankrupt. As the general manager of Tezuka Productions, Yoshihiro Shimizu said he wanted the company to release the film based on Miyazawa's story because it fits in with Osamu Tezuka's ideals, especially in the theme: "how you actually live your life is more important than your environment." Shimizu also discussed potential plans to help victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake (Higashi Nihon Daishinsai) disaster alongside The Life of Guskou Budori's production.
The film will open in Japan on July 7.
Source: Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web
Image © 2012 The Life of Guskou Budori Production Committee/Hiroshi Masamura
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