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Given, Umibe no Étranger Boys-Love Anime Films Get Collaboration Promo Video

The official YouTube channel for Fuji TV 's new Blue Lynx boys-love anime label began streaming on Friday a special collaboration promotional video for both the Given and Umibe no Étranger (L'étranger du Plage or The Stranger on the Beach) anime films. The theme of the collaboration video is "Let's love more."

The anime film of Natsuki Kizu's Given manga opened in Japan on August 22, after being postponed from its original May 16 opening in order to curb the spread of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Fuji TV's new Blue Lynx boys-love anime label produced the Given film. The television anime focuses on high school students Ritsuka and Mafuyu, but the film focuses on the adults Haruki, Akihiko, and Ugetsu.

The television anime's cast members reprised their roles for the film. Hikaru Yamaguchi (director for Escha Chron, episode director for Mr. Osomatsu, Battle Spirits Double Drive) returned to direct the film at Lerche. Yuniko Ayana (BanG Dream! both seasons, Girls Beyond the Wasteland) returned to write the script, and Mina Ōsawa returned to design the characters. Hiromi Kikuta and Michiru returned to handle sound direction and music composition, respectively. The artist centimillimental returned to perform the film's theme song.

The television anime premiered on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block in July 2019. The anime is the "first anime based on a boys-love manga" to air on Noitamina. Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired, and it describes the story:

Somehow, the guitar that he used to love to play and the basketball games that he found so fun just lost their appeal...

That was until Ritsuka Uenoyama randomly met Mafuyu Sato. Ritsuka had started losing his passion for music in his everyday life, but then he hears Mafuyu sing for the first time. The song resonates with his heart and the distance between them starts to change.

Solo rock project centimillimental performed the opening theme song "Kizuato." The in-anime group "Given" performed the ending theme song "Marutsuke," with centimillimental producing.

The anime film of Kanna Kii's Umibe no Étranger (L'étranger du Plage or The Stranger on the Beach) manga will open in Japan on September 11.

The story centers on Mio, a high school boy who lost his parents at an early age. Shun, a gay aspiring novelist living near Mio's house on a remote island in Okinawa, noticed Mio sitting for hours at a bench on the beach. They grew closer to each other, but Mio had to leave Okinawa. Three years later, Mio returns to face his feelings.

Taishi Murata is playing Shin Hashimoto in the film, while Yoshitsugu Matsuoka is playing Mio Chibana. Yu Shimamura is playing Sakurako.

Akiyo Ohashi (Land of the Lustrous manga's 2013 promotional video, Sakura Capsule) is directing the anime at Studio Hibari, and is also serving as scriptwriter and storyboarder. Kii, a former animator, is supervising the film, and is also drawing the film's character designs. Mayumi Watanabe is the chief animation director, while Takashi Hashimoto is the effects animation director. Composer and musician Mina Kubota (Aria the Animation, Macross Delta, A Whisker Away) is composing the film's music. The band MONO NO AWARE are performing the film's theme song "Zokkon" (From the Bottom of My Heart). The band wrote the song specifically for the film.

Sources: Blue Lynx's YouTube channel, Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web