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Sumikko Gurashi Franchise Gets Puppet Musical on August 16-September 1

Nelke Planning announced on April 17 that Sumikkogurashi – Good to be in the corner (Eiga Sumikkogurashi: Tobidasu Ehon to Himitsu no Ko), the first anime film for San-X's Sumikko Gurashi franchise, will be adapted to a puppet musical titled Natsuyasumi! On Stage: Puppet Musical Sumikko Gurashi: Tobidasu Ehon to Himitsu no Ko, that will run from August 16 to September 1 at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel's Club eX event hall in Tokyo.

Naru Kawamoto is directing the puppet musical, and is also writing the screenplay. Hiroyuki Nishiyama is composing the music, and is also the musical director. The Hitomiza Puppet Theater company (NHK's Hyokkori Hyōtan-jima 1964 puppet show) will bring the Sumikko Gurashi characters to life.

The puppet musical will star Yua Kawashima, Chise Niitsu (voice of Romy in One Piece Film Red), and Shun Ishida (Prince of Tennis musical). Other cast includes: Misato Matsumoto, Nami Takahashi, Yūko Suzuki, Sachiko Matsumoto, Asako Senda, Shōko Aoyama, Hikaru Emi, Ruri Aoyama, Yoshiki Yokota, and Kōta Ikeda.

Sumikko Gurashi debuted in 2012 as slightly negative characters who like to stay in the corner of a room. The characters include "Shirokuma," a polar bear who is sensitive to cold; "Penguin?" (with a question mark in its name), a penguin who is unsure if it is actually a penguin; "Tonkatsu," a piece of pork cutlet that was left uneaten; "Neko," a shy cat; and "Tokage," who hides his nature as one of the last dinosaurs.

The first anime film, titled Sumikkogurashi – Good to be in the corner, opened in Japan in November 2019. The film eventually sold a total of 1.22 million tickets, and it earned 1.4 billion yen (about US$12.8 million) at the box office in Japan as of February 2020. The film won the award for Best Animation of the Year at the 29th Annual Japan Movie Critics Awards in June 2020.

Eiga Sumikko Gurashi: Aoi Tsukiyo no Mahō no Ko (The Magical Child of the Blue Moonlit Night), the second film, opened in Japan in November 2021, and sold about 200,000 tickets to earn about 250 million yen (about US$2.22 million that time) in its first three days.

Eiga Sumikko Gurashi: Tsugihagi Kōjo no Fushigi na Ko (The Mysterious Child of the Makeshift Factory), the franchise's third anime film, opened in Japan on November 3, and sold 192,300 tickets for 242,553,320 yen (about US$1.56 million in current conversion) in its first three days.

The franchise had its first-ever television anime that premiered its first episode on October 6, and then premiered all five episodes on November 5.

Sources: Natsuyasumi! On Stage: Puppet Musical Sumikko Gurashi: Tobidasu Ehon to Himitsu no Ko's website, Stage Natalie