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The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store Screening in Dublin on Sunday
posted on by Andrew Osmond
The film is the anime of Tsuchika Nishimura's manga.
The screening is part of "Family Fest 2024." The Irish Film Institute is also currently screening Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro, in the subtitled Japanese version.
The source manga centres on a new concierge at a mysterious department store where all the customers are animals. As a concierge, she tries to read her peculiar customers and try to make appropriate recommendations to them.
Yoshimi Itazu ("Pigtails," Welcome to the Ballroom, key animation on Popin Q) made his directorial debut on a feature anime film, and Satomi Ooshima (Hataraki Man, Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko, Raven of the Inner Palace) penned the script. Electronic music producer tofubeats composed the film's music. Chiyo Morita (Run with the Wind episode animation director) served as character designer and chief animation director. Production I.G produced the film. Singer-songwriter Myuk performs the film's theme song "Gift."
Nishimura launched the manga in Shogakukan's Big Comic Zōkan magazine in November 2016, and ended it in 2020 with two volumes. The manga won the Excellence Award for the Ministry of Cultural Affairs' 25th Japan Media Arts Festival Awards in 2022.
