Animated film "Fireworks Launch, Do You Watch from Below? Watch from the side?" , opening in August 2017!　Akiyuki Shinbo's film adaptation of Shunji Iwai's classic drama

Animated film "Fireworks Launch, Do You Watch from Below? Watch from the side?" will be released on August 18, 2017.

The movie is titled "Hanabi, shita wo mieruka? Watch from the side?" is a TV drama directed by Shunji Iwai that was broadcast in the 1990s. It is a touching love story set in a repetitive summer day, which became popular. The animation is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo of "Puella Magi Madoka Magica" fame. The animation production is by Shaft, which has produced many masterpieces together with Mr. Shinbo.
⇒Animation Film Screening Schedule

Along with the impressive image visual, the cast information was also announced. Actress Suzu Hirose will play the role of the heroine, Nazuna, actor Masaki Sugata will play the role of Norimichi, a boy who has feelings for Nazuna, and popular voice actor Mamoru Miyano will play the role of his classmate, Yusuke, who is his love rival.

Below are comments from the original author, Mr. Iwai, screenplay writer, Mr. Oneda, general director, Mr. Shinbo, and each cast member, as well as the story.

Comments
Original story by Shunji Iwai
I have never experienced anything like this before,
This is an unprecedented experience for me.
As the author of the original work, I don't have any orders as to what I want the film to be like.
I left it to my favorite artists and artists of expression.
I hope to see a free and original work of art.

Screenplay by Hitoshi Oneda
This is my first work for an animated film, and it is based on a drama that I love! My favorite Suzu and Sugata-kun as voice actors! Even Miyano-san! And I get to work with my favorite director, Shinbo, and the Shaft staff! The joy of working on this project was at the same time a source of pressure, but when I saw the footage of the project in its mid-stage the other day... it's not good! In the summer of 2017, a new anime expression and a never-before-seen love story will be born!

General Director/Akiyuki Shinbo
I was nervous about the staffing of Mr. Shunji Iwai and Mr. Jin Oneda, which was different from my usual animation production site, but the meetings and chats with the two live-action film directors were very interesting and their different points of view were fresh. Mr. Iwai's masterpiece will be reborn in a big way in the animation film genre. The entire Shaft staff is working very hard on this project, so please look forward to it.

Suzu Hirose as Nazuna Oikawa
I was very happy when I heard about this project. When I read the script, I was horrified by the unique worldview. I got the impression that Nazuna is very sensitive and has hidden feelings that are not expressed in words. She is very elusive, but she is also mature and childlike, and I have the impression that she is right in front of me but I can't touch her...she is very mysterious and unreachable.

Masaki Sugata as Norimichi Shimada
I have always wanted to work as a voice actor, so I was very excited to have the chance to try my hand at it for the first time.
I was very excited to try my hand at voice acting for the first time, and I realized how great voice actors are. I was so excited to learn various techniques from the other cast members, while I was getting nervous about expressing myself only with my voice, that I couldn't stop feeling new stimulation and pleasure like a baby making his debut at a park. My natural voice was very low, so I tried to use high tones that were pleasant to the ear and to express my emotions with my voice. I am looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Yusuke Azumi / Mamoru Miyano
At first, I was surprised when I heard that the masterpiece was going to be animated.
I was very happy when I was offered the role and was excited to see how it would be portrayed. I was so excited to see how it would be portrayed. Hirose and Sugata were wonderful during the recording, and their aura of freshness made me swoon from beginning to end, while I, as a classmate, tried my best to look young and spirited (laugh)!

Story
It's summer vacation in a seaside town. It is the first day of school at a junior high school, and the school is abuzz with excitement before a fireworks display.
Norimichi and Yusuke run into Nazuna, a class idol whom they secretly have feelings for, at the school pool. They compete in a 50-meter swimming competition in front of Nazuna. Norimichi fails to make a turn in the water and loses to Yusuke, but while swimming, he picks up a mysterious ball in the water. Yusuke, on the other hand, finishes first and is invited by Nazuna to a fireworks display.

After school, a classmate asks, "Are fireworks round when seen from the side? Or are they flat?" Norimichi learns from Nazuna that she was planning to invite the winner of the pool game to the fireworks display.
However, her real purpose was to run away from home to escape from her mother who is getting remarried. In front of Norimichi's eyes, Nazuna is about to be taken back by her mother despite her resistance.
And Norimichi can only watch and not help.

If only I had won the pool then..."
Out of frustration, Norimichi throws a ball he picked up in the pool...

Norimichi finds himself in the middle of another swimming competition with Yusuke in the pool.

What will be the fate of Nazuna and Norimichi at the end of the same day repeated over and over again?
And will the fireworks be round or flat when seen from the side?
When the fireworks go up, the miracle of love happens...

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