Director Sunao Katabuchi and we, the audience, search for a "place for animation films" together.

Released on November 12, 2016, "In a Corner of the World" is proving to be an unparalleled hit. Despite being screened on only 63 screens nationwide, the film ranked in the top 10 of the national film attendance rankings in its first week of release. In its second week, it drew 124% of the previous week's audience, and in its third week, it was ranked 6th, and in its fourth week, it was ranked 4th. The number of visitors is slowly increasing.
There has been no shortage of buzz about this film, such as the crowdfunding fundraising and the use of Noh as the lead voice actress. At first glance, this seems like a good thing, but director Sunao Katabuchi has had a difficult time at the box office with his theatrical debut "Princess Alithe" (2000) and his second film "My My New Child and the Millennium Magic" (2009), and he still does not seem to be at ease.
So what can we, the audience, do for films?　Who and what must be done to ensure that quality animated films continue to be produced and recognized by the world?　We took time out of our busy schedule to talk to Director Katabuchi.

The true meaning of "It's hard to put into words" often seen on SNS

─ ─ The audience for "In This Corner of the World" exceeded that of the first week in the second week of its release, and even more in the third week, and as of today (December 7), a total of 360,000 people have seen the film. What do you think about this favorable situation?

Katabuchi: I feel that word-of-mouth has spread faster than expected. However, I heard that the spread of the film to rural areas is delayed by 2 to 3 weeks compared to urban areas, so I will be keeping an eye on how the regional box office will fare. This time, unlike the previous film "Mai Mai Shinko to Sennen no Mahou" (2009), we had experts who saw the film at previews spread the word about the film online, which was very significant. So we did not start from scratch.

──Director Katabuchi is also very interested in the feedback from the general public on Twitter, isn't he?

Katabuchi: It is meaningless to simply make a film and be done with it. I believe that my filmmaking is only complete when I get the reaction of the audience. Another thing, the feedback from the audience on Twitter is much more eloquent than our million words. It is gratifying to hear them skillfully express what we dimly think we have created, even though they say it is difficult to put into words. And those tweets may bring other customers to the cinema.

─ ─ I see a lot of impressions that "it's hard to put into words".

Katabuchi: That's right. It's been that way since "Mai Mai Shinko" (laughs). (Laughs.) There was a person who said, "I want to keep it in my mind without putting it into words. I felt the same way when I read Fumiyo Konno's original manga. In adapting the original work into a movie, I had to verbalize what I was feeling inside, but I felt that if I finished that, I would lose the pleasure of reading the original work. If that were the case, I even thought that I shouldn't have proposed the idea of making a film adaptation. If I don't put it into words, I can keep it as my own personal experience and feel it in my heart. ...... I think there was a strong affinity between Fumiyo Konno's "In a Corner of the World" and the film "My My New Girl" because "My New Girl" was also said to make it difficult to verbalize one's impressions.


─ I feel that "In This Corner of the World" is reexamining the way we praise movies on SNS.

Katabuchi: What is interesting is that many people said that they wanted others to go and see the movie, or that they wanted as many people as possible to see it. Rather than supporting the filmmakers, I think they want to share the positive feelings they have after seeing the film with others. ......

─ ─ Most of the screenings of "Mai Mai Shinko" were closed in the third or fourth week of its release. However, reading personal blogs at the time of its release, it was close to full capacity on the third week night in local areas.

Katabuchi: In other words, by the third week, word-of-mouth on the Internet was working, wasn't it? It is interesting that "In This Corner of the World" was getting word-of-mouth coverage faster than "My My New Girl".

───This is going back a long way, but the director's theatrical debut, "Princess Arete" (2000), was released in 12 prefectures. Frankly, I am surprised that there were so few. I was surprised.

Katabuchi: I heard that when the distributor tried to sell the film to movie theaters, it was not very well received. What I remember most vividly is that the cinema people said to me, "The main character in this animation doesn't laugh. I guess it is a matter of how animation is accepted.

─ ─ "Princess Arete" was screened independently by fans in the summer of 2002, wasn't it?

Katabuchi: At the Shimotakaido Cinema in Tokyo, a group that screens Junichi Sato's "Junkers Come Here" every year played "Princess Alithe" just that year. That was the first time we, the filmmakers, were taken care of by the audience.

──Did you feel closer to the audience than when the film was first shown?

Katabuchi: Yes, when we screened the film at Shimotakaido Cinema, we had a large audience, and I felt that we should treat them properly. If we treat them properly, they will come back. I think the "Princess Arete" screening at Shimotakaido Cinema was the first opportunity for us to get closer to our customers.