Please visit Kyoto, a place you don't know." (Gen Hoshino), Report on the opening greeting for the anime film "The Night is Short and the Walking Girl".

A stage greeting to commemorate the opening of the animated film "The Night is Short and the Walking Maidens" was held at TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku on Saturday, April 8, 2017. On stage to greet the audience were Gen Hoshino as the senior, Kana Hanazawa as the black-haired girl, Robert Akiyama Ryuji as the underpants boss, and Masaaki Yuasa as the director. In addition, original author Tomihiko Morimi made a surprise appearance.

This film is an animated feature film adaptation of the best-selling novel "Yoru wa tanashi arukke yo otome" (written by Tomihiko Morimi and published by Kadokawa Bunko), which won the 20th Shugoro Yamamoto Award and was voted second place in the 2007 Honya Taisho (Bookstore Grand Prize), selling more than 1.5 million copies in total. The film is also attracting attention as the first starring role for Gen Hoshino as an anime voice actor.

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Mr. Hoshino and other cast members appeared in costumes inspired by the characters they play. The most impactful of the cast was Robert Akiyama, who appeared in sneakers, kimono, and a lushly shaven beard. Showing off his chest hair, Mr. Akiyama said, "I wanted you to see this outfit after the screening," regretting that this was a pre-screening greeting before the audience could see the character in action in the anime. Ms. Hanazawa showed off the cute "black-haired maiden" style costume she was wearing today. This costume will be on sale to the general public at a later date. Ms. Hoshino, of course, appeared in a "senpai" style costume, but since Director Yuasa also appeared in a costume somewhat reminiscent of a "senpai," there was a scene where Ms. Hoshino lamented her lack of position.

Since the film depicts a story of "a mysterious and enjoyable night," the talk turned to "memories of memorable events experienced at night. Mr. Hoshino said, "At the end of last year, after my performance at the Kohaku Uta Gassen, I ran to another station's "Countdown TV. We ended the year in the car on the way there, and it was kind of fulfilling and fun." Ms. Hanazawa, dreading to talk about something rooted in her life after such a large scale talk, said, "The other night, I was sorting through the contents of my TV recorder and accidentally deleted everything. My entire Yoshimoto Shinkigeki collection of recordings disappeared!" He passionately stated, "I'm a fan of Yoshimoto Shinkigeki. The audience was excited to hear about the unexpected side of Ms. Hanazawa's love of Yoshimoto Shinki Gekijou.

In the latter half of the stage greeting, Tomihiko Morimi, the author of the original novel, made a surprise appearance. Morimi handed a bouquet of flowers to Director Yuasa and praised the addictiveness of the film, saying, "I was surprised when I first saw the movie, but the more I watched it, the more I liked it. Mr. Hoshino also praised the film, saying, "I was surprised when I first saw the movie, but the more I watched it, the more I liked it!　I think it's very interesting. I hope the audience will enjoy the dazzling world that awaits them as the film nears its conclusion.

As for the content of the movie, Akiyama made a mysterious appeal, saying, "My character is the chief pantser, so please watch the movie without changing your pants during the show. Mr. Hanazawa said, "It's a wonderful movie that stimulates my senses and makes me think that I can do anything now." Mr. Hoshino added, "Everyone will be watching the movie now, but please pay attention to how Otome walks around town and how she changes the town and its people. I think the musical scene, in which I also sing a little, will be interesting. I hope you will take me to places I don't understand to your heart's content. I hope you will go and play in Kyoto, a city that you have never seen before. Director Yuasa began by introducing the appeal of the palm novel that Morimi wrote as a special theater gift, saying that he hopes that viewers will read it after seeing the film.

The animated film "The Night is Short and the Walking Maidens" will be in theaters from April 7, 2017.

(Reporting and photography by Kiri Nakazato)