Animation film "Mt. Kamigami no Sanrei," completed by "Solitary Gourmet" Taniguchi Jiro, will be released in July! The secret story of the production revealed with images and sketches.

An animated film based on a Japanese original, "Mountains of the Gods," will be released in theaters nationwide on July 8, 2022. The film's production episodes were revealed along with a trailer and sketches.

The film is based on the question, "Did the mountaineer Mallory succeed in making the first ascent of Mount Everest?" A camera and a solitary climber, Hanyu, hold the key to the greatest mystery in the history of mountaineering. The cameraman Fukamachi, who follows Hanyu, attempts an unprecedented winter oxygen-free solo ascent of the southwest face of Mount Everest, while trying to solve the mystery of the first ascent of the mountain. Taniguchi Jiro, who regrettably passed away in 2017 while wishing for its completion, himself participated in its production.

Together with the production team of the hit animated film "Wolf Walker," Taniguchi and his team spent seven years to create a stunning visual presentation of passionate human drama and life-threatening climbing scenes that are impossible to reproduce in live-action. The film won the César Award, the French equivalent of the Academy Awards, for Best Animated Film.

The film will finally be screened in Japan for the first time. The film is dubbed by a splendid cast of voice actors, including Horiuchi Masao, Otsuka Akio, Osaka Ryota, and Imai Asami.

The trailer for "Ridge of the Gods

＜Story
The story is about the still unsolved mystery that "Mallory the mountaineer may have made the first ascent of Mount Everest. If the mystery is solved, history will be changed. Makoto Fukamachi, a photographer, is in Nepal when he sees Joji Hanyu, a lone climber who disappeared many years ago, leaving with a camera that is believed to be Mallory's belongings. Fukamachi begins to follow the trajectory of Hanyu's life, hoping to find him and discover the mystery of Mallory. Eventually, their fates intersect, and the two men attempt an oxygen-free solo ascent of the southwestern face of Mount Everest in winter, an attempt that was thought to be impossible.

Taniguchi Jirō's thoughts were taken over and after seven years of work, the film was completed - rare sketches and color scripts are now available to the public.

The genius manga artist Jiro Taniguchi, who passed away in 2017, created numerous masterpieces such as "Botchan" no Jidai, "Harukana Machi e" (The Age of Botchan), "To the Faraway Town" (The Gourmet of Solitude), and many others. Based on Taniguchi's manga adaptation of Baku Yumemakura's popular novel "Kamigami no Yamamine" (Mountain Ridge of the Gods), which was published in five volumes starting in 2000. In France, the translated edition has sold a total of 380,000 copies, and in 2005, Taniguchi won the Best Drawing Award at the Angoulême International Manga Festival. Mr. Taniguchi himself is also an immensely popular manga artist in France, having been awarded the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 2011.

Fascinated by this legendary manga, producer Jean-Charles Ostlero, director Patrick Imbert, the production team behind the hit animated film "Wolfwalker," and Taniguchi himself joined forces to adapt this epic work into a film over a period of seven years. Before his death, Taniguchi-san said that he was very happy to see his work being made into an animated film because he had put his whole heart and soul into it, and his reaction was a great motivating force for the production team.

He visited the production team in the country twice to confirm the drawings and storyline. Although he regrettably did not get to see the finished version, the film premiered at the 74th Cannes International Film Festival and was released in more than 300 theaters in France, where it was a huge hit. The film premiered at the 74th Cannes Film Festival and was released in more than 300 theaters in France, where it was a huge hit. It won the César Award for Best Animated Feature Film.

Producer Stéphane Laurents said, "Everyone respects Jiro Taniguchi's work, and we didn't want to let him down," and he pursued realistic expressions that inherited Taniguchi's meticulous drawing skills and incorporated their true-to-life realism into the character modeling. He also incorporated the true realism of Taniguchi's drawing skills into the character modeling.

The manga version of "Mountain Ridge of the Gods" faithfully reproduces the alpine environment. It is clear that Taniguchi Jiro was trying to appeal to senses other than sight when he depicted the dizzying view of Mount Everest in his small panels, and his drawing ability sometimes makes the reader feel as if time has stopped, while at other times a magnificent panorama is projected in the brain. The grandeur of the work is so overwhelming that it even makes one dizzy.

The director, however, kept his distance from the original manga, which he considered a major guide, and sought the cooperation of people who had successfully climbed Everest, gathering firsthand information to determine what was "real," such as the sensation of cold, the roar of the wind when sleeping in a tent, tying ropes, and shortness of breath, and applying this information to the animation. From the drafting stage, director Patrick Imbert had a vision of character development.

The original manga became the basis for all creative work, but a different process awaited us than recreating the manga. Taniguchi's drawings are filled with fine details, and I had no intention of tracing them as they were. Reducing the number of lines allowed the animators to concentrate on the facial expressions. Even a slight discrepancy in one eye would make the audience feel uncomfortable.

He also challenged himself to create a different composition from Taniguchi's. While being greatly influenced by great Japanese artists such as Hokusai Katsushika, Yasujiro Ozu, Satoshi Kon, Isao Takahata, and Hayao Miyazaki, the filmmakers used all kinds of techniques, including backlighting and variations in composition, to immerse themselves in the screen in their own way, and tried many ideas through trial and error.

Then, in 2016, just before Mr. Taniguchi passed away, we were able to show him the script and a rough sketch, and he said, "The feedback was very positive. Jean-Charles Ostrelot, producer and scriptwriter, was struck by the response.

With the utmost respect for Mr. Taniguchi, the French team connected the dots to create a masterpiece manga, and the best adventure mystery "Ridge of the Gods" will open this summer.

[Film info.
■Animation film "Ridge of the Gods
July 8 (Fri.) at Shinjuku Piccadilly, Human Trust Cinema Yurakucho, and other theaters nationwide
Distributors: Long Ride, Tokyo Theatres
Official website: longride.jp/kamigami/

Director: Patrick Imbert
Based on the novel "Kami no Yamamine" written by Baku Yumemakura, illustrated by Jiro Taniguchi (published by Shueisha)
Japanese dubbed cast: Horiuchi Kento, Otsuka Akio, Osaka Ryota, Imai Asami
2021/94 min/France, Luxembourg/Langage: French/1.85 Vista/5.1ch/Original title: LE SOMMET DES DIEUX /Dubbing translation: Noriko Mitsuse

<Story
The mountaineer Mallory may have made the first ascent of Mount Everest" is still an unsolved mystery. If the mystery is solved, history will be changed. Makoto Fukamachi, a photographer, is in Nepal when he witnesses a lone climber, Joji Hanyu, who disappeared many years ago, leaving with a camera believed to be Mallory's belongings. Fukamachi begins to follow the trajectory of Hanyu's life, hoping to find him and discover the mystery of Mallory. Eventually, their fates intersect, and the two men attempt an oxygen-free solo ascent of the southwestern face of Mount Everest in winter, an attempt that is thought to be impossible.

© Le Sommet des Dieux - 2021 / Julianne Films / Folivari / Mélusine Productions / France 3 Cinéma / Aura Cinéma