by The CG animation movie “The Lion Boy / The Lion Boy,” which was released in China in December 2021 and became a hit with a box office revenue of 249 million yuan (about 5 billion yen) and mobilization of 6.38 million people, will be released nationwide from May 26.
Today (April 4) is “Lion Day,” and the cut scenes and the main video talk about the lion dance battle competition played by the main character, Chun (CV: Natsuki Hanae), who plays at the beginning of the main story, has been lifted.
This work by director Song Hai Peng is said to have originated in mainland China during the Eastern Han dynasty around the 1st century. It is now designated as a national-level intangible cultural heritage of China. A work depicting the growth of a boy who struggles at the bottom of a disparate society through a hot lion dance battle, with the motif of the traditional performing art, lion dance.
In Japan, a Japanese subtitled version was screened last year at the Film Festival, which delivers Chinese films under the title of “Male Lion Boy: A Boy and a Lion Dancing in the Sky” and was highly praised for its overwhelming work power. It was decided that a Japanese dubbed version would be produced and released nationwide.
Hanae will play the main character Chun, who overcomes difficulties and grows up, and Hiyori Sakurada will play the heroine Chun, who awakens Chun to the lion dance of the same name. Kappei Yamaguchi and Fukutsugu Ochiai, Mao, and Wanko, are both aiming for the tournament. Koichi Yamadera as his master, Chian, and Yuko Kaida as his wife, Agen.
Shigeru Chiba, a super veteran voice actor known for narrating “Fist of the North Star” and playing Buggy in “ONE PIECE,” will be the narrator for the released video. The video begins with the words, “If a lion dances, the heavens, and earth will shake! Wake up and pray for the prosperity and happiness of the world!”
“The lion dance is amazing Chinese folk art. It combines dance, music, and martial arts. Its popularity has been passed down from ancient times. When the lions stand up, and the drums resound, you can feel your hometown even at the far end of the earth. Even if the road is tough, hope for the future springs up.” It is so firmly rooted in a culture that it has been designated a national intangible cultural heritage.
“There are two styles of lion dance, North and South. Two lions compete for dance, footwork, and body movement superiority.” However, the Chinese lion dance is similar to but different from the lion dance we know.
Hanae also said, “The theme of the lion dance is fresh. Acrobatic and full of dynamism, it is a hot and fierce battle that is truly worthy of the word “lion dance battle.” TChiba’s passionate narration and animation arouse anticipation for the main story
In the scene cut that was lifted at the same time, Chun (CV: Hanae), a girl who has the same name but is a lion dance master who overwhelms strong men, is the trigger for Chun (CV: Hanae) to aim for the lion dance battle competition. : Sakurada), from the scene of the fateful encounter where they both aim for the lion dance battle competition, Mao (CV: Yamaguchi) and the gluttonous Wanko (CV: Ochiai), and Chun who was away from the lion dance once.
You can see Chian (CV: Yamadera), who decided to become a teacher because of his passion. Can boys who have been ridiculed and oppressed as “stray cats” seize their “dream” and become “lions”? Also, you can glimpse the surprising details from the released scene cuts. In the scene where Chun looks at the city with a lion head, it takes about 10 hours per frame (1 second equals 24 frames).
