by The animated film “Ganbatte Ikimasshoi,” which depicts the growth of high school girls who devote their youth to the rowing club and the life-sized emotional fluctuations of these girls in vivid and dazzling images, will be released nationwide on Friday, October 25, 2024. The original novel by the same name, Yoshiko Shikimura, winner of the 4th Botchan Literature Award, has been adapted into live-action films and TV dramas several times, but this will be the first time it has been made into an anime.
The original work, which has been loved for generations, will be reborn as an anime work, and director Yuhei Sakuragi, who is in charge of it, will fully demonstrate the unique expression of 3DCG animation, his specialty. Amamiya Sora and other gorgeous voice actors, as well as character designer Asako Nishida, spoke about the beauty of the images and the charm of the characters created by Director Sakuragi, who breathed new life into the title “Ganbatte Ikimasshoi,” which is loved by people of all generations.
Director Yuhei Sakuragi, who attracted attention with “Even if the World Ends Tomorrow” (2019), which was nominated for the Annecy International Film Festival feature film competition, has produced CG animations at many video production companies and served as CG director for “The Case of Hana and Alice” (2015/directed by Shunji Iwai), and made his directorial debut with “Neon Genesis Evangelion” spin-off “Neon Genesis Impact” (2015), which was shown at the “Japan Animator Expo.” He is also the CG director for the short animation “Boro the Caterpillar” (2018/directed by Hayao Miyazaki) at the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. He is a director who is a leader in the next generation of CG animation. Director Sakuragi encountered “Ganbatte Ikimasshoi” (Gentosha Bunko) when he was a teenager and was shocked by it.
This is Director Sakuragi’s second animated feature film. The script is written by Keiichiro Ochi of “The Quintessential Quintuplets,” and the character design is by Asako Nishida of “Love Live!” Amamiya Sora, Miku Ito, Rie Takahashi, Akari Kito, and Ikumi Hasegawa are the members of the rowing club who devote their youth to rowing. Ayana Taketatsu, Suzuko Mimori, Aya Uchida, and Takuya Eguchi also play attractive characters and support the story.
The theme song and insert song sung by the idol group “The Blue Sky I Wanted to See” encapsulate the thoughts of the five rowing club members with memorable phrases, like the endless blue sky. At the Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2024, the world’s largest animation film festival held in France in June, the film was entered in the non-competitive category “Annecy Presents” and has already received praise on the world stage.
The voice actors of “Ganbatte Ikimasshoi,” reborn as a CG animation film, have praised it. Amamiya Sora, who plays Murakami Etsuko (Etsu-nee), said, “I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the pictures,” Ito Miku, who plays Saeki Hime (Hime), said, “It was so beautiful, I was drawn in!”, Takahashi Rie, who plays Takahashi Rina (Lee), said, “The sea, the eyes, the way they rowed, everything was great!”, Kito Akari, who plays Hyodo Taeko (Dakko), said, “The depiction of the water in the background is delicate!”, and Hasegawa Ikumi, who plays Imoto Mayumi (Imochi), said, “The sea scene is wonderful!”, and each spoke enthusiastically about the beautiful depiction of the scenery of Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, in the summer when Etsuko and the others dedicate their youth to rowing.
They also spoke with director Sakuragi Yuhei about his debut film, Shinseiki Impact. Nishida Asako, the character designer for this work, who is teaming up with Sakuragi for the second time since “Shin Seiki Impact,” said, “I was fortunate to work with him on “Shin Seiki Impact,” and it was the first time that my original drawings were made into 3DCG. I was surprised to see that it was made into a CG animation while retaining the essence of my drawings, as it was far from the standard of CG at the time.” She also revealed that she was shocked by the high quality of the animation even back then. She also commented, “I sympathized with the director’s words, ‘I want to be able to express everyday acting with CG, rather than the special parts being handled by CG.’ I like that he shows the unique expression of 3D animation while respecting hand-drawn 2D animation.
Also, I think that none of his works are too close to the characters, or rather, that his cool gaze is unique.” She praised Sakuragi for balancing the good points of 2D animation and 3D CG. She even mentioned his unique way of dealing with characters, leaving a comment showing his trustworthiness.
“Ganbatte Ikimasshoi” is an uncompromising animated film that depicts the growth of high school girls who meet essential friends and a boat. It’s only a matter of time until you can see this incredibly pure story on the big screen, in which you can fully feel the pain and wonder of youth that everyone has experienced. Please look forward to it. (C) Ganbatte Ikimasshoi Production Committee
