Anime News

Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo Goes Viral
Date: 8/11/2006
Quietly released to a single Tokyo theater on July 15th with a virtually non-existant commercial advertisement campaign, word of mouth praise surrounding Studio Madhouse's new animated feature Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo is building at a pretty high rate. And the phenomenon of such hype alone is exceptional for an anime of this type, garnering it's own share of press coverage in Japan recently. Excite Bit reports blog and net channels have been buzzing on the animated film. The amount of men being drawn in is reported as unusual (an observed 90% of attendees during some showings). Moreover, Excite Bit says to see so many men crying bitterly in a movie theater is very unusual. Cinema Today confirms word of mouth and the net have played a large role in promotions, with suggestions being made to friends and user review postings to sites like Yahoo Movie. Tickets run 1800 Yen. Reviews have been out of this world and out of the countless TV series, OAV's and Movies they have produced over the years, many (including Kadokawa Shoten CEO Tsuguhiko Kadokawa) have even called it Madhouse's best work ever. Mamoru Hosoda's adaptation of Yasutaka Tsutsui's 1972 juvenile sci-fi novel has increasingly been drawing young and old alike. Zak Zak has an article seconding observations of middle aged men shedding tears at the screenings. The Length of lines to the lone Shinjuku Ward theater hosting showings grows by the day. It's said Japanese businessmen in their 40's and 50's are frequently spotted in the lines, popping out of work for a peek. An Osaka opening in Umeda is being planned. The official website is www.kadokawa.co.jp/tokikake/.
Source: Anime News Service