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Immersive Musical Show to Tell Story Set 5 Years After Mamoru Hosoda's Belle Film
posted on by Joanna Cayanan
A website opened on Tuesday to announce Animmersive Live: Ryū to Sobakasu no Hime, an immersive musical show based on Mamoru Hosoda's BELLE anime film which will run from October 20 to November 15 at MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives in Tokyo.
"Animmersive," a blending of anime and immersive show, is a new immersive musical live show where "the world of animation becomes reality." Animmersive Live: Ryū to Sobakasu no Hime is a spinoff story set five years after the original film. In the story, Hiro-chan, the "As" (another self) avatar of the singer BELLE's producer, tries to produce and discover a new diva by holding the biggest music festival in the history of the virtual world U.
Yūki Hiroya is the show's creative director, Yūichirō Komikado is writing the script, and Toshitaka Shinoda (Road to You: Kioku ni Mau Konayuki director; Horimiya, Hula Fulla Dance ending director) is the show's video director. Akira Yamazaki (Bocchi the Rock! stage play director and writer) is the stage director, Tatsurō Ogata is the CG director, and Teddy Loid (Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, New PANTY & STOCKING with GARTERBELT, Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider music composition) is the music director. Mika Pikazo (Re:bel Robotica mixed media project creator) and Nike Shimaguchi (KILLTUBE) are designing the characters.
BELLE opened in Japan in July 2021. The film had IMAX screenings in 38 theaters throughout Japan. This makes BELLE the first of Hosoda's films to have IMAX screenings. The film is Hosoda's highest-grossing film.
Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, The Boy and The Beast, Mirai) directed and scripted the film, and is also credited for the original work. The film marks Studio Chizu's 10th anniversary. Taisei Iwasaki (Blood Blockade Battlefront, Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan, The Naked Director) was the film's music director and composer.
GKIDS began screening the film in English and in Japanese with English subtitles in the U.S. in January 2022. GKIDS and Shout! Factory then released the film on digital platforms and on Blu-ray Disc in May that same year.
Sources: Animmersive Live: Ryū to Sobakasu no Hime show's website, Comic Natalie
