Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
A new trailer, key visual, and cast members were revealed on Thursday for the upcoming Lonely Castle in the Mirror anime film. While their roles aren’t specified yet, joining the main cast will be Akiko Yajima (Pino – Ergo Proxy), Anji Ikehata (debut), Ayaka Yoshimura (debut), and Karen Miyama (Koyuki Kazehana – Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow). The trailer also features the theme song of the film titled “Merry-Go-Round” by the singer Yuri. Studio A-1 Pictures (Sword Art Online, 86 Eighty-Six) is in charge of animation production for Lonely Castle in the Mirror which will release in theaters across Japan on December 23.
Staff
Award-winning Director Keiichi Hara (Colorful, Miss Hokusai) will be in charge of directing the film. Miho Maruo (Dragon Ball) is in charge of the screenplay with Harumi Fuuki composing the music. Fuuki recently composed the soundtrack for the movie Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbye, which was released back in September. Keigo Sasaki (Erased, Seven Deadly Sins) is handling the character designs for the film and will also lead as the chief animation director. Hiromichi Itō (Seven Deadly Sins) will oversee the art for the movie as the art director.
Toshiaki Aoshima and Yohei Miyawaki are the directors of photography. The two have worked on many series together in photography roles including Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Space Brothers, Darling in the Franxx, and Erased. They were also on the 2D work team for Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale as well. And more recently, Aoshima was the director of photography for Lycoris Recoil while Miyawaki was in the same role but for the other A-1 Pictures original anime Engage Kiss.
The rest of the Lonely Castle in the Mirror staff includes the following:
- Art Board: Hiroshi Ōno (Akira, Nine)
- Art Setting: Takashi Nakamura (Akira, Colorful)
- CG Animation Director: Shigetaka Ushida (Expelled from Paradise)
- CG Modeling Director: Hiroshi Inagaki (SSSS.Dynazenon)
- Color design: Takahiro Mogi (Golden Kamuy, Megalobox)
- Editing: Shigeru Nishiyama (Slam Dunk, Soul Eater, Erased, Bungo Stray Dogs)
- Lonely Castle Design: Ilya Kuvshinov (The Orbital Children)
- Visual Concept: Ilya Kuvshinov (The Orbital Children)
The teaser trailer for Lonely Castle in the Mirror was released back in July, which you can view below:
Cast
Ami Toma will be making her first big, voice-acting role as the main character Kokoro. Joining her as Kitajima-sensei in the movie will be Aoi Miyazaki, who voiced Shoko Sano in the movie Colorful. Kumiko Asou will be voicing Kokoro’s mother in the film. And while the former three just named are relatively newer voice actresses, they will be joined by veteran Minami Takayama as Masamune. Takayama has many notable roles from the past including Conan from Detective Conan, Griffith from Berserk (1997), Hao Asakura from Shaman King (2001), Nabiki Tendou from Ranma ½, and, of course, one of the best anime mom’s in history as Sachiko Fujinuma from Erased.
Other cast includes:
- Fūka: Naho Yokomizo
- Subaru: Rihito Itagaki (debut)
- Aki: Sakura Kiryū (Nagisa Amano – Weathering With You)
- Rion: Takumi Kitamura (Naomi Katagaki – Hello World)
- Ureshino: Yuuki Kaji (Eren Yeager – Attack on Titan)
Lonely Castle in the Mirror Novel
The film is based on the award-winning novel created by Mizuki Tsujimura. Lonely Castle in the Mirror was published in 2017 and ended up taking home the grand prize that same year at the King’s Brunch Book Prize awards. Fast forward to 2018, the novel ended up winning the 2018 Japan Booksellers’ Award and placed atop Da Vinci magazine’s “Book of the Year” list. In 2021, US-based publisher Doubleday released the novel in English in 2021 while Erewhon released a hardcover version earlier this month.
In a tranquil neighbourhood of Tokyo, seven teenagers wake to find their bedroom mirrors are shining.
Novel synopsis by Doubleday
At a single touch, they are pulled from their lonely lives to a wondrous castle filled with winding stairways, watchful portraits and twinkling chandeliers. In this new sanctuary, they are confronted with a set of clues leading to a hidden room where one of them will be granted a wish. But there’s a catch: if they don’t leave the castle by five o’clock, they will be punished. As time passes, a devastating truth emerges: only those brave enough to share their stories will be saved.
Source: Official Website, Official Twitter
