Anime
Crunchyroll releases 'In This Corner (and Other Corners) of the World', one of the best Japanese films about WWII
The extended version of the movie from the producers of ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ leaves Japan as an exclusive.
World War II is one of the recurring themes in modern Japanese cinema. Nearly 80 years after its conclusion, artists continue to confront a past whose wounds have yet to heal. Films such as “In This Corner of the World” and “Grave of the Fireflies” are considered some of the best feature films in this vein. Today we focus on the former, which is now available in a special flavor edition on Crunchyroll.
In This Corner (and Other Corners) of the World made history when an extended version of the film finally debuted in the West
The original movie was released in markets around the world in 2016. However, three years later, it was edited to include 39 minutes of additional scenes to coincide with a re-release in Japan. Until now, it has remained exclusively in Japanese territory, and it is only now that it has finally arrived in the West.
The extended version of ‘In This Corner of the World’ is one of the two longest theatrically released animated films in history. Its 168 minutes reflect the pain and loss of those who grew up with the aftermath of war.
The narrative focuses on Suzu Urano, who in 1944 moves to the city of Kure, Hiroshima, to live with her husband’s family. Kure was one of the cities bombed by the U.S. Army during the war. From there, we see the young woman’s need to reinvent herself and come to terms with the fact that (almost) everything she had was reduced to dust and ashes.
In This Corner of the World', the feature film debut of MAPPA (‘Jujutsu Kaisen’)
The movie should not go unnoticed by fans of the anime world. The production company in charge of the project was MAPPA, one of the most popular studios at the moment for having brought hits such as ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ and ‘Chainsaw Man’ to the small screen.
2016 was an important year for them. Since their founding in 2011, they have only been responsible for short works, OVAs and manga adaptations for television. Among the most important ones, we can find “Hajime no Ippo: Rising” (2013) and “Ushio to Tora” (2015). It was time to explore new territories. Five years later, they made their double debut in theaters.
Their first movie was ‘Garo: Divine Flame’, a sequel to the ‘Garo: Honoo no Kokuin’ series, which was especially popular on national television. The second, however, was ‘In This Corner of the World’, where they proved that their talent could be adapted to the traditional feature film format. From then on, they were inundated with high-profile licensing deals and even worked in the world of video games, creating the opening sequence of Persona 5 Royal.
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