Exciting news for fans of the work of Sunao Katabuchi (In This Corner of the World). You can now get your eyeballs on the director’s long-gestating film The Mourning Children: Nagiko and the Girls Wearing Tsurubami Black via a pilot film.
The 3:45-minute pilot shows Katabuchi and his team at Contrail’s take on the world of Kyoto during the 10th century and the life of real-life writer Sei Shōnagon, who wrote The Pillow Book. The film also centers on an epidemic that swept Kyoto (or Heian-kyo, as it was known) at the time.
Also available are some videos showing off concept art and behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the film.
The film is also written by Katabuchi and features chief animation direction by Masashi Ando (The Deer King) and music by Akira Senju (Princess Arete).
Katabuchi is best known for his film In This Corner of the World, which is set in pre-war and wartime Hiroshima Prefecture. The 2016 film was a hit in Japan, and was followed by an extended version in 2019 called In This Corner (and Other Corners) of the World. Katabuchi is also the director of Princess Arete, Mai Mai Miracle, Black Lagoon and more.
Source: ANN