A teaser trailer has been released for the upcoming historical anime movie The Mourning Children: Nagiko and The Girls Wearing Tsurubami Black, the latest directorial work from In This Corner of the World‘s Sunao Katabuchi.
The Mourning Children is set in the Heian period of Japan, and the surprisingly lengthy teaser gives viewers an over three-and-half-minute look at Katabuchi’s depiction of the era. There is plenty of gorgeous and painterly scenery (the teaser’s credits reveal Yuuji Kaneko, who has worked on shows like Tengoku Daimakyou and Ranking of Kings, as art director), but this beauty is occasionally contrasted by scenes of diseased citizens and homeless children.
The contrast ties into the film’s goal, with the official description explaining:
The film follows Kyoto during the Heian period (the 10th century) in Japan. Tens of thousands dead, gutters filled with corpses, children abandoned in the mountains, and groups of wild dogs vigilantly watching outside the city. The elegant image of the Heian period has been shown in many literary and artistic works. However, Katabuchi’s new work takes us back to Kyoto a thousand years ago, when the city was shrouded in darkness due to repeated epidemics of plague.
In addition to directing, Katabuchi is also responsible for the script and original creation of The Mourning Children. Other staff include Chie Uratani (In This Corner of the World) as assistant director, Masashi Andou (The Deer King co-director, character designer, and animation director) as animation director, and Akira Senju (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) as music composer. CONTRAIL is the animation production company.
Toshiharu Mizutani (Yuri!! on Ice, Sword Oratoria) was previously listed as the movie’s art director.
Source: CONTRAIL YouTube channel
