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2014 marks 100 years since the opening of Tokyo Station. To commemorate the occasion, an anime short titled Toki wa Meguru: Tokyo Station is being produced.
A-1 Pictures, who continues to create hits such as Space Brothers, Silver Spoon, and Black Butler, will produce the animation. It’s expected to create a lot of buzz.
A teaser trailer was already released on March 26, as well. This trailer gives a partial idea of what the short will be like.
The idea behind the project is to show the various appealing aspects of the 100-year-old Tokyo Station through animation and music.
In addition to the animation production, the project will also make use of music artist Yuu Sakai. Using “a familial love that surpasses time” as its theme, his song “Toki wa Meguru” plays alongside the video.
Sakai also provided some comments regarding his involvement:
“I’m incredibly happy that this kind of production came about from my own music. I’m from Tosashimizu in Kōchi Prefecture, which is one of the places that takes the longest to get to from Tokyo using public transportation. When I first got off at Tokyo Station, the looks from the people coming and going left me feeling all alone. As time passed and I came to know people’s kindness, Tokyo and Tokyo Station became my favorite city and station. When I think about someone from the countryside alone in this crowd like I was, I want to approach that person and tell them, ‘It’s okay. Soon you’ll love this place.’”
The anime follows the story of 25-year-old protagonist Misaki. With her wedding just around the corner, Misaki finds an old photograph of Tokyo Station and an old pocket watch among her late father’s possessions.
Her father worked as a railway employee at Tokyo Station. Misaki’s memory of her father is that of someone who was always strict. When she tries to fix the broken pocket watch, she comes across a clock shop inside Tokyo Station.
In recent years, the number of productions by major anime studios in Japan using business or organization tie-ins have increased. Anime images serve as an easy way to promote a message.
However, A-1 Pictures has never taken this approach before. With A-1 Pictures being the powerful studio that it is, there is much to be expected from this anime as well. The entire anime is set to be released mid-May.
Source: animeanime
