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The release date for the newest movie in the Anpanman series has been decided on. This was revealed during the reception “Thank You and Congratulations for the 95th Birthday of Takashi Yanase” held at the Shinjuku NS Building on Feb. 6. The movie is titled Soreike! Anpanman: Ringo Bouya to Minna no Negai (Let’s Go! Anpanman: The Apple Boy and Everyone’s Wishes), and it will be delivered to children and families in Japan on July 5.
Children have loved Anpanman for many years. This summer’s movie will be the 26th in the series. Although the series has been going on for a long time, it faced a great change in 2014, namely the death of the original author Takashi Yanase who passed away on Oct. 13, 2013 at the age of 94. There were concerns regarding the future of the series, however, taking on Yanase’s determination, they produced a movie this year as well. The reception during which the information was announced was a very entertaining event that attendees could enjoy. Since the very same day would have been Yanase’s 95th birthday, it was organized in the spirit of him still being alive.
Soreike! Anpanman: Ringo Bouya to Minna no Negai also reflects Yanase’s distinctive style. The movie is based on Yanase’s last picture book, Anpanman to Ringo Bouya (Anpanman and Apple Boy), and it is about nostalgia and rebuilding a home. The previous episodes in the series, Go! Anpanman: Revive Banana Island in 2012 and Go! Anpanman: The Handkerchief of Home in 2013, took recovering from the Tohoku Earthquake and hope as their subjects, respectively. This year’s movie is the last piece of the recovery trilogy that started in 2012.
During the reception “Thank You and Congratulations for the 95th Birthday of Takashi Yanase,” Yanase’s last message was revealed, in which he also explains why he chose “apple” as his motif.
The Last Message of Takashi Yanase:
“I was moved by the articles in the news magazines. Just when small villages finally got on track after carrying out reforms and switching to cattle breeding, the Tohoku Earthquake brought on a nuclear accident. The villagers have left their radiation-polluted homes and became scattered.
But still, they were about not giving in to the difficulties and making efforts to rebuild the homes they loved. After reading these, I chose nostalgia and rebuilding a home as the topics.
“The reason I chose apple is because it gives a nice impression. Besides, there are many apple farmers in the Tohoku region. Apple Boy, who is travelling to plant apple trees all around the world, sets his eyes on his hometown for the first time in a long while, and returns home to revive it into a beautiful apple village!”
