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'On-Gaku: Our Sound' Director Kenji Iwaisawa Makes New Anime Film Before Hina Is Beautiful

Director Kenji Iwaisawa teased at Tokyo International Film Festival 2023 on Tuesday that he has another animated film already in full-fledged production, besides the previously announced Hina is Beautiful. In addition, he anticipates this other film will come out before Hina is Beautiful.

Iwaisawa spoke about his future films after the festival's screening of his award-winning ON-GAKU: Our Sound film. He said that he cannot reveal the story of his next film, but he can probably make its formal announcement next year.

Iwaisawa's ON-GAKU: Our Sound anime film is an adaptation of Hiroyuki Ohashi's "ON-GAKU" manga. Ohashi announced the film project in 2012, and launched a crowdfunding campaign on the Makuake website in July 2018. The film opened in Japan in January 2020. GKIDS screened the film in theaters in North America in December 2020, and then released the film on home video in March 2021.

The film won the Grand Prize at the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) in 2019. The film won the 24th Japan Media Arts Festival Awards' Entertainment Division's Grand Prize in 2021, and the 75th Annual Mainichi Film Awards' Noburou Oofuji Award in 2021. The film was also nominated for an Annie Award in the same year.

Oscar-nominated scriptwriter Takamasa Ōe (Drive My Car, Dragons of Wonderhatch) is writing Hina is Beautiful, and Naoyuki Asano (Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time) is the animation director and character designer.

Source: Tokyo International Film Festival's ON-GAKU: Our Sound stage appearance (Egan Loo)