The official website for Makoto Shinkai's new animated film, Suzume no Tojimari (literally, Suzume's Door-Locking), has announced that SixTONES members Hokuto Matsumura has been cast as one of the main characters, Souta Munakata.
Suzume no Tojimari is set to premiere on November 11, 2022 in Japan.
Suzume no Tojimari is set to premiere on November 11, 2022 in Japan.
NEW CAST ANNOUNCEMENT:
Hokuto Matsumura as Souta Munakata
Hokuto Matsumura Comments:
I could never have imagined that I would be cast in a film directed by Shinkai, but now that I have been selected, I feel a strange mixture of pressure and excitement. I met Director Shinkai for the first time during the audition, and I was very happy to hear him praise my voice both during the audition and during the post-recording. I was nervous at first because it was my first experience in post-recording, and it was difficult to express my facial expressions and emotions with just my voice, and there were many things I couldn't do no matter how much I practiced.
The character I played, Souta Munakata, was a character I had never seen in any of the director's works, so I thought it would be great if I could create a voice tone I had never heard before, and I had many discussions with the director about it.
The director said, "Souta is like a fusion of a god and a human being," so I used a slightly lower voice than usual.
Souta is transformed into a chair by a certain event, and because of this, there was a lot of comical dialogue with the heroine Suzume, which was actually fun during the recording.
I think this work is a collection of all of the director's previous cells, based on familiar reality and everyday life, with fantasy and humor woven into the mix.
How could it not be interesting? For me personally, this story has broadened my interpretation of the world and made my life and this world even more interesting. I believe that this is a work that can only be depicted on film and in animation, and that everyone who sees it will be able to experience a miracle in their daily lives.
The character I played, Souta Munakata, was a character I had never seen in any of the director's works, so I thought it would be great if I could create a voice tone I had never heard before, and I had many discussions with the director about it.
The director said, "Souta is like a fusion of a god and a human being," so I used a slightly lower voice than usual.
Souta is transformed into a chair by a certain event, and because of this, there was a lot of comical dialogue with the heroine Suzume, which was actually fun during the recording.
I think this work is a collection of all of the director's previous cells, based on familiar reality and everyday life, with fantasy and humor woven into the mix.
How could it not be interesting? For me personally, this story has broadened my interpretation of the world and made my life and this world even more interesting. I believe that this is a work that can only be depicted on film and in animation, and that everyone who sees it will be able to experience a miracle in their daily lives.
NEW TRAILER:
MAIN CAST:
Nanoka Hara as Suzume Iwato
"We must think about how to close the many doors we left open,” says Director Makoto Shinkai as he continues work on the film. “I’ve bestowed that responsibility upon Suzume as she travels across Japan closing various doors. It is my sincere hope that this film leaves its audiences with big smiles and excitement as they walk out of the theater."
Makoto Shinkai is directing the film and writing the screenplay. He is also credited with the original story. Masayoshi Tanaka is designing the characters. Kenichi Tsuchiya is the animation director. Takumi Tanji is the art director. CoMix Wave Films and Story Inc. are producing the movie. TOHO is distributing the film.
VISUAL:
Suzume no Tojimari is officially described as:
Suzume, a 17-year-old girl who lives in a quiet town in Kyushu, meets a young man on a journey “looking for doors.” Suzume follows him to a ruin to a dilapidated building in the mountains and finds a free-standing, undisturbed door t as if “it” alone were saved from devastation. Suzume feels drawn by an invisible power and reaches out to the door... Soon, doors all over Japan start opening one after another. The doors that opened must be closed to shut out calamity that lays on the other side.
—Stars, sunset, and the morning sky. The places she wanders into have a sky where all hours of the day seem to blend together—
Beckoned by the mysterious doors, Suzume’s “journey of closing doors” begins.
Suzume, a 17-year-old girl who lives in a quiet town in Kyushu, meets a young man on a journey “looking for doors.” Suzume follows him to a ruin to a dilapidated building in the mountains and finds a free-standing, undisturbed door t as if “it” alone were saved from devastation. Suzume feels drawn by an invisible power and reaches out to the door... Soon, doors all over Japan start opening one after another. The doors that opened must be closed to shut out calamity that lays on the other side.
—Stars, sunset, and the morning sky. The places she wanders into have a sky where all hours of the day seem to blend together—
Beckoned by the mysterious doors, Suzume’s “journey of closing doors” begins.