In an alternate reality where World War II had ended with the Separation of Japan, the northern island of Hokkaidō (or Ezo, as it is called in the anime adaptation) is occupied by the "Union" (referring to the Soviet Union) while the rest of the country is occupied by the United States. In 1974, the Union begins the construction of a strange tower on Hokkaido designed by a scientist named Ekusun Tsukinoe. The anime follows the story of three friends living in Aomori, in northern Japan: two boys, Hiroki Fujisawa and Takuya Shirakawa, both child prodigies; and one girl, Sayuri Sawatari. In 1996, the three are in ninth grade, their last year of middle school, and they are fascinated by the Hokkaido Tower visible across the Tsugaru Strait to the north. Sayuri becomes close friends with the two boys. By 1999, the Cold War is still ongoing with Japan and Hokkaido separated.
MPAA Rating: | NR |
Genre: | Animation, Drama, Romance, Sci Fi |
Country: | Japan |
Produced By: | Makoto Shinkai, Mark Williams, John Ledford, Naomi Toda |
Directed By: | Makoto Shinkai |
Written By: | Makoto Shinkai, Steven Foster |
Cast: | Risa Mizuno, Jacob A. Gragard, Rie Nakagawa, Kousuke Kujirai, Kazuhiko Inoue, Jessica Boone, Hirochika Kamize, John Gremillion, Maki Saitou, Kalob Martinez, Ian O'Neal, Masami Iwasaki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Takahiro Hirano, Bretto Coleman, Unshô Ishizuka, Hidenobu Kiuchi, Yuka Nanri, Andrew Love, Matthew Crawford, Illich Guardiola, Rob Mungle, Chris Patton, Andy McAvin, Masato Hagiwara, Hilary Haag, Eiji Takemoto, John Swasey, Jay Hickman, Takeshi Maeda, Lesley Pedersen, Yûki Nakao, Kira Vincent-Davis |
In Theaters: | Nov 20, 2004 |
Runtime: | 1 hour 31 minutes |
Production: | CoMix Wave |
Available On: | Vudu |
Read More On: | Wikipedia |