This past Saturday at Anime NYC, the from GKIDS held their Industry panel where they illuminated the crowd as to how the distributor works with companies around the globe in order to get shows and films distributed in the West. At the panel the distributor announced two major acquisitions.
The first is the live action adaptation of Makoto Shinkai’s 5 Centimeters Per Second which was directed by Yoshiyuki Okuyama and starring Hokuto Matsumura, Mitsuki Takahata and Nana Mori. The premise of this file follows a young man named Takaki Tono (Okuyama), who meets and falls in love with Akari Shinohara (Matsumura), but circumstances beyond both of their control drives them apart. Split between third parts spanning 1991 to 2008, we’ll follow Tano in his quest to reveal his true feelings for Shinohara and whether or not it pans out. The original work was written by Makoto Shinkai, whose notable works include Your Name, Weather and Suzume which saw film adaptations which are amongst the highest grossing Japanese films of all time.
The second acquisition is 2021 animated film Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, directed and written by Yoshiaki Kawajiri and animated by the legendary animation house, Madhouse. The film was originally localized and featured a cast with well known actors such as Pamela Adlon (King of the Hill, Recess), John DiMaggio (My Hero Academia, Futurama), Dwight Schultz (The A-Team, Chowder), Andy Philpot (Tenchi Muyo! Tenchi in Love, Ninja Scroll).
Loosely adapted from the 1985 light novel Vampire Hunter D: Demon Deathchase, it features D pursuing a young woman who seemingly was kidnapped by a vampire nobleman. D’s job is made more complicated when the young woman’s brother hires a mercenary band to pursue his sister. Adding to this mess is the fact the young woman’s abduction doesn’t appear what it seems.
GKIDS will have theatrical and home release to both titles and while there aren’t any concrete dates, it has been confirmed more details regarding 5 Centimeters Per Second will be revealed by the end of the year and theatrical screenings of Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust will occur this fall while a home release is set for 2027.