News
Shunji Iwai Makes Anime Prequel to His Hana & Alice Schoolgirl Film
posted on by Egan Loo
51-year-old film director Shunji Iwai (All About Lily Chou-Chou, Swallowtail Butterfly) is directing his first feature-length animated film. Hana to Alice Satsujin Jiken (The Case of Hana & Alice) will tell the story of how the two female high school leads in Iwai's Hana & Alice film met. Iwai conceived, wrote, and directed the original 2004 live-action Hana & Alice film.
The two lead actresses of Hana & Alice, 29-year-old Yū Aoi (live-action Rurouni Kenshin films, Tekkonkinkreet, Redline) and 27-year-old Anne Suzuki (Steamboy, Pokémon 4Ever, live-action Initial D), will reprise their roles as voice actresses in the new anime film. The original live-action film depicted the first love and friendship of two high school girls, and it was the breakthrough performance for both actresses.
Aoi noted that it has been a decade since the first film, and while her voice is not quite what it used to be, she vowed to do her best. Suzuki said that she is very thrilled that we can meet Hana and Alice again.
Hana to Alice Satsujin Jiken will open next February. Iwai is not only directing the film, but also writing the screenplay and composing the soundtrack.
Iwai previously wrote Baton — the 65-minute hybrid American/Japanese, live-action/animated work that another live-action filmmaker, Ryuhei Kitamura, directed.
Source: Sports Nippon
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history