The upcoming fantasy anime film ‘The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store’ is set to be released in Japanese theaters on October 20, 2023, but it will debut in the United States in 2024.
“Welcome in! Crunchyroll has officially announced it has acquired the rights to The Concierge, the latest anime movie from PRODUCTION I.G (PSYCHO-PASS) in North America, teaming up with Sony Pictures Entertainment to release the film in 2024,” Crunchyroll reported on their website.
They said, “The Concierge is an adaptation of The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store from Tsuchika Nishimura. The story centers around Akino, a concierge-in-training in a store with a unique customer base — animals, of which extinct species are held in the highest regard.”
Aniplex will distribute the film to Japanese cinemas.
“Directed by Yoshimi Itazu (Welcome to the Ballroom) at PRODUCTION I.G, The Concierge stars Natsumi Kawaida (Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater) as Akino, Takeo Otsuka (Oshi no Ko) as Elulu and Kenhiro Tsuda (JUJUTSU KAISEN) as Woolly,” Crunchyroll continued.
You can watch the trailer below:
The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store’ won the Silver Audience Award for Best Animated Feature at the 27th Fantasia International Film Festival.
AniList describes the synopsis as follows,
“That’s just one of the demanding rules that Akino must abide by in her new job as a saleswoman at the elegant and expansive Hokkyoku Department Store. It’s a very special store — the customers are all animals, and the most valued among them are of extinct species. Sea minks, laughing owls, Japanese wolves, even an enormous mammoth — that’s Mr. Woolly, the celebrated sculptor whose works are showcased at the store. It’s still a luxury retail space, though, and anxious Akino finds her hands full with the customers’ challenging requests. These range from hard-to-find merchandise to more complicated matters of the heart. Can the inexperienced Akino fulfill their whims and meet their expectations? If she wants to keep her job, she’ll have to succeed while under constant observation by the fussy floor manager Mr. Toudou, a creepy consultant eager to downsize the staff, and the store’s enigmatic president (who is not a penguin, by the way!).”
The movie had its premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
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