GKIDS Sets Summer Theatrical Release Date for 'Lonely Castle in the Mirror'

Keiichi Hara's 'Lonely Castle in the Mirror' is set to get a limited theatrical release this summer.

GKIDS has proven itself to be one of the biggest distributors of premium anime content today. A brand that has cultivated several high-profile animated productions from around the world, the company's recent emphasis on anime in particular has tapped into the rising popularity of the medium worldwide. GKIDS's next feature anime, Lonely Castle in the Mirror, has locked down plans for a two-night theatrical run in the US for this summer. Screening in select theaters, Lonely Castle in the Mirror is set for a theatrical run on Wednesday, June 21st and Thursday, June 22, 2023. The film is set to be released in subtitles, with a separate dub cast likely coming for a later physical release from GKIDS.

Lonely Castle in the Mirror is described by the distributor as a sort of magical-realist coming-of-age isekai: "Shy outcast Kokoro has been avoiding school for weeks when she discovers a portal in her bedroom mirror. She reaches through and finds herself transported to an enchanting castle where she is joined by six other students. When a girl in a wolf mask explains that they have been invited to play a game, the teens must work together to uncover the mysterious connection that unites them. However, anyone who breaks the rules will be eaten by a wolf."

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Heading into the US theatrical release, Lonely Castle in the Mirror has already garnered considerable acclaim, making a big presence at numerous high profile film festivals and earning over 1 billion yen in Japan's domestic box office. Adapted from the 2017 Japanese novel from Mizuki Tsujimura, the film's director Keiichi Hara has previously made several acclaimed anime features, including 2007's Summer Days with Coo and 2015's Miss Hokusai, which were both also distributed by GKIDS.

The animation is being handed by studio A-1 Pictures, the same studio behind everything from Fairy Tail to Kaguya-Sama. The composer for several of Hara's previous films, Harumi Fuuki, returned to score Lonely Castle as well. Given Hara's ability to work with heartwarming fantasy motifs as seen in films like Summer Days, the coming-of-age sensibility of Lonely Castle certainly fills a strong niche.

And a strong niche is exactly what GKIDS is going for with this limited release. The subtitles and weekday screening schedule are definitely made to attract more of the intersection of anime fan and thoughtfully arthouse (or, arthouse-with-kids), which is exactly the niche that GKIDS so often fills better than anyone. Of course, the distributor is also currently gearing up for the North American theatrical release of The First Slam Dunk, the Toei Animation feature that has proven to be one of the most internationally-popular anime features in Japanese and Chinese box office history. Between these, it's safe to say that GKIDS has a lot to look forward to with this year's anime slate.

Source: Press Release

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Kevin Credo is a columnist, essayist, and comics writer. His fiction has been published by Ahoy Comics ("A Brief Interview With an AI Playwright") and the Tapas Media premium slate ("Ellery Moonbeam").