The anime film premieres in Japan this Winter 2022 and stars Kokoro, who enters the world inside the mirror to make a wish.
By: Nicole S. Castro on July 21, 2022 at 11:22 PHT
The first teaser trailer has been released for the anime film adaptation of Mizuki Tsujimura's 2017 fantasy novel Lonely Castle in the Mirror (Romaji: Kagami no Kojou, Japanese: かがみの孤城).
The film is animated by A-1 Pictures. It will premiere in theaters in Japan this Winter 2022.
The plot revolves around female protagonist Kokoro who shuts herself in her room and refuses to go to school after a frightening experience. One day, the mirror in her room begins to glow and she is transported to the world inside the mirror to search for a Wish Key to grant a single wish.
Auditions are ongoing to decide the voice actor for Kokoro. Additional details are expected to be revealed on July 28.
Lonely Castle in the Mirror won first place in the 2018 Japan Booksellers' Award and became an instant bestseller in Japan, selling over half a million copies. The novel also won the Da Vinci Book of the Year in 2017 for the Novel Category. Tsujimura's work then won the Da Vinci Book of the Year again in 2021, this time for the Paperback Category.
An English translation of the original novel (translated by Philip Gabriel) is available on Penguin Books and Amazon.
In addition, a manga adaptation with illustrations by Tomo Taketomi is ongoing serialization in Shueisha's Ultra Jump imprint.
Staff
Original: Mizuki Tsujimura (published by Poplar Publishing)
Director: Keiichi Hara
Distribution: Shochiku
Animation production: A-1 Pictures
Synopsis
Kokoro is a first year middle school student. Or at least, she's supposed to be. A dark and very frightening experience has left her with a severe case of social anxiety that has her dropping out of school and shutting herself away from the world in her house, where she spends her days dealing with the guilt the disappointment in her parents eyes causes her.
One day, the mirror in her room begins to glow. Dragged into the other side of the looking glass by a little girl wearing a wolf mask, Kokoro there finds a fairy tale-like castle and six other children, all close to her in age. The little girl (who calls herself "Ookami-sama") tells them that the one who finds the Wish Key that is hidden within the castle will have a single wish granted. There are no rules, save for one: if they stay past 5 PM, the Wolf will eat them. (from MyAnimeList)
Source: Lonely Castle in the Mirror official website, Comic Natalie
NICOLE S. CASTRO
Author
Nicole is based in the Philippines and works as a freelance Japanese Translator/Interpreter and copywriter (English). She is a JLPT N2 passer who watches anime to "study" for N1. She has a long career history on LinkedIn (with primary focus on media and translation), but her anime watchlist is much, much longer.
