Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival 2024 Details

Date: 2024 September 28 22:16

Posted by Eeeper

Returning for its 14th year, Welsh anime festival Kotatsu has a two-part convention packed with feature films, shorts, music performances, and more running from October 5th to 6th and again on October 25th to the 27th 2024.

Full Story

The Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival opens its opens in October 2024 for a set of conventions at the Chapter Cardiff and Aberystwyth Arts Centre. Showing at the festival will be a huge selection of films from 2024's Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom, The Concierge, Venus Wars, and Komada - A Whiskey Family. Along with the films, the festival will run a stand at both locations with Japanese and anime and manga related products, all of which will help Kotatsu in its fundraising efforts. At the Chapter event, there will be music from JERO11, a guitarist and shamisen player, who will perform traditional shamisen with a homemade electric box-shamisen. Several short films from filmmakers such as Wada Atsushi, Yuki Yoko, and Yano Honami will be shown at the Chapter event.

From the Kotatsu website:

Lonely Castle in the Mirror

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. From acclaimed director Keiichi Hara (Colorful, Miss Hokusai) and based on the bestselling novel by Mizuki Tsujimura

Millennium Actress

With the renowned Ginei Studios shutting down and their buildings about to be demolished, film-maker Genya Tachibana sets out to commemorate this historical moment by interviewing the studios former superstar - the now-reclusive Chiyoko Fujiwara. Thirty years on from her disappearance from the limelight, one question lingers - why did she end her career and vanish at the peak of her acting powers?
As Chiyoko recounts her story, Genya and his cameraman are pulled into a wide-ranging journey through the lens of her films. Interviews and recollections, acting and reality, all blur into the single rich tapestry of a remarkable life.

Venus Wars
When an ice comet slammed into the planet Venus, terraforming its toxic atmosphere into one capable of sustaining human life, mankind's dream of colonizing other worlds became a reality. Unfortunately for the colonists, Venus isn't the paradise they'd dreamed of. As crops fail and competition for resources intensifies, hostilities grow until the two inhabited continents stand on the brink of war.

Blue Giant

Dai Miyamoto's life changes when he discovers jazz. He picks up a tenor saxophone and practices every day. After leaving his hometown Sendai, he pursues a music career in Tokyo with the help of his friend Shunji. One day, Dai plays passionately from the heart and convinces talented pianist Yukinori to start a band together. Along with Shunji, a beginner drummer, they form JASS. With each live performance, they get closer and closer to performing at So Blue, the most famous jazz club in Japan, in hopes of forever changing the world of jazz. Based on the manga by Shinichi Ishizuka, with original music by HIROMI.

Komada - A Whisky Family

Kotaro, a novice editor for a web news, visits Komada Distillery for a project on Japanese craft whisky. Led by a young female president Rui who recently took over the family business, the distillery works hard to reproduce its signature whisky KOMA they had to stop making years ago. KOMA was a brand that Rui's family had lovingly preserved and a symbol of happiness for all. However, not to mention financial backing, too many clues are missing to revive the whisky once lost. Rui, Kotaro, and the distillery supporters pull together every thread to bring back the whisky filled with family memories.

Memories
From the creator of AKIRA, Katsuhiro Otomo, comes three unforgettable animated tales.
Episode 1: Magnetic Rose - Alone on a mysterious ship in deepest space, she waits. Once a beloved diva, she is now nothing more than memories. And for unsuspecting travellers that respond to her beacon, she will be their undoing.
Episode 2: Stink Bomb - A junior scientist gets the flu and decides to try out some newly developed pills. But he takes the wrong ones, turning him into a walking, talking, and exceptionally clueless weapon of mass destruction.
Episode 3: Cannon Fodder - A day in the life of a small family in a big city. In this city, there is only war. There are no dreams, there is only labour. And there is no god, only a gigantic cannon.

City Hunter the Movie: Angel Dust

When fate confronts Ryo Saeba, the final chapter of City Hunter begins!
"Angel Dust" is an evil technology that turns its users into superhuman soldiers. Assassins arrive in Tokyo to get hold of the Angel Dust's latest model. The struggle over the forbidden invention that once took the life of Hideyuki Makimura, Ryo's former partner, leads Ryo and his partner Kaori into a fateful battle...!
"Ryo Saeba's destined battle begins!"

Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro

The Castle of Cagliostro is the first feature film directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Here, our iconic super-thief Lupin pulls off a thrilling heist at a Monte Carlo casino, only to discover the spoils are counterfeit. Lupin traces the fake bills to the country of Cagliostro where an evil Count is generating forged money and distributing it worldwide. With partners in tow (including a retired gangster, a modern-day samurai, and a beautiful female thief) Lupin heads to Cagliostro where he also finds a promise of hidden treasure and Clarice, a beautiful Princess in need of rescuing from the Count's dastardly clutches.

The Concierge

It's Akino's first day on the job as a trainee concierge at the "Arctic Department Store", an unusual department store that caters exclusively to animals. Under the watchful eyes of the floor manager and senior concierges, Akino is tested by customers with myriad needs and problems in her pursuit to become a full-fledged concierge.

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom

In C.E.75, the fighting still continues. There are independence movements, and aggression by Blue Cosmos... In order to calm the situation, a global peace monitoring agency called COMPASS is established, with Lacus as its first president. As members of COMPASS, Kira and his comrades intervene into various regional battles. Then a newly established nation called Foundation proposes a joint operation against a Blue Cosmos stronghold.