Know Your Anime: Scotland Loves Anime 2024 preview
Scotland Loves Anime returns with a mouthwatering programme of mint-fresh anime and a smattering of classics. We take a look at what's on offer
It might not be December quite yet, but Christmas has come early for UK anime fans with the return of Scotland Loves Anime. Running throughout November at Glasgow Film Theatre, the Cameo in Edinburgh and, for the first time, at the Picturehouse Central in London, this annual festival will, as ever, feature new work from the brightest lights in anime today alongside screenings of some true classics.
If you’ve followed the trailblazing career of Kyoto Animation alumna Naoko Yamada (best known for A Silent Voice), you’ll know to make a beeline for her latest effort The Colours Within, which will be playing at all three of SLA’s venues. The film follows Tonsuko, a teenager with synesthesia, a condition which, in Tonsuko's case, means she sees other people as colours. Yamada brings Tonsuko's neurodivergent visions to life with a pleasingly experimental flourish, and the result is easily one of the most visually spectacular offerings of the year – anime or otherwise. Following the theme of creative youngsters, this year’s festival will also see the European premiere of A Few Moments of Cheers, a high school movie about a boy who loves making music videos and the girl whose singing captivates him, as well as Masahiro Shinohara’s J-pop soaked Trapezium, which follows a group of aspiring teen idols.
On the topic of hotly anticipated releases, this year’s festival will see the Scottish premiere of Studio Durian’s long-awaited film adaptation of Look Back, based on the short and sweet coming-of-age manga by Chainsaw Man’s Tatsuki Fujimoto. That’s not all for avid manga readers, though, as the film version of the legendary Akira Toriyama’s Sand Land, a quirky Mad Max meets Dragon Ball Z adventure, will also have its UK premiere at Scotland Loves Anime.
The Colors Within
Amid these releases focused on contemporary struggles and worlds of fantasy there's also Totto-chan, a fantastic work that's part of the lineage of animes that tackle the devastation of the Second World War. Based on an autobiographical memoir by UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, it’s a beautifully rendered vision of a dark period that’s reminiscent of films like In This Corner of the World.
Many of the offerings at this year's festival display anime’s propensity for telling adult-oriented stories in vibrant new ways, but there are still a few films in the lineup suitable for younger audiences. Take Ghost Cat Anzu, a charming adaptation of a beloved shonen anime that stars a little girl and her ghost cat friend as they travel to Tokyo, meeting gods and spirits along the way. Initially filmed in live action before being rotoscoped, it’s a visually compelling treat with a story that combines folklore and contemporary life as only anime can.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, viewers looking for more gnarly fare will find it in screenings like The Birth of Kitaro: The Mystery of GeGeGe. Drawing on the classic 60s manga series GeGeGe no Kitarō and adding a mature twist to the kid-friendly source material, it’s a novel reinterpretation of a real manga classic. You’ll also find a bloodthirsty offering in SLA’s screenings of all four parts of Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture, a TV series that SLA are giving the opportunity to shine on the big screen.
Lupin the III: The Castle of Cagliostro.
Anime viewers (this writer included) are always looking for opportunities to see anime from decades past on the big screen. If you’re part of this group, you won’t want to miss the 4K screening of Hayao Miyazaki’s first feature Lupin the III: The Castle of Cagliostro, a swashbuckling adventure story in the vein of later work like Castle in the Sky. Likewise, if you missed Makoto Shinkai’s gorgeous fantasy Suzume last year, or Hiroyuki Imaishi’s internationally acclaimed Promare from five years ago, SLA is offering you a chance to catch them as they were intended – on a cinema screen.
Now in its 15th year, Scotland Loves Anime is the most well-established anime festival in the UK, and with a lineup like this, it continues to provide exactly what fans look forward to every year: the crème de la crème of what Japanese animation has to offer.
Scotland Loves Anime runs at Glasgow Film Theatre (1-3 Nov); Cameo, Edinburgh (4-10 Nov); Picturehouse Central, London (15-17 Nov)
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