Anime Anime Global

Hosoda Mamoru’s latest film, “Belle,” will be released on July 16, 2021.
The story is set in a huge Internet virtual world where more than 5 billion people gathered together. The main character, Naito Suzu, attracts attention as a diva Belle, but a mysterious creature in the shape of a dragon appears in front of her, and the story begins.

Prior to the release of the Japanese TV series movie program “Friday Road Show,” “Mamoru Hosoda SP” will be held for three consecutive weeks. “Wolf Children’s Rain and Snow” will be broadcast on July 2, “The Boy and the Beast” on July 9, and “Summer Wars” on July 16.

Here at Anime!Anime!, we conducted an annual reader survey entitled “What is your favorite anime directed by Hosoda Mamoru?”. We received responses from 108 people during the survey period from June 15 to June 22.
The male-female ratio is about 40% for men and about 60% for women. About 45% of the age group were teens, and about 30% were in their 20s.

■ “Summer Wars” is topping the list for the second consecutive year! Works you want to see in the summer
1st place
1st place goes to “Summer Wars” with an approval rating of about 35%, which is the top position for the second consecutive year.

This work was released in August 2009. The main character is a high school student Koiso Kenji who visits his longing senior, Shinohara Natsuki’s great-grandmother’s house, and confronts the incident that occurred in the virtual world OZ with this large family.
The family-themed story is popular, “Speaking of director Hosoda Mamoru, “Summer Wars” is set in Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture. It’s a work about the bonds of family and friends, and it is something I want to watch in summer.”, “Although it has two different main themes, the images of a large family in the countryside and the Internet world, the story goes on while entwining the two well. The big circle is wonderful!”
In particular, Kenji’s screaming scene gathered attention, “The last line, ‘Thank you very much !!’ is still in my ears.”

2nd place
2nd place goes to “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” with an approval rating of about 20%, which is also the same as last year.

Published in July 2006. Based on Tsutsui Yasutaka’s long-selling novel, it is a youth story about a mysterious summer event that happened to high school student Konno Makoto.
Comments with words “refreshing” and “painful” stood out, “I think it is the most refreshing work by director Hosoda Mamoru. I’m touched no matter how many times I watch it.”, “The impression changes as I get older, and I really like the feeling of youth that never fades.”, and “It’s sweet and sour and refreshing, and a great summer work. The theme song ‘Garnet’ and the song “Unchangeable” are also bring pain with them.”

3rd place
3rd place goes to “The Boy and the Beast” with an approval rating of about 15%, up from 5th place last year.
Released in July 2015. It is a story that depicts the bond between Kumatetsu, a monster, and a human boy who became his student. This anime strikes the hearts of fans as it is a story about relationships of characters of different species and their everyday life, “Blood is not important but those relationships of a true parent and child deeply touched me.”, and “I like the warmth of parent-child relationships between teacher and student, and this work made my cry a lot.”

■ Let’s introduce other comments!
About “Wolf Children’s Rain and Snow,” “I think it’s heartwarming good work about a mysterious exciting Japanese wolfs, which is said to be extinct, and how they grow up their children.”

For “Digimon Adventure: Bokura no War Game!”, “Although it is a 40 minutes short movie, the story-telling is solid, and the move visual is also spectacular.”

For “Mirai” from teens readers, “I remember watching it on the return bus from off-campus study. Since I am the eldest daughter, I understand the pain of Kun-chan, who was jealous of her newborn sister, and the culmination made us all cry.” We also received the votes from the teenage readers.

■ Ranking
“What is your favorite anime directed by Hosoda Mamoru’s? 2021 Edition”
1st place “Summer Wars”
2nd place “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time”
3rd place “The Boy and the Beast”
4th place “Wolf Children”
5th place “One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island”
6th place “Digimon Adventure: Bokura no War Game!”
7th place “Mirai”

(Response period: June 15 to June 22, 2021)

* This questionnaire is part of a survey of readers’ awareness of “current interest in and attention to anime works and characters.” Regarding the results, we do not intend to decide the superiority or inferiority of any character or work. We hope that this article will help you to get to know new works and characters, and to deepen your understanding and interest.