"I want to eat your pancreas" by Encore Films

INTRODUCTION
Amidst the numerous animation movies in Japan, a masterpiece is born again. The original novel captivates the readers not only with its shocking title of “I Want To Eat Your Pancreas”, but also with several twists in its story luring readers into the world in the novel. The movie intends to create the similar feeling as the novel using another medium in less than 2 hours. Yoru Sumino has written many popular novels, and his debut novel “I Want To Eat Your Pancreas” can be said to be his best-known one. The novel was first being published on the website before it was published into a book in June 2015. The book title raised controversies, and readers loved the sad and beautiful story, and thus it has since sold more than 2.6 million copies.

A movie adaptation in July 2017 also gained much popularity. Even after more than 3 years since its first book publication, the story still touches many, and in September 2018, it is being adapted into an animation movie. The story revolves around the male and female lead, Haruki and Sakura respectively, which showcases their innocent exchange of feelings. Contrary to the friendly Sakura, Haruki tries to avoid any interaction with the people around him. Their contradicting personalities might be similar to other boy-girl relationships you can find on the streets, but their impression of “coincidence” slowly leads the audience into the story.

Destiny does not decree their meeting. Facing the possibility of death, Sakura is questioned by Haruki, “What does living mean to you?”. Sakura gives a clear answer to his question. After hearing Sakura’s answer, Haruki’s life takes a turn. His change also shows the growth of a youth, transformation to a better self, as well as bringing a change to his interpersonal relationship with others.

The subject of “growing up and identity” has always been a popular theme in Japanese animation, as can be seen from the example of “Great Adventures of Horus” by Director Isao Takahata. Even after more than half a decade, there are still many other examples, such as SF animations “Mobile Suit Gundam”, and “Evangelion”, which shows perspectives of the theme. In recent years, there has also been an increasing interest in portraying “youth” in full-length animation movies, such as “Beautiful Word Beautiful Word”, “Your Name” and “Silent Voice”. The scale of the movies might differ, but they have all won the hearts of their supporters, and showcase the high quality of the productions.

The movie “I Want To Eat Your Pancreas” hopes to continue this legacy to showcase the growing up of youths and their found identity. Sidetracking away from the movie, the best seller of Genzaburo Yoshimo “How do you live?” is one great example that has been made into a comic, and transcends different generations to receive recognition and popularity among the readers. The theme of “growing up and identity” still remains as an appeal to the people, even though it is just part and parcel of life. The movie still hopes to convey to the younger generation about life and living, but it’s still suitable for older audience, as there is much more for them to relive their youth memories. The beauty of the movie hopes to appeal to all and strike them in their hearts.

In addition, the male lead is voiced by Mahiro Takasugi, who won the best newcomer award in the 72nd Grand Prix. The female lead is voiced by the young Lynn, who has contributed to many television animations. The leads are accompanied by other cast, such as Yukiyo Fujii, Yuma Uchida, Jun Fukushima, Atsuko Tanaka and Shinichiro Miki. Also worth mentioning is the actress, Emi Wakui, who plays the part of Sakura’s mother, and she has won the best actress award in the Japanese Academy Awards, as well as taking part in recent NHK dramas. With the gathering of such magnificent cast and staff, the “world” in the animation movie is portrayed with unprecedented sensitivity, and conveying the beauty of spring to the audience on screen. I WANT TO EAT YOUR PANCREAS opens 3 January 2019 in Singapore cinemas.

SYNOPSIS
Haruki Shiga happens to find a diary in a hospital one day. The diary belongs to his classmate, a girl named Sakura Yamauchi, who is revealed to be suffering from a terminal illness in her pancreas, and only has a few months left to live. Sakura explains that Haruki is the only person apart from her family that knows about her condition. Haruki promises to keep Sakura's secret. Despite their completely opposite personalities, Haruki decides to be together with Sakura during her last few months.

Director: Shinichiro Ushijima
Cast: Lynn, Mahiro Takasugi, Emi Wakui, Atsuko Tanaka, Jun Fukushima, Yuma Uchida, Yukiyo Fujii
Genre: Drama
Language: In Japanese with English and Chinese subtitles
Rating: PG Runtime: 108 mins
Release Date: 3 January 2019

A very beautiful piece of work, it show cased the inner world of how an ill person as well as the outer world. Life is so fragile, always treasure the ones around you~
PS - Bring tissue, you'll need it.