A few new faces have appeared on this quirky highway. (Alternate take: “wait a minute… penguins can’t fly! Penguins can’t fly!”)
Earlier today, the Penguin Highway anime film’s official website updated with a new key visual and trailer, as well as seven new cast members. We break the details down below.
Trailer
The 90-second promo introduces the film’s plot, with character dialogue driving the major story beats. Theme song Good Night by Hikaru Utada kicks in at the 33-second mark.
Key Visual
The image features Aoyama and the unnamed woman character, riding though the air on a flock of penguins.
Cast
The film will add the following players:
- Hamamoto: Megumi Han
- Uchida: Rie Kugimiya
- Suzuki: Miki Fukui
- Hamamoto’s Father: Naoto Takenaka
- Aoyama’s Father: Hidetoshi Nishijima
- Unspecified Role: Mamiko Noto
- Unspecified Role: Misaki Kuno.
The film hits Japanese theaters on August 17.
Hiroyasu Ishida (Fastening Days, Paulette’s Chair) was tapped to direct Penguin Highway at Studio Colorido, with Yōjirō Arai (Hinata no Aoshigure, Paulette’s Chair) providing character designs. Makoto Ueda (Night is Short, Walk On Girl, The Tatami Galaxy) is writing the script.
Umitarō Abe will score the film’s soundtrack.
The confirmed voice cast includes:
- Aoyama: Kana Kita
- Woman: Yuu Aoi
Penguin Highway is based on Tomihiko Morimi’s (The Tatami Galaxy, Night is Short, Walk On Girl, The Eccentric Family) novel of the same name. The book first shipped to retailers in May 2010, under Kadokawa Shoten’s main imprint.
The title is a coming-of-age romance, which revolves around a fourth grader named Aoyama and his first crush: an unnamed dental assistant. Their lives are forever changed when penguins mysteriously start showing up in Aoyama’s hometown, leading him to seek answers to their sudden appearance.
Sources: Otakomu, Comic Natalie
