Popular Anime Series Gintama Returns with New Film at European Comic-Con

The new anime film "Gintama: Yoshiwara in Flames" made its preview appearance this week at Lucca Comics and Games, which is Europe's biggest Comic-Con event, ahead of its upcoming theatrical release in Italy. The feature marks the fourth big-screen outing for the franchise, following a manga created by Hideaki Sorachi and a long-running television series of 367 episodes alongside three earlier cinema spin-offs.

Making the Movie

Director Naoya Andô and producer Ryo Nakamuray discussed the creative process behind bringing the story to cinemas. The setting of the franchise takes place in an alternative, sci-fi version of late-Edo-period Tokyo where aliens known as the Amanto have invaded the Earth, sending three friends on a personal mission. To make the project suitably cinematic, the team chose to use the CinemaScope ultrawide ratio and 3D animation, allowing for more camera movement and better framing of the design and setting. While the story was previously told in the TV show, producer Takashi Maekawa confirmed that the town would actually burn down this time. The filmmakers also worked on large audio and visual aspects and included a lot of new music.

Updates and Production

An earlier version of the film was released in Japan in February to meet a deadline, but the team later returned to retouch over 200 shots for a September release. For the international release, the creators expressed happiness at the warm reception from Italian fans at Lucca, noting they had not previously brought the films to Europe. The production involved coordinating dozens of animation studios across countries from China to Indonesia to Vietnam, with team leaders managing specific elements like characters and action scenes. To handle the complex humor, the team relied on characters joking among themselves rather than directly pointing out the jokes to the audience.

Context

Lucca Comics and Games is a major annual festival held in Italy that serves as a key platform for introducing Japanese pop culture and anime films to European audiences. Long-running manga and anime properties often transition to theatrical releases to utilize advanced visual technologies and larger production scales than standard television broadcasts allow.