From the Creator of ‘A Silent Voice’ Comes ‘Garden of Remembrance Anime’—A Short Film Masterpiece Premiering on August 30!

Less than four days remain until the release of Naoko Yamada’s Garden of Remembrance anime short movie. Naoko Yamada had her directorial debut with ‘K-ON!’ and is popularly known for ‘A Silent Voice’ along with her other works ‘Tamako Market’, ‘Liz and the Blue Bird’, etc.

Naoko Yamada has also worked with Science SARU for ‘The Colors Within’ (Kimi no Iro) movie, which is also set to release in Japan on August 30. She is known for her work at Kyoto Animation before directing ‘The Heike Story‘ and joining Science SARU.

The movie is set to premiere on August 30, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. JST, on streaming platforms such as ABEMA, d Anime Store, Hulu, U-NEXT, Anime Hodai, and other platforms and is scheduled for a total run-time of 18 minutes.

The movie was initially announced in 2022 and premiered its first teaser trailer on 18 November 2023 and first official trailer on 19 August 2024 through Science Saru’s Official X account and Avex Pictures Official YouTube Channel.

GKIDS screened the short movie at this year’s Anime Expo in Los Angeles and holds the distribution rights for ‘Garden of Remembrance’ and ‘The Colors Within’.

Garden of Remembrance has also been showcased at many notable events, including the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and the Scotland Love Animation Film Festival. The film is critically acclaimed and has won many recognitions such as Special Excellence Award and Audience Award at the Bucheon International Animation Film Festival, Encounters Film Festival, and SITGES ANIMA’T.

Naoko Yamada interview Garden of Remembrance anime

In an interview, Yamada shared that Garden of Remembrance brings an evolution in her directing approach as she consciously stopped being a “camera person” and focused on the perspectives of the story, the male character who has lost his girlfriend and is looking in on her, the girlfriend herself, and another female character.

Yamada also explained choosing ‘Etsuko Mizusawa’ for designing the characters in the Garden of Remembrance. Mizusawa’s art style enhances realism, making the characters feel more lifelike and relatable through their “meaty-looking” bodies.

Garden of Remembrance (What it is About)

The anime film “Garden of Remembrance” focuses on the connections between three central characters and the importance of anemone flower in their relationship. One of the three main characters wakes up in a disorganized room by the sound of an alarm. As the character opens his/her closet, he/she is engrossed in the memories of their childhood friendship. The short film emphasizes the continuously evolving human relations and the impact of saying goodbye to these relationships and the memory that is left behind.

Garden of Remembrance (Staff)

• Director & Screenwriter: Naoko Yamada
• Character Designer: Etsuko Mizusawa
• Animation Director: Moaang
• Music Composition: Lovely Summer Chan
• Production: Avex Pictures
• Studios: Science SARU
• Licensor: GKIDS

SOURCE: ANN, Garden Of Remembrance X Account