GKIDS has acquired the North American distribution rights for two of acclaimed director Naoko Yamada’s films, A Silent Voice (2016) and Liz and the Blue Bird (2018). GKIDS additionally announced that A Silent Voice will return to theaters nationwide on Sunday, December 15 and Monday, December 16 (tickets on sale now).
Both films are produced by Kyoto Animation and directed by Yamada, who was assigned to be a director at the studio while she was a member. Both also feature a screenplay by Reiko Yoshida (Ride Your Wave, Violet Evergarden) and music by Kensuke Ushio (DEVILMAN crybaby, Chainsaw Man).
First released in 2016, A Silent Voice debuted at #2 in the Japanese domestic box office to rave reviews and went on to receive a nomination for the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year. Yamada’s follow up title, Liz and the Blue Bird, originally released in 2018, is a spin-off sequel to the popular television series Sound! Euphonium.
This acquisition comes on the heels of GKIDS’ July announcement at Anime Expo that it had acquired the rights to Yamada’s short film, The Garden of Remembrance. Yamada has worked as a key animator on many seminal television series, such as The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star and Clannad. She went on to direct K-On! and its sequel, before helming A Silent Voice and Liz and the Blue Bird. In 2021, Yamada directed the series The Heike Story, and her latest film, The Colors Within, will be released this January 24.
The deal for A Silent Voice was negotiated between GKIDS and ABC Animation, and the deal for Liz and the Blue Bird was negotiated between GKIDS and Pony Canyon.
A Silent Voice Synopsis:
After transferring into a new school, a deaf girl, Shoko Nishimiya, is bullied by the popular Shoya Ishida. As Shoya continues to bully Shoko, the class turns its back on him. Shoko transfers and Shoya grows up as an outcast. Alone and depressed, the regretful Shoya finds Shoko to make amends.
A Silent Voice is a moving coming-of-age drama that depicts the struggles of adolescence through its memorable characters and beautiful animation.
Liz and the Blue Bird Synopsis:
Students and best friends Mizore Yoroizuka and Nozomi Kasaki prepare to play a complex musical duet, “Liz and the Blue Bird”, for oboe and flute.
Though they became teammates in their middle school brass band and have played beautifully together ever since, Mizore and Nozomi find that with graduation from high school looming and the duet proving difficult, their friendship begins to buckle under the pressure. Interspersed with the story is the fantasy tale of Liz, drawn like a storybook, contrasting with the crisp realism of the school. These two distinct styles weave with stirring music to tell a touching coming-of-age story.
