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Lonely Castle in the Mirror

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Lonely Castle in the Mirror
Novel cover
かがみの孤城
(Kagami no Kojō)
Novel
Written byMizuki Tsujimura
Published byPoplar Publishing [ja]
English publisher
PublishedMay 11, 2017
Manga
Written byMizuki Tsujimura
Illustrated byTomo Taketomi
Published byShueisha
English publisher
ImprintYoung Jump Comics
MagazineUltra Jump
DemographicSeinen
Original runJune 19, 2019 – February 19, 2022
Volumes5
Anime film
Directed byKeiichi Hara
Produced by
  • Hirotaka Aragaki
  • Kei Kushiyama
Written byMiho Maruo [ja]
Music byHarumi Fuuki [ja]
StudioA-1 Pictures
Licensed by
ReleasedDecember 23, 2022 (2022-12-23)
Runtime116 minutes

Lonely Castle in the Mirror (Japanese: かがみの孤城, Hepburn: Kagami no Kojō) is a Japanese novel written by Mizuki Tsujimura and published by Poplar Publishing [ja] in May 2017. A manga adaptation illustrated by Tomo Taketomi was serialized in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Ultra Jump from June 2019 to February 2022, with its chapters collected into five tankōbon volumes. An anime film adaptation by A-1 Pictures premiered on December 23, 2022 in Japan.

Plot

Kokoro Anzai, a first-year at Yukishina Junior High School, is avoiding due to bullying. She becomes uncomfortable while attending a child development support class, and has not returned to school since. One day, she finds the magical portal within the mirror at her room. While inspecting, she is dragged into the mirror and finds herself in front of a castle on an island surrounded by water. There, she is welcomed by a girl with a wolf mask. The self-proclaimed Wolf Queen introduces her to six others: Subaru Nagahisa, Akiko Inoue, Rion Mizumori, Earth Masumane, Fūka Hasegawa and Haruka Ureshino. Addressing them as Little Red Riding Hoods, the Wolf Queen instructs them to find a key hidden in the castle, which will lead them to a room where one can make a wish, before the deadline of March 30 of the following year. If anyone makes a correct wish, it will be granted and all children will lose their memories of the castle. She also tells the children to leave before 5pm. Any child who stays at the castle on the evening will be eaten by a wolf.

The seven children start spending time together at the castle, occasionally looking for the key. A year has passed, but they have not succeeded. Kokoro learns from the children that they attend the same school, except for Rion and have been avoiding school for various reasons. Planning to meet up at school, they find out that they do not exist in each other's worlds. Therefore, Masumane theorizes that they are from parallel universes, but the Wolf Queen discovers this.

The deadline is nearing, but they have not found the key yet. In the meantime, Kokoro has opened up to her mother about being bullied and with the help of her teachers tries to resolve the issue. The others have also taken steps forward.

On the second to last day, Kokoro finds an illustration titled "The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats", and realizes that this was a clue to the key's location. As she returns home, she discovers the mirror shattered into pieces. She learns from the children that Aki broke the rule and stayed at the castle after 5pm. The rest of them are eaten by the wolf, due to their responsibility. Kokoro passes through the broken remnants of the mirror, and uses the clues in the illustration to find the key. She sees fragments of the memories of her friends and learn they all had suffered from various problems such as bullying. Suffering bullying and harassment, Aki took refuge at the castle. Kokoro uses her wish to save her friends. Upon being resurrected, Aki reconciles with them.

Before they have to return and forget about the castle, they realize that they were in fact from the same universe but from different timelines spanning over 40 years. They carve their names on the wall and bid one another farewell. After all of them have passed through, Rion confronts the Wolf Queen, and it is revealed that she is his late sister, Mio. She removes the mask and bids him farewell. Back in her own timeline, Kokoro reunites with Rion and they head to school together.

Characters

Kokoro (こころ)
Voiced by: Ami Touma[3] (Japanese); Micah Lin[4] (English)
A junior high school girl and the last person to enter the castle through the mirror's magical portal, when she comes from the middle of 2000s.
Aki (アキ)
Voiced by: Sakura Kiryu[5] (Japanese); Giselle Fernandez[4] (English)
The second person who came from the early 1990s. After avoiding her abusive stepfather and losing her boyfriend, the timeline reveals in the past that Aki changed her surname and became a school counsellor.
Rion (リオン)
Voiced by: Takumi Kitamura[5] (Japanese); Huxley Westemeier[4] (English)
A junior high school boy and a soccer player at a boarding school Hawaii. His sister died when he was a child. Rion is the third person who came from the same decade like Kokoro.
Subaru (スバル)
Voiced by: Rihito Itagaki[5] (Japanese); Kieran Regan[4] (English)
The first person who came from the middle of 1980s. His goal is to become a video game designer.
Fūka (フウカ)
Voiced by: Naho Yokomizo[5] (Japanese); Zoe Glick[4] (English)
A pianist and the sixth person who came from the early 2020s.
Masamune (マサムネ)
Voiced by: Minami Takayama[5] (Japanese); Adrian Marrero[4] (English)
The fifth person who came from the early 2010s. His last name is "Earth".
Ureshino (ウレシノ)
Voiced by: Yuki Kaji[5] (Japanese); Riley Webb[4] (English)
The seventh and final person who came from the middle of 2020s.
Wolf Queen (オオカミさま, Ōkami-sama)
Voiced by: Mana Ashida[6] (Japanese); Vivienne Rutherford[4] (English)
A girl with the wolf mask. She reveals to be Rion's late sister Mio.
Kitajima-sensei (喜多嶋先生)
Voiced by: Aoi Miyazaki[5]
The future version of Aki and Kokoro's school counselor.
Kokoro's mother (こころの母, Kokoro no Haha)
Voiced by: Kumiko Aso[5]
An unnamed woman. She helps her daughter overcome her negative emotions.

Media

Novel

Written by Mizuki Tsujimura, Lonely Castle in the Mirror was originally published by Poplar Publishing [ja] on May 11, 2017. The company re-released the novel in a two-volume paperback format in March 2021.[7] The novel was published in English by Doubleday in April 2021.[8]

Manga

A manga adaptation illustrated by Tomo Taketomi was serialized in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Ultra Jump from June 19, 2019,[9] to February 19, 2022.[10] Shueisha collected its chapters into five tankōbon volumes, published from December 2019 to May 2022.[11][12]

The manga is licensed in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment.[13]

No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1 December 19, 2019[11]978-4-08-891450-3November 21, 2023[14]979-8-88843-193-1
2 July 17, 2020[15]978-4-08-891612-5February 6, 2024[16]979-8-88843-366-9
3 February 19, 2021[17]978-4-08-891782-5June 4, 2024[18]979-8-88843-461-1
4 September 17, 2021[19]978-4-08-892101-3——
5 May 18, 2022[12]978-4-08-892305-5——

Anime film

An anime film adaptation was announced on February 24, 2022.[8] It is produced by A-1 Pictures and directed by Keiichi Hara, with the script written by Miho Maruo [ja]; character designs handled by Keigo Sasaki [ja], who also serves as chief animation director; visual concept and castle design by Ilya Kuvshinov; and music composed by Harumi Fuuki [ja].[3][20] Yuuri performed the film's theme song "Merry-Go-Round" (メリーゴーランド).[21] The film premiered in Japan on December 23, 2022.[3] GKIDS acquired the rights to the film in North America, and screened it in Japanese and English-language formats on June 21–22, 2023.[22] The film premiered on television for the first time on Nippon TV's Kin'yō Road Show [ja] programming block on February 9, 2024.[23]

Reception

The novel placed first in Kadokawa's Da Vinci magazine "Book of the Year" list in 2017.[24] It also won the Japan Booksellers' Award in 2018.[25]

The anime film adaptation debuted at 6th at the Japanese box office, earning ¥140 million ($1.05 million) on its opening weekend.[26] It was well-received by audience, and was rated 3.94 out of 5 on its first day on Filmarks [ja].[26] Richard Eisenbeis of Anime News Network gave the film a 'B-', applauding its social commentary on bullying in Japan and its relatable cast of characters, but criticizing its plot twists, which are 'easy to see coming'.[27] Writing for The Japan Times, Matt Schley gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, praising its social commentary and its characters as well while criticizing the direction of the film, which 'lacks anything resembling subtlety', noting its 'overbearing' soundtrack 'commanding its audience to feel at any given moment'.[28] In 2023, the film was nominated for Animation of the Year at the 46th Japan Academy Film Prize.[29]

References

  1. ^ "Muse Asia - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2023-07-02. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  2. ^ "Coming Soon". YouTube. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Pineda, Rafael Antonio (July 27, 2022). "Lonely Castle in the Mirror Anime Film's Teaser Reveals Main Lead, More Staff, December 23 Debut". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 28, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Mateo, Alex (June 6, 2023). "Lonely Castle in the Mirror Anime Film's Dub Trailer Reveals English Cast". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Pineda, Rafael Antonio (September 19, 2022). "Keiichi Hara's Lonely Castle in the Mirror Anime Film Reveals More Cast". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  6. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (October 23, 2022). "Lonely Castle in the Mirror Anime Film Casts Mana Ashida as Ōkami-sama". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  7. ^ かがみの孤城 辻村深月 (in Japanese). Poplar Publishing [ja]. Archived from the original on February 24, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Pineda, Rafael Antonio (February 24, 2022). "Mizuki Tsujimura's Lonely Castle in the Mirror Novel Gets Anime Film This Year". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on February 24, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  9. ^ 辻村深月の本屋大賞受賞作を武富智が描く、「かがみの孤城」がUJで始動. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. June 14, 2019. Archived from the original on February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  10. ^ 2022年3月号 [March 2022 issue]. Ultra Jump (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  11. ^ a b 【12月19日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. December 19, 2019. Archived from the original on December 3, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  12. ^ a b 【5月18日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. May 18, 2022. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  13. ^ "Seven Seas Licenses LONELY CASTLE IN THE MIRROR Manga Series". Seven Seas Entertainment. March 15, 2023. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  14. ^ "Lonely Castle in the Mirror (Manga) Vol. 1". Seven Seas Entertainment. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  15. ^ 【7月17日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. July 17, 2020. Archived from the original on January 26, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  16. ^ "Lonely Castle in the Mirror (Manga) Vol. 2". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  17. ^ 【2月19日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. February 19, 2021. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  18. ^ "Lonely Castle in the Mirror (Manga) Vol. 3". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  19. ^ 【9月17日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. September 17, 2021. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  20. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (July 20, 2022). "Lonely Castle in the Mirror Anime Film Teaser Reveals Director, Studio". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 21, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  21. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (October 13, 2022). "Lonely Castle in the Mirror Anime Film's Trailer Unveils More Cast, Theme Song". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 14, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  22. ^ Mateo, Alex (May 18, 2023). "Lonely Castle in the Mirror Anime Film Screens in N. America on June 21–22 (Updated)". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  23. ^ 『かがみの孤城』「金ロー」で地上波初放送 當真あみ&北村匠海らが声の出演【放送ラインナップあり】. Oricon (in Japanese). January 12, 2024. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  24. ^ 高橋一生が表紙に！『ダ・ヴィンチ』「BOOK OF THE YEAR2017」発表！ 小説部門1位は『かがみの孤城』に決定！ 『3月のライオン』羽海野チカが三冠！. Da Vinci (in Japanese). December 5, 2017. Archived from the original on February 24, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  25. ^ Miyata, Yūsuke (April 10, 2018). 本屋大賞に辻村さん「かがみの孤城」 海外は少部数作品. The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 24, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  26. ^ a b Komatsu, Mikikazu (December 27, 2022). "Japan Box Office: Lonely Castle in the Mirror Makes Its 6th Place Debut". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on December 27, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  27. ^ Eisenbeis, Richard (December 27, 2022). "Lonely Castle in the Mirror Review". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  28. ^ Schley, Matt (December 22, 2022). "'Lonely Castle in the Mirror': Compelling characters hold the key". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  29. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio; Hodgkins, Crystalyn (January 23, 2023). "One Piece, Suzume, INU-OH, Lonely Castle, Slam Dunk Nominated for Japan Academy Film Prizes". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
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