Makoto Shinkai's Suzume Comes To Blu-Ray & DVD On April 1st!

Makoto Shinkai’s Suzume is finally getting a home video release!

After Your Name and Weathering With You, Makoto Shinkai returned with a new film Suzume. It was first released in November 2022 in Japan and then in 2023 internationally. The film was a critical hit and a box office success grossing over $300 million worldwide during its initial run. It became the fouth highest-grossing anime film of all time. While Japanese fans got the home video release on September 20, international fans were waiting for some news on that side. Fear not, Crunchyroll has finally made the announcement we were waiting for! Suzume is coming on blu-ray and DVD on April 1st with 4 editions:

DVD Regular Edition
Blu-ray Regular Edition
DVD & Blu-ray Steelbook Edition
DVD & Blu-ray Limited Edition

Details about content, extra features, and price will be shared soon. A Blu-ray 4K edition is also scheduled for release later in the year.

Suzume had its international premiere in February 2023 at the Berlin International FIlm Festival (“Berlinale”), marking the first time that an anime feature film screened in the coveted competition section in over two decades. Suzume has recently been nominated for the World Soundtrack Awards “Discovery of the Year” and the Asia Pacific Screen Awards “Best Animated Feature Film,” and last week, a Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Feature. The film was also awarded Outstanding Achievement in Music at the 46th Japan Academy Awards.

Suzume is the latest film from auteur Makoto Shinkai. Shinkai has been a visionary in the animation space for decades, with the most recent films being Your Name. (2016) and Weathering With You (2019), both of which have catapulted him as a leading animation filmmaker with international viewers. “Weathering With You” was selected as Japan’s entry for the best international feature film category of the 2020 Academy Awards and nominated in four categories in the 47th annual Annie Awards including best animated independent feature.

The film was produced by CoMix Wave Films and distributed by Toho in Japan while Crunchyroll, in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment, Wild Bunch International, Wild Bunch Germany, and Eurozoom, distributed the film internationally (excluding Asia).

THOUGHTS

In our FIVE-STAR review, Thomas said:

It is hard to recapture the magic again and again. Yet, Makoto Shinkai has done it again – three masterpieces in a row. Suzume is a spectacular and lyrical adventure taking the audience on a journey around Japan. This film is a breathtaking visual feast that you need to experience on the biggest screen possible. RADWIMPS delivers another triumphant soundtrack. Undoubtedly, this is a perfect strike for Shinkai. It is one of the best films of the year, if not the very best.

ABOUT SUZUME

On the other side of the door, was time in its entirety—

Suzume is a coming-of-age story for the 17-year-old protagonist, Suzume, set in various disaster-stricken locations across Japan, where she must close the doors causing devastation.

Suzume’s journey begins in a quiet town in Kyushu (located in southwestern Japan) when she encounters a young man who tells her, “I’m looking for a door.” What Suzume finds is a single weathered door standing upright in the midst of ruins as though it was shielded from whatever catastrophe struck. Seemingly drawn by its power, Suzume reaches for the knob… Doors begin to open one after another all across Japan, unleashing destruction upon any who are near. Suzume must close these portals to prevent further disaster.

—The stars, then sunset, and the morning sky.

Within that realm, it was as though all time had melted together in the sky…

Never-before-seen scenery, encounters and farewells… A myriad of challenges await her on her journey. Despite all the obstacles in her way, Suzume’s adventure shines a ray of hope upon our own struggles against the toughest roads of anxiety and constraints that make up everyday life. This story of closing doors that connect our past to the present and future will leave a lasting impression upon all of our hearts.

Drawn in by these mysterious doors, Suzume’s journey is about to begin.

SOURCE: Crunchyroll