is a 2022 Japanese

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

adventure film The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in ...

produced by Madhouse and directed by

Atsuko Ishizuka is a Japanese animator, storyboard artist and director. She began her animation career after joining Madhouse in 2004. Career Ishizuka's journey to becoming an animator was rather unusual by industry standards in Japan. Unlike many of her cont ...

. It premiered in Japan on February 18, 2022.

Plot

When they were children, "Toto" Mitarai and Roma Kamogawa formed their own club, the Don Glees. When Toto reaches 15, he moves to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

to attend high school. Toto returns a year later to find Roma longing for his crush, "Tivoli" Urayasu, who has moved away to Ireland. Toto goads Roma to contact Tivoli, even calling Tivoli long distance to get Roma to talk to her. Toto also finds that Roma has added a new member to the club, "Drop" Sakuma. Drop talks Roma into spending all his money to buy a

drone Drone or The Drones may refer to: Science and technology Vehicle * Drone, a type of uncrewed vehicle, a class of robot ** Unmanned aerial vehicle or aerial drone *** Unmanned combat aerial vehicle ** Unmanned ground vehicle or ground drone ** Unma ...

. They will use the drone to film a large professional

fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

display, while setting their own fireworks in a secluded field. But on the night of the display, they cannot get their fireworks to light, and Roma loses the drone. Some hours later, a

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

breaks out in the mountains. The next day, their schoolmates spread rumors that the Don Glees set the fire, based on the police finding their dud fireworks. The three friends locate their drone, and decide to retrieve it to use its video footage to clear their names. The drone landed in a place in the mountains so isolated that the kids need to hike overnight to reach it. To go, they lie about their plans, and dodge investigating police officers and

bears Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout most o ...

. But they don't make it before sundown, and so settle down near a small

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

. Drop tells the others about how everyone should have a "treasure" they should want more than anything else. He also talks about his time living in

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, where he once found a working

telephone booth A telephone booth, telephone kiosk, telephone call box, telephone box or public call box is a tiny structure furnished with a payphone and designed for a telephone user's convenience; typically the user steps into the booth and closes the boot ...

next to a "golden" waterfall. But he also refers to a stay at the

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

, and asks the others if they would have any regrets if the world ended tomorrow. Meanwhile, Toto spends all his time panicking about his cram school studies and admonishing his friends' childish behavior. He even brings a textbook to the hike, as he has an exam the next day. But he eventually calms down and admits that he's not so sure he wants to become a doctor like his father wishes. He also tells Drop about the origin of the club name. The name comes from "Don't glee" in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, referring to how he and Roma never smiled or played with other children. Toto eventually adds his textbook to their campfire, no longer caring so much. Roma figures that Tivoli is his "treasure". He holds dear a photo of a field with a

ladybug Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles. They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in the United Kingdom; "lady" refers to mother Mary. Entomologists use the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles ...

that she took with his father's old professional grade

camera A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photograp ...

. The next day, they find the drone and return, only to see that nearly everyone has forgotten about the fire. But days later, Drop dies. A devastated Roma destroys the Don Glees clubhouse in grief. But among the wreckage, they find two bottles of

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

with a map of Iceland drawn on it. Drop had drawn this map with an "x" for the telephone booth. The two friends decide to fly all the way to Iceland to find the booth. After several days of hiking, they find a waterfall that they guess is Drop's golden waterfall. Nearby, they find the phone booth, complete with a working phone. Toto sees the number, and realizes that he called this very number by mistake when he tried to call Tivoli. They deduce that Drop picked up the phone when they called the wrong number, inspiring him to seek Toto and Roma out. They also found a note left by Drop describing his treasure as friends who will help him on his last adventure.

Cast

Production

In July 2021, it was revealed that the film would be produced by Madhouse, and directed and written by

, with Takahiro Yoshimatsu designing the characters and

Kadokawa Kadokawa may refer to: *Kadokawa Corporation, the holding company of the Kadokawa Group **Kadokawa Content Gate and Kadokawa Mobile, both former names for BookWalker **Kadokawa Future Publishing, a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation and the publis ...

distributing the film. Yoshiaki Fujisawa will compose the music. The film's main theme song is "Rock the World" performed by Alexandros. The film was released in Japanese theaters on February 18, 2022. In North America,

GKIDS GKIDS is an American film and television distributor owned by Toho International. Based in New York City, GKIDS releases mostly international animated films and television series to North American audiences, as well as American films by indepe ...

acquired the rights to the film and it was released on September 14, 2022.

Muse Communication Muse Communication Co., Ltd. (also known simply as Muse) is a Taiwanese distributor and licensor that specializes in the distribution of Japanese animation. Based in Xinzhuang District, New Taipei City, the company also distributes Asian and E ...

licensed the film in South and Southeast Asia

Media

Manga adaptation

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

adaptation, written and illustrated by Shinki, began serialization in

Media Factory , formerly known as , was a Japanese publisher and brand company of Kadokawa Future Publishing. History The company was founded on December 1, 1986, and was a subsidiary of Recruit (Japanese company), Recruit Co., Ltd., based in Shibuya, Tokyo. ...

's ''

Monthly Comic Gene is a monthly Japanese manga magazine published by Media Factory since June 15, 2011. It is marketed as a ''shōnen''-styled manga magazine for female readers. It was originally to be published in April 2011, but was delayed by two months as a r ...

'' magazine on October 15, 2021. The adaptation completed its serialization on February 15, 2022.

Reception

Accolades

References

External links

* * * {{Madhouse films 2022 films 2022 animated films 2022 anime films 2022 adventure films 2022 comedy-drama films Japanese adventure comedy films Japanese comedy-drama films Anime with original screenplays Films set in Iceland Japanese animated feature films Japanese animated films Madhouse (company) Media Factory manga Muse Communication Shōjo manga 2020s Japanese-language films