Japan is in a new era called Reiwa, with the ascension of the new Japanese Emperor. This new ruler, Emperor Naruhito, attended a charity screening of In This Corner (and Other Corners) of the World, the updated version of the critically-acclaimed In This Corner of the World anime film.

He went with his wife, Empress Masako, as well as their daughter, Princess Aiko. They even met with director Sunao Katabuchi, as well as Non, who voiced Suzu in the anime. They even had the honor of sitting beside the Imperial Family during the screening.

They held the screening at Nisho Hall in Tokyo last 18th December. And because this is a charity screening, they’re giving off the donations from the film to the Hiroshima branch of the Japan Red Cross Society.

In his Twitter account, Katabuchi said that he gave the empress a gift, which is figures of Suzu and Harumi. He hopes that she would remember Suzu and the other characters forever.

Kono Sekai no (Sarani Ikutsumono) Katasumi ni / In This Corner (and Other Corners) of the World is the extended version of the award-winning and critically acclaimed film, In This Corner of the world. It boasts new previously-unseen scenes from the film which were cut from the original release.

The new scenes feature a brand new character who isn’t featured in the original release, Teru. She is one of the courtesans at Futabakan.

In his original plans, director Sunao Katabuchi planned to make In This Corner of the World run for 150 minutes, instead of the original’s 129-minute. Unfortunately, budget constraints forced him to shorten his vision. It premieres in Japan today, 20th December.

source and images via: Asahi Shimbun