The upcoming The Keeper of the Camphor Tree anime movie has received a second main trailer, which includes a preview of the newly announced Uru theme song “Katawara nite Tsukiyo.”
It was also revealed that Takehito Koyasu, Mio Tanaka, and Akira Kamiya are joining the cast.
The Keeper of the Camphor Tree (Kusunoki no Bannin/The Camphorwood Custodian) will premiere in Japan on January 30. It is based on the novel by award-winning author Keigo Higashino. The book is getting an English release from Abacus next June, with the synopsis reading:
Imagine an ancient tree by a famous shrine, so powerful that visitors come from far and wide to commune with it by moonlight …
When a run of bad luck lands Reito in prison, about to be sentenced, a distant aunt he has never met offers him a surprising way out: he must become the next keeper of the camphor tree.
In his strange new job, Reito welcomes the people coming by nightfall to commune with the tree, all of whom are lost and all in need of something. There is the stern, middle-aged man who hums to the tree for hours; and his glamorous daughter, who has been secretly following him. Then there is the rich, disaffected young man who seems to come grudgingly, with no faith that the tree will even help.
What is the secret of the camphor tree? Can its power be more than just a myth?
Reito begs his aunt Chifune to explain, but she assures him that when he is ready for them, the answers will come to him.
The Keeper of the Camphor Tree was first released in 2020 in hardcover format by Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha, before getting a paperback release in 2023. Some other Higashino works have received live-action adaptations, including non-Japanese ones. Among these are The Miracles of the Namiya General Store and Himitsu.
Staff
• Director: Tomohiko Ito (Sword Art Online seasons 1-2, Hello World)
• Scriptwriter: Taku Kishimoto (Sakamoto Days series composer)
• Character designer: Tsubasa Yamaguchi (Blue Period manga artist, SUNTORY Sui Gin “Midori to Utaeba” CM)
• Character designer: Akiko Itagaki (Lonely Castle in the Mirror character design cooperation)
• Background art director: Hiroshi Takiguchi (Weathering with You, the upcoming ChaO)
• Animation production: A-1 Pictures and Psyde Kick Studio
Cast
• Fumiya Takahashi as Reito Naoi
• Yuki Amami as Chifune Yanagisawa
