Warner Bros. Japan has officially announced that game developer Level-5 is producing an anime film based on the critically acclaimed Ni no Kuni video game franchise. The upcoming movie will tell the story of teenagers Yū, Haru, and Kotona who travel back and forth between our reality and the Ni no Kuni world to make "the ultimate choice," hopefully saving their friendship and Kotona's life.
Ni no Kuni will be directed by Yoshiyuki Momose (The Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Pom Poko), with his long-time collaborator Joe Hisaishi (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away) set to compose the score.
OLM (formerly known as Oriental Light and Magic) will be responsible for bringing Momose's vision to life. Considering that they animated over twenty Pokémon movies in the past (including cult classic Pokémon: The First Movie), you can expect to see some insanely beautiful visuals in the actual anime.
According to WB., Ni no Kuni has been in the works for 10 years and is a new challenge for "a person who launched a movement in Japan." The studio has also revealed that the Momose-directed movie will debut this summer, starring Kento Yamazaki (Death Note's, Orange) as the main protagonist Yū.
In May, Bandai Namco reported that the Ni no Kuni series had shipped 2.8 million copies worldwide.