Singer-actress SUZUKA, actors Harada Taizo, Ito Aoi, and Saito Jun joined director Kawamori Shoji on stage to greet audiences on October 28 prior to the Asian premiere of their kaleidoscopic coming-of-age sci-fi film, Labyrinth, screening in the Animation section of the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival.
 
While Kawamori is the legendary creator of some of the most enduring mecha-anime franchises, from Macross to Aquarion, Labyrinth is surprisingly his first original feature film.
 
The story follows Shiori (SUZUKA), an ordinary girl with a desire to perform but also an intense fear of social-media backlash. When a video she records with her best friend Kirara (Ito) goes viral, she suddenly becomes trapped in a mirror version of her world locked inside her smartphone. At the same time, “smartphone SHIORI” appears in real life, donning a blue-and-pink wig, determined to garner 1 million likes on social media to become the “ideal SHIORI.” As she watches her digital double become a pop influencer, Shiori must find a way out of her smartphone’s cyber labyrinth with the help of the colorful rabbit-stamp character Komori (Harada) and her childhood friend Yamada (Saito).
 
In a talk session following the screening, Kawamori returned to the stage to field questions from TIFF Animation Programming Advisor Fujitsu Ryota. He came up with the idea for the film’s alternate world, he explained, when looking at the cracks in his smartphone, realizing that the devices are now like “another you,” with all of our personal info stored on them.
 
“When my phone is cracked, I feel maybe I’m cracked too,” he said,“ and if I leave my smartphone someplace, I feel a piece of me is left behind too. Since everyone has a smartphone today, I think most people can relate to this.”
 
The film is the first acting role for SUZUKA, the front woman for the pop group ATARASHII GAKKO!, who lends her husky vocals to both Shiori and her double and had many fans in attendance cheering her on. Kawamori said he chose the lead vocalist for the role in part due to her lack of acting experience and fresh approach, but also because of her willingness to “go outside the box” in her stage performances.
 
SUZUKA had her own ideas for Shiori as well, which Kawamori said “challenged” the staff and “changed” the character in positive ways. The singer said she felt a connection to Shiori not just for the opportunity to play two different sides of the same person, but also through her approach to performing on a stage.
 
“There are so many battles that take place within myself when I get up on stage,” she explained,“ so I could really relate to this aspect of Shiori’s story and see myself in this role.”
 
Unlike the futuristic television series that Kawamori is known for, Labyrinth is a sci-fi flick that is set in modern-day Yokohama, a decision the director made to allow a broader audience beyond anime fans to connect with the story. The film shows two sides to the seaside area of Yokohama’s Minatomirai district as well: a brightly stylized representation and a warped version that makes the area look like it is submerged underwater.
 
Not as dark as other cautionary idol-based animated films about fame and performance, like the late Kon Satoshi’s Perfect Blue, Kawamori’s original feature is a colorful take on viral-influencer culture that portrays contemporary issues facing younger people, such as the stresses of social-media harassment and an online environment that can feel relentlessly critical and unforgiving. And like some of his previous anime series, it does so through a mix of mecha, romance, and most of all, music.
 
Kawamori recalled that he felt he was making the film “for this moment” when he finally heard SUZUKA’s performance as Shiori during a recording. Labyrinth indeed displays the director’s optimistic certainty, also evident in his previous works, that a song can still save the world.
 
Greetings from the Stage and Talk Show: Animation
Labyrinth
Guests: Kawamori Shoji (Director), SUZUKA (ATARASHII GAKKO!), Harada Taizo (Actor), Ito Aoi (Actor), Saito Jun (Actor)