Nasu: Summer in Andalusia (2003)

Original title

茄子 アンダルシアの夏

Directed by

Kitarō Kōsaka

Genre

adventure film

Country

Japan

Runtime

47 min

Rating

7.2 of 10 from 31 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A Japanese cyclist named Pepe competes in a grueling road race in Andalusia, Spain. He must balance his own ambitions with his brother's wedding plans on the same day.

sportingearnestsun-drenchedunderdogbittersweetfocusedwarmpaced

What happens

Nasu: Summer in Andalusia (Japanese: 茄子 アンダルシアの夏, Hepburn: Nasu: Andarushia no Natsu) is a 2003 Japanese anime film by Madhouse, directed by Kitarō Kōsaka – a long-time collaborator of Studio Ghibli and the animation supervisor for Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. The film was based on the manga series by Iou Kuroda titled Nasu, which was serialized in Monthly Afternoon magazine. Kōsaka became interested in adapting the work after his long-time collaborator Hayao Miyazaki himself, a fan of cycling, recommended the manga to Kōsaka. The film soon went on to become the first Japanese anime film ever to be selected for the Cannes Film Festival. Nasu: Summer in Andalusia has been translated and dubbed into English by the anime television network Animax, which has broadcast the film in Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and other regions. It was also translated into French, under the title Nasu – Un été andalou, Italian, as Melanzane – Estate andalusa, and German, as Nasu – Sommer in Andalusien. AnimEigo released the film on Blu-ray on March 11, 2025 in the United States. A sequel, Nasu: A Migratory Bird with Suitcase, set in Japan on the Japan Cup Cycle Road Race, was released in 2007. Directed by Kitarō Kōsaka, it featured Ken'ichi Yoshida, another long-time collaborator of Studio Ghibli, who has worked on several Studio Ghibli films such as Princess Mononoke and Porco Rosso, as animation director. In 2008, Nasu: A Migratory Bird with Suitcase won the best Original Video Animation award at the seventh annual Tokyo Anime Awards, held at the 2008 Tokyo International Anime Fair. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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