By [As originally posted on Japanator]
Those who loved The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars, take note: director Mamoru Hosoda has been working on his next film and plans to release it to Japanese theaters in July. Titled Okami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki (The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki), the film tells the story of a 19-year-old college student named Hana. The girl meets a wolf-man and falls in love, bearing him two babies that are also part wolf. But when the wolf-man dies, Hana moves to a rural town to continue raising her children.
Hosoda has created, directed, and co-written the film with fellow scribe Satoko Okudera. Veteran character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Evangelion, Summer Wars) is, well, designing the characters. Takaaki Yamashita will oversee the animation, working with art director Hiroshi Ohno. NTV’s Seiji Okuda is serving as executive producer, having performed the same duties for Studio Ghibli.
It sounds like they’ve assembled a great crew to support one of anime’s rising stars. It just goes to show you that even if you start off working on licensed properties like Digimon and One Piece, you can reach the point where you get the freedom to make the movies you want to make. I know I can’t wait to see what Hosoda does with Okami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki, so here’s hoping for an imminent licensing announcement for North America!
[Via ANN]