Originally released in 2006 as a four-chapter novel, the Yoru wa Mijikashi Arukeyo Otome film debuted on April 7th, 2017 in Japan and had some solid exposure thanks to overseas distribution as The Night is Short, Walk On, Girl. GKIDS picked up the North American rights at the start of 2018 and after bringing it out theatrically, the home video release for it as a DVD/BD combo release has landed in late 2018 through Shout! Factory.
With a dub announced for it a couple of months ago, the project has now revealed the production and cast behind it and that it’s getting a premiere on HBO Max on January 12th, 2020. The film saw Stephanie Sheh write the English script for it and direct it at NYAV Post with a cast that includes:
- Jackie Lastra as Black-haired Girl
- Kellen Goff as Senpai
- Ben Pronsky as Johnny
- Brittany Cox as Naoko
- Carrie Keranen as Hanuki
- Dino Andrade as God of Used Book Markets
- Doug Erholtz as Todo
- Eddy Lee as Director of School Festival Operations
- Frank Todaro as Rihaku
- Jennifer Roberts as Noriko
- Michael Sinterniklaas as Mock Jougasaki
- Mike Pollock as Bookstore Owner
- Patrick Seitz as Don Underwear
- Paul Guyet as Seitarō Higuchi
- Stephanie Sheh as Princess Daruma
- Tony Oliver as Kosaka
- Frank Todaro as Parrot
- Griffin Puatu as Millennium Purveyor
- Kyle McCarley as Deputy Director
- Steve Kramer as Director Akagawa
Check out our review of the manga.
The project saw Masaaki Yuasa as the director working from the script by Makoto Ueda and character designs by Yuusuke Nakamura. Science SARU produced the animation.
The Japanese cast includes Gen Hoshino as Sempai, Kana Hanazawa as Girl With Black Hair, Aoi Yūki as Princess Daruma, Hiroshi Kamiya as School Festival Executive Head, Hiroyuki Yoshino as God of the Old Books Market, Junichi Suwabe as Nise-Jōgasaki, Kazuhiro Yamaji as Tōdō-san, Kazuya Nakai as Seitarō Higuchi, Mugihito as Ri Haku, Nobuyuki Hiyama as Johnny, Ryuuji Akiyama as Underpants Leader, Seiko Niizuma as Kiko-san and Yuko Kaida as Hanuki-san.
Check out the #NightIsShort English cast for Masaaki Yuasa's colorful adventure through Kyoto. ✨
THE NIGHT IS SHORT, WALK ON GIRL from Masaaki Yuasa and Science SARU
🍺 Streaming on @HBOMax Jan. 12 pic.twitter.com/qsMBsfZPHM— GKIDS Films (@GKIDSfilms) January 6, 2021
Asian Kung-Fu Generation performed the theme song “Kōya o Aruke.”
Plot Concept: A black haired girl is walking around the streets of Kyoto, from the night scene of Pontocho to a second-hand book fair in Shimogamo, then off to a college fair. The main character that has a romantic feeling for her secretly follows her around and looks for the opportunities to run into her in a manner that seems like a coincidence. Unfortunately for him, she is not interested in love yet so she does not notice his feelings. What waits these two characters are crazy incidents caused by individuals such as a person who introduces himself as a Japanese mythical creature Tengu, the god of secondhand book or the money lender in a three-story vehicle.
