We learned about a new original project in November 2020 that was originally set for a summer 2021 debut but arrived on December 3rd, 2021 thanks to COVID issues with Hula Fulla Dance. The film saw streaming distribution earlier this year as Crunchyroll added it to the service in its original Japanese language with English subtitles. The film is open to subscribers in North America, Central America, South America, Europe (excluding the United Kingdom and Ireland), Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, CIS, and India.
That exclusion is the key part here as UK distributor Anime Limited has now announced a home video release for the film. It’s scheduled for a November 6th, 2023 release priced at £39.99 for the region B encoded Blu-ray. It’ll be in its original Japanese language with English subtitles and no extras are currently listed for it.
The film has Shinya Watada directing it based on the screenplay by Reiko Yoshida. Hiroko Yaguchi is working on the character designs with Bandai Namco Pictures handling the animation production.
The Japanese cast includes Haruka Fukuhara who stars as the novice hula dancer in Iwaki city’s Spa Resort Hawaiians as well as Dean Fujioka as Ryota Suzukake, Yuki Yamada as Kazuto Taira, Karen Miyama as Kanna Kamakura, Miu Tomita as Ranko Takigawa, Kaori Maeda as Ohana Kaʻaihue, and Emiri Suyama as Shion Shirasawa.
Additional cast includes with Saori Hayami as Hiwa’s older sister Mari along with Sumire Uesaka, Subaru Kimura, Risa Aizawa, Nao Tōyama, Shinichiro Miki, Eriko Nakamura, Kaya Okuno, and Rina Honnizumi.
Check out the official site and Twitter.
Plot Concept: Hiwa Natsunagi is a high school student living in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture. Worried about what to do with her life after graduation, she spots a poster for Spa Resort Hawaiians – the “Hawaii of Tohoku”, a place where her sister used to work – and applies to their hula dancer campaign on a whim.
Despite her lack of experience, Hiwa is accepted for the job, and starts on the path towards becoming a Hula Girl with her classmates Kanna, Ranko, ‘Ohana and Shion. However, unable to keep in step with one another due to their differing personalities, the first stage ends in disaster. Called the “most pitiful rookies ever”, the girls are disheartened, but they learn to share the good and bad, and strengthen their bonds despite the occasional fumble. With their hearts and minds firmly set, the girls grace the stage once more…
