© Taiyo Matsumoto, Shogakukan, Viz Media
Entertainment news website Variety reported on Thursday that Michael Arias is directing a new animated film titled Sunny that GKIDS is producing. The film is slated for completion in 2029.
Update: Variety updated its article to state that dwarf studios, known for its stop-motion work on such series as Pokémon Concierge and Rilakkuma and Kaoru, is producing the film.
The film will be highlighted at the 2025 edition of Cannes’ Annecy Animation Showcase, to be held on May 18 as part of Cannes’ Animation Day.
While Variety’s article did not specifically state that the animated film will adapt Taiyo Matsumoto’s Sunny manga, the film description matches the story summary for the manga.
Variety describes the film:
From “Tekkonkinkreet” director Michael Arias, “Sunny” is a moving narrative set in 1970s Japan. The film takes viewers inside Star Kids, a foster home that’s a sanctuary for children caught in the cracks of society. Told through the eyes of its young inhabitants, Sunny explores the fragile strength of found families and childhood resilience.
Variety’s article features an image from the film.
Arias previously directed the anime film adaptation of Matsumoto’s Tekkonkinkreet manga. The film debuted in 2006.
Matsumoto (Ping Pong, Tokyo These Days, Cats of the Louvre) launched Sunny in Shogakukan’s Monthly Ikki magazine in 2010, and ended the series in Shogakukan’s Monthly Spirits magazine in 2015.
Viz Media released the manga in English in six volumes from 2013 to 2016. Arias translated the manga into English.
Sunny won Best General Manga at the 61st Shogakukan Manga Awards in 2016.
Sunny was twice nominated for the Angoulême International Comics Festival, in 2015 and in 2016. The manga was also nominated for a Harvey Award in 2014, nominated for an Eisner Award in 2016, and won Slate Book Review and Vermont’s Center for Cartoon Studies’ Best Graphic Novel prize in 2014.
Source: Variety (Jamie Lang)
