A Midnight Rose (堀越「信じたい」, Horikoshi: Shinjitai, lit. Horikoshi I Want to Believe) is a 2004 anime romance comedy-drama film based on the 1999 light novel series Horikoshi: A Tale of Love by Ryotaro Sekizawa, who co-wrote the movie's screenplay. It was directed by Katsuhiko Akiyama and produced by Taro Maki and Satoshi Kohno. The film, like the light novel series, follows a hapless Horikoshi High School boy named Naoki Miyashita, who is diagnosed with ADHD and fairly antisocial until one night when he befriends Katsumi Hino, who is considered to be the princess of the class he takes, and slowly, a romance blossoms between them as they try to deal with their own internal struggles and fears along with various events happening in their lives. It features the voices of Hiroki Takahashi, Rie Tanaka, Ken Narita and Jun Fukuyama, with narration done by Chafurin.
A Midnight Rose was a co-production between The KlockWorx, Kodansha, Genco and Anime International Comapny. It was released to theaters on November 6, 2004, and received favorable reviews from critics for its animation, tone and voice acting. It was later released in America by Universal Pictures on July 1, 2005, where it received a similar response. Worldwide, the film grossed $112.3 million against a budget of ¥300 million (USD $2 million).
Plot[]
Coming soon!
Cast[]
| Character | Seiyū | Dub Actor |
|---|---|---|
| Naoki Miyashita | Hiroki Takahashi | Liam Aiken |
| Chafurin (adult/narrator) | Ed Harris (adult/narrator) | |
| Katsumi Hino | Rie Tanaka | Ashley Benson |
| Atsushi Yasutake | Ken Narita | George Newbern |
| Hideaki Miyashita | Hiroaki Hirata | Sean Penn |
| Chiasa Miyashita | Sumi Shimamoto | Michelle Pfeiffer |
| Izanagi Kuwahara | Jun Fukuyama | Dave Wittenberg |
| Rin Enomoto | Megumi Toyoguchi | Alexa Nikolas |
| Nori Matsuura | Yui Horie | Kari Wahlgren |
| School Director | Toshiyuki Morikawa | Fred Tatasciore |
| Ichirou Shiraki | Tomokazu Sugita | Crispin Freeman |
| Miyuki Yokoyama | Ryōka Yuzuki | Kate Higgins |
| Student Council Members | Kenichi Suzumura Mamiko Noto Misa Watanabe |
Eddie Frierson Michelle Ruff Holly Dorff Long |
| Announcer | Hiroshi Kamiya | Steve Apostolina |
| Nobuo Miyashita | Junpei Takiguchi | Alan Shearman |
| Takao Igarashi | Hōchū Ōtsuka | Justin Gross |
| Katsumi's Parents | Hiroki Tōchi Akiko Hiramatsu |
Steve Blum Candi Milo |
| Ryo Hino | Takeshi Kusao | Phil Proctor |
| Thug | Yōichi Masukawa | Jess Harnell |
| TV Voices | Shūichi Ikeda Maki Saitō |
Richard Cansino Caitlin McKenna |
Additional voices[]
- Grier King
- Edie Mirman
- Richard Epcar
- Joey D'Auria
- Caitlin McKenna
- Wendy E. Cutler
- Matt Lindquist
- Steve Apostolina
- David Cowgill
- Richard Cansino
- Jackie Gonneau
- Nadia Lewis
- Fred Tatasciore
- Mandy Steckelberg
Production[]
After the release of Teen Samurai in 2000, Ryotaro Sekizawa decided to allow adaptations of his manga, light novel and novel works, which had prior been mostly reluctant to give after the 1991 Quincy OVA, with a handful of exceptions. Shortly afterward, Sekizawa was approached by Genco and Anime International Company about a potential adaptation of his 1999 light novel series Horikoshi: A Tale of Love. As AIC had previously done the Quincy OVA, Sekizawa was initially wary, but gave in when executive producer and AIC executive Toru Miura promised him that their adaptation would stay true to the source material.
The film was produced for a relatively small period between 2001 and 2004, with a group of companies forming Horikoshi Film Partners. These consisted of Genco, Anime International Company, Kodansha, Dentsu, Bandai Visual, D-Rights and Victor Entertainment, whilst Japanese production company The KlockWorx handled distribution. After the American success of Teen Samurai, Sekizawa and Kodansha saw potential for international distribution, and decided to get the rights for outside of Japan pre-sold. In 2003, a deal was reached with Universal Pictures and Focus Features for the distribution, with Universal taking the American distribution rights and Focus Features handling the distribution sales internationally.
Release[]
Theatrical release[]
A Midnight Rose was released to Japanese theaters on November 6, 2004. A tie in novel called Horikoshi: Movie Edition was released to promote the film. It was distributed across Japan by co-producer The KlockWorx Co. Ltd.
The film saw a release in the United States through Universal Pictures on July 1, 2005 under the alternate title A Midnight Rose, due to the light novel series not having been published in English yet. Universal initially committed to release the film in a smaller wide release of 600 theaters, similar to Shaun of the Dead, but after positive test screenings, the company decided to invest $20 million into a wider theatrical release at 2,214 theaters. The film was dubbed into English for its American release, with Universal executives Scott Stuber and Mary Parent serving as producers, and featured Liam Aiken, Ed Harris, Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer as part of the cast. Before the film's release, Universal held an early screening for the film at the El Paso Anime Convention on June 3, 2005, while a trailer for the film was created to promote the film, which premiered in theaters with In Good Company on December 29, 2004. Focus Features partnered with various distributors for the international release between 2005 and 2006.
Home media release[]
Bandai Visual released the film on VHS and DVD in Japan on June 15, 2005. The DVD release came with a second disc containing several bonus features along with an 8 page booklet. Some copies of the DVD release also either came with the film's soundtrack or Horikoshi: Movie Edition. The DVD release only featured the Japanese soundtrack and subtitles.
The English version of the film was released on VHS and DVD in the United States by Universal Studios Home Entertainment on October 19, 2005. The US DVD release features the choices of English and Japanese soundtracks, a featurette on the English dub of the movie, an interview with Ryotaro Sekizawa and the U.S. theatrical trailer. Universal later released the film on UMD Video on February 7, 2006 and on Blu-ray on March 3, 2015.