ON-GAKU: OUR SOUND

When you’re a bored teenager looking for thrills, sometimes the only thing you can turn to is rock ‘n roll. Having no skill, money, or even a full set of drums, a feared trio of high school delinquents nevertheless decide they are destined for musical glory in a quest to impress their only friend Aya, avoid a rival gang, and – most importantly – jam out. Animated almost entirely by director Kenji Iwaisawa, and featuring a lead performance by Japanese alt-rock legend Shintaro Sakamoto, ON-GAKU: OUR SOUND</i> brings its own sound and vision to the Hiroyuki Oohashi manga from which it was adapted. With pitch-perfect deadpan humor, the film presents a highly original take on the beloved slacker comedy: a lo-fi buddy film with a blaring musical finale that will leave you wanting an immediate encore. (Source: GKIDS)

The Wind Rises

Although Jirou Horikoshi's nearsightedness prevents him from ever becoming a pilot, he leaves his hometown to study aeronautical engineering at Tokyo Imperial University for one simple purpose: to design and build planes just like his hero, Italian aircraft pioneer Giovanni Battista Caproni. His arrival in the capital coincides with the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, during which he saves a maid serving the family of a young girl named Naoko Satomi; this disastrous event marks the beginning of over two decades of social unrest and malaise leading up to Japan's eventual surrender in World War II.

Chibi Maruko-chan: Watashi no Suki na Uta

Sakura Momoko's teacher assigns the third grade to draw an image based on their favorite song to enter a contest. Momoko loves a song she recently learned during her music class and is anxious to make a good drawing based on it. On her way to meet her relatives in Shizuoka, she meets Shouko Kimura, a university student who occasionally draws portraits at the local train station and plans to also participate in an art contest. Fascinated by her illustrations, Sakura meets Kimura once again. Shouko is enchanted by Momoko's sympathy and honesty. They quickly become friends and end up inspiring each other in their own way. (Source: Anime News Network)