is a 2010 Japanese animated

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 feature film

Feature film

In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...

 directed by Keiichi Hara

Keiichi Hara

is a Japanese director of animated films.-Biography:What started Hara on his career as an animation creator was visiting an animation film company as part of his job hunting activities after graduating from Tokyo Designer Gakuin College . He recklessly left the tour, an act normally forbidden for...

. It is based on the novel of the same name written by Eto Mori, produced by Sunrise

Sunrise (company)

is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise. It is a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings. Its former name was Nippon Sunrise, and prior to that, Sunrise Studios...

 and animated by the animation studio

Animation studio

An animation studio is a company producing animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales or rentals of the media produced...

 Ascension.

Plot

Upon reaching the train station to death, a dejected soul is informed that he is 'lucky' and will have another chance at life. He is placed in the body of a 14-year-old boy named Makoto Kobayashi, who has just committed suicide. Watched over by a neutral spirit named Purapura, the soul must figure out what his greatest sin and mistake in his former life was before his time limit in Makoto's body runs out. He also has a number of other lesser duties he must complete, such as understanding what led Makoto to commit suicide in the first place and learning how to enjoy his second chance at life.

Cast

• Kazato Tomizawa
  Kazato Tomizawa
  is a Japanese child actor and seiyū, born in Tokyo. He is represented by Gekidan Nihon Jidō.In 2001, he made his debut with the film Kishiwada Shōnen Gurentai...
  
   as Makoto Kobayashi
• Jingi Irie as Saotome
• Akina Minami
  Akina Minami
  is a Japanese gravure idol and tarento signed to Free Style Company.-Movies:*Wanna be Free!: Tokyo Girl as amateur model*Chorus-tai: Kanojotachi no Kiseki as Aki*Buraburabanban...
  
   as Hiroka Kuwabara
• Aoi Miyazaki
  Aoi Miyazaki
  is a Japanese actress. She is best known for her pure image and roles such as in Nana and Virgin Snow. Her brother Masaru Miyazaki is an actor, and they starred together in the film Hatsukoi. She married Sosuke Takaoka on June 15, 2007, her partner since she was fifteen.-Career:Miyazaki started...
  
   as Shoko Sano
• Akiyoshi Nakao as Mitsuru
• Kumiko Aso as Makoto´s Mother
• Katsumi Takahashi as Makoto´s Father
• Michael as Purapura

Reception

It won the award for Excellent Animation of the Year at the 34th Japan Academy Prize and is nominated for Animation of the Year. It also won the Animation Film Award at the 65th Mainichi Film Awards. Internationally, it received the Audience Award and Special Distinction prize at the 2011 Annecy International Animated Film Festival

Annecy International Animated Film Festival

The Annecy International Animation Film Festival was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring every two years, the festival became annual in 1998...

.