The Journey (2021 film)

Japanese-Saudi Arabian anime film by Kōbun Shizuno

The Journey

Arabic| الرحلة
Kanji| ジャーニー 太古アラビア半島での奇跡と戦いの物語
Literal meaning| Journey: The Story of Miracles and Battles on the Ancient Arabian Peninsula
Revised Hepburn| Jānī Taiko Arabia Hantō de no Kiseki to Tatakai no Monogatari
Directed by| Kōbun Shizuno
Screenplay by| Atsuhiro Tomioka
Story by|

* Shinji Shimizu
* Peter Cooper
* Essam Bukhary
* Amr Almaddah

Produced by| Shinji Shimizu
Starring| see below
Cinematography|

* Takeo Ogiwara
* Yo Izumitsui

Edited by| Masao Yoshitake
Music by| Kaoru Wada

Production
companies

* Toei Animation
* Yokohama Animation Laboratory
* Manga Productions

Distributed by| Toei Company (Japan)
VOX Cinemas (Saudi Arabia)
Crunchyroll (international)

Release dates

* June 17, 2021 (2021-06-17) (Saudi Arabia)

* June 25, 2021 (2021-06-25) (Japan)

Running time

| 110 minutes[1]
Countries|

* Japan
* Saudi Arabia

Languages|

* Japanese
* Arabic

Budget| $7 million
Box office| $1,500,000 [2]

The Journey[a] is a Japanese–Saudi Arabian animated action film directed by Kōbun Shizuno, written by Atsuhiro Tomioka and co-produced by Toei Animation and Manga Productions.[3][4] The film, based on the Islamic historical event, the Year of the Elephant, revolves around a potter named Aus who joins a battle to defend his home city of Mecca.[5] The film was released in Japan, the Middle East and North Africa in June 2021.[6]

## Premise

[edit]

"As a ruthless invader threatens to enslave their people and destroy the Kaaba, a sacred sanctuary, the people of Mecca take up arms. Only able to muster a small force against the massive army, defeat seems all but inevitable. Aus, a seemingly simple potter fighting to protect his family, is forced to reveal his dark past when he discovers amongst the defenders a long-lost friend believed to be dead - a warrior named Zurara. As fear threatens to break their resolve, Aus' strength of faith compels him to stand and fight. Aus battles his own doubts and fears as he tries to unite his friends and compatriots on the eve of battle. Abraha's army is fast approaching, and the fate of Mecca and its people hangs in the balance. Will the people of Mecca defeat the colossal army with nothing but their simple defenses and their love for their city?"

## Voice cast

[edit]

### Japanese voice cast

[edit]

* Tōru Furuya as Aus
* Kotono Mitsuishi as Hind
* Hiroshi Kamiya as Zurara
* Kazuya Nakai as Musab
* Takaya Kuroda as Abraha
* Yuichi Nakamura as Nizar
* Mugihito as Muttalib

### Arabic voice cast

[edit]

* Nassar Al-Nassar as Aus
* Rasha Rizk[5] as Hind
* Abdullah Elfiky as Zurara
* Ahmed Al-Yazidi as Musab
* Abdo Chahine as Abraha
* Abdul Rahman Al-Warthan as Nizar
* Jassim Al-Nabhan as Muttalib

### English voice cast

[edit]

* Johnny Yong Bosch
* Jennie Kwan
* Bryce Papenbrook
* Alejandro Saab
* Christopher Sabat
* Steve Blum
* Hesham Elshazly
* Cedric Williams
* Hussein Mohammed[7]

## Production

[edit]

The film is a joint collaboration which began in November 2017 between Manga Productions and Toei Animation. It is the second animated work made by Manga in collaboration with Toei; with the first being animated series Future's Folktales. The Journey was directed by Kōbun Shizuno with Atsuhiro Tomioka providing the screenplay. The character designs were done by Tatsuro Iwamoto and musical score by Kaoru Wada. Production work for The Journey was done both in Tokyo and Riyadh. The film project's cost ranges from $10–15 million,[3] with production finished by February 2020.[8]

## Release

[edit]

### Arabic release

[edit]

The Journey was originally planned to make its premiere in 2020 at the Cannes Film Festival which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was released in the Middle East and North Africa theaters on June 17, 2021.[4] VOX Cinemas has theatrical rights for the film in the Middle East and North Africa region.[4] The film is released in Arabic and Japanese with English Subtitles.[5][9][10]

### Japanese release

[edit]

Toei subsidiary T-Joy had the distribution rights for the film in Japan,[4] and later distributed by Toei Animation. The film was released in Japanese theaters on June 25, 2021.[6]

### North American release

[edit]

The film was screened in Grauman's Chinese Theatre on April 12, 2022. That same day, it was announced that Crunchyroll would stream the film on their website this spring.[7]

### German release

[edit]

The film was released with DVD and Blu-Ray in Germany on June 16, 2022. Amazon and Apple have started streaming the film in Germany.[11][12]

### Global release

[edit]

Crunchyroll started to stream the film for North and South America, Asia and Europe on September 2, 2022.[7][13][14]

## Reception

[edit]

The Journey grossed $1,500,000 at the box office.[2]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ (Arabic: الرحلة, romanized: ar-Riḥla, Japanese: ジャーニー 太古アラビア半島での奇跡と戦いの物語, romanized: Jānī – Taiko Arabia Hantō de no Kiseki to Tatakai no Monogatari, lit. 'Journey: The Story of Miracles and Battles of the Ancient Arabian Peninsula')

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "ジャーニー 太古アラビア半島での奇跡と戦いの物語" [Journey: The Story of Miracles and Battles on the Ancient Arabian Peninsula]. eiga.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
2. ^ a b "The Journey (2021) box office". Box Office Mojo. August 20, 2022. Archived from the original on August 20, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
3. ^ a b Vivarelli, Nick (24 February 2020). "Saudi Animation Feature 'The Journey' Secures Distribution in MENA and Japan". Variety. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
4. ^ a b c d Mateo, Alex (2 March 2021). "Saudi Arabia's Manga Productions, Toei Preview The Journey Film's Japanese Cast in Trailer". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 11 March 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
5. ^ a b c "Promo released for joint Saudi-Japanese anime 'The Journey'". Arab News. 2 March 2021. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
6. ^ a b Mateo, Alex (2021-04-09). "Saudi Arabia's Manga Productions, Toei to Open The Journey Film in Japan on June 25". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
7. ^ a b c Hodgkins, Crystalyn (April 19, 2022). "Crunchyroll to Stream Saudi Arabia's Manga Productions, Toei's The Journey Film This Spring". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
8. ^ Mateo, Alex (6 February 2020). "Saudi Arabia's Manga Productions, Toei Animation Finish The Journey Film". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
9. ^ The Journey (Arabic) Archived 2022-11-23 at the Wayback Machine VOX Cinemas
10. ^ The Journey (Japanese) Archived 2022-11-23 at the Wayback Machine VOX Cinemas
11. ^ The Journey - Die Legende vom guten Dieb Archived 2022-11-23 at the Wayback Machine Movie Pilot
12. ^ "The Journey Movie | German Official Trailer". Archived from the original on 2022-11-22. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
13. ^ "Saudi anime The Journey is on streaming platform Crunchyroll!". Knowing Arabia Watching Arabia. 2022-09-08. Archived from the original on 2022-11-24. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
14. ^ @manga_prd (2022-09-04). "The Journey is on streaming" (Tweet). Retrieved 2022-11-24 - via Twitter.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website (in Japanese)
* The Journey (Arabic) \- VOX Cinemas
* The Journey (Japanese) \- VOX Cinemas
* The Journey \- Crunchyroll
* The Journey (film) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
* The Journey at IMDb

* v
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2020|

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2021|

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* The Journey

2022|

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2023|

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2024|

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2025|

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Category

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Yokohama Animation Laboratory

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ONAs/OVAs|

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Films|

* The Journey (2021)

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