"I Want to Eat Your Pancreas" (Japanese: 君の膵臓をたべたい, Hepburn: Kimi no Suizō o Tabetai) is a 2018 Japanese animated film about growing up. It is based on a light novel with the same name by Yoru Sumino. Studio VOLN created the movie, and Aniplex helped show it in theaters. The film was written and directed by Shinichiro Ushijima. The main actors include Mahiro Takasugi, Lynn, Yukiyo Fujii, Yuma Uchida, Jun Fukushima, Atsuko Tanaka, Shin-ichiro Miki, and Emi Wakui. In the story, a boy in high school becomes friends with his classmate, Sakura Yamauchi, who has a serious illness in her pancreas.
An anime version of the light novel was announced in August 2017. In March 2018, the film’s staff shared details about the cast, including Mahiro Takasugi and Lynn as the unnamed boy and Sakura, respectively. Other actors were introduced in June, July, and August 2018.
The movie had its first screening in Tokyo on July 24, 2018, and was released in Japan on September 1. It made more than $6 million worldwide and received good reviews from critics, who praised the story, animation, and writing. The film was nominated for awards at film festivals in Sitges and Scotland.
Plot
A male high school student finds a book in a hospital waiting room. The book is a diary written by his popular classmate, Sakura Yamauchi. In the diary, Sakura shares that she has a serious illness in her pancreas. Despite this, she wants to live a normal life at school. She notices the student is calm about her illness and becomes interested in spending time with him. They begin to spend time together and become friends.
During a school break, Sakura invites the student on a train ride to Fukuoka. They play a game called truth-or-dare and later share a bed in their hotel room. Later, Sakura’s friends and classmates become suspicious and upset about her spending time with him. The two work together to complete activities from Sakura’s list of things she wanted to do before her illness worsened. Soon, Sakura is hospitalized. While she is in the hospital, the two sneak out to watch fireworks. After she is released from the hospital, Sakura invites the student for lunch but does not appear at the meeting place. Later that night, the student learns from the news that Sakura died from a stabbing. He becomes very sad and does not attend her funeral.
Later, the student visits Sakura’s mother and asks for the diary. Sakura’s mother recognizes him and tells him that Sakura left a message in the diary for him. The message asks him to keep the diary and give it to Sakura’s best friend, Kyoko, because Kyoko did not know about Sakura’s illness. After reading the message, the student becomes very emotional and cries because he has never felt such sadness for someone before. Sakura’s mother learns his name is Haruki Shiga and explains that his name, which means “spring trees,” is connected to Sakura’s name, which means “cherry blossom.” Haruki meets with Kyoko, who does not believe Sakura ever lied to her. Kyoko runs away after reading the diary. Haruki follows her and asks her to be his friend. In a post-credits scene, Haruki and Kyoko, who are now friends, visit Sakura’s grave one year later.
Production
In August 2017, an anime film based on the light novel series I Want to Eat Your Pancreas by Yoru Sumino was announced. In March 2018, the film’s staff was confirmed, including Shinichiro Ushijima as director and screenwriter, Yūichi Oka as chief animation director and character designer, Mayuko Koike as photography director, and Yumi Jingugi as editor. This was Ushijima’s first time directing a "coming-of-age drama" after previously working on action films. Mahiro Takasugi and Lynn were cast as the unnamed male high school student, called "Me" (Boku), and Sakura Yamauchi, respectively. This marked Takasugi’s first role in voice acting. In June 2018, Yukiyo Fujii, Yuma Uchida, Jun Fukushima, Atsuko Tanaka, and Shin-ichiro Miki were cast as Kyoko, Takahiro, Gum Boy, and the parents of "Me," respectively. In July 2018, Emi Wakui joined the cast as Sakura’s mother in her first voice acting role. In August 2018, 3D animation director Koremi Kishi explained that the team spent much time creating detailed animations of trams and diesel railcars because they were important to the film’s setting. Although 3D technology was used for backgrounds and layouts, the team worked to make it blend naturally into the film. That month, the four members of the band Sumika were cast in unspecified roles. In November 2018, Aniplex of America announced the English dub cast for the film.
Music
Hiroko Sebu was announced as the composer of I Want to Eat Your Pancreas in March 2018. This was her first time writing music for an anime film. She used the pizzicato technique to create sounds that made "[Sakura] look cute… based on [her] movements and the way her hair flutters." Sumika was chosen to perform the theme music and insert song for the film in May 2018, with the song "Fanfare" ( ファンファーレ ) as the opening theme. The film's ending theme, titled "The Four Seasons" ( 春夏秋冬 , Shunkashūtō ), was announced in July 2018. The two theme songs and the original soundtrack, which includes the film version of the insert song "Secret" ( 秘密 , Himitsu ), were released in Japan on August 29, 2018.
Marketing
In August 2017, the first special news trailer and visual for I Want to Eat Your Pancreas were published. In January 2018, the film received its second visual and a tagline that reads, "The distance between two people still has no name." The second and third special news trailers for the film were released in March and May 2018, respectively. The third visual for the film was published in June 2018, followed by the fourth and main visual the following month. To My Father and to Someone in My Memories (Chichi to Tsuioku no Dareka ni), a sequel to the light novel series, was announced in August 2018 as a gift for Japanese viewers who watched the film in participating theaters. The official guidebook for the film was released in Japan on October 12, 2018.
Promotional partners for the film included Nakabayashi, known for their Logical Air notebook product, Toyama Prefecture, H.I.S. Chūbu travel agency, Uniqlo, Hakata Ikkousha ramen restaurant, Sweets Paradise store, Cerezo Osaka, and Respect for Geeks (R4G) clothing brand.
Release
The movie I Want to Eat Your Pancreas had its first screening in Tokyo at Zepp DiverCity on July 24, 2018. It was shown at the Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival in South Korea on August 23, 2018. The film was released in Japan on September 1, 2018. It had its first showing in Australia at the Madman Anime Festival in Melbourne in September 2018 and was released nationwide on October 18, 2018. The film had its first showing in the United Kingdom at the Scotland Loves Anime festival in Glasgow on October 14, 2018. It had its first showing in the United States at the Animation Is Film Festival in Los Angeles on October 21, 2018. The film was shown in 400 theaters in the United States on February 7 and 10, 2019, by Aniplex of America and Fathom Events.
The movie was released on Blu-ray and DVD in Japan on April 3, 2019. It was aired on NHK E on May 2, 2020, and on Nippon TV on July 23, 2021.
Aniplex of America released the film on Blu-ray in the United States on October 29, 2019. Madman Entertainment released the film on Blu-ray and DVD in Australia and New Zealand on January 22, 2020. Manga Entertainment released the film on Blu-ray and DVD in the United Kingdom on February 24, 2020.
Reception
The movie I Want to Eat Your Pancreas made $1,992,335 in Japan and $4.2 million in other countries, totaling $6.2 million worldwide. In its first weekend in Japan, the film earned ¥107 million (about $968,991) and ranked tenth at the Japanese box office.
On the review website Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an approval rating of 93%, with an average score of 7.2 out of 10 based on 14 reviews. The author of the original light novel, Yoru Sumino, said the anime adaptation had "good parts, but also some unsatisfying parts."
Rafael Motamayor from Collider gave the film an "A−" grade, noting that it is a heartfelt story about life and friendships with strong characters and a well-written script. He compared it to The Fault in Our Stars (2014) and A Silent Voice (2016). James Perkins of Starburst called the film "devastatingly beautiful," saying it is an emotional romantic drama that focuses on dealing with loss and finding joy in life. He praised its message, animation, and character development. Alex Osborn of IGN Southeast Asia gave the film 8 out of 10, calling it a moving story about living fully and praising its art and characters.
Kim Morrissy of Anime News Network gave the film a "B−" grade, stating it is a good movie but had some issues with animation and effects that made scenes hard to follow. She praised the voice acting and writing. Matt Schley of The Japan Times gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, criticizing its slow pacing, dialogue, and music.
The film was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the Sitges Film Festival in September 2018. It won the Audience Award and was nominated for the Jury Award at the Scotland Loves Anime festival in October 2018.