The Place Promised In Our Early Days

Just saw this over at Twitch… ADV Films has recently announced that they’ve acquired the theatrical release of Makoto Shinkai’s The Place Promised In Our Early Days.  Shinkai was the man responsible for the wonderful Voices Of A Distant Star, which rightfully garnered all sorts of acclaim for its touching storyline and beautiful animation.  No word on when the film will be released on DVD here in the States, but it’s nice to know that the film is slowly but surely making it’s way here.

Here’s a brief plot summary, taken from ADV’s website:

At the end of the Second World War, the control of Japan was divided between two factions. Honshu and the rest of the southern islands came under sovereignty of the United States, while the northern island of Hokkaido was annexed by “Union.” In the summer of 1996, an enormous tower was constructed on the southern shore of Hokkaido; its purpose… unknown. Meanwhile, in the nearby Aomori prefecture, three school children made a vow to discover the secrets of the mysterious tower, but this promise was left unfulfilled when one of the three, Sayuri Sawatari, fell into a coma and was sent to Tokyo for treatment. Now, three years later, the promise is revived as the mystery of the tower… and its connection to Sayuri’s condition… is at last unraveled.

A gorgeous 2 minute trailer for The Place Promised In Our Early Days can be found here (it’s the very first trailer on the list).  It’s in Japanese, but a translation has been posted here.