Nippon Television will broadcast the movie “Aya and the Witch” on “Friday Road Show” today, March 15th from 9pm. It will be an uncut broadcast, and the broadcast time will be until 22:54.
In “Friday Road Show,” “Witches” will be drawn to commemorate the opening of a new area “Witch’s Valley” from March 16th at “Ghibli Park,” a park facility that expresses the world of Studio Ghibli works. Studio Ghibli’s works will be broadcast for two consecutive weeks.
The movie that will be appearing today, the first week, is “Aya and the Witch,” which was released in theaters in August 2021. Directed by Goro Miyazaki, this is Studio Ghibli’s first full-length 3DCG animation adaptation of the children’s book of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones, who is also known for the original work of Howl’s Moving Castle.
Aya, a 10-year-old girl who lives in a “children’s home”, is taken in by a witch’s house, but she gets angry at the witch’s use of her and won’t teach her magic, so she fights back with the help of Thomas the black cat. The story of the start of the project unfolds.
“Friday Roadshow” movie “Aya and the Witch”
Broadcast time: March 15th 21:00-22:54
【story】
A red-haired woman (Shelina Munaf) who is being chased by a witch leaves her baby in a “children’s home” and disappears. The baby, named “Ayatsuru”, is named “Aya” by her kindergarten teacher, and grows into a strong girl who is good at “manipulating” the minds of adults. One day when Arya (Koji Hirasawa) turned 10 years old, she was taken in by Bella Yaga (Shinobu Terashima) and Mandrake (Etsushi Toyokawa), who visited the Children’s Home. When Arya learns that Bella Yaga is her witch, she asks to be taught her magic in exchange for helping her.
However, Bella Yaga only bullies Arya and shows no signs of teaching her magic. Arya, angry that things didn’t go her way, tries to run away from the house, but the door disappears due to magic and she can’t find Bella Yaga and Mandrake’s room. Reluctantly, Arya decided to have fun playing the cassette tapes she had from her childhood on the radio and cassette player in her room. Then, Bella Yaga’s “familiar” black cat Thomas (Gaku Hamada) appears, and Arya and Thomas become close friends.
One night, guided by Thomas, Arya sneaks into Bela Yaga’s workshop and succeeds in creating a spell that protects her from all kinds of magic written in a magic book. Arya and Thomas try to use their magical powers to fight back against Bella Yaga, but…!
[Voice appearance]
Aya: Koji Hirasawa
Bella Yaga: Shinobu Terajima
Mandrake: Etsushi Toyokawa
Thomas: Gaku Hamada
Arya’s mother: Shelina Munaf
(Titles omitted)
【staff】
Original work: Diana Wynne Jones “Arya and the Witch”
Director: Goro Miyazaki
Planning: Hayao Miyazaki
Screenplay: Keiko Niwa Emi Gunji
Producer: Toshio Suzuki
Music: Satoshi Takebe
Theme song: Shelina Munaf
(Titles omitted)
(C) 2020 NHK, NEP, Studio Ghibli