Over US$17 million box office hit!

Focus of a heated bidding war for movie rights, the most talked about manga of our time finally comes to the big screen.  Deftly blending emotional human drama with the spectacular theme of man’s eternal quest to explore space, this Shun Oguri -Masaki Okada starrer was shot on location at the NASA Kennedy Space Center and received full support from JAXA, Japan Aerospace  Exploration Agency.  British rock giants Coldplay also contribute a theme song, their first-ever involvement in a Japanese movie.

July 9, 2006.  Fascinated by the Solar System, twelve year old Mutta and his nine year old brother Hibito make a pact to become astronauts and travel into space together.  Fast forward to 2025, Hibito (Masaki Okada) has fulfilled his dream and as a NASA astronaut is assigned a high profile mission to the Moon.  Mutta (Shun Oguri), on the other hand, has just been fired from his job with a car manufacturer and is struggling to find new employment.  He appears to have given up on his ambitions and the promise made to his brother years earlier.  Then, out of the blue, Mutta receives a letter from JAXA, informing him of his success in the first round of their astronaut training selection process.  And so, with Hibito having applied to the programme on his brother’s behalf, Mutta’s dream of voyaging into space is rekindled…

Shun Oguri (Crows Zero, Peak- The Rescuers)

Masaki Okada (Princess Toyotomi, Villains)

Kumiko Aso (Love Strikes!, The Legacy of the Sun)

Shinichi Tsutsumi (“Always” series, Princess Toyotomi)