The Last Blossom (HOUSENKA), an original anime feature film from ODDTAXI creators Baku Kinoshita and Kazuya Konomoto, is slated to premiere in Japan in Fall 2025, with its world debut set for the Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2025 as part of its Feature Film Competition lineup.
Produced by CLAP Animation Studio, the film represents the first full-length directorial project for Kinoshita and continues his collaboration with writer Konomoto, known for his work in both manga and screenwriting. CLAP previously worked on numerous anime features, including Pompo: The Cinéphile and The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes.
Synopsis
Autumn 2023. Akutsu, an elderly inmate serving life in prison, is on the verge of a lonely death in his single cell. A talking Housenka flower says to him, “What a rotten life you had.” Akutsu starts reflecting on his past. Summer 1986. Akutsu is living with Nana and her son Kensuke in a shabby apartment with a garden full of Housenkas. It is the tale of a one-night victorious comeback by a dying yakuza, and his family’s story told by a flower that blooms in prison.
Story and Production Details
The story centers on Minoru Akutsu, a former yakuza nearing the end of his life in confinement. As he begins to confront the regrets of his past, his interaction with the flower—Housenka—reveals a complex emotional journey shaped by loss, love, and the search for redemption.
Kaoru Kobayashi (Old Pelican in The Boy and the Heron) and rising voice talent Junki Tozuka will portray Akutsu across different life stages. Hikari Mitsushima, Yoshiko Miyazaki, and Pierre Taki also lend their voices to the project, with Taki voicing the titular flower.
The film’s score is composed by members of the band cero—Shohei Takagi, Yu Arauchi, and Tsubasa Hashimoto.
The Last Blossom (HOUSENKA) Visual and Trailer
The teaser visual, now released, depicts The Last Blossom (HOUSENKA) quietly blooming under moonlight, accompanied by the lines: “You’ll turn it around?” and “Don’t make me laugh.”
A teaser trailer has also been released.
International Reach
The Last Blossom (HOUSENKA) was previously introduced as part of Annecy 2024’s “Work in Progress” showcase. Now completed, the film’s official selection in the 2025 Feature Film Competition at Annecy will mark its first full public screening.
International distribution rights have been acquired by Anime Limited and Plaion Pictures for the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The film will receive a theatrical release in those regions, followed by home video distribution.
Creators’ Statements
Baku Kinoshita (Director & Character Design):
“The beauty of the blue sky. The brilliance of leaves kissed by sunlight. The quiet meaning behind caring for someone. This film is a reflection on beauty, transience, and the values of happiness, and how these things shape our lives. With a desire to return to the essence of living, I aimed to portray the quiet strength that lies within us as we navigate our ever-changing days.
I truly hope this story reaches many people and gently resonates in their hearts.”
Kazuya Konomoto (Script / Screenplay):
“Even in an unrewarded life, we are free to pray. Whether those prayers will ever be answered—we may never know. But still, I wanted to believe. HOUSENKA is the story of a man who has lost the place he once called home, and the silence that lingers between him and his lover. Into that silence, a single flower quietly blooms, giving rise to words that had long withered away. Before the flower could bloom, there were countless moments of silence, and one quiet, unwavering prayer.
I hope that the small certainty born at the end of that long silence and prayer will quietly plant a seed in your heart, too.”
Additional Information
- Director & Character Design: Baku Kinoshita
- Writer / Original Story: Kazuya Konomoto
- Studio: CLAP
- Music: cero (Shohei Takagi, Yu Arauchi, Tsubasa Hashimoto)
- Distribution (Japan): PONY CANYON
- International Release: Anime Limited, Plaion Pictures (UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland)
Source: Press Release, The Last Blossom Official Website
©Kazuya Konomoto /The Last Blossom Production Committee
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