Goodbye, Don Glees! Explained

Native Name:
Child:yes
Hide:no
Header:none
Kanji:グッバイ、ドン・グリーズ!
Revhep:Gubbai, Don Gurīzu!
Director:Atsuko Ishizuka
Screenplay:Atsuko Ishizuka
Editing:Kashiko Kimura
Music:Yoshiki Fujisawa
Studio:Madhouse
Distributor:Kadokawa Animation
Runtime:98 minutes
Country:Japan
Language:Japanese
Gross:$90,052[1] [2]

is a Japanese anime film produced by Madhouse and directed by Atsuko Ishizuka. It was released in Japan in February 18, 2022.

Plot

When they were children, "Toto" Mitarai and Roma Kamogawa formed their own club, the Don Glees. When Toto reaches 15, he moves to Tokyo to attend high school. Toto returns a year later to find Roma longing for his crush, "Tivoli" Urayasu, who has moved away to Ireland. Toto goads Roma to contact Tivoli, even calling Tivoli long distance to get Roma to talk to her.

Toto also finds that Roma has added a new member to the club, "Drop" Sakuma. Drop talks Roma into spending all his money to buy a drone. They will use the drone to film a large professional fireworks display, while setting their own fireworks in a secluded field. But on the night of the display, they cannot get their fireworks to light, and Roma loses the drone. Some hours later, a wildfire breaks out in the mountains. The next day, their schoolmates spread rumors that the Don Glees set the fire, based on the police finding their dud fireworks. The three friends locate their drone, and decide to retrieve it to use its video footage to clear their names.

The drone landed in a place in the mountains so isolated that the kids need to hike overnight to reach it. To go, they lie about their plans, and dodge investigating police officers and bears. But they don't make it before sundown, and so settle down near a small waterfall. Drop tells the others about how everyone should have a "treasure" they should want more than anything else. He also talks about his time living in Iceland, where he once found a working telephone booth next to a "golden" waterfall. But he also refers to a stay at the hospital, and asks the others if they would have any regrets if the world ended tomorrow. Meanwhile, Toto spends all his time panicking about his cram school studies and admonishing his friends' childish behavior. He even brings a textbook to the hike, as he has an exam the next day. But he eventually calms down and admits that he's not so sure he wants to become a doctor like his father wishes. He also tells Drop about the origin of the club name. The name comes from "Don't glee" in English, referring to how he and Roma never smiled or played with other kids. Toto eventually adds his textbook to their campfire, no longer caring so much. Roma figures that Tivoli is his "treasure". He holds dear a photo of a field with a ladybug that she took with his father's old professional grade camera.

The next day they find the drone and return, only to see that nearly everyone has forgotten about the fire. But days later, Drop dies. A devastated Roma destroys the Don Glees clubhouse in grief. But among the wreckage, they find two bottles of Coca-Cola with a map of Iceland drawn on it. Drop had drawn this map with an "x" for the telephone booth. The two friends decide to fly all the way to Iceland to find the booth. After several days of hiking, they find a gigantic waterfall that they guess is Drop's golden waterfall. Nearby, they find the phone booth, complete with a working phone. Toto sees the phone number, and realizes that he called this very number by mistake when he tried to call Tivoli. They deduce that Drop picked up the phone when they called the wrong number, inspiring him to seek Toto and Roma out. They also found a note left by Drop describing his treasure as friends who will help him on his last adventure.

Cast

!Character!Japanese!English
Rōma KamogawaNatsuki Hanae[3] Adam McArthur[4]
Hokuto "Toto" MitaraiYuki KajiNick Wolfhard
Shizuku "Drop" SakumaAyumu MuraseJonathan Leon
Chibori "Tivoli" UrayasuKana Hanazawa[5] Victoria Grace
Mako KamogawaRino Sashihara[6] Stephanie Sheh
Tarō KamogawaAtsushi TamuraAlan Lee

Development and production

The film was first announced in July 2021, where it was revealed the film would be produced by Madhouse, and directed and scripted by Atsuko Ishizuka, with Takahiro Yoshimatsu designing the characters and Kadokawa distributing the film.[7] Yoshiaki Fujisawa will compose the music. The film's main theme song is "Rock the World" performed by Alexandros.[8] The film was released in Japanese theaters on February 18, 2022.[9] In North America, GKIDS acquired the rights to the film and screened it with Japanese and English-language options on September 14, 2022.[10]

Media

Manga adaptation

A manga adaptation, written and illustrated by Shinki, began serialization in Media Factory's Monthly Comic Gene magazine on October 15, 2021.[11] The adaptation completed its serialization on February 15, 2022.[12]

Reception

[13]

Accolades

YearAwardCategoryRecipientResultRef.
202215th Asia Pacific Screen AwardsBest Animated Feature FilmGoodbye, Don Glees![14]
202377th Mainichi Film AwardsBest Animation Film / Ōfuji Noburō AwardGoodbye, Don Glees![15]

Notes and References

  1. Gubbai-Don-Gurizu-(2022-Japan). Goodbye, Don Glees! (2022). September 23, 2022.
  2. 2832106241. Goodbye, Don Glees! (2022). September 23, 2022.
  3. Web site: 'Goodbye, Don Glees!' Adventure Anime Film's Teaser Reveals Cast, More Staff. Anime News Network. Pineda. Rafael. September 9, 2021. December 10, 2021.
  4. Web site: Presenting the English cast of GOODBYE, DON GLEES!. Twitter. August 19, 2022. August 19, 2022.
  5. Web site: 'Goodbye, Don Glees!' Adventure Anime Film Casts Kana Hanazawa. Anime News Network. Pineda. Rafael. September 27, 2021. December 11, 2021.
  6. Web site: 'Goodbye, Don Glees!' Anime Film's Trailer Reveals Theme Song, More Cast. Anime News Network. Pineda. Rafael. December 8, 2021. December 10, 2021.
  7. Web site: Madhouse Unveils Original Anime Film 'Goodbye, Don Glees!' Set in Iceland. Anime News Network. Pineda. Rafael. July 2, 2021. December 10, 2021.
  8. Web site: 'Goodbye, Don Glees!' Anime Film's Promo Video Reveals, Previews Alexandros' Theme Song. Anime News Network. Mateo. Alex. October 27, 2021. December 10, 2021.
  9. Web site: 'Goodbye, Don Glees!' Anime Film Reveals February 18 Opening. Anime News Network. Pineda. Rafael. Loo. Egan. November 5, 2021. December 10, 2021.
  10. Web site: GKIDS Acquires 'Goodbye, Don Glees!' Anime Film. Anime News Network. Mateo. Alex. May 19, 2022. May 19, 2022.
  11. Web site: ジーン新連載は任侠×サイコパスストーリー、「ドン・グリーズ!」のコミカライズも. Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc. October 15, 2021. December 10, 2021. ja.
  12. Web site: 'Goodbye, Don Glees!' Manga Ends in February. Anime News Network. Hazra. Adriana. January 17, 2022. January 17, 2022.
  13. Web site: Goodbye, Don Glees!. Rotten Tomatoes. September 18, 2022.
  14. Web site: Winners Announced at 15yh Asia Pacific Screen Awards. November 12, 2022. November 12, 2022.
  15. Web site: 毎日映画コンクール 石川慶監督の「ある男」が最多の9部門でノミネート. December 21, 2022. Sponichi.