Like the Clouds, Like the Wind

Like the Clouds, Like the Wind (Japanese: 雲のように 風のように, Hepburn: Kumo no yō ni Kaze no yō ni) is an anime television film in Japan produced by Studio Pierrot for NTV and based on the novel by Ken'ichi Sakemi. It is often incorrectly thought to be produced by Studio Ghibli due to the character designs by Katsuya Kondō (who has worked on many Ghibli films), partially due to an error in its first fan translation that attributed the screenplay to Hayao Miyazaki instead of Akira Miyazaki,[1] and the higher-than-average quality of the animation for a TV movie. However, Studio Ghibli had no involvement in the film.

Like the Clouds, Like the Wind
Japanese cover of Like the Clouds, Like the Wind DVD
雲のように 風のように
(Kumo no yō ni Kaze no yō ni)
GenreDrama, Fantasy, Historical, Romance
Novel
Kōkyū Shōsetsu
Written byKen'ichi Sakemi
Published byShinchosha
PublishedMarch 5, 1989
Anime film
Directed byHisayuki Toriumi
StudioStudio Pierrot
Licensed by
ReleasedMarch 21, 1990
Runtime80 minutes

Story

Ginga is a simple—yet energetic—country girl, living with her father far from the capital city of the empire in 17th century China. When she learns of an opportunity to become a concubine of the young new Emperor, with the possibility of getting a regular food supply in the bargain, Ginga convinces her father to let her go. Once there, she meets all of the other potential head wives, each of whom have various reasons for being there. All of them must learn to read and write, learn the history of their country, and learn the proper mannerisms for being in the royal court.

Ginga's enthusiasm tends to get her in trouble more often than not, but it works to her advantage when they learn that the former emperor's head wife, who is not the mother of the current emperor, is plotting treachery against the new emperor, and that a rebellion is headed toward the capital.

Novel

The novel, Inner Palace Harem Story (後宮小説, Kōkyū Shōsetsu), won the first Japan Fantasy Novel Award in 1989, and then received sponsorship to become a film from Mitsui Real Estate. The novel has been released in both hardcover and bunkobon format.

  • Hardcover, ISBN 4-10-375101-0, Shinchosha, March 5, 1989, ¥1200
  • Bunkobon, ISBN 4-10-128111-4, Shinchosha, April 25, 1993, ¥480

Anime

Kumo Kaze, as it is sometimes called, had its premier broadcast on March 21, 1990 during the vernal equinox national holiday, and was shown in an unprecedented commercial-free presentation. The movie was released on Region 2 DVD in 2002. The film is currently licensed in North America by Discotek Media who subsequently released it on DVD and Blu-ray.

Cast

Staff

Theme song

Kumo no yō ni Kaze no yō ni

Lyrics: Anju Mana
Composed by: Tetsurō Kugizaki
Arranged by: Etsuko Yamakawa
Vocals: Ryōko Sano

References
  1. Sevakis, Justin (2007-02-08). "Buried Treasure: Like the Clouds, Like the Wind". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
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