GKIDS Screens The Last Blossom Film in U.S. Theaters on August 30-31
GKIDS announced on Tuesday it will screen Baku Kinoshita and writer Kadzuya Konomoto's original anime film The Last Blossom (Housenka) in the west on August 30-31.
GKIDS describes the story:
Former yakuza Akutsu is serving life in prison after a middling career in the underworld. On the night he lays dying in his cell, he reminisces with his only companion, a smart-mouthed flower growing out of a can, about the choices that brought him here, the woman he loved, and a child he would give everything to protect. Is redemption out of reach?
Kaoru Kobayashi and Junki Tozuka both play protagonist Minoru Akutsu at both his past and present, respectively. Hikari Mitsushima and Yoshiko Miyazaki similarly voice Akutsu's partner Nana Nagata at different points in her life. Pierre Taki voices the talking Housenka flower.
Other cast members include:
- Hideaki Murata (from the comedy duo Toro Salmon) as Hayashida, Akutsu's henchman
- Hiroki Yasumoto as Tsutsumi, Akutsu's big brother in the yakuza group
- Sōma Saitō as Wakamatsu, Akutsu's junior
- Kōta Nakayama as Konishi, Akutsu's henchman
Kinoshita directed the film, with Konomoto credited for the script and the original concept. CLAP (Pompo: The Cinéphile, The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes) was in charge of animation production, and Michinoku-Toge drafted concept art. The band cero composed the film's music and performed the film's theme song "Moving Still Life."
The film opened in Japan on October 10. The film played in the Feature Film Competition at last year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June 2025. A preview of the film was part of the Work in Progress lineup in last year's Annecy Film Festival.
Kinoshita and Konomoto previously collaborated on the ODDTAXI anime from 2021.
Source: GKIDS' Bluesky account
