Like the Clouds, Like the Wind

Saiunkoku is a world of eight provinces or houses, each named after a different colour. The new Emperor, Shi Ryuuki, has gained a reputation for being uninterested in courtly matters and for flaunting his love for men. Shuurei, although born of the important Kou family, has difficulty making ends meet. She easily accepts an invitation to be the Emperor's concubine in order to turn him into a good ruler. The mysterious Seiran, a young man who was adopted by her father, goes with her as Ryuuki's bodyguard. Entering the imperial palace revives Shuurei's dream of being a court official, and, together with the many companions she meets along the way, continues moving bravely forward while trying to fend off the Emperor's advances.

In an alternate timeline, Japan was divided after losing World War II: Hokkaido was annexed by "Union" while Honshu and other southern islands were under US sovereignty. A gigantic yet mysterious tower was constructed at Hokkaido and could be seen clearly from Aomori (the northernmost prefecture of Honshu) across Tsugaru Strait. In the summer of 1996, three 9th-graders had made a promise that one day they'll build an aircraft and unravel the tower's mystery, but their project was abandoned after the girl, Sayuri Sawatari, began experiencing sleeping sickness and transferred to Tokyo for better treatment. Three years later, Hiroki Fujisawa accidentally found out that Sayuri had been in a coma since then, and he asked Takuya Shirakawa to help him finding a way to revive her. What they don't know yet is that Sayuri's unconsciousness is somehow linked with secrets of the tower and the world.

The Gold Kingdom and the Water Kingdom had a long, troubled history filled with epic battles before they decided to take the drastic steps of building a wall between the two lands. But 100 years later, they make good on an agreement in hopes of bringing stability to all. The rulers from each land had decided that the Gold Kingdom would offer the most beautiful girl in their kingdom as a bride, to be wed to the most clever man from the Water Kingdom, creating not just a couple but the promise of renewed relations and peace. When it comes time for the rulers to make good on their promise, neither is entirely honest or admirable in their attempts. The Gold Kingdom offers Sara, a kind-hearted, but homely princess while the Water Kingdom marries off Naranbayar, a lanky scholar of modest background. To add insult to injury, the two separately find themselves with a dog (for Sara) and a cat (for Naranbayar) as their partner-to-be. As Sara and Naranbayar individually navigate the palace schemes of their respective homelands, their paths soon converge in a heartwarming new spin on the classic fairytale set-up.

Suzu is a quiet and ordinary -- if not a bit of clumsy and daydreaming -- girl growing up in the outskirts of the city of Hiroshima in mid-1930s. She loves drawing sketches with pencils -- a hobby she is really good at. Following her parents' arrangement in 1943, 18-year-old Suzu is married to a young man living in Kure, a neighboring city with a large naval base, in which he works as a civilian secretary for the military tribunal. There she faces a new life, a new family, as well as many new challenges and hardships, particularly with the worsening life conditions due to the Pacific War. Yet Suzu manages to find happiness and peace in her daily life. The concept behind the film is to give the perspective of "several more lives" in addition to Suzu's, so it has a new title to reflect the new theme. It will adapt more scenes from the manga. The new scenes include Suzu crossing paths with Rin in the fall of 1944 and the winter and spring of 1945. Rin features prominently in the new visual above and the video below. Another new segment will focus on the Makurazaki Typhoon of September 1945, while Suzu is worried for her younger sister Sumi.