Joseph Luster
April 25, 2023 
An anime film adaptation is officially in the works for Tsuchika Nishimura’s The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store manga, and it’s coming from none other than revered anime studio Production I.G. Due out this fall, the film will have Yoshimi Itazu (Welcome to the Ballroom) making his feature film directing debut, based on a script by Satomi Ooshima (Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko).
The original The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store manga made its debut in the pages of Shogakukan’s Big Comic Zokan magazine in November 2016, running until 2020 and ultimately being collected in two volumes. it was given the Excellence Award in 2022 for the Ministry of Cultural Affairs’ 25th Japan Media Arts Festival Awards.
Here’s how the award’s official website describes the manga:
“All kinds of animals, including ones that are a bit unfamiliar, visit the department store where I work.” Akino is a new concierge at the Hokkyoku Department Store, where all customers are animals. This is a series of short stories, portraying Akino’s growth as she learns about the mentality of being a concierge through her job. At this unusual department store with human clerks and animal customers, extinct animals come to consult with the concierges about items they are looking for or problems they have. As Akino tactfully solves the problems of the customers with a smile, her sincerity gradually softens difficult customers. Combining a job-themed genre with an animal manga element, this work features beautiful graphics. Its artistic details are also attractive, including the customers’ outfits in the glamorous department store and the Art Deco style interior of the store. Behind the story lies a critical eye toward issues such as our mass consumption society and environmental destruction, and the work stimulates the readers’ thoughts.
Via Crunchyroll News
