Matt Schley
November 6, 2020 
The Tokyo International Film Festival is on (sans international guests—thanks COVID) and its anime section features films old and new, from the very first Pokemon movie to ones that haven’t even been released yet.
Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop is in the latter category. The film, the theatrical debut of director Kyohei Ishiguro (Your Lie in April) was supposed to come out this May… but then it didn’t (thanks COVID).
The film was stuck in limbo for months, but at a Q&A at TIFF following a screening of the film, director Ishiguro announced a new release date: June 25, 2021.
Why wait until June, when Japanese theaters are already back in action?
“Simple… it’s a summer film,” said Ishiguro.
Aside from announcing the new release date, the director also went into some of the background behind the film, including why it has such a poppy, colorful palette. Ishiguro said that both he and screenwriter Dai Sato (Cowboy Bebop) love music, and that this film was inspired by a famous city pop album from 1982 called For You by Tatsuro Yamashita (the husband of “Plastic Love” singer Mariya Takeuchi).
For You features a poppy jacket design courtesy artist Eizin Suzuki, whose pop take on California Ishiguro combined with Japan for the look of Words Bubble Up. So there you have it.
The film tells the tale of a haiku-loving boy named Cherry who is no good at communication, and a girl named Smile who wears a mask to cover up her braces and large front teeth. When they run into one another in the mall one day, their relationship gradually develops through music and social media.
Ishiguro also announced that he is currently working on a film for a video streaming platform, and that he will be YouTubing backstory to Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop in the lead-up to the new release date.
Source: TIFF Q&A
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