‘Japan Sinks: 2020’: Upcoming Netflix anime is based on a disaster sci-fi novel

Japan Sinks: 2020 anime series will be an adaptation of the bestselling disaster sci-fi Japanese novel ‘Japan Sinks’ by Sakyo Komatsu. The novel is considered a science-fiction classic in Japanese literature as well across the world. The novel has previously been twice adapted to live-action feature films- Sinking of Japan (2006) and Tidal Wave (1973). It also inspired a live-action series in 1975 and manga adaptations as well. The Netflix series will be the first anime version of the novel. Devilman Crybaby (A very popular Japanese anime series) director Masaaki Yusa, will direct Japan Sinks: 2020. Yusa’s animation studio Science Saru will be in charge of the production.

The novel starts off with a series of natural disasters striking Japan. Huge shifts in the tectonic plates below Japan have triggered volcanic eruptions in a few Japanese islands, which further cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions on the mainland of Japan as well. This predicament is analyzed by a team of Japanese scientists. They try to persuade the Japanese government that the Japanese islands will sink below the Pacific Ocean in a very short amount of time.

Japan Sinks 2020 shifts the setting from 1973 to 2020 after the Tokyo Olympics have just been completed. The series will focus on a small family consisting of two children who try to make their way out from the city of Tokyo after an earthquake hits the capital and more disasters are yet to follow.

Release date and Cast

Though no official release date has been announced yet, the 10-episode series is expected to show up on Netflix by the end of this year. The show will feature Reina Ueda as the protagonist Ayumu, a 14-year-old girl competing in the Tokyo Olympics. Tomo Muranaka will be Ayumu’s younger brother, Go. Yūko Sasaki and Masaki Terasoma will voice as their mother Mari and father Koichiro, respectively.