The anime film Pompo The Cinephile is available now on Blu-Ray Disc and DVD. The film has been released in the west by publisher GKIDS who are largely known for releasing popular films like the library of Studio Ghibli.

Pompo The Cinephile began as a manga series by Sugitani Shogo and is published by Media Factory. The series follows Gene, a production assistant working under renowned “Nyallywood” director Pompo. Though Pompo is known for mainly working on B-movies and fanservice films, she gives Gene the task of directing a script of her own making.

You can read a summary of the film from GKIDS here.

Pompo is a talented and gutsy producer in “Nyallywood,” the movie-making capital of the world. Although she’s known for B-movies, one day Pompo tells her movie-loving but apprehensive assistant Gene that he will direct her next script: a delicate drama about a tormented artistic genius, starring the legendary and Brando-esque actor Martin Braddock, and a young actress seeking her first break. But when the production heads towards chaos, can Gene rise to Pompo’s challenge, and succeed as a first-time director?

Directed by veteran animator Takayuki Hirao and produced by brand-new animation studio CLAP, Pompo the Cinephile is a rollicking, exuberant ode to the power of the movies, and the joys and heartbreak of the creative process, as a new director and his team devote their lives to the pursuit of a “masterpiece.”

The film was directed by Hirao Takayuki who’s known for his work on Paranoia Agent, God Eater, and GYO: Tokyo Fish Attack.

Pompo The Cinephile premiered March 19th 2021 in Japanese theaters.