Blue Mouse Theatre starts new anime series in hopes of building community

The theater hopes to draw anime fans by showing films from across the decades.

For this summer, come enjoy the incredible cinematography and breathtaking visuals of Japanese animated films at the historical Tacoma Blue Mouse theatre.  

Currently famous for playing “Rocky Horror Picture Show” twice a month, the Blue Mouse Theatre will be featuring different famous Japanese animated films beginning in May. Doors open at 10 p.m. for fans to not only watch films but also to cosplay and play games to win prizes. The theatre hopes to promote more community engagement and draw in more diverse groups of people. 

Incorporating this series could mean more engagement with younger viewers who partake in the culturally famous phenomena, Japanese anime and manga. Both draw in a large and diverse group of people, some of whom religiously follow their favorite creators. This heavily interactive relationship might create the jump in engagement that the theatre is looking for.  

Japanese Anime is a specific style of animation that reflects diverse and unique methods of application. Graphic art, cinematography, character development and intrinsic ideas are just a few of the notable attributes of this form. Anime can be hand-drawn or computer-generated and is always originated from Japan.  

For this series, people can watch some of their old favorite Japanese animated films like “5 Centimeters Per Second” (2007) as well as newer films like “Belle: The Dragon and the Freckled Princess” (2021) or  “The First Slam Dunk” (2022).  

The upcoming film “Lupin The 3rd: Castle of Cagliostro” (1979) will play on June 7. It details the action infused comedy of a thief named Lupin III, as he navigates an adventurous journey of successfully stealing high-value objects by sending calling cards to their owners. Originally based on a manga, the 1979 classic anime was co-written and directed by the world-renowned Hayao Miyazaki from Studio Ghibli.  

According to the theatre’s website description, “It is the second animated feature film based on the 1967–69 manga series ‘Lupin III’ by Monkey Punch. The film follows gentleman thief Lupin III, who successfully robs a casino only to find the money to be counterfeit. He heads to the tiny country of Cagliostro, the rumored source of the bills, and attempts to save the runaway Princess Clarisse from the Count Cagliostro’s men.” 

The anime films being shown in this series are as follows:  

 June 7: “Lupin The 3rd: Castle of Cagliostro” (1979)  

July 5: “Belle: The Dragon and the Freckled Princess” (2021) 

August 2: “5 Centimeters Per Second” (2007) 

September 6: “The First Slam Dunk” (2022) 

October 4: “Mary and the Witch’s Flower” (2017) 

November 1: “Blue Giant” (2023) 

December 6: “The Deer King” (2021) 

For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit the Blue Mouse Theatre website at: https://bluemousetheatre.com/ 

Featured image: Promotional image from “Lupin The 3rd: Castle of Cagliostro.” Distributed by Columbia Pictures.