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Anime fans in Bahrain are in for a treat as the Japan Anime Fest 2025 kicks off today.
Running until December 4, the event – organised by the Embassy of Japan – will showcase a curated selection of eight acclaimed films, celebrating the creativity, emotion and imagination that define Japan’s world-renowned anime industry.
The festival opens with Children of the Sea (2019), a fantasy-surrealist masterpiece about a junior high school student who spends her summer at the aquarium where her father works. There, she encounters two mysterious brothers, Umi and Sora, whom her father claims were ‘raised by dugongs’ and are being studied for their extraordinary aquatic abilities.
The closing film will be Lu Over the Wall, a heartwarming tale of Kai, a middle schooler who befriends a mermaid named Lu after joining his classmates’ band.
Their shared love of music creates a magical bond, but local legends about mermaids bringing disaster spark fear and tension.
Screenings are free of charge and will take place at Epix Cinema and Bahrain Polytechnic.
For more information, visit japan-embassy-bahrain.net
