Netflix confirms the streaming of TV anime adaptation of renowned disaster novel Japan Sinks (日本沈没) in 2020. Devilman Crybaby director Masaaki Yuasa (湯浅 政明) is directing the 10-episode series.
The 1973 novel is written by Sakyo Komatsu (小松 左京) and it took him nine years to complete the work. Japan Sinks has received the 27th Mystery Writers of Japan Award, and the Seiun Award for a Japanese novel-length work.
The novel has led to works in other media as well as sequels: a film based on the novel was made in 1973, directed by Shiro Moritani (森谷 司郎); a television show made in 1975; and a remake in 2006 directed by Shinji Higuchi (樋口 真嗣).
Yuasa is directing the anime at his Science SARU studio, with Pyeon-Gang Ho (許 平康) credited as series director. Dragon Ball Super screenwriter Toshio Yoshitaka (吉高寿男) is penning the script. Musician Kensuke Ushio (牛尾憲輔), who has collaborated with Yuasa in Ping Pong and DEVILMAN crybaby anime, is in charge of the music.
▍Story
A series of natural disasters hit Japan in 2020, right after the Tokyo Olympics. Massive tectonic shifts cause volcanic eruptions from remote Japanese islands, triggering earthquakes, and eventually triggering more eruptions of volcanoes in the Japanese mainland.
The story centers around the four-member Mutō (武藤) family, who struggles to escape the city, which are savaged by the massive disaster.