On April 29th, 2024, Granate Co. Ltd. representative Mato Noda launched a crowdfunding campaign calling for the 1987 Mamoru Oshii Classic The Red Spectacles to be remastered in 4K on Motion Gallery. Since its announcement, this campaign has easily surpassed its goal of 10,000,000 JPY within 24 hours (currently sitting at over 28,000,000 as of May 19th, 2024), with over 1,000 backers. You can find more information about this fundraiser in a previous article here on Kaiju United!
But unbeknownst to Noda, the popularity of The Red Spectacles and Oshii’s Kerberos Saga as a whole has a dedicated fanbase outside of Japan. While the project was initially aimed for domestic interest, Noda has received questions and comments about overseas support, which he would address on the campaign’s Twitter account.
Additionally, Noda has urged international fans to remain patient as these plans are being made.
Fans are not the only ones rejoicing over this wonderful occasion, as Mamoru Oshii himself has expressed his deep thanks for the support this campaign has received. In response to the fundraiser’s tremendous success, Oshii insists “we should give something back.”
The Red Spectacles 4K is planned to ship out towards the end of 2024, with Mato Noda, Mamoru Oshii, and actor Shigeru Chiba hosting a special premiere screening at Kineka Omori in Shinagawa, Tokyo– the same theater where the film originally premiered in 1987.
