The puppet adventure drama of love, wisdom, and courage, “Yamato Takeru: The Legend of the Swan,” will premiere at Abe Apollo Cinema on Friday, November 14th! The poster visual and trailer have also been released!

The puppet adventure drama of love, wisdom, and courage, “Yamato Takeru: The Legend of the Swan,” premieres at Abe Apollo Cinema on Friday, November 14th! Poster visual and trailer also released! ​
MAP Inc Press release: October 24, 2025 To Members of the Press The puppet adventure drama of love, wisdom, and courage, “Yamato Takeru: The Legend of the Swan,” will be released in advance at Abe Apollo Cinema from Friday, November 14th! The poster visual and trailer have also been released! Amid the rise of AI and CG, a Muppet entertainment movie has been completed that is entirely analog and handmade! A distinguished cast of voice actors, including Rika Matsumoto and Kendo Kobayashi, will be breathing life into these puppets! Amid the rise of AI and CG, the Muppet entertainment movie “Yamato Takeru” is committed to analog, handmade production. “Swan Legend” is now complete! It has been decided that the film will be screened in advance at Abe Apollo Cinema starting Friday, November 14th.
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Poster This Muppet entertainment movie is based on the legend of Yamato Takeru, a hero who appears in the “Kojiki” and “Nihon Shoki” (Chronicles of Japan). He was ordered by the Yamato Imperial Court to lead an expedition to unify the Japanese archipelago, and after achieving victory, he transformed into a swan and returned to heaven. The puppet theater company Clarte, founded in 1948, spent a year and a half creating the puppets that play the main characters. Every single piece is hand-carved, and the costumes, decorations, props, and even the stage sets are all handmade, combining recycled materials and styrofoam. As an adventure drama that can be enjoyed by both adults and children, the production was completed over a long period of time with the aim of creating a work that emphasizes warmth. The film will be released in Osaka, home to the World Heritage Site, Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group, before being released worldwide.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1_se6RwE0E
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/62341/26/62341-26-e0e3fdce8b3effcbd3cddb22f423f3c5-1920×1080.jpg Main Character: Yamato Takeru A distinguished team of people participated in breathing life into these dolls. Yamato Takeru is voiced by Matsumoto Rika, who has played the main character Satoshi in the “Pokémon” TV anime series, and who has also produced stage productions, with her double-million-selling song “Become a Pokémon Master.” Yamato Takeru’s wife, Ototachibana, is voiced by Nimura Sawa, who gained attention for her starring roles in “Your Goods Are Here” and “SHUT UP.” Other cast members include Kendo Kobayashi, Owada Baku, Ameku Michiko, Sakai Toshiya, Masuda Yuki, and Sakamoto Yorimitsu.
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/62341/26/62341-26-14ff3591e4d20ac57763267fc870bf34-1920×1080.jpg Director Yukio Okada has worked on a wide range of video productions, including movies, V-cinema, documentaries, commercials, and television programs, and in recent years has directed commercials, including the action film “TRAVERSE.” He planned this film to reach a wide range of generations, based on the legend of Emperor Yamato Takeru’s swan, which is preserved in his hometown of Habikino, saying, “I wanted to make a movie that children would enjoy.” The puppetry was handled by Clarté, a leading Japanese puppet theater company founded in Osaka 77 years ago, which handled everything from puppet production to puppet manipulation.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/62341/26/62341-26-ab6e0c1d07960fd63bfa32475b689543-1920×1080.jpg Yuya, Yuri, and Jiro, who continue to gaze upon Yamato Takeru, are played by Kansai natives Kimura Ayumi, Murakami Ran, and Nakanishi Haruya, who were selected through auditions and who also stray from the live-action version into the world of Yamato Takeru and
participate as voice actors. This puppet adventure drama of love, wisdom, and courage is beautifully completed!