To celebrate its 120th anniversary, Kobe Steel (KOBELCO) has released a 50-minute original animation titled Whereabouts of Tomorrow: Ashita no Arika, now available on YouTube with English subtitles. The film features the theme song “Call me” by the Japanese rock band Novelbright.
Whereabouts of Tomorrow: Ashita no Arika
Key Visual:
MAIN CAST:
Nao as Asumi Kino
Gaku Hamada as Torasuke
STAFF:
Scriptwriter: Hiroyuki Yatsu
Animation producer: Yoichiro Kugimiya
Storyboard artist (co-writer): Akihiko Yamashita
Chief amimation director and character designer: Yoshiharu Sato
KOBELCO THOUGHTS:
Kobe Steel celebrates its 120th anniversary since its founding.
We have created this original animation to share with future generations the history of the Kobelco Group that has faced difficulties and overcome a variety of challenges.
Our hope is that this will help viewers learn our Group’s efforts to create a brighter future, inspiring them, even in a small way, to strive for a better tomorrow.
STORY:
“Ever since that day…I lost hope for the future.”
In 2021, Asumi, a salesperson at Kobe Steel, was having a difficult time finding meaning in her job while she felt helpless in the face of the company’s numerous issues.
Just as Asumi was about to tell her boss that she wanted to quit, a mystical ray of light came out of a corporate history book and led her to Kobe in 1905. There she encountered visionary, high-spirited people from Kobe Steel’s founding period. Torasuke was among them; he was a clumsy but enthusiastic young man from the Meiji era who dreamed big and believed in the potential of industrial development.
Guided by the Kobelco Group’s history, two persons from different eras set out on a journey across time, from its beginning to the present.
They witness people get through tough times and continue to take on challenges with hope for a better future.
After coming into contact with the founders’ spirits, they each choose their own path for the future.
Source: Official Website
© KOBE STEEL, LTD. 1995-2025
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