2022 Anpanman Film Reveals Title, June 24 Opening

The official Twitter account for the Anpanman anime film series announced on Friday that this year's film is titled Eiga Soreike! Anpanman Dororin to Bakeru Carnival (Dororin and the Transforming Carnival), and it will open in Japan on July 24. The film will be the 33rd in the franchise.

The film is set in Obake Town, a town where everything can change into something else. Anpanman and the others receive an invitation to the town's Bakeru Carnival, where those skilled at transforming can use their skills to entertain people. However, a resident of the town named Dororin is unskilled at transforming, and is unable to enjoy the Carnival from the bottom of his heart. He has a chance meeting with Cream Panda and strike up a friendship. Together, they venture into a forest in search of the Black Cape, said to hold the world's greatest powers of transformation. But Baikinman is also after the cloak for its power that will allow him to rule Obake Town. Now it is up to Anpanman, Cream Panda, and Dororin to protect the town.

Eiga Soreike! Anpanman Fuwafuwa Fuwari to Kumo no Kuni (Soreike! Anpanman the Movie: Fluffy Fuwari and the Cloud Country), the 32nd film in the franchise, was originally slated to open in Japan on June 26, 2020 but was indefinitely delayed for the safety of theatergoers during the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. It eventually opened on June 25, 2021.

The Soreike! Anpanman television anime series began in 1988, and new Anpanman films have opened each summer since 1989. The 2014 film Soreike! Anpanman: Ringo Bōya to Minna no Negai (Let's Go! Anpanman: The Apple Boy and Everyone's Wishes) was the first film since Anpanman creator Takashi Yanase's passing.

Sources: Anpanman films' Twitter account, Oricon Yōgakan YouTube channel, Comic Natalie