A bibliophobe embarks on a journey through literature — literally — in "Whoever Steals This Book," the new animated film from director Daiki Fukuoka ("Phantom of the Idol").
It's based on a 2020 novel by Nowaki Fukamidori about high school student Mifuyu (voiced by Rin Kataoka), whose family owns a massive private library. The impressive collection of tomes was once open to residents of Mifuyu's small town, but was shuttered by her late grandmother, who gave her son, the current caretaker and Mifuyu's father, strict instructions not to let anyone in.
That's fine by Mifuyu, who despite (or because of) her family's bibliophilia, has no great love for literature. But when her father breaks his leg, she is temporarily tasked with taking care of the library. During her tenure, someone breaks in and steals a pile of novels, which activates a "book curse," wherein Mifuyu's town is magically transformed into the settings of the stolen novels, with its residents unwittingly playing the parts of the books' respective characters. Mifuyu, along with her guide, a mysterious girl named Mashiro (Sora Tamaki), are transported from story to story while attempting to retrieve all the stolen books and lift the curse.
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