Odd Taxi, the surprise spring hit about a middle-aged, taxi-driving walrus and his colorful patrons, is getting a film version treatment. Tiltled Odd Taxi: In the Woods, the film will feature a returning cast and crew from the original anime series directed by Baku Kinoshita and written by Kazuya Konomoto.
The anime’s official Twitter account made the surprise announcement on Christmas. Odd Taxi: In the Woods is scheduled to release in Japan on April 1, 2022.
The 13-episode anime premiered in April to critical praise, and is currently seated at #33 on MyAnimeList’s top-rated anime of all time. Animated by OLM (the legendary studio behind Pokémon) and P.I.C.S., the real appeal of the show lies in the unique characters’ compelling conversations in the cab and on the radio.
As the show’s synopsis has it:
This town should look familiar, but suddenly, it’s not. The taxi driver Odokawa lives a very mundane life. He has no family, doesn’t really hang out with others, and he’s an oddball who is narrow-minded and doesn’t talk much. The only people he can call his friends are his doctor, Gouriki and his classmate from high school, Kakibana. All of his patrons seem to be slightly odd themselves. The college student who wants to be noticed online, Kabasawa. A nurse with secrets, Shirakawa. A comedy duo, the Homosapiens … All these mundane conversations somehow lead to a girl who’s gone missing.
The film isn’t exactly a sequel, however. Anime News Network reports “the film is a ‘reconstruction’ of the television anime episodes, but it also depicts what happens after the television anime’s finale.” It already has a trailer showing what’s to come.
The anime has already received a manga adaptation by Konomoto.
Odd Taxi is streaming Crunchyroll, and an English dub is scheduled to premiere on Jan. 16. Crunchyroll will stream Odd Taxi: In the Woods in North America, but has not yet offered an air date.