The Concierge is the upcoming anime film adaptation of the fantasy manga of the same name by Tsuchika Nishimura. It’s actually got a much longer title of Hokkyoku Hyakkaten no Concierge-san (北極百貨店のコンシェルジュさん, “The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store”), but it’s much easier to just use the shortened version. Even the NA region prefers to use the shortened version when talking about the new PV trailer for this anime film. What new PV trailer, you might ask? Why, the new PV trailer that recently popped up. Don’t believe me? Then you can check out that PV trailer below, and see the really surreal scenes for yourself.

The Concierge: Details

I’m getting Shirokuma Cafe vibes from this, but with a strong hint of Studio Ghibli.

Aniplex Channel recently released this new PV trailer for the upcoming anime film The Concierge on YouTube. Said PV trailer shows off a fairly…surreal anime film. It basically stars a female human concierge working at a fancy hotel and trying to do her job as best as she can. Only, her customers are all talking anthropomorphic animals for some odd reason. They don’t explain what’s the deal with that in the trailer, and I’m not sure if they ever explain it at all in the anime film. Regardless though, this anime film does look fantastical, with quite a few feels mixed in. I’ll be very curious if this anime film is any good.

Fortunately, we won’t have long to wait until we find out. The very end of that PV trailer reveals that The Concierge will debut in theaters on October 20, 2023. Unfortunately, this is a Japan-only release for now. There are currently no plans to bring it to NA theaters. Tune back into THS later to find out if they change their minds at a later date when we do.

Bonus: Synopsis

The Concierge Japan key visual.
I wonder what all the animal people think of the humans?

Want to know what The Concierge is about? Well, the Fantasia International Film Festival has an official synopsis for this anime film for us to peruse. You can read it below:

“The word ‘no’ doesn’t exist in a concierge’s dictionary.” That’s just one of the demanding rules that Akino must abide by in her new job as a saleswoman at the elegant and expansive Hokkyoku Department Store. It’s a very special store — the customers are all animals, and the most valued among them are of extinct species. Sea minks, laughing owls, Japanese wolves, even an enormous mammoth — that’s Mr. Woolly, the celebrated sculptor whose works are showcased at the store. It’s still a luxury retail space, though, and anxious Akino finds her hands full with the customers’ challenging requests. These range from hard-to-find merchandise to more complicated matters of the heart. Can the inexperienced Akino fulfill their whims and meet their expectations? If she wants to keep her job, she’ll have to succeed while under constant observation by the fussy floor manager Mr. Todo, a creepy consultant eager to downsize the staff, and the store’s enigmatic president (who is not a penguin, by the way!).