Funimation made us think Sing a Bit of Harmony was a fantasy anime film back in that first trailer. Now with this pair of new trailers, it seems that it was actually a science fiction anime film all along. Check it out below:

I’m getting Time of Eve flashbacks here, and for good reason.
Could this be a stealth sequel to Time of Eve?

Along with these new trailers, Funimation is also announcing release dates for Sing a Bit of Harmony. This anime film will premiere in Japanese theaters on October 29, 2021. We here in the US will have to wait a bit later to see it though. Funimation is planning to bring this anime film to theaters in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand in early 2022. Yeah, there’s nothing more specific than that. We’ll just have to wait for more info from Funimation on that front later. For now though, we do have an official synopsis to go off of:

Sing a Bit of Harmony tells the story of the beautiful and mysterious Shion (Tao Tsuchiya) who transfers to Keibu High School where she quickly becomes popular for her open-hearted personality and exceptional athletic talent… but she turns out to be an AI (artificial intelligence) in the testing phase! Shion’s goal is to bring chronic loner Satomi (Haruka Fukuhara) “happiness.” But her strategy is something no human would expect: she serenades Satomi in the middle of the classroom. After finding out that Shion is an AI, Satomi and her childhood friend, engineering geek Toma (Asuka Kudo), steadily warm up to the new student. Along with the popular and attractive Gotchan (Kazuyuki Okitsu), the strong-willed Aya (Mikako Komatsu), and judo club member “Thunder” (Satoshi Hino), they become more and more moved by Shion’s singing voice and earnestness even as her antics bewilder them. But what Shion does for Satomi’s sake ends up involving them all in some serious pandemonium… Get ready for the heartwarming story of a not quite market-ready AI and her classmates!

Sing a Bit of Harmony: A New Genre Shift?

"Sing a Bit of Harmony" English key art.
All those wires kind of give the game away.

These new trailers for Sing a Bit of Harmony represent something of a major genre shift for this anime film by J.C Staff and Funimation. The first trailer all the way back in September 26, 2020 made you think that it was a fantasy dramedy film. Then these new trailer reveal that, ha, it was no mere fantasy after all. It’s a science fiction film all the way.

An AI who watched too many Disney films, and now thinks it’s normal human behavior. I’m totally calling it.

In retrospect, we probably should’ve seen this coming. The director for Sing a Bit of Harmony is Yasuhiro Yoshiura, who also directed Time of Eve. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about: Time of Eve was an award-winning sci-fi anime and anime film back in 2008-2010, and which also featured AI/robot characters. Seriously, check it out on Crunchyroll. It won so many awards for a reason.

Could Sing a Bit of Harmony be the stealth sequel to Time of Eve we’ve been waiting for?

Conclusion

Funimation officially unveiled a pair of new trailers for their anime film Sing a Bit of Harmony. The trailers reveal a bit more of the story, suddenly turning it into a sci-fi story in a complete 180 from the first trailer. We probably should’ve expected it, since the director also directed Time of Eve. In addition to that, we also get release dates. Japan gets to see it on October 29, 2021; while we here in the US will have to wait for early 2022. All in all, this anime film from Funimation is looking more and more promising with each new trailer.

Source: Funimation YouTube, Funimation YouTube, Funimation Blog