Whoever Steals This Book Returns to Ebisu Cinema September 4–24 With Digital and Vacuum-Tube Sound

Whoever Steals This Book (この本を盗む者は) is heading back to the big screen. The anime film will play at Ebisu Cinema in Tamba, Hyogo Prefecture, from September 4 through September 24, 2026.

The notable twist is the sound presentation. The run has been announced with both digital sound and vacuum-tube sound, giving audiences two different playback formats for the same 85-minute film.

Quick Summary

• English title: Whoever Steals This Book
• Japanese title: この本を盗む者は
• Romanized title: Kono Hon o Nusumu Mono wa
• Format: Theatrical anime film
• New screening period: September 4–24, 2026
• Venue: ヱビスシネマ。 / Ebisu Cinema
• Location: Tamba, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan
• Sound presentations: Digital sound and vacuum-tube sound
• Number of sound formats: 2
• Session-by-session sound schedule: Not yet detailed in the initial announcement
• Special ticket price: Not announced
• Original Japanese theatrical release: December 26, 2025
• Runtime: 85 minutes
• Genre: Mystery / fantasy adventure
• Original story: Nowaki Fukamidori
• Original novel: Whoever Steals This Book
• Publisher: KADOKAWA
• Novel recognition: 2021 Japan Booksellers' Award nominee
• Protagonist: Mifuyu Mikura
• Traveling companion: Mashiro
• Core concept: A Book Curse transforms the town into different story worlds
• Mifuyu Mikura: Rin Kataoka
• Mashiro: Sora Tamaki
• Hirune Mikura: Nao Toyama
• Ayumu Mikura: Junichi Suwabe
• Director / Storyboard / Direction: Daiki Fukuoka
• Composition / Screenplay: Yasuhiro Nakanishi
• Character Design / Animation Director: Keiko Kurosawa
• Music: Michiru Oshima
• Sound Director: Fumiyuki Goh
• Animation Studio: KAGOKAN
• Distribution: KADOKAWA ANIMATION
• Theme song: “Share”
• Theme artist: YUKI
• Japanese Blu-ray/DVD release: October 28, 2026

Screening Announcement, Trailer, and Visuals

A New Theatrical Run From September 4 Through 24

The latest run is taking place at Ebisu Cinema in Tamba, Hyogo Prefecture. Despite the name, this is not a theater in Tokyo's Ebisu district.

The announced window runs from September 4 through September 24, 2026. The initial post does not yet provide a full day-by-day timetable, individual sound-format assignments, or special pricing for the engagement.

Ebisu Cinema normally publishes detailed schedules closer to each screening period.

Its previous official schedules also show selected films being programmed in separate digital-sound and vacuum-tube-sound sessions, including animated features.

That history provides useful context for this new run: audiences should check the final timetable before visiting if they specifically want one of the two sound presentations.

Two Sound Presentations, Not Two Cuts of the Film

The announcement specifically promotes digital and vacuum-tube sound.

Both presentations use the same film. This is not an alternate edit, different story cut, or second soundtrack; the distinction lies in the theater's audio playback chain.

Previous Ebisu Cinema schedules have explicitly labeled individual sessions according to the sound system used.

For Whoever Steals This Book, the anime's official announcement has not published a technical breakdown of the equipment involved, so it would be premature to promise a particular tonal character or listening experience.

What is confirmed is that audiences will be offered two approaches to presenting the film's audio, an especially fitting hook for a movie whose music and soundscape constantly move between different fictional worlds.

Mifuyu Is Dragged Into the Books She Never Wanted to Read

The story centers on Mifuyu Mikura, a high school student living in Yomunaga, a town deeply connected to books.

Her family has managed Mikura Hall, the enormous library founded by her great-grandfather, for generations. Mifuyu, however, has little love for reading herself.

Everything changes when books are stolen from Mikura Hall and activate a supernatural Book Curse. Yomunaga is gradually swallowed by worlds drawn from the stolen stories.

The only way to restore the town is to catch the thief.

Mifuyu is joined by the mysterious Mashiro, and the pair travel through wildly different story worlds while closing in on the truth behind the theft, the curse, and secrets buried within the Mikura family.

KAGOKAN's Feature Runs for 85 Minutes

Whoever Steals This Book adapts the fantasy novel by Nowaki Fukamidori, published by KADOKAWA and nominated for the 2021 Japan Booksellers' Award.

The anime feature is directed by Daiki Fukuoka, who also handles storyboards and direction. Yasuhiro Nakanishi is responsible for composition and screenplay, with Keiko Kurosawa serving as character designer and animation director.

Animation production comes from KAGOKAN, with KADOKAWA ANIMATION handling distribution.

The film runs for 85 minutes and originally opened in Japanese theaters on December 26, 2025.

Its central duo is voiced by Rin Kataoka as Mifuyu Mikura and Sora Tamaki as Mashiro, alongside a wider cast that includes Nao Toyama, Junichi Suwabe, Shizuka Itoh, Shimba Tsuchiya, Shigeru Chiba, Reina Ueda, Tomokazu Seki, Rie Takahashi, and Romi Park.

Michiru Oshima's Score and YUKI's “Share”

The audio-focused revival is particularly relevant to the film's music.

Michiru Oshima composed the score, which follows Mifuyu as the setting shifts away from ordinary Yomunaga and into dramatically different story worlds created by the Book Curse.

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The film's theme song is “Share” by YUKI.

A digital-versus-vacuum-tube program therefore gives returning viewers another way to experience the score, dialogue, effects, ambience, and theme song inside a theater.

That makes the September run more distinctive than a straightforward repertory screening after the original theatrical release.

The Run Arrives Shortly Before the Japanese Home Release

The September engagement also lands shortly before the film reaches Japanese home video.

The Blu-ray and DVD are scheduled for October 28, 2026, roughly one month after the Ebisu Cinema run concludes.

The package will contain the main feature and bonus video material, including trailers, promotional videos, and commercials. Japanese accessibility material including subtitles and an audio guide is also listed.

That places the September screenings in an interesting position between the movie's original theatrical run and its next stage of distribution.

No extension beyond September 24 has been announced for the Ebisu Cinema digital/vacuum-tube program.

Why This Matters

1) This is more than a straightforward repertory screening

The two sound presentations give returning viewers a specific reason to revisit the movie in a theater.

2) Sound is closely tied to the film's shifting worlds

Music, effects, and ambience help distinguish the different fictional environments Mifuyu enters during the Book Curse.

3) Ebisu Cinema already programs films this way

The venue's own schedules show previous movies receiving separately labeled digital and vacuum-tube sessions.

4) It comes just before the home-video release

The September run offers another clearly announced theatrical opportunity before the Japanese Blu-ray and DVD arrive at the end of October.

Film Information

Additional confirmed information currently includes:

• the new run is scheduled for September 4–24, 2026
• the venue is ヱビスシネマ。 in Tamba, Hyogo Prefecture
• it should not be confused with Tokyo's Ebisu district
• digital and vacuum-tube sound presentations are planned
• the detailed schedule for each sound format has not yet been published in the initial announcement
• special ticket pricing has not been announced
• the film originally opened in Japan on December 26, 2025
• runtime is 85 minutes
• the original novel was written by Nowaki Fukamidori
• KADOKAWA publishes the novel
• KAGOKAN produced the anime film
• Daiki Fukuoka directs
• Yasuhiro Nakanishi handles composition and screenplay
• Keiko Kurosawa handles character design
• Michiru Oshima composed the music
• YUKI performs “Share”
• Rin Kataoka voices Mifuyu
• Sora Tamaki voices Mashiro
• the Japanese Blu-ray/DVD launches October 28, 2026
• film information is available through the official Whoever Steals This Book website
• international official information is available through the KADOKAWA Animation Portal
• announcements are posted through the official film account on X
• theater schedules can be checked through Ebisu Cinema
• original novel information is available through KADOKAWA
• home-video information is available from the official Blu-ray/DVD page

Closing

Whoever Steals This Book returns to the big screen from September 4 through September 24, 2026 at Ebisu Cinema in Hyogo. Rather than simply replaying the film, the engagement is being presented with both digital and vacuum-tube sound.

Exact session times and special pricing are still waiting for the theater's detailed timetable. The 85-minute film will then move into its next distribution phase when its Japanese Blu-ray and DVD arrive on October 28.