Synopsis

One day, Koichi picks up a large stone on his way home from school. When he washes it clean, a young Japanese mythical water creature called, ‘Kappa’ jumps out with a “coo” sound. It explains that it had been lying under the ground for several hundreds of years. Koichi and his family adopt the creature, naming it Coo. Koichi and Coo become good friends and spend joyful times together when suddenly Coo says that it wants to return to its world where its own Kappa friends lived. Koichi and Coo set out on a journey to find a place called ‘Dono’ where the Kappa legend still exists, but to their disappointment, they are unsuccessful and return home to be greeted by a group of reporters. Eventually, their warm and idyllic summer vacation takes a drastic turn. Based on the three-part series written by children’s literature writer, Kogure Masao, this film combines two parts of the series: ‘Kappa oosawagi’ and ‘Kappa bitguri tabi’, to create this animated epic feature for theatrical release. The film, which took the director, Hara Keiichi five years to finish, was a project he wanted to make for the past 20 years. (Chun Jin-su)

Director

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  • Hara Keiichi
  • Born in 1959, director Hara Keiichi is well-known for his work on the *Crayon Shin-chan* TV series and theatrical animations. He made his directorial debut with the 1988 film *Esper Mami: The Dancing in the Starlit Sky*. Since then, he has directed many *Shin-chan* series, earning several awards. His films beautifully capture warm, humorous, and human emotions both on screen and in the storytelling.