Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari
Dec. 25th, 2016 06:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynet_iiAlso known as Poco's Udon World, this is a show about a web designer from Tokyo named Souta who returns to his hometown after his father's death, intending to clean up his family's old Udon shop so he and his sister can sell the property, only to encounter a mysterious little blonde boy. The child appears to have no family around and being a toddler, has limited verbal skills. Souta winds up trying to take care of the child and figuring out exactly where the kid came from, the answer of which is revealed at the end of the first episode (or in the opening credits):
The child's a tanuki who has taken on the form of a small child.
Despite this complication Souta winds up taking Poco (as he dubs the kid) in, telling his friends and relatives that Poco's a friend's child, who he's taking care of temporarily. What follows is a primarily slice of life/magical realism story, as Souta learns to take care of a small child, reconnects with old friends and his hometown, figures out what he wants to do with his life next, and tries to come to terms with his father's death, all while Souta and Poco try to keep Poco's secret, er, secret.
This show is pretty much my jam: Myths and magical realism meet familial relationships and mundane, yet crucial, life decisions, mixed with generous portions of Utterly Adorable and sprinkled with bits of surprising sadness. I feel like some people might have mixed feelings about the ending but due to the nature of Poco- both as a child and related to Poco's secret- I thought it was kind of inevitable, and all the characters at least all end the story happy and prepared for the future.
Some random things I liked were that Souta doesn't wind up reopening his dad's udon shop: He learns how to make udon but it's for his own sake more than anything else, and web design remains his calling and he finds a way to keep doing that sort of work from where he lives. Plus the show is surprisingly aromantic? Souta's coworker develops a crush on Souta's sister only for her to turn out to be married, Souta reunites with a girl he had a crush on in high school but becomes "mom friends" with her, and while Souta's best friend Nakaji admits to having had a crush on Souta's sister during high school, their relationship remains familial. While I don't mind romance, it was nice to watch a show where there were plenty of platonic male/female relationships.
Anyway, if you're in the mood for a short (12 episodes) anime with a lot of slice of life cuteness, Udon no Kuni is well worth a look.
The child's a tanuki who has taken on the form of a small child.
Despite this complication Souta winds up taking Poco (as he dubs the kid) in, telling his friends and relatives that Poco's a friend's child, who he's taking care of temporarily. What follows is a primarily slice of life/magical realism story, as Souta learns to take care of a small child, reconnects with old friends and his hometown, figures out what he wants to do with his life next, and tries to come to terms with his father's death, all while Souta and Poco try to keep Poco's secret, er, secret.
This show is pretty much my jam: Myths and magical realism meet familial relationships and mundane, yet crucial, life decisions, mixed with generous portions of Utterly Adorable and sprinkled with bits of surprising sadness. I feel like some people might have mixed feelings about the ending but due to the nature of Poco- both as a child and related to Poco's secret- I thought it was kind of inevitable, and all the characters at least all end the story happy and prepared for the future.
Some random things I liked were that Souta doesn't wind up reopening his dad's udon shop: He learns how to make udon but it's for his own sake more than anything else, and web design remains his calling and he finds a way to keep doing that sort of work from where he lives. Plus the show is surprisingly aromantic? Souta's coworker develops a crush on Souta's sister only for her to turn out to be married, Souta reunites with a girl he had a crush on in high school but becomes "mom friends" with her, and while Souta's best friend Nakaji admits to having had a crush on Souta's sister during high school, their relationship remains familial. While I don't mind romance, it was nice to watch a show where there were plenty of platonic male/female relationships.
Anyway, if you're in the mood for a short (12 episodes) anime with a lot of slice of life cuteness, Udon no Kuni is well worth a look.
