Former Studio Ghibli animator Kitaro Kosaka returns with his latest kid-centric, ghost-laden anime Okko's Inn, which will land in Thai cinemas on April 25.
Okko's Inn is a charming and offbeat ghost story about a young girl called Okko who has to move to the countryside and live with her grandmother after her parents die in a car accident.
Her grandma owns a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) at an onsen believed to have miraculous healing properties. While Okko is trying to settle into her new life, she discovers that she can see the spirits of the ryokan. So begins a charming story of humans and ghosts.
Okko's Inn, which is based on the best-selling novel series Wakaokami Wa Shogakusei! by Hiroko Reijo, was nominated for Animation of the Year at the 42nd Japan Academy Prize last month, and won two awards at the 20th Bucheon International Animation Festival last year.
Scenes from Okko’s Inn. (Photos courtesy of M Pictures Co.,Ltd)
While working at Studio Ghibli, Kosaka served as animation director and key animator on many famous titles, including Academy Award winner Spirited Away, Grave Of The Fireflies and Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind. In 2014, Kosaka won Best Animator for Hayao Miyazaki's The Wind Rises at the Tokyo Anime Award Festival.
Kosaka said of Okko's Inn: "These days, a lot of conflicts arise from the self-centred attitudes of individuals and nations. I wanted to depict a girl, at a self-conscious and impressionable age, growing up and learning that there are things you can and cannot manage by yourself. Her growth will come from opening up to society and accepting others."
The Okko's Inn trailer is available on YouTube.
