In reference to the previous post on the new daikaiju eiga production, Death Kappa, Kaiju Search-Robot Avery came upon this cinematic incarnation of the folklore of Kappa — cute and funny instead of big and scary:
Kappa no ku to natsu yasumi [aka Summer Days with Coo] (Japan-2007; dir. Keiichi Hara)
Synopsis:
Small-town boy Uehara Koichi finds a curious-looking stone at the riverbank one day and takes it home. After he washes off the stone, much to Koichi’s surprise, little arms and legs pop out, and then a green head. It turns out that Koichi has brought home a young kappa (a river troll, in Japanese mythology) that has been dozing for three hundred years. Koichi names the timid, mischievous creature Coo – after the first sound it makes – and the Ueharas happily welcome the kappa into their chaotic family. Koichi and Coo become good friends, but Coo could not adjust to the Tokyo lifestyle and begins to miss his family. On a hot summer day, Koichi and Coo decide to go on a road trip to find his own kind. (WFAC website)
Nominated for Best Animated Picture at the Japan Academy Awards, and winner of Best Screenplay, Summer Days with Coo looks like something I’d like to see when I’m not in a mood for darkness and mega-destruction. (Yes, I know what you’re thinking — but it happens!)
Trailer:
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The Kappa is a mainstay of Japanese pop culture, often portrayed as advocates for the environment,just as Gojira was a commentary on nuclear warfare. The kappa’s supposed penchant for eating cucumbers (0:32) produced the “kappa-maki”. Keiichi Hara did a great job with this film as he did in “Crayon Shinchan”.