Little Forest (リトル・フォレスト, Ritoru Foresuto) is a Japanese slice of life manga series written and illustrated by Daisuke Igarashi. It was adapted into a two-part Japanese live action film released on August 30, 2014, and on February 14, 2015.[1][2] Part 1 film "Little Forest: Summer/Autumn" was screened in the Culinary Zinema (Film and gastronomy) section at the 2014 San Sebastián International Film Festival,[3] part 2 film "Little Forest: Winter/Spring" was screened in the Kulinarisches Kino (Culinary Cinema) section at the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival.[4] It was also adapted into a Korean live action film which released on February 28, 2018,[5] and into a South Korean TV series which premiered on August 12, 2019.
| Little Forest | |
 The cover of the first volume of Little Forest | |
| リトル・フォレスト (Ritoru Foresuto) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Slice of life |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Daisuke Igarashi |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| Magazine | Monthly Afternoon |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Original run | December 2002 – July 2005 |
| Volumes | 2 |
| Live-action film | |
| Directed by | Junichi Mori |
| Written by | Junichi Mori |
| Released | August 30, 2014 (Part 1) February 14, 2015 (Part 2) |
Plot
editThe manga is set in the Tōhoku region. It is about a young girl who returned to Tōhoku, her hometown, after a series of heartbreaking encounters that had happened to her life in the big city. She returned to her and her mother's old house, farming the land and living in accordance with the changing four seasons. Later, she received a letter from her mother and decided to try to "make it" in the city again before settling down and living as a farmer permanently in Tōhoku.
Characters
edit- Ichiko (Ai Hashimoto)[6][7]
- Yūta (Takahiro Miura)[7]
- Kikko (Mayu Matsuoka)[7]
- Shigeyuki (Yōichi Nukumizu)[7]
- Sachiko (Karen Kirishima)[7]
Japanese film production
editPrincipal photography for the film lasted one year. Ōshū, Iwate was one of the places shot on location. The band Flower Flower, led by singer-songwriter Yui, wrote four theme songs for the films, one for each season.[8]
Reception
editThe manga was one of the finalists at the 10th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.[9]
References
edit- ^ "Igarashi Daisuke's Little Forest Manga Gets Live-Action Film". Anime News Network. January 18, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
- ^ "橋本愛、海女の次は山？ 「あまちゃん」舞台・岩手県で新作映画...異例の4部作に". Cinema café (in Japanese). January 18, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- ^ "All the films of the 62nd edition". San Sebastian Film Festival. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
- ^ "Little Forest". Programme. Berlin International Film Festival. Aug 25, 2015. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
- ^ "韓国版『リトル・フォレスト』日本版とココが違う！". Cinema Today (in Japanese). February 21, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- ^ "Hashimoto Ai cast in 'Little Forest' movie alongside Amachan costar". tokyohive. 6Theory Media, LLC. January 18, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "五十嵐大介「リトル・フォレスト」映画化、主演は橋本愛". Natalie.mu (in Japanese). January 18, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- ^ "FLOWER FLOWER、五十嵐大介原作映画に主題歌4曲" [Flower Flower writes four theme songs for a film for Daisuke Igarashi's works.] (in Japanese). Natalie. June 4, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
- ^ "10th Osamu Tezuka Cultural Award Finalists Announced". Anime News Network. April 8, 2006. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
External links
edit- Little Forest at Anime News Network's encyclopedia