What is a kappa? In Swedish it's a coat but in Japanese it's a legendary creature sometimes described as a water sprite, ressembling - in it's functions - the Scandinavian 'Neck' or 'Näck', the Scottish 'Kelpie', a dangerous figure, able to lure both children and adults into the water, drowning them and taking them to their realm at the bottom of a sea.
In this film we get to meet one of those Kappa's, by the name of Coo. The film starts with him talking to his father about the rice farmers who are planning to use their swamp to create a gigantic rice field.
When the father tries to talk to the samuraï in charge of this, the latter - out of fear for this mythic creature - kills the father and tries to kill Coo too. He doesn't succeed as they both are struck by an earthquake burrying Coo in a cliff crevice making him into a fossil.
Hundreds of years later he is found by a young boy, Kôichi (Takahiro Yokokawa) who brings him home in the fossil stage he is in.
At home Koîchi starts to wash and water the Kappa (as this is obviously the tradition) and suddenly Coo comes alive, at first scaring the whole family. Kôichi's father soon take and interest in the kappa and his mother accepts the presence of this strange 'animal'. The sister however does not at all like the intruder - at first. Koîchi is overwhelmed with delight.
Now follows a time when the Kappa recovers, get to know his 'new family' and as he is able to speak with them they start to discuss what to do in the future, if the Kappa should stay with them or if they should try to find a 'natural habitat' for him. Coo is also an expert in sumo wrestling.
All of a sudden the news are spread that the family have a kappa and they all become celebrities.
The story continues with the search for a new home and at the same time, the attempts to protect the kappa from all the curious people, of whom not all are benevolent towards this newcomer.
Although there are a lot of funny sequences we both thought that the plot is to thin and that the story goes back and forth in a rather boring way using a repetitive pattern when telling the story, making the film appear far too long. Maybe this story more appeal to the Japanese viewers, having other frames of references, whereby they are able to appreciate it more than we did?
In this film we get to meet one of those Kappa's, by the name of Coo. The film starts with him talking to his father about the rice farmers who are planning to use their swamp to create a gigantic rice field.
When the father tries to talk to the samuraï in charge of this, the latter - out of fear for this mythic creature - kills the father and tries to kill Coo too. He doesn't succeed as they both are struck by an earthquake burrying Coo in a cliff crevice making him into a fossil.
Hundreds of years later he is found by a young boy, Kôichi (Takahiro Yokokawa) who brings him home in the fossil stage he is in.
At home Koîchi starts to wash and water the Kappa (as this is obviously the tradition) and suddenly Coo comes alive, at first scaring the whole family. Kôichi's father soon take and interest in the kappa and his mother accepts the presence of this strange 'animal'. The sister however does not at all like the intruder - at first. Koîchi is overwhelmed with delight.
Now follows a time when the Kappa recovers, get to know his 'new family' and as he is able to speak with them they start to discuss what to do in the future, if the Kappa should stay with them or if they should try to find a 'natural habitat' for him. Coo is also an expert in sumo wrestling.
All of a sudden the news are spread that the family have a kappa and they all become celebrities.
The story continues with the search for a new home and at the same time, the attempts to protect the kappa from all the curious people, of whom not all are benevolent towards this newcomer.
Although there are a lot of funny sequences we both thought that the plot is to thin and that the story goes back and forth in a rather boring way using a repetitive pattern when telling the story, making the film appear far too long. Maybe this story more appeal to the Japanese viewers, having other frames of references, whereby they are able to appreciate it more than we did?
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