Lady Nikuko (voiced by Shinobu Ôtake) has had a hard life , and all because of how open she is to love. She loves food, and has grown larger and larger over the years – her name can be interpreted as ‘the meaty lady’. She loves men, but the wrong ones, unfortunately, so that despite working hard all her life she has no money left to show for it. But Lady Nikuko has also done a heroic thing, and perhaps, if fate smiles on her, she will eventually be rewarded for it.
Most of this we learn in a meandering prologue. The story begins in earnest when she and young Kikumi (voiced by Cocomi) decide to settle down and make yet another fresh start, this time in a small fishing town which has seen better days. They make their home on a boat (a sign of reduced circumstances, but nonetheless, young...
Most of this we learn in a meandering prologue. The story begins in earnest when she and young Kikumi (voiced by Cocomi) decide to settle down and make yet another fresh start, this time in a small fishing town which has seen better days. They make their home on a boat (a sign of reduced circumstances, but nonetheless, young...
- 6/4/2022
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
A gleaming and delightful anime with a large appetite for tenderness and laughter, director Ayumu Watanabe’s mother-daughter saga “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” boundlessly adores its titular character even when it lingers a tad too long on her happy-go-lucky naiveté or ample love of food.
We get introduced to Nikuko (Shinobu Ôtake), a charming thirtysomething living with her young daughter, Kikuko (Cocomi), as she contentedly works at a local grill house in a small port town in Northern Japan. Heavyset, carefree and irrepressibly joyful in a manner that both puzzles and disarms everyone around her, she is known as “the cheery plump lady who wound up living here” to townsfolk. There is a lot of truth to that, as the film’s stunning opening montage recaps, guided largely by Kikuko’s voiceover, like the rest of the movie.
Being a punch-drunk romantic a little too trusting of scheming men who mercilessly take advantage of her,...
We get introduced to Nikuko (Shinobu Ôtake), a charming thirtysomething living with her young daughter, Kikuko (Cocomi), as she contentedly works at a local grill house in a small port town in Northern Japan. Heavyset, carefree and irrepressibly joyful in a manner that both puzzles and disarms everyone around her, she is known as “the cheery plump lady who wound up living here” to townsfolk. There is a lot of truth to that, as the film’s stunning opening montage recaps, guided largely by Kikuko’s voiceover, like the rest of the movie.
Being a punch-drunk romantic a little too trusting of scheming men who mercilessly take advantage of her,...
- 6/3/2022
- by Tomris Laffly
- Variety Film + TV
There’s more warmth than wisdom in the animated Japanese coming-of-age drama “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko,” an exceptionally well-realized variation on a by-now familiar anime story: a young girl learns how to love herself and her life in a picturesque seaside town.
The typically impressive craftsmen at the Japanese animation studio Studio 4°C have successfully highlighted the most endearing parts of this mother-daughter dramedy, which is as much about going through puberty as it is about accepting a parent or guardian for who they are.
Director Ayumu Watanabe and supervising animation director–character designer Kenichi Konishi (“Children of the Sea”) capture the halting rhythms and awkward splendor of daily life in a small port town. That makes all the difference in this story about a shy pre-teen who learns not only to look forward to her adolescence, but also how to empathize with her embarrassing single mother.
Also Read:
Crunchyroll...
The typically impressive craftsmen at the Japanese animation studio Studio 4°C have successfully highlighted the most endearing parts of this mother-daughter dramedy, which is as much about going through puberty as it is about accepting a parent or guardian for who they are.
Director Ayumu Watanabe and supervising animation director–character designer Kenichi Konishi (“Children of the Sea”) capture the halting rhythms and awkward splendor of daily life in a small port town. That makes all the difference in this story about a shy pre-teen who learns not only to look forward to her adolescence, but also how to empathize with her embarrassing single mother.
Also Read:
Crunchyroll...
- 6/2/2022
- by Simon Abrams
- The Wrap
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