Okko's Inn facts for kids
| Okko's Inn | |
Okko's Inn movie poster
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Quick facts for kids 若おかみは小学生！(Waka Okami wa Shōgakusei!) |
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| Genre | Family |
| Novel series | |
| Written by | Hiroko Reijō |
| Illustrated by | Asami |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| Demographic | Children's literature |
| Imprint | Aoi Tori Bunko |
| Original run | 2003 – 2013 |
| Volumes | 20 (list of volumes) |
| Manga | |
| Illustrated by | Eiko Ōuchi |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| Demographic | Shōjo |
| Imprint | Kodansha Comics Nakayoshi |
| Magazine | Nakayoshi |
| Original run | 2006 – 2012 |
| Volumes | 7 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Mitsuyuki Masuhara Azuma Tani |
| Written by | Michiko Yokote |
| Music by | Takeshi Hama |
| Studio | DLE Madhouse |
| Network | TV Tokyo |
| Original run | April 8, 2018 – September 23, 2018 |
| Episodes | 24 |
| Anime film | |
| Directed by | Kitaro Kosaka |
| Written by | Reiko Yoshida |
| Music by | Keiichi Suzuki |
| Studio | DLE Madhouse |
| Licensed by | |
| Released | June 11, 2018 |
| Runtime | 94 minutes |
Okko's Inn (若おかみは小学生！, Waka Okami wa Shōgakusei!, transl. "The Young Innkeeper Is a Grade Schooler!") is a series of Japanese children's novels, written by Hiroko Reijō and illustrated by Asami. Kodansha released twenty volumes between 2003 and 2013 under their Aoi Tori Bunko imprint. A manga adaptation with art by Eiko Ōuchi was serialized in Kodansha's shōjo manga Nakayoshi. It was collected in seven tankōbon volumes. It was nominated for an Annie Award for Best Animated Feature - Independent.
Contents
Characters
- Oriko Seki (関 織子, Seki Oriko) / Okko (おっこ)
- Voiced by: Seiran Kobayashi (Japanese); Madigan Kacmar (English)
- Makoto Tachiuri (立売 誠, Tachiuri Makoto) / Uri-bō (ウリ坊)
- Voiced by: Satsumi Matsuda (Japanese); KJ Aikens (English)
- Matsuki Akino (秋野 真月, Akino Matsuki)
- Voiced by: Nana Mizuki (Japanese); Carly Williams (English)
- Mineko Seki (関 峰子, Seki Mineko) / Granny (おばあちゃん, Obā-chan)
- Voiced by: Ichiryūsai Harumi (old), Kana Hanazawa (young) (Japanese); Glynis Ellis (old), Fiona Fatuova (young) (English)
- Etsuko Tajima (田島 エツ子, Tajima Etsuko)
- Voiced by: Ichiryūsai Teiyū (Japanese); Noelle DePaula (English)
- Kōnosuke Minoda (蓑田 康之介, Minoda Kōnosuke) / Kō (康さん, Kō-san)
- Voiced by: Masaki Terasoma (Japanese); Scott Williams (English)
- Suzuki (鈴鬼)
- Voiced by: Etsuko Kozakura (Japanese); Colleen O'Shaughnessey (English)
- Kosui Kanda (神田幸水, Kanda Kōsui)
- Voiced by: Osamu Shitara (Japanese); Nicolai Gorden (English)
- Glory Suiryo (グローリー水領, Suiryō Gurōrī)
- Voiced by: Chiaki Horan (Japanese); Brittany Cox (English)
- Shoji Seki (関 正次, Seki Shōji)
- Voiced by: Hirohide Yakumaru (Japanese); James Weaver Clark (English)
- Sakiko Seki (関 咲子, Seki Sakīko)
- Voiced by: Anju Suzuki (Japanese); Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld (English)
Plot
The parents of Oriko "Okko" Seki died in a car accident on the family's way back from attending a festival at the town, where Okko's grandmother Mineko runs a ryokan, the Hananoyu Inn. Okko survives and sees a vision of a boy in the sky, before losing consciousness. She moves into the inn after recovery, and discovers that the boy is a ghost named Makoto Tachiuri, nicknamed "Uribo". Uribo was a childhood friend of Mineko who died shortly after she moved away. He goads Okko into committing to take over the inn from Mineko when she grows up. Mineko then makes her the "junior innkeeper", giving her a kimono of her own to wear.
At first, Okko finds the training to be an innkeeper exhausting, but Uribo keeps her spirits up. One day they notice a disheveled man with a feverish son looking for lodging. Uribo goads Okko to invite the two to the inn, since Hananoyu Inn "rejects no one". The staff learn that mother of the boy, Akane, had recently died, leaving him hostile to everyone around him. He wishes he could eat cake like he used to always share with his mom. The inn has none, but Okko feels inspired to invent a new recipe for a "hot bath" pudding that resembles hot spring water bursting from the surface. The pudding turns out delicious, and Akane and his father find comfort in eating the pudding alongside a shrine for his mother. It's here that Okko finds much fulfillment in making people happy through her service. Later on, Akane's father writes a magazine review of the inn that makes Okko a celebrity.
At school, Okko meets Matsuki Akino, whose family runs the huge Harunoya Inn. The aloof Matsuki wears pink colored Lolita fashion all the time and constantly quotes from literature; her alienated classmates deride her as “Big Pink Bow". She immediately runs afoul of Okko. Uribe tries to make fun of Matsuki by painting her face, but then a blond girl ghost retaliates by painting Okko's face. The girl ghost eventually introduces herself to Okko as Miyo, Matsuki's older sister who died when Matsuki was young. She mocks Okko as a "sillykeeper", something Matsuki eventually does as well. But since Okko can see her and talk with her, Miyo decides to live at Hananoyu Inn instead of Harunoya.
Okko comes upon a monstrous bell given as a gift to her late Grandfather. She rings the bell, releasing a young demon named Suzuki. The low key Suzuki also befriends Okko, but he has a bad habit of stealing food. Nonetheless, Suzuki, Uribe and Miyo form a team that help Okko with her Inn chores. As Okko becomes cheerier, though, Suzuki notices that she is less able to see the ghosts. One of the guests is a young woman named Glory Suiryo who works as a fortune teller. She warms up to Okko, inviting her to a shopping trip. During the drive, Okko is paralyzed by a flashback to the accident. But Glory and the ghosts comfort her. They continue with their trip, where Glory buys incredible clothes for both herself and Okko.
Okko has dreams of her parents that prop up a belief that they are somehow still alive. But one evening, the Kise family stays as guests at the inn. They include a little boy named Shota and a father who had just left the hospital. The father can only eat bland healthy food, but he finds the food the inn staff unsatisfying. Okko remembers that Matsuki was working on a menu of healthy food. So, setting aside her rivalry to please a guest, she visits Matsuki at her huge inn to ask for help. Matsuki gives her a sample of her inn's beef, as well as many tips on how to cook food that Shota's father can eat which does not taste so bland. Shota's father is overjoyed at how tasty the new food is. But then the Kises reveal that Shota's father had been in a coma for many months due to an accident where he crashed head on into a family's car, killing the parents of a little girl. Okko realizes that it was her parents that were killed in that accident. The reality of their deaths finally hits Okko, and she runs away crying. She runs into Glory, who does her best to console her. The ghosts try to help her as well. She sees the Kises leaving the Inn; they feel they should not be staying there because of the accident. But Okko gathers herself back together and tells the Kises that they are welcome to stay. All are welcome at the Hananoyu Inn, and Okko is glad that she was able to make the Kises so happy.
Months later, Okko and Matsuki perform a ritual dance at the same festival where Okko went with her parents. The ghosts tell her that they will now transition to their next lives, but they vow to visit the Hananoyu Inn as living guests.
Release
An anime television series adaptation aired from April 8 to September 23, 2018, and was produced by DLE and Madhouse, alongside a feature film. The film premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 11, 2018 and on September 12 in France and September 21 in Japan. It was licensed for the United States and Canada by GKIDS, and was released in the United States on 22 and 23 April 2019. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Shout! Factory on July 2, 2019.
See also
In Spanish: Okko y los fantasmas para niños
