It's a lovely short movie about a strange family of two. "Strange" said not in a bad way, but they're two interesting individuals.
Nikuko is a quirky fat lady, you can tell she is simple, because she got swindled several times, since she believed in goodness of people's hearts, she always wears her heart on her sleeve, brims with optimism and works really hard.
Nikuko has an 11 yo daughter Kikuko who doesn't look anything like Nikuko, is smart and sharp for a girl her age, but although she feels more mature at times she also has her own weird traits as a kid.
Nikuko and Kikuko are now living in this small sea-town where Kikuko goes to school and has her own first problems.
It's a very simple story of everyday life and is nothing fancy, but you can feel the characters relationship through the screen of how Kikuko although has her first embarassment moments because of her mother still loves her dearly. Nikuko always realizes her short-comings but feels like she won the lottery by having Kikuko in her life.
The climax of the story is how Kikuko misunderstands Nikuko's late phone calls and think she got another boyfriend (potential problem) and then she got appendicitis and was admitted to the hospital where she suddenly decided to confront Nikuko about her true origins.
SPOILERS~
It's not a secret that it becomes evident early on when many repeat the same phrase over and over that Kikuko doesn't resemble Nikuko at all. But Kikuko knows that Nikuko isn't really her mother at all.
Her own mother who we know as Miu was working (sw) at some point and met with Nikuko, they bonded and lived together like sisters, when Miu suddenly got pregnant. She gave birth to a daughter but one day left. Nikuko as a person who sees good in people still doesn't blame Miu for leaving her with a child and even thought of letting the two meet if Kikuko decided to do so. The movie doesn't spin this drama much (though many consider Miu just ditching Nikuko and burdening her with her own child, while the movie (Nikuko herself) mentions that Miu found her love with a wealthier man and is now pregnant and she secretly found/visited her daughter). Although if Miu really was just a young scared mother is up to debate, since Nikuko thinks good of everyone, thus she brought up many excuses for Miu. But it never hindered Kikuko from knowing the truth for some time and loving Nikuko for everything she did for her. To Kikuko she is the person she loves a lot.
I honestly cried a bit when they showed her being little and supporting her mother who worked hard to support her. They found a perfect family in each other. And that was beautiful.
Nikuko is described as this simple(ton) lady, but it doesn't make her less awesome.
RATE: 8/10.
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