Kiku and the Wolf

2008 · 45 min · ★ 4.0 · Drama, Family, Animation, War, TV Movie

Kiku-chan to Ookami, one of the Sensou Douwa wartime specials, follows a young Japanese settler girl in Manchukuo, Japan’s puppet state in occupied northeast China, during the final days of World War II. As Soviet forces enter Manchuria and Japan’s colonial rule collapses, Kiku’s family joins other settlers fleeing south toward Korea in the hope of returning to Japan. When Kiku falls ill with measles, the refugee group abandons her, leaving her behind to die. Alone in the wilderness, Kiku is found by an old wolf who first sees her as prey. But as the wolf watches over the helpless child, hunger gives way to a strange, fragile bond. With soldiers, fire, illness, and starvation closing in, can Kiku survive long enough to be found?

Directed by Minetaro Hirai · Written by Tetsuo Yasumi