Rieko Saibara is a cartoonist whose child-like art style belies the fact that her writings are usually meant for adults; parents in particular. With an incredibly economical use of panels, she’s able to convey some of her own deeply personal experiences—whether it be the separation from her husband or raising her kids—in a way that people really seem to relate to on a visceral level. In 2006 she released her first full picture book, Ikechan to Boku (Ikechan and Boku): the story of a young boy named Yoshio who meets a strange creature named Ikechan that always stays by his side and protects him. They fight from time to time, like when Ikechan gets a bit too smothering for Yoshio’s liking, but they generally share a loving relationship. Then one day when Yoshio gets a little older, Ikechan suddenly vanishes from his sight.

The live-action version is directed by Toshihiko Ooka and stars Arashi Fukasawa as Yoshio with Yu Aoi providing Ikechan’s voice. Filming recently wrapped and a press event was held two weeks ago to publicize Aoi’s involvement for the first time. Fukasawa and Saibara also attended. You can watch a clip of the event after the break.

Obviously, similar stories have been done a million times (Doraemon springs to mind), but this one shouldn’t be brushed off as just another kids-only fantasy flick. Assuming the film stays loyal to the book, the relationship between Ikechan and Boku has a certain metaphorical meaning that has a tendency to make people start bawling as soon as they connect the dots. I’m sure this movie will be marketed to kids (it does feature a cute little color-shifting blob, after all), but it’s probably going to end up leaving a more lasting impression on their parents.

Here is the first production still released for the film:

Press event clip:

Links:
Official website
Rieko Saibara’s blog
Article - “Rebel” cartoonist Rieko Saibara @ The Japan Times

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Tags: aiko miyamoto, arashi fukasawa, asami itou, chisun, fuyuki moto, hibiki uemura, hitomi ohki, ikechan to boku, kazuko yoshiyuki, kazuya kitadai, masato hagiwara, misako renbutsu, nita nicholson, noboru mine, noriko eguchi, noriko emoto, rie tomosaka, rieko saibara, rintaro nakamura, seiko takuma, sosuke ikematsu, sumiko yamada, takashi okamura, takeshi kubota, tatsuto muranaka, tokio emoto, toshihiko ooka, yu aoi, yudai shirakawa