Little Forest (Japanese: リトル・フォレスト, Hepburn: Ritoru Foresuto) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Daisuke Igarashi. It was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon from October 2002 to May 2005, with its chapters collected in two tankōbon volumes. A two-part live action film adaptation premiered in Japan in August 2014 and February 2015, and a live action Korean adaptation was released in February 2018.
Plot
The manga is set in the Tōhoku region. It is about a young girl named Ichiko who returned to Tōhoku, her hometown, after a series of heartbreaking encounters that had happened to her life in the big city. She returned to her and her mother's old house, farming the land and living in accordance with the changing four seasons. Later, she received a letter from her mother and decided to try to "make it" in the city again before settling down and living as a farmer permanently in Tōhoku.
Characters
- Ichiko (いち子)
- Portrayed by: Ai Hashimoto
- Yūta (ユウ太)
- Portrayed by: Takahiro Miura
- Kikko (キッコ)
- Portrayed by: Mayu Matsuoka
- Shigeyuki (シゲユキ)
- Portrayed by: Yoichi Nukumizu
- Sachiko (福子)
- Portrayed by: Karen Kirishima
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Daisuke Igarashi, Little Forest was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon from October 25, 2002, to May 25, 2005. Kodansha collected its chapters in two tankōbon volumes, released on August 23, 2004, and August 23, 2005.
Live action films
A two-part live action film adaptation was announced in January 2014. They were directed and written by Junichi Mori. Food director Yuri Nomura supervised food production, and coached Ai Hashimoto on her cooking in the films. Principal photography lasted one year, with Ōshū, Iwate being one of the places shot on location. The band Flower Flower, led by singer-songwriter Yui, wrote four theme songs for the films, one for each season.
The first film, titled Little Forest: Summer/Autumn (リトル・フォレスト 夏/秋, Ritoru Foresuto: Natsu/Aki), premiered in Japan on August 30, 2014. It was also screened in the Culinary Zinema (Film and Gastronomy) section at the 2014 San Sebastián International Film Festival.
The second film, titled Little Forest: Winter/Spring (リトル・フォレスト 冬/春, Ritoru Foresuto: Fuyu/Haru), premiered in Japan on February 14, 2015. It was also screened in the Kulinarisches Kino (Culinary Cinema) section at the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival.
A Korean live action film adaptation, titled Little Forest and directed by Yim Soon-rye, was released on February 28, 2018.
Reception
The manga was one of the finalists at the 10th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.
