Everybody, try laughing. Then whatever scares you will go away!
Welcome to probably the most beloved childhood anime, My Neighbour Totoro. The big fluffy country-side racoon that sleeps all the time will capture your heart will his big fluffy belly and stubby hands. If you loved watching Spirited Away and love to immerse yourself in the supernaturals, this anime may just be for you 😉
We start off with the Kusakabe family consisting of four members. Two daughters, Mei and Satsuki who are trouble makers from the start of the film. They were hiding from the “police” in the moving truck filled with furnitures. There’s also Tatsuo and Yasuko who are the parents. One has an eccentric personality while the other is as gentle as a feather. Who is who, you can see for yourself lol.
Another honourable mention is Kanta Ōkagi, who is a hardworking farm boy that has a big crush on one of the sisters wink wink. He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed but at least his heart is in the right place. He is always helping out the sisters when they are in trouble.
The new house that the Kusakabe family moves into is supposedly haunted. The first appearance of anything supernatural was the soot spreaders or dust bunnies as the children called them. They had fun having a wild goose chase to capture them, eventually figuring out they were low level spirits made up of soot.
After settling in, Mei was out and about on her adventurous acorn hunt in her backyard. She comes across a mini Totoro which lead her to find an even bigger Totoro. The chase led her to a secret passage which connects her backyard with the big ass tree. She follows the trail leading to the biggest Totoro that we all know and love.
Sleeping soundingly and squashily. Totoro was just a bundle of cuteness. Mei fell asleep on the big guy and eventually woke up in her backyard as Satsuki and her dad were trying to find her.
We discover that their mum is sick at the hospital with an unnamed illness. The kids desperately await for their mother to return home, brimming with hope. Until they get a notice from the hospital that her condition was getting worse and her return had to be postponed 😦
Like many kids, Mei goes off on her own to try find her mother. And she gets lost…… Satsuki asks for the help of Totoro and Catbus to search for her sister. Turns out she wasn’t really that far away lol.
I’m not sure if the was an LSD induced trip or a common Japanese folklore but nonetheless it was very cute and entertaining. Considering this anime was made nearly 20 years ago, the animation,song and storyline are incredibly well done.
Our plot twist Waifu, Totoro!
Anime Review Senpai 