ANI-MOVIES, *Okko's Inn

Okko's Inn was a kid's novel series by Hiroko Reijō that ran throughout the early 21st Century. It was popular enough to get its own girls manga, and in the summer of 2018 received the rare opportunity to have a simultaneously released anime TV and movie premiere. The TV series adaptation was stretched out into 24 episodes, but the movie got its release halfway during the series run, so it allowed viewers to pick which version they wanted. The movie is not a compilation film using footage from the TV anime, and both were animated by Studio Madhouse, so the main difference in quality is divided between theatrical quality and a weekly anime series. So far, only the anime movie has gotten an English release through GKids, making it the primary source to investigating.

A young girl nicknamed Okko has her parents killed in an auto accident, and now she lives with her surviving grandmother in her hot spring inn. Okko is surprised to find her new home is inhabited by Uribo, a boy ghost that had been watching over Okko's granny since they were both young, but the annoying kid is able to communicate with her since he saved her life in the same accident that took her parents. Okko also gets visited by the dead older sister of a neighboring rival innkeeper, along with a bell demon that was sealed up in a box who ends up nabbing most of her desserts. Throughout the movie run, you can see Okko being introduced to new characters like fortune tellers that leave an impact on her hidden coping with the loss in her life, and how she is gaining a new family with her grandma and new ghost friends. The supernatural angle does take a decided absense from the plot when Okko encounters the family that caused her original accident, so its paranormal elements get used more as a plot motivator instead of being the main drive of the film.

You can tell that Madhouse felt the need to compartmentalize the movie adaptation into a series of various segments where as the TV series was more freedom to stretch the story out over an entire show. On its own, Okko's Inn is a family-friendly feature that introduces children to the concept of letting go of their pasts while making plans for the future of themselves and family.