Darcia (voice)
Nikuko is a brash, jolly, scattered, and passionate woman in an otherwise sleepy seaside town in northern Japan. She’s also the single mother of 11-year-old Kikuko, who is her opposite in many ways. Kikuko is a string-bean of a young girl, pensive, quietly curious, and methodical in how she approaches life in this small harbor town. Nikuko embarrasses Kikuko as any mom of a preteen would, but Nikuko’s bold spirit makes her especially well-known in a town where Kikuko herself wants nothing more than to simply blend in. As Kikuko navigates the everyday social dramas of middle school, enhanced with touches of magical realism from her ever-present imagination, a shocking revelation from the past threatens to uproot the pair’s tender relationship.
Bakabon (Okarina) lives with his Papa (Ueda Shinya), Mama (Matsushita Nao) and younger brother Hajime-chan (Hayasaka Hirara). His bumbling Papa is a free spirit, hates lies and does not have a regular job while his beautiful, kind Mama lovingly watches over Papa. Honest and naive Bakabon and child genius Hajime-chan love him too. The family gets along well and lives happily. One trouble after another occurs around Papa and people get caught up in the uproar. Strangely enough, the bonds of the respective families deepen right after that. One day, when Papa is on a bus, an elderly lady gets a phone call. She is asked to bring money to her grandchild. It seems that she is being cheated in a “It’s me, It’s me!” scam. While the passengers on the bus are worrying for the elderly lady, Papa declares all of a sudden, “Leave it to me!” When Papa and the elderly lady get off the bus, she gets another phone call pestering her for money. Papa takes the phone and announces, “I’m Bakabon’s Papa!”
