Little Forest

For the South Korean film adaptation, see Little Forest (film).

Little Forest
Cover of the first volume
リトル・フォレスト
(Ritoru Foresuto)
GenreSlice of life
Manga
Written byDaisuke Igarashi
Published byKodansha
MagazineMonthly Afternoon
Original runOctober 25, 2002 – May 25, 2005
Volumes2
Live-action film
Little Forest: Summer/Autumn
Directed byJunichi Mori
Produced by
  • Keiichiro Moriya
  • Satoko Ishida
Written byJunichi Mori
Music byYuri Miyauchi
Studio
ReleasedAugust 30, 2014 (2014-08-30)
Runtime111 minutes
Live-action film
Little Forest: Winter/Spring
Directed byJunichi Mori
Produced by
  • Keiichiro Moriya
  • Satoko Ishida
Written byJunichi Mori
Music byYuri Miyauchi
Studio
ReleasedFebruary 14, 2015 (2015-02-14)
Runtime120 minutes

Little Forest (Japanese: リトル・フォレスト, Hepburn: Ritoru Foresuto) is a Japanese slice of life manga series written and illustrated by Daisuke Igarashi. It was serialized in Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon magazine from October 2002 to May 2005, with its chapters collected in two tankōbon volumes. A two-part live-action film adaptation premiered in Japan on August 2014 and February 2015, and a live-action Korean adaptation was released on February 2018.

Plot

The manga is set in the Tōhoku region. It is about a young girl 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[1][2]
Yūta (ユウ太)
Portrayed by: Takahiro Miura[2]
Kikko (キッコ)
Portrayed by: Mayu Matsuoka[2]
Shigeyuki (シゲユキ)
Portrayed by: Yōichi Nukumizu[2]
Sachiko (福子)
Portrayed by: Karen Kirishima[2]

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Daisuke Igarashi, Little Forest was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon from October 25, 2002,[a] to May 25, 2005.[b] Kodansha collected its chapters in two tankōbon volumes, released on August 21, 2004,[3] and August 21, 2005.[5]

Live-action films

A two-part live-action film adaptation was announced on January 2014.[7] 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.[7] 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.[8]

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.[9]

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.[10] It was also screened in the Kulinarisches Kino (Culinary Cinema) section at the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival.[11]

A Korean live-action film adaptation, titled Little Forest and directed by Yim Soon-rye, was released on February 28, 2018.[12]

Reception

The manga was one of the finalists at the 10th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.[13]

Notes

  1. ^ Debuted in the magazine's December 2002 issue,[3] released on October 25, 2002.[4]
  2. ^ Finished in the magazine's July 2005 issue,[5] released on May 25, 2005.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Hashimoto Ai cast in 'Little Forest' movie alongside Amachan costar". tokyohive. 6Theory Media, LLC. January 18, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e "五十嵐大介「リトル・フォレスト」映画化、主演は橋本愛". Natalie.mu (in Japanese). January 18, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  3. ^ a b リトル・フォレスト（１） (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on October 20, 2025. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  4. ^ アフタヌーン2002年12号詳細情報. manganetto.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 4, 2026. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  5. ^ a b リトル・フォレスト（２） (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on March 4, 2026. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  6. ^ ５月２５日の雑誌. Jbook (in Japanese). Archived from the original on June 2, 2005. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  7. ^ a b "Igarashi Daisuke's Little Forest Manga Gets Live-Action Film". Anime News Network. January 18, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  8. ^ "FLOWER FLOWER、五十嵐大介原作映画に主題歌4曲" [Flower Flower writes four theme songs for a film for Daisuke Igarashi's works.] (in Japanese). Natalie. June 4, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  9. ^ "All the films of the 62nd edition". San Sebastian Film Festival. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  10. ^ "橋本愛、海女の次は山？ 「あまちゃん」舞台・岩手県で新作映画...異例の4部作に". Cinema café (in Japanese). January 18, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  11. ^ "Little Forest". Programme. Berlin International Film Festival. August 25, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  12. ^ "韓国版『リトル・フォレスト』日本版とココが違う！". Cinema Today (in Japanese). February 21, 2018. Archived from the original on January 11, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  13. ^ "10th Osamu Tezuka Cultural Award Finalists Announced". Anime News Network. April 8, 2006. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
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