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Riku wa Yowakunai Picture Book About Dogs Gets Anime Film
posted on by Alex Mateo
The picture book Riku wa Yowakunai by actor/author Shinobu Sakagami and illustrator Kunihiro Kawashima (also known as Cookie! of comedy duo Yasei Bakudan) is inspiring an anime film that will open this fall.
Based on Sakagami's own life, the story follows the carefree daily lives of a 5-year-old and a puppy named Riku. In addition to the Italian greyhound Riku, the characters include the chihuahua Tsutomu, the miniature dachshund Yōsuke, the French bulldog Maruchan, and the pug Paguzо̄. (In real life, Sakagami now lives with 14 dogs and four cats.)
Masatsugu Arakawa (Urahara) is directing the film at Kachidoki Studio and Jūmonji. Yū Saitо̄ is directing the sound at CHANCE iN. CHANCE iN is also charge of production with MMDGP and is distributing the film with Tokyo Theatres Company. Pilot footage from the production aired twice on two of Sakagami's programs, the Viking More talk show and the three-hour Sakagami Dōbutsu Ōkoku (Sakagami's Animal Kingdom) special, on Friday.
Sakagaki and Kawashima published the picture book in April 2020, and as of this month, the book has over 22,000 copies in circulation.
Source: Comic Natalie