Anime Fantasy

Textbook Character Korasho Stars in February Anime Film

The anime film Eiga Korasho no Kaitei Wakuwaku Daibouken! (Movie: Korasho's Exciting Under-the-Sea Adventure!) will open in Japan on February 1. The character Korosho, a spirit of a randshell backpack, is from Benesse's Shinken Zemi Shogaku Kōza correspondence course for early elementary schoolers.

Yoshiaki Okumura (Antique Bakery, Monsuno) is directing the anime at TMS Entertainment and Mitsutaka Hirota(Anime-Gataris, Nanbaka) is writing the script. Shintarō Aoki is composing the music. The film is a collaboration with the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) and Team Kuroshio, a team of researchers and engineers dedicated to studying the ocean floor.

The cast includes Ikue Ōtani (Pokémon's Pikachu), Akemi Okamura (One Piece's Nami), Satomi Moriya, Kenji Hamada, and Yuki Masuda. Comedian Yoshio Kojima will voice film-original character Note.

This year marks Korosho's 20th anniversary. Korosho first debuted in 1998 in Benesse's Challenge textbooks for its Shinken Zemi Shogaku Kōza correspondence courses. (The character's name is a synonym for "challenge.") The character previously appeared in an educational anime DVD in 2007.

Benesse's best-known character is most likely Shimajirō from its its young child education brand "Kodomo Challenge." The tiger character has starred in multiple anime series and films, including a film slated for next March. Benesse has also produced anime shorts and manga for middle schoolers and high schoolers.

Sources: Korosho film's website, PR Times, Cinema Today