Nishinippon Broadcasting

This genre-defying film is set in a near-future world dominated by machinery. Kokone ought to be focusing on her university entrance exams, but she keeps drifting off to sleep. Beyond wasting precious study time, her napping proves even more troublesome because it triggers strange dreams filled with battling machines—dreams that point to long-buried family secrets. She cannot turn to her father, a hipster mechanic whose talent and artistry far exceed what his job demands, since he is perpetually lost in his own whimsical projects modifying motorcycles and cars. What are these visions that simultaneously draw Kokone closer to her family and push her further away? Like the finest anime, this film revels in layered fantasy to reveal how opposites—waking and dreaming, the past and the future—are often far more connected than they seem.

Souta Tawara leaves behind the chaos of Tokyo, returning to his hometown in Kagawa Prefecture, where the memories of his family remain despite their absence. When he visits his childhood home and the family-run udon shop, he discovers a small, disheveled boy sleeping inside the restaurant. At first, Souta simply gives the boy some food and clothes without much thought. But then the child suddenly develops furry ears and a tail, revealing himself to be the legendary shape-shifting tanuki that has lived in Kagawa for centuries. Feeling compassion for the seemingly lonely being, Souta decides to take the boy in and names him Poko. "Poco's Udon World" follows the growing relationship between Souta and Poko. As they spend more time together, Souta reflects on his past, the home he left behind for city life, and his connection with his father.