Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysLGBTQ+ Pride MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko

Original title: Gyokou no Nikuko-chan
  • 20212021
  • 1h 37m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
344
YOUR RATING
Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (2021)
The story of a mother and daughter and their lives aboard a boat in a fishing town.
Play trailer1:26
1 Video
2 Photos
  • Animation
  • Comedy
  • Drama
The story of a mother and daughter and their lives aboard a boat in a fishing town.The story of a mother and daughter and their lives aboard a boat in a fishing town.The story of a mother and daughter and their lives aboard a boat in a fishing town.
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
344
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Ayumu Watanabe
  • Writers
    • Kanako Nishi(novel)
    • Satomi Ohshima(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Shinobu Ôtake(voice)
    • Cocomi(voice)
    • Natsuki Hanae(voice)
Top credits
  • Director
    • Ayumu Watanabe
  • Writers
    • Kanako Nishi(novel)
    • Satomi Ohshima(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Shinobu Ôtake(voice)
    • Cocomi(voice)
    • Natsuki Hanae(voice)
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 2User reviews
    • 22Critic reviews
    • 68Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 5 nominations

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:26
    Trailer

    Photos

    Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (2021)
    Add photo

    Top cast

    Edit
    Shinobu Ôtake
    • Nikuko
    • (voice)
    Cocomi
    • Kikuko
    • (voice)
    Natsuki Hanae
    Natsuki Hanae
    • Ninomiya
    • (voice)
    Ikuji Nakamura
    • Sassan
    • (voice)
    Izumi Ishii
    • Maria
    • (voice)
    Atsushi Yamanishi
    Atsushi Yamanishi
    • Zenji
    • (voice)
    Yûichi Yasoda
    • Suizokukan no ojisan
    • (voice)
    • …
    Hiro Shimono
    Hiro Shimono
    • Lizard
    • (voice)
    • …
    Matsuko Deluxe
    • Darcia
    • (voice)
    Riho Yoshioka
    • Miu
    • (voice)
    Karen Takizawa
    • Kamome
    • (voice)
    • Director
      • Ayumu Watanabe
    • Writers
      • Kanako Nishi(novel)
      • Satomi Ohshima(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Poupelle of Chimney Town
    6.3
    Poupelle of Chimney Town
    The House of the Lost on the Cape
    7.1
    The House of the Lost on the Cape
    Emma
    5.2
    Emma
    I Don't Have Any Money Left in My Retirement Account
    6.9
    I Don't Have Any Money Left in My Retirement Account
    The Bad Guys
    6.9
    The Bad Guys
    Lightyear
    5.3
    Lightyear
    Icarus
    7.3
    Icarus
    Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
    7.0
    Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
    Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
    7.4
    Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
    Le temps des secrets
    7.1
    Le temps des secrets
    Even Mice Belong in Heaven
    6.6
    Even Mice Belong in Heaven
    Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood
    7.3
    Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The fishing town where the story is set is a fictional location, based on the real-life Japanese fishing towns of Ishinomaki and Onagawa.
    • Connections
      Referenced in AniMat's Crazy Cartoon Cast: Across the Crazy-Verse (2021)
    • Soundtracks
      Imêji no uta
      (Theme song)

      Performed by Kurumi Inagaki

    User reviews2

    Review
    Top review
    Agreeable Japanese toon soaper.
    Director Ayumu Watanabe (Kaijû no kodomo / Children of the Sea) heads up the heirs of Studio Ghibli, here deploying people drawn in the style of Takahata's Hôhokekyo tonari no Yamada-kun/ My Neighbors the Yamadas or Omohide poro poro / Only Yesterday against realistic backgrounds for a coming of age soaper - the combination is unfamiliar and works out pretty well.

    Boyish Kikuko (voice Cocomi) tells us the story of traveling with her obese mother (Shinobu Ôtake) who pairs with a succession of no hopers. Mother and daughter land up living in a boat moored next to the small harbor cafe where Nikutu has a job. It looks like mum is pairing with another loser, making constant secret 'phone calls.

    Like Hana Sugisaki in Her Love Boils Bathwater, which this film's plot echoes at times, Kikuko is having a rough time with school mean girls. The boys are a dumb bunch she passes on her way home, excepting Ninomiya (Natsuki Hanae) whose way of dealing with life is pulling faces when no one is watching. The young people bond.

    The justification for animation is in the blob caricature of the gross mother, sometimes squashing other information out of the frame, crying rivers of tears and preparing and eating massive meals.

    One of the film's dominant features is this emphasis on food, from the opening with the butcher working on choice cuts through the fried bread breakfasts and celebratory steak and noodle meals. This is not a good movie for vegetarians.

    Personally I don't find drawn food all that apertising.

    More intriguing is the detail of the tiny port village. This element is dominated by the winning, big-hearted mother, who we keep on expecting to have a heart attack. The plot revelation inverts our estimate of her

    These mix with the coming of age theme all to produce something unexpected and winning.

    There are better animés about but this one is still pretty good.
    helpful•2
    4
    • Mozjoukine
    • Feb 25, 2022

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 11, 2021 (Japan)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Official sites
      • Official Site (Japan)
      • Official site (United States)
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • 漁港的肉子
    • Production company
      • Studio 4°C
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $87,363
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $14,303
      • Jun 5, 2022
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,754,881
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 37 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39:1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (2021)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (2021) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    Editors' Picks: What to Watch Now on Netflix
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    The Best Movies Coming This Summer
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.