Good Bye My Secret Friend (2009)

Based on the heartwarming debut picture book from well-known manga artist Saibara Rieko (‘Everyday Mom’). Popular child actor Fukazawa Arashi (Helen and the Baby Fox) stars as a boy who enjoys an affectionate relationship with the strange little creature Ike-chan in this touching drama. Good Bye, My Secret Friend marks commercial director Oooka Toshihiko’s feature film debut, for which he also wrote the screenplay. Able to change color and shape at will, Ike-chan is warmly rendered with the latest CGI techniques, creating a fantasy world touched with the bittersweet pain of real life. Yoshio (Fukazawa) is a very impressionable 9-year-old boy who’s always accompanied by a strange little creature named Ike-chan (voiced by Aoi Yu) that only he can see. Ike-chan comforts Yoshio when he’s bullied at school and gives him courage when he’s scared of being alone at night. On the other hand, when Yoshio becomes friendly with girls, Ike-chan turns bright red with anger. Ike-chan helps Yoshio overcome the problems of childhood, but as Yoshio gets older Ike-chan gradually disappears from sight.