by Banana Yoshimoto’s novel “The Life of a Daisy” has been decided to be released as a theatrical animation in 2026.
It is based on a novel by Banana Yoshimoto, a best-selling author whose work has been translated and published in over 30 countries and has sold over 7 million copies. It was serialized in the monthly magazine “CUT” from November 1998 to January 2000. Nara Yoshitomo drew the images evoked by reading Yoshimoto’s novel and Banana Yoshimoto’s writing while imagining the power of the pictures.
The story born from such a soulful exchange will be made into a film by Masaaki Yuasa, who has worked on “Ping Pong THE ANIMATION” and “Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!” and was nominated for the 80th Golden Globe Award for “Inu-oh.” As the first work of his studio, Ame Pippin, which he founded in February 2025, he will challenge a new visual experience with fantastical images.
The screenplay is written by Sachiko Tanaka, who has worked on screenplays for director Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s “The Walking Invader” and director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Asleep or Awake.” This is her first animation script. The childhood characters were created based on the original illustrations by Yoshitomo Nara, whose works are in the collections of major art museums worldwide and are immensely popular in Asia.
This is the first time a work written initially by Yoshimoto has been made into an animation. The film has also been selected for the “Work in Progress” category at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2025, the world’s largest animation film festival. On June 13th local time, Director Yuasa and others will take the stage to give a presentation on the film, which is currently in production, to local fans and stakeholders worldwide. Hinagiku lost her only family member, her mother, in an accident when she was young. On a long, lonely rainy season night, the little Hinagiku plays a recorder alone. Her best friend Dahlia comes to her when she hears the sound and is the only one who supports her.
A dozen years have passed since Dahlia left for her mother’s hometown in Brazil. Now an adult, Hinagiku lives with her uncle and aunt in a restaurant where she makes yakisoba noodles. One day during the rainy season, in the pouring rain, just like the night she lost her mother, a letter arrived from Brazil. It describes the mysterious connection between two lonely souls who were far apart and would never meet again. Comments have also been received from Yoshimoto, Tanaka, and Director Yuasa regarding the decision to make the film an animated movie. [Comments]
Banana Yoshimoto (original author): It was my dream to have Director Yuasa, who always seems to be looking at the same thing, film me! Director Yuasa is someone who can truly express “movement.” I am happy to be able to see the moment when the inner thoughts of each of the characters become movement.
Sachiko Tanaka (screenplay), Director Yuasa, Banana’s original work, and Nara’s characters! I am very honored to be involved in this project. I desperately wanted to capture the director’s overflowing imagination, the kindness, delicacy, and strength of human beings, and the inner workings of the protagonist’s heart.
There are so many things I want to cherish. Director Masaaki Yuasa’s Banana’s novel evokes images from beginning to end. While there are vivid and scary parts, the final part is very pleasing, like something I had dreamed about long ago. I want to portray the life of a yakisoba shop owner in a downtown area with a radius of about 100 meters on a cosmic scale.
