Daisuke Igarashi

Fleeing heartbreak in the big city, Ichiko returns to Komori, her rural hometown. She battles summer's rain and humidity, bakes her own bread, grows hothouse tomatoes and tills the fields. During autumn, the time for pickling and preserving fish and sweet potatoes, Ichiko begins reaping rice and recalls her departure five years before.

A young woman leaves the city to return to her hometown in the countryside. Seeking to escape the hustle and bustle of the city, she becomes self-sufficient in a bid to reconnect with nature.

Ruka is a young girl whose parents are separated and whose father works in an aquarium. When two boys, Umi and Sora, who were raised in the sea by dugongs, are brought to the aquarium, Ruka feels drawn to them and begins to realize that she has the same sort of supernatural connection to the ocean that they do. Umi and Sora's special power seems to be connected to strange events that have been occurring more and more frequently, such as the appearance of sea creatures far from their home territory and the disappearance of aquarium animals around the world. However, the exact nature of the boys' power and of the abnormal events is unknown, and Ruka gets drawn into investigating the mystery that surrounds her new friends.

Ichiko bakes a cake for an end-of-year party with her friends. In the depths of winter, making mochi and curry keeps the people of Komori warm. Later, spring brings thoughts of her absent mother as well as rice planting and sakura, and she begins to think of leaving Komori behind again.

Urasawa Naoki no Manben (Naoki Urasawa's Manga Exertions) is a TV Documentary airing on NHK Educational TV. It follows acclaimed mangaka Naoki Urasawa (creator of 20th Century Boys and Monster) as he sets out to break new ground for manga even further than he already has. In an attempt to educate viewers about manga and preserve the intricate craftsmanship and process of Japanese artists on video for future generations, he invites a manga artist to have their workplace filmed for a couple of days, so as to display them in the process of crafting chapters for their current serializations. After the footage has been shot, Urasawa meets with the artist and they discuss the footage, talking about the artist's workplace and workflow, the difficulties involved in the mangaka lifestyle, their reasons for drawing manga in the first place, and their perspective on the current industry and their own work.

In the small Komori village, Ichiko unexpectedly returns from the city and begins a self-sufficient life. From sweet rice drinks on hot summer days to autumn braises, winter dumpling soups, and spring potato salads, she cooks daily with homegrown crops and vegetables. Through these meals, memories of her mother and long-forgotten times resurface.

Labelled with the titles "Marine Mammal", "Ocean", "Life", "Myth", "Dialogue", and "Universe", six tapes containing video recordings of interviews with renown experts have been left behind by a man who has disappeared. The man's younger sister ascertains the man has gone to Micronesia. This is a hybrid documentary and drama combining real interviews and a fictional framing narrative, produced by STUDIO4°C as a tie-in with their animated movie of the comic "Children of the Sea" by Igarashi Daisuke.