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Kakurenbo: Hide & Seek (カクレンボ, Kakurenbo ^?, lit. "Hide and Seek") is a Japanese cel-shaded anime short film written and directed by Shuuhei Morita.

The film is based around "Otokoyo", a game of hide and seek played by children near the ruins of an abandoned old city. The children who play this disappear, believed to be spirited away by demons. Kakurenbo follows Hikora, a boy who joins the game with hopes of finding his missing sister. The story line is built on the idea that Tokyo is losing its natural aesthetic, which includes child's games such as hide and seek in order for industrial progress to ensue i.e. lighting the city of Tokyo costing innocence of childhood games.

Characters

• Hikora (ヒコラ ^?). The young boy who plays the game to find his missing sister.
• Sorincha (ソリンチャ ^?). Hikora's sister. In the film it is implied that she is the oni although it is never proven.
• Yaimao (ヤイマオ ^?). Hikora's best friend who plays the game to lend a hand in finding Sorincha.
• Noshiga (ノシガ ^?). The leader of his little gang who claims is not afraid of demons.
• Tachiji (タチジ ^?). One of the members in Noshiga's gang. He has blond hair and wears glasses.
• Suku (スク ^?). Another member of Noshiga's gang. He is short and has a large, red scarf.
• Inmu (インム ^?) and Yanku (ヤンク ^?). Twin brothers whose reason for playing is a mystery.

Demons

Once the eight children pass through the gates to enter the abandoned street, they are pursued by four different demons and then finally by the one who is "it".^[1]

• Kimotori (肝取り ^?). The liver taker (a strange red humanoid)
• Chitori (血取り ^?). The blood taker (a horned lion that wears a tarp over its back)
• Aburatori (油取り ^?). The oil taker (two small, identical demons, one sitting on a cart, and the other pulling said cart)
• Kotori (子取り ^?). The child taker ( spider-like demon with eight arms)
• Oni ("it"). The demon, or ogre. It takes the form of Hikora's sister and wears a fox mask, which changes into an oni mask that the person who is "it" wears. Its true face is never seen. Oni means the one who is "it" in tag.

Reception

Kakurenbo premiered in March 2005 at the Tokyo International Anime Fair, where it won the award for Notable Entry in the General Category. In Korea, it received a Best Film Nomination at the Seoul Comics and Animation Festival. It then went on to win Best Short film at the Fantasia Festival in Montreal.

References

External links

• Official website
• Kakurenbo: Hide & Seek at the Internet Movie Database
• Kakurenbo: Hide & Seek at Allmovie
• Kakurenbo (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia