A Letter to Momo Review

5 stars for this charming and emotional story of love, loss and discovery.

A Letter to Momo is written and directed by Hiroyuki Okiura (Akira) and is produced by Production I.G. (Ghost In The Shell, Miss Hokusai).

“Dear Momo…”

This is a truly charming tale, telling us the story of a young girl named Momo (Karen Miyama – Fatal Frame). After the tragic death of her father, Momo has been forced to move from her home in Tokyo to the tiny and remote Shio island, to share a house with her mother Ikuko (Yuka – Strange Circus) and her mother’s Aunt (Ikuko Tani – Naruto: Shippuden) and Uncle (Yoshisada Sakaguchi – Appleseed).

Momo is trying to recover from her father’s death, as the last time she saw him they argued and has found a letter from him, which says simply “Dear Momo”. She wants more than anything to know what it was he was trying to say to her. She is struggling to fit into her new environment and matters are not helped when she finds an old picture book in the attic of the house.

Shortly afterwards she begins to hear strange voices and see shadows running around the house. She soon realises she is in the company of three mischievous Yokai, Iwa (Toshiyuki Nishida – The Ramen Girl), Kawa (Kôichi Yamadera – Ghost In the Shell) and Mame (Cho – One Piece Strong World), that only she can see.

These rascals have been causing all sorts of havoc on the island, as they are obsessed with food and have been raiding the crops, including those of mailman Koichi (Takeo Ogawa – It’s On Me), a childhood friend of her mother and his kids, Yota (Kota Fuji) and Umi (Katsuki Hashimoto).

Momo really has her work cut out for her trying to keep them under control, but it just might be possible that they hold the key to her father’s last words to her.

A Letter to Momo is a brilliant film. As you would expect from Production I.G., the animation is fabulous, excellent realism combined with crazy looking creatures and sweeping fantasy vistas.

The story is also really good, both heart-warming and heart-breaking in places, but always fascinating and always a pleasure to watch. This is a must own for anime fans, well worth adding to your collection.

“This is Momo. She’s totally weird, but cool. Say Hi…”

A Letter to Momo is available to buy now on Collector’s Edition and standard DVD.