Based on the original work by Kenji Miyazawa, <The Life of Budori Gusuko> is the latest animated feature by the legendary Sugui Gisaburo. The film has garnered a great deal of attention as a production by the same crew behind <Night on the Galactic Railroad>, an exemplar of Gisaburo’s work. Budori, who used to live in the forest of Ihatove happily with his parents and younger sister Neri, loses them in a storm and his sister to a kidnapping. When Budori grows into a young man, he begins working at the Volcano Department. Once again, a storm is approaching. To prevent widespread damage, the Volcano Department needs a volunteer to stay behind and induce an eruption. Budori agrees, the memory of losing his family still heartbreaking. Gisaburo clearly put a great deal of thought into how to deliver the themes of self-sacrifice and communion with nature that are felt throughout Miyazawa’s work in his own animation. It is one of the reasons Nature and the forest of Ihatove are portrayed so magnificently. (KIM Ji-Seok)