# Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (漁港の肉子ちゃん)
**Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko** (漁港の肉子ちゃん, *Gyokou no Nikuko-chan*) is a 2021 Japanese animated comedy-drama film directed by Ayumu Watanabe and produced by [Studio 4°C](https://www.edgepedia.org/studio-4-c), adapted from Kanako Nishi's best-selling novel of the same title. It follows the boisterous, food-loving single mother Nikuko and her reserved 11-year-old daughter Kikuko, who live together on a boat in a small northern fishing port.[1](https://www.studio4c.co.jp/works/en/pages/53.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Japanese release | June 11, 2021; 97 minutes; distributed by Asmik Ace[2](https://jfdb.jp/title/9456) |
| Source | Novel *Gyoko no Nikuko-chan* by Kanako Nishi (Gentosha Bunko), published in 2011, over 350,000 copies sold[3](https://www.j-mediaarts.jp/en/award/single/fortune-favors-lady-nikuko/index-2.html) • [4](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2021/06/10/films/film-reviews/ayumu-watanabe-fortune-favors-lady-nikuko/) |
| Director | Ayumu Watanabe (*Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006*, *Children of the Sea*)[1](https://www.studio4c.co.jp/works/en/pages/53.html) |
| Producer | Sanma Akashiya, who planned and produced the film five years after first offering the adaptation to Nishi[3](https://www.j-mediaarts.jp/en/award/single/fortune-favors-lady-nikuko/index-2.html) |
| Lead cast | Shinobu Otake as Nikuko, Cocomi as Kikuko, Natsuki Hanae as Ninomiya[1](https://www.studio4c.co.jp/works/en/pages/53.html) |
| Animation | Studio 4°C; character design and supervising animation direction by Kenichi Konishi[1](https://www.studio4c.co.jp/works/en/pages/53.html) |
| Recognition | 2021 Annecy Official Selection; Excellence Prize, 25th Japan Media Arts Festival Animation Division; Annie Award nomination for Best Independent Animated Feature[2](https://jfdb.jp/title/9456) • [3](https://www.j-mediaarts.jp/en/award/single/fortune-favors-lady-nikuko/index-2.html) |
## Spoilers
### Story
Nikuko is easygoing, cheerful, passionate about food, and repeatedly falls for unreliable men, being deceived by each in turn. After every heartbreak she moves with her daughter Kikuko to a new town, until the pair drifts to a small fishing port in northern Japan. There Nikuko takes a job at a yakiniku restaurant called Uwogashi run by Sassan, a widower, and mother and daughter begin living on the fishing boat he owns. Kikuko, a fifth grader on the verge of puberty, transfers into the local elementary school and gradually settles into the town while navigating friendships and her classmate Ninomiya, an unusual boy.[5](https://www.cinematoday.jp/movie/T0025936) • [3](https://www.j-mediaarts.jp/en/award/single/fortune-favors-lady-nikuko/index-2.html)
The two have little in common except living together on the boat at the port, and the story turns on a secret from the past that is revealed and reshapes their relationship.[1](https://www.studio4c.co.jp/works/en/pages/53.html) Nikuko's motto, "Being ordinary is best of all!", runs through the film as her answer to life's setbacks.[1](https://www.studio4c.co.jp/works/en/pages/53.html)
## Production
The film was planned and produced by the comedian Sanma Akashiya, his first production of an animated feature, working from Nishi's novel.[6](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/9456) The Japan Media Arts Festival jury notes that the adaptation took five years from Akashiya's offer to Nishi before reaching the screen.[3](https://www.j-mediaarts.jp/en/award/single/fortune-favors-lady-nikuko/index-2.html)
Studio 4°C handled animation and production design, with Ayumu Watanabe directing after his acclaimed *Children of the Sea* (2019). Kenichi Konishi (*The Tale of Princess Kaguya*, *Children of the Sea*) served as character designer and supervising animation director, Shinji Kimura as art director, Satomi Ohshima wrote the screenplay, and Takatsugu Muramatsu composed the score.[1](https://www.studio4c.co.jp/works/en/pages/53.html) • [5](https://www.cinematoday.jp/movie/T0025936) The theme song "Image no Uta" was performed by Rui Inagai, with lyrics and music by [Takuro Yoshida](https://www.edgepedia.org/takuro-yoshida), and GReeeeN provided sound production and the ending theme "Taketen".[7](https://29kochanmovie.com/sp/)
Shinobu Otake, a film and stage actress, voiced Nikuko; the flutist and model Cocomi made her voice-acting debut as Kikuko.[3](https://www.j-mediaarts.jp/en/award/single/fortune-favors-lady-nikuko/index-2.html) The supporting cast includes [Natsuki Hanae](https://www.edgepedia.org/natsuki-hanae) as Ninomiya, Ikuji Nakamura as Sassan, Izumi Ishii as Maria, Hiro Shimono as the lizard and gecko, Matsuko Deluxe as the medium Dalicia, and Riho Yoshioka as Miyu.[5](https://www.cinematoday.jp/movie/T0025936)
## Style and reception
The film draws a deliberate contrast in drawing styles: most characters are rendered realistically, while the large-bodied Nikuko is drawn far more cartoonishly, a choice the Japan Media Arts Festival citation describes as blending surprisingly well into the realistic, color-rich port town, alongside cutaways in which natural creatures speak.[3](https://www.j-mediaarts.jp/en/award/single/fortune-favors-lady-nikuko/index-2.html) • [8](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/fortune-favours-lady-nikuko-playful-anime) Andrew Osmond, reviewing for the [British Film Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-film-institute)'s *Sight and Sound*, read the film as a playful response to [Studio Ghibli](https://www.edgepedia.org/studio-ghibli), noting overt jokes about *My Neighbor Totoro* and a closer kinship to [Isao Takahata](https://www.edgepedia.org/isao-takahata)'s *Only Yesterday* in its grade-school scenes and celebration of daily life.[8](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/fortune-favours-lady-nikuko-playful-anime)
On review aggregation, the film holds a 92% Tomatometer from 24 critics and an 85% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a Metascore of 68 on Metacritic, rated generally favorable.[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fortune_favors_lady_nikuko) • [10](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fortune-favors-lady-nikuko/critic-reviews/) Critics singled out its honest treatment of adolescence and parent-child dynamics; *The New York Times* review dissented, arguing that Nikuko is repeatedly made the butt of the joke.[10](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fortune-favors-lady-nikuko/critic-reviews/)
## Awards and festival history
The film premiered internationally in the Official Selection of the 2021 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, screened in the feature competition at the Ottawa International Animation Festival, and received a Special Mention in the Axis section of the 2021 Fantasia International Film Festival.[2](https://jfdb.jp/title/9456) It won the Excellence Prize in the Animation Division of the 25th Japan Media Arts Festival (2022) and the Excellent Animation Work Award at the 45th Japan Academy Prize (2022), and was nominated for the Annie Award for Best Independent Animated Feature.[2](https://jfdb.jp/title/9456) • [3](https://www.j-mediaarts.jp/en/award/single/fortune-favors-lady-nikuko/index-2.html) • [11](https://eiga.com/movie/94403/)
## Distribution
After its Japanese theatrical run, the film reached international audiences through GKIDS in North America and Madman in Australia and New Zealand in 2022.[12](https://www.flicks.co.uk/movie/fortune-favours-lady-nikuko/) In 2025, [Warner Bros. Discovery](https://www.edgepedia.org/warner-bros-discovery) announced that the film's North American streaming debut would come to [HBO Max](https://www.edgepedia.org/hbo-max) as part of its expanded GKIDS partnership.[13](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/anime-shows/hbo-max-is-getting-some-anime-classics-that-will-break-your-heart-including-one-never-before-seen-on-streaming/)
## References
1. [Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko, STUDIO4°C WORKS](https://www.studio4c.co.jp/works/en/pages/53.html)
2. [漁港の肉子ちゃん, Japanese Film Database (JFDB)](https://jfdb.jp/title/9456)
3. [第25回日本メディアアーツ祭 アニメーション部門 優秀賞「漁港の肉子ちゃん」, Japan Media Arts Festival](https://www.j-mediaarts.jp/en/award/single/fortune-favors-lady-nikuko/index-2.html)
4. [Matt Schley, "'Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko': What it lacks in conflict, it makes up for with heart", The Japan Times, June 10, 2021](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2021/06/10/films/film-reviews/ayumu-watanabe-fortune-favors-lady-nikuko/)
5. [漁港の肉子ちゃん (2021)：キャスト・あらすじ・作品情報, Cinema Today](https://www.cinematoday.jp/movie/T0025936)
6. [Gyoko no Nikuko-chan, JFDB (English)](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/9456)
7. [劇場アニメ映画『漁港の肉子ちゃん』公式サイト](https://29kochanmovie.com/sp/)
8. [Andrew Osmond, "Fortune Favours Lady Nikuko: a playful response to Studio Ghibli", Sight and Sound, BFI, August 9, 2022](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/fortune-favours-lady-nikuko-playful-anime)
9. [Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fortune_favors_lady_nikuko)
10. [Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fortune-favors-lady-nikuko/critic-reviews/)
11. [漁港の肉子ちゃん：作品情報, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/94403/)
12. [Fortune Favours Lady Nikuko, Flicks](https://www.flicks.co.uk/movie/fortune-favours-lady-nikuko/)
13. [HBO Max is getting some anime classics, GamesRadar, August 2025](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/anime-shows/hbo-max-is-getting-some-anime-classics-that-will-break-your-heart-including-one-never-before-seen-on-streaming/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Japanese anime features › Released 2014 to 2026*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license