The film follows , a brilliant and precocious 4th-grade boy who lives his life with the rigor of a scientist. He spends his days documenting the world in his notebooks and calculating how many days are left until he becomes an adult.
: Exploring childhood curiosity, the first stirrings of love, and the realization of mortality.
: A stoic, highly logical 10-year-old who is determined to solve the penguin mystery.
: Aoyama's classmates who join him in investigating strange environmental phenomena, including a levitating sphere of water they find in the forest. Themes and Production
It received critical acclaim, winning the at the Fantasia International Film Festival.