OVA
Description
Saburo Takada arrives as a transfer student at a small rural school beside a mountain stream, his move prompted by his father's work with a mining company. His reddish hair and refined city clothing—dark gray jacket, white short pants, and reddish leather shoes—immediately set him apart from the village children. His polished, proper demeanor reinforces this impression of unfamiliarity.
On September 1, the day after summer vacation ends, a sudden, powerful gust shakes the school doors and rattles the surroundings. This event leads fourth-grader Kasuke to speculate that Saburo is "Matasaburo of the Wind," a wind spirit or the wind god's son, linking him to local folklore. This suspicion persists throughout Saburo's brief enrollment, reinforced by peculiar incidents.
The village children's relationship with Saburo develops through shared activities and conflicts. During an outing to grape bushes on September 5, Saburo inadvertently picks a tobacco leaf from a field monitored by the Monopoly Bureau. Reprimanded by a classmate, he reacts with visible anger and embarrassment, placing the leaf at a tree base before walking away. Later, while playing at the river where adults used dynamite to stun fish, the children gathered the fish into a rock preserve. When a Monopoly Bureau agent disturbs the preserve, the children—led by sixth-grader Ichirou—rally protectively around Saburo, encircling him in a tree and shouting until the agent departs. This incident shifts their dynamic toward collective guardianship.
Saburo's time at the school lasts only ten days. His departure coincides with Ichirou awakening on September 12 from a dream of a song attributed to Matasaburo. The narrative maintains an air of mystery, leaving ambiguous whether Saburo was merely a city boy or embodied the mythical wind spirit.
Adaptations across media, including a 1940 film and a 1988 OVA, retain this core portrayal of an enigmatic figure whose origins and nature provoke both admiration and unease among his rural peers through his appearance, actions, and the unexplained events accompanying his presence.
On September 1, the day after summer vacation ends, a sudden, powerful gust shakes the school doors and rattles the surroundings. This event leads fourth-grader Kasuke to speculate that Saburo is "Matasaburo of the Wind," a wind spirit or the wind god's son, linking him to local folklore. This suspicion persists throughout Saburo's brief enrollment, reinforced by peculiar incidents.
The village children's relationship with Saburo develops through shared activities and conflicts. During an outing to grape bushes on September 5, Saburo inadvertently picks a tobacco leaf from a field monitored by the Monopoly Bureau. Reprimanded by a classmate, he reacts with visible anger and embarrassment, placing the leaf at a tree base before walking away. Later, while playing at the river where adults used dynamite to stun fish, the children gathered the fish into a rock preserve. When a Monopoly Bureau agent disturbs the preserve, the children—led by sixth-grader Ichirou—rally protectively around Saburo, encircling him in a tree and shouting until the agent departs. This incident shifts their dynamic toward collective guardianship.
Saburo's time at the school lasts only ten days. His departure coincides with Ichirou awakening on September 12 from a dream of a song attributed to Matasaburo. The narrative maintains an air of mystery, leaving ambiguous whether Saburo was merely a city boy or embodied the mythical wind spirit.
Adaptations across media, including a 1940 film and a 1988 OVA, retain this core portrayal of an enigmatic figure whose origins and nature provoke both admiration and unease among his rural peers through his appearance, actions, and the unexplained events accompanying his presence.