Movie
Description
Momotarō Morikawa is the father of the protagonist, Kokone Morikawa, in the anime film Napping Princess. He is a single parent living with his daughter in a small town, working as an eccentric car mechanic. His wife, Ikumi, died in an accident when Kokone was young, and Momotarō has kept many details about her past from their daughter. He is deeply connected to the dream world that Kokone visits during her naps: he owns a jacket similar to that of the character Peach, a blue stuffed dog named Joy, a motorcycle, and a cracked tablet computer, all of which have direct counterparts in Kokone’s dreams. In that dream realm, his counterpart is Peach, a motorcycle-riding ally who helps the princess Ancien fight the Colossus.
Momotarō’s personality is defined by his quiet dedication to his family and his late wife’s work. He has continued Ikumi’s research on self-driving car technology, which she had developed years earlier but was rejected by her father, Isshin Shijima, the chairman of Shijima Motors. Momotarō eloped with Ikumi after she left her family, and he maintained contact with sympathetic mechanics at Shijima Motors through the same chat system that appears in Kokone’s dreams. His motivations are primarily protective: he tries to shield Kokone from the complicated truth about her mother’s family and the dangerous corporate interest in her mother’s technology. This protective instinct is shown when he sends a warning from jail, instructing Kokone not to trust the corporate agent Watanabe.
In the story, Momotarō is arrested three days before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on false charges of stealing Shijima Motors’ secrets. His arrest sets the main plot in motion, forcing Kokone to retrieve the tablet and uncover the truth. Throughout the film, he functions as a catalyst for Kokone’s journey, both in the real world and in her dreams. His key relationships include his daughter Kokone, his deceased wife Ikumi, the antagonist Ichiro Watanabe (who is also his former colleague and the dream version of Bewan), and his father-in-law Isshin Shijima, from whom he was estranged. Momotarō’s development is gradual: he begins as a mysterious, somewhat withdrawn father and is gradually revealed to have been carrying the weight of his wife’s unfinished work and the family conflict. By the end, he is reunited with Kokone, and a post-credits sequence shows his courtship with Ikumi, highlighting the personal history that shaped him.
Notable abilities include his skill as a mechanic, which extends to his ability to maintain and improve the self-driving motorcycle Heart, as well as his continued development of Ikumi’s artificial intelligence programming. He is also resourceful and resilient, as shown by his ability to navigate the corporate and legal threats against him.
Momotarō’s personality is defined by his quiet dedication to his family and his late wife’s work. He has continued Ikumi’s research on self-driving car technology, which she had developed years earlier but was rejected by her father, Isshin Shijima, the chairman of Shijima Motors. Momotarō eloped with Ikumi after she left her family, and he maintained contact with sympathetic mechanics at Shijima Motors through the same chat system that appears in Kokone’s dreams. His motivations are primarily protective: he tries to shield Kokone from the complicated truth about her mother’s family and the dangerous corporate interest in her mother’s technology. This protective instinct is shown when he sends a warning from jail, instructing Kokone not to trust the corporate agent Watanabe.
In the story, Momotarō is arrested three days before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on false charges of stealing Shijima Motors’ secrets. His arrest sets the main plot in motion, forcing Kokone to retrieve the tablet and uncover the truth. Throughout the film, he functions as a catalyst for Kokone’s journey, both in the real world and in her dreams. His key relationships include his daughter Kokone, his deceased wife Ikumi, the antagonist Ichiro Watanabe (who is also his former colleague and the dream version of Bewan), and his father-in-law Isshin Shijima, from whom he was estranged. Momotarō’s development is gradual: he begins as a mysterious, somewhat withdrawn father and is gradually revealed to have been carrying the weight of his wife’s unfinished work and the family conflict. By the end, he is reunited with Kokone, and a post-credits sequence shows his courtship with Ikumi, highlighting the personal history that shaped him.
Notable abilities include his skill as a mechanic, which extends to his ability to maintain and improve the self-driving motorcycle Heart, as well as his continued development of Ikumi’s artificial intelligence programming. He is also resourceful and resilient, as shown by his ability to navigate the corporate and legal threats against him.