is a slice-of-life Japanese manga series by Nobuyuki Takagi and Yōsuke Kuroda, originally serialized between April 2000 and July 2002 in Monthly Comic Dengeki Daioh. It follows the peaceful daily lives of three sisters who live in a library.
The manga was adapted into a 13-episode anime television series directed by Koji Masunari, who is also known as the director of the anime OVA series Read or Die (2001) and Kamichu! (2005). It is described by critics as a prime example of the iyashikei or "healing type" anime genre.
Plot Kokoro Library is a heartwarming slice of life series depicting the peaceful everyday lives of three orphaned sisters as they take care of the library which also serves as their family home. The anime delves more deeply into the library's history, its connection to the local town, and challenges faced by the sisters.
Kokoro, the youngest, has just joined her sisters Aruto and Iina as an official librarian. The library receives few visitors, and each visit is often the subject of an entire episode. Kokoro learns the meaning of being a librarian, meets her favourite author, and takes a family trip to the seaside. The library is called "the place where miracles happen", although we see nothing more magical than Kokoro's ability to produce rainbows with her watering can.
Events take a dramatic twist when phantom thief Funny Tortoise steals a mysterious locked book which belonged to Kokoro's father, who died when she was very young. Worse, the town mayor announces that the library will be closed due to lack of visitors. Kokoro is heartbroken, but believes the answer may lie in the stolen book, which has meanwhile been returned to the library.
The next episode is seen from the point of view of a young soldier named Sant Jordi,「サン・ジョルディ」, "San Jorudi". While this can be romanized in various ways, the name Sant Jordi is particularly referenced in the title of manga chapter 23, "Saint George's Day (サン・ジョルディの日)", referring to Diada de Sant Jordi, a Catalan holiday celebrated on April 23 by giving books; and in this episode's BGM on the soundtrack, titled "April 23, Clouds and Then Rain". during a war which has seen the town heavily bombed. Jordi's positive attitude makes an impression on his comrades, who occupy a ruined library. When the town is approached by an enemy armored division, Jordi's decision to destroy the bridge without killing the enemy ultimately saves the town. He begins to distribute library books to the townsfolk to lift their spirits in the difficult post-war period, ultimately settling in the town and constructing Kokoro Library.
Kokoro, reading the story in what is revealed to be her father's diary of the war, finally has a connection to the parents she never knew. The sisters head to town hall to show the diary to the mayor, hoping to change her mind. They arrive to discover a massive protest against the library's shutdown—the people of the town have not forgotten Jordi's contributions. The mayor allows the library to remain open, and Kokoro and her sisters continue to live their peaceful days together in the library.
Production Yōsuke Kuroda, a scriptwriter who had highly appreciated Takagi's doujin works published under the name "Boo", heard from Takagi himself that he was going to retire from his company and train to become a manga artist. "It's too late to train to become a manga artist now when you have the ability," he said, and pitched Takagi to the editor-in-chief of Monthly Comic Dengeki Daioh, whom he knew.
The editor also appreciated Boo's drawing style and immediately gave him a positive response for serialization. At that time, Kuroda was instructed to write a scenario, which he accepted, and the serialization took shape. According to Kuroda, it took only an hour and a half from the time he was informed of Takagi's resignation to the time he informed Takagi that the serialization had been decided.Yōsuke Kuroda, "Until the Comic 'Kokoro Library' is Made", Kokoro Library Fan Book, p. 48 As a result, Kuroda was in charge of the script for both the original story and the animation.
Kokoro Library was animated digitally, rather than on cels as had been used for Studio Deen's animated productions until the late 1990s. However, limited-edition hand-painted replica cels were made available to collectors for ¥5,000 by online sale.
The setting of Kokoro Library is ambiguous. The town is identified in signage as "Toaru City" (都亜瑠), a homonym for the phrase "a certain city", although it is never named in dialogue. We are never explicitly told the name of the country where the library is situated, or the year when the series takes place. Rather, it is a pastiche of Japanese and European cultural elements. Several pieces of mid-20th century technology appear: Iina drives a redecorated World War II Volkswagen Schwimmwagen, while other characters drive the post-war Citroën H Van and Citroën DS. In episode 11, Jordi's side carry the Karabiner 98k used by German troops in World War II, while the enemy armored unit fields the Russian T-34 and GAZ-67; however, neither side's nation is explicitly identified. Modern computers and cameras also appear, along with science fiction androids.
The anime was notable as Chiwa Saitō's first major voice acting role. Saitō would go on to perform over three hundred anime voice roles in the following two decades.
Kokoro and the comparoid June make appearances in Nobuyuki Takagi's 2003 manga Pure Marionation, set eight years after Kokoro Library.
Cast Main characters Kokoro
, aged 10, is the youngest of the three sisters, and calls herself "the girl with the same name as the library". She wears a red librarian uniform. She is positive, hardworking, and innocent. She loves to read books, and her favourite author is Himemiya Kirin. Her dream is to become a fully-fledged librarian. Her special skill is to make rainbows with her watering can. She is happy to be surrounded by her sisters. Her room is decorated with cats. She likes French toast, pudding, and cake, but dislikes celery and cauliflower. Her birthday is March 18th. She does not use a surname in the series, introducing herself as "Kokoro from Kokoro Library". Aruto
, aged 15, is the middle daughter. She wears a black uniform, and wears glasses. She is strong-willed, a good cook, and has the special ability to sleep anywhere. She secretly writes novels under the pen name Himemiya Kirin, Kokoro's favourite author. Because she stays up late to write, she often takes naps in the morning. Her hobbies include reading and cooking, and her favourite foods are Chinese cooking and cake. Her birthday is December 19th. Iina
, aged 17, is the eldest of the three sisters. She wears a blue uniform. Her hobby is photography, and she takes many photographs of her sisters, especially Kokoro, and she has many photos of her on her wall. She is highly protective of Kokoro, and has trouble coping when Kokoro is away for a long time. She even sleeps with Kokoro plushies. She drives a redecorated military surplus white Schwimmwagen with the license plate "556" (goroawase for "ko-ko-ro"). Surprisingly, she is good with computers. She likes noodles, sweet things, and Assam milk tea. Her birthday is October 2nd.
The names of the three sisters together form the phrase "kokoro aru to ii na," meaning "it's good to have a heart". In the anime, it is revealed that the sisters were intentionally given these names by their parents in order to spell out this motto. This phrase appears as a subtitle on the cover of the manga, but is not immediately revealed in the anime, the DVDs for which instead use the subtitle "Do you remember these heartful things?"
Supporting cast Akaha Okajima
, age 9, is a friend of Kokoro who visits the library. She lives in a villa nearby. Her mother is Midori Okajima. She is also a relative of Misato Fukami. Akaha and Kokoro met when they were younger, after she got lost while chasing squirrels. Like Kokoro, she enjoys reading. Midori Okajima
is Akaha's mother and a visitor to the library. The character previously appeared as an original character of Takagi's for the Mirai Hachi Karuto Shoukai at Winter Comiket 1998. Kit is Kokoro's cat.
Anime-only characters A number of characters are original to the anime but do not appear in the manga. Jun Uezawa
, age 20, is the truck driver who makes deliveries to Kokoro Library. He has a crush on Iina, but she is unaware of this. The sisters often take advantage of him to help with their plans, and he is often comically mistaken for a suspicious person. Kaede Hoshino
is the first visitor who Kokoro lends a book to. She rides a Vespa. She spends only a little time in town before she has to leave due to her job, but loves Kokoro Library at her first visit. Bikers , Kenji Hamada, Hiroaki Miura Bikers who ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. They sometimes give Kokoro a ride in their sidecar. Sarara Saeki
is Himemiya Kirin's editor. She works for Celery Library's editorial development. She is aware of Aruto's secret identity as Himemiya Kirin. Misato Fukami
is a girl who lives by the seaside. She suffers from poor health, having the same illness as her late mother. She is Akaha's relative. She is served by a butler (VA: Takuma Suzuki) and maid (VA: Yukiko Mannaka), who are overprotective of her due to her health, and try to prevent her from going outdoors. She is lonely, and dreams of being able to go outside to see the ocean up close and meet the dolphins she can see from her window. Misato's Father
is Misato Fukami's father. Funny Tortoise
is a legendary thief and master of disguise. He makes his daring escapes in a hot air balloon. Inspector Kajihara
is an officer working for Interpol to capture Funny Tortoise. He is supported by a team of female officers, Kaji's Angels. During the war he guarded the town as a member of Third Squad, one of only two soldiers in the unit with any military training. He lost his wife and children during the war, after which he became argumentative and on edge, often fighting with Aigame. Kaji's Angels , Eri Saitō, Hiroko Takahashi, Mami Kosuge, Nao Takamori are a group of uniformed all-female officers who support Inspector Kajihara. Itou
is one of Kaji's Angels. Hibiki Asakura
is the examiner for Kokoro's librarian training. June
is a comparoid, an android designed for human support. A prototype in testing developed by Nakanishi Industry, she meets Kokoro during librarian training. She cares about efficiency and duty, but is also understanding and kind, and learns from Kokoro the meaning of being a librarian. Her uniform is blue. Hikari Inoue
is an apprentice librarian who comes to Kokoro Library in search of a miracle. Her librarian uniform is pink. Her mother is Akari Inoue. She is quiet at first and easily upset, but after opening up to Kokoro is revealed to be strong-minded, honest, affectionate, and cynical. Marie Momochi
is the mayor of the town. Her name suggests a relation to Sergeant Momochi. She is polite, straightforward, and utilitarian. An outsider who came to the town on the advice of her father, she does not understand the importance of the library at first. Raika Mizumoto
is the mayor's secretary. Based on her response to the sisters' "nico nico rin" catchphrase, she is a fan of Himemiya Kirin's works. Akari Inoue
is Hikari Inoue's mother. She has suffered from illness for much of her life. During the war, she was cared for by nurse Kokoro Shindou. Kokoro Shindou
is a nurse who takes care of the town during the war. She is the mother of Kokoro, Aruto and Iina. During the war she cared for Akari Inoue by bringing her books to read from the local library. She bears a resemblance to her daughter Kokoro. Kokoro Shindou died shortly after giving birth to Kokoro. Sant Jordi