Tobe! Kujira no Peak

Aired: 1991

A poetic theatrical anime about the friendship between a modern boy and Peek, a white whale that can fly through the sky. One summer day the boy rescues the stranded baby whale by a riverbank and embarks on a journey to return him to the sea. Drifting between dream and reality, the film captures the fleeting light, wind and shifting palette of late summer with delicate animation, and its surreal flying sequences linger in the memory. Experimental sequences by animators including Koji Morimoto and Mami Ishizuka's resonant ending theme together craft a singular, melancholic ode to the closing days of childhood.