AllMovie

Prolific visual artist Takashi Murakami makes his feature directorial debut with this whimsical sci-fi fantasy set in post-Fukushima, Japan, where a colorful race of extraterrestrial creatures visible only to children are revealed to be crucial components in a diabolical scheme to manifest negative energy. His urban home decimated by a natural disaster, young Masashi moves to the Japanese countryside with his mother. Upon moving into his new apartment, Masashi strikes up a fast friendship with Kurage-bo, a flying creature that looks like a jellyfish, and it captures the uprooted boy's imagination. Before long, Masashi discovers that all of the children in this remote village have their own special creature. Convinced that they can control their Kawaii-like friends via a hi-tech electronic remote, the children begin using the creatures to bully one another. Later, Masashi and his friends learn that the adorable beings are being used to harvest negative emotions for nefarious purposes, and they decide to fight back.