Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko Movie Review

Date: 2022 August 08 19:39

Posted by Joe

It really is a great summer of cinema for anime fans in the UK and Ireland. Thanks to the good folks at Anime Limited their latest cinematic offer will be Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko which hits screens around the UK and Ireland on Wednesday 10th August 2022.

We really enjoyed this movie and suggest you go an catch it on the big screen while you can, but enough of that, read our review to find out why we think it's worth your time.

Full Story

Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko is the latest cinematic outing from Studio 4°C. It's a slice of life story focusing on the adventures of the titular character Nikuko and her daughter Kikuko. They live together in a portside town. Nikuko is affectionately known as the Meat Lady because of her job working at a grill bar. She's a larger than life character, both literally and figuratively. She's one of those local personalities that everyone in town knows about.



The movie explores Nikuko through the lens of her daughter, who sets the scene and explains to the audience how they came to end up living in a portside town. We're told that Nikuko has the sweetest of hearts and this often leads to her downfall making what many would consider poor life choices. She easily falls for men and is often taken advantage of by scumbags.

In essence the movie is a chalk and cheese story. Nikuko is silly, brash and loud, wanting to goof around a lot and constantly making bad puns, while Kikuko is a more regular teenage girl, who just wants to enjoy a game of basketball during her breaks.

The movie is fun and playful and it gets the tone right. It's colourful and captivating, but also light hearted. We've got a great cast of characters it feels just right for a nice easy going slice of life feature.

The animation is consistently to a high standard, with lots of detail on the sets in the town. Keep an eye out for some nods to Totoro too! There are memes about anime food being delicious looking and this movie adds to that troupe. After watching it, you'll get a strong urge to have thick French Toast for breakfast or hunks of tender grilled meat for an evening meal.

The film also has a quirky tone that pops out now and again with some supporting animal characters! Watch out for the neon lizard, penguin and grizzled ginger cat (who should have got a lot more screen time). Cicadas also voice their disappointment too, adding for the odd extra laugh.

The only issue with the film is the portrayal of Nikuko herself, where the fat person being fat is the punch line of a number of the jokes. The screen presence emphasises her being plump and this is used for laughs at her expense. However she does have full character development, so it's a bit jarring. You could interpret this fat shaming. It feels like something from 20 years ago, not really from now.

I've seen this movie twice now, once at a screening and again for this review, so the film has rewatch value. There are small details you might catch on another viewing.

Overall Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko is a well animate feature with lots fun to be had. I'd recommend it if you're willing to overlook it's one issue around body image.


Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko will be shown in selected cinemas in the UK and Ireland from 10th August 2022 in Japanese with English subtitles.

For more information and to book tickets, please visit https://nikukofilm.co.uk