As opposed to the mythological creature the Minotaur, a monster of western culture, a Japanese monster, the Kudan, has a human head and the body of a cow. A Kudan is born from a cow. It speaks human language, predicts war or disaster and dies in the three days. This story is about a man who is accidentally transformed into a Kudan. One day the man, who doesn’t communicate with his son, receives a box in the mail, inside of which he finds a strange helmet. When he puts it on he is transformed into a Kudan. Although his body stays in this world, his head is in another world, coming out of a cow’s body. The helmet is a door to this other world where spirits of human beings, including the spirit of his son, form giant creatures like big trees. As he explores the world as a Kudan, he sees that the roots of these trees are individually connected to all the people in the real world and they are sometimes pruned by strange creatures. He sees that they are cutting his son’s connection. He becomes distraught and tries to help his son.

Although human beings look like they are individual life forms, the director Taku Kimura, feels that human beings are part of a gigantic life form, like cells connected by “words”. The helmet is sent by the giant creature as a warning about how a lack of communication can destroy spirits in the other world. The hero gets his voice back and at last communicates with his son.

Direction: Taku Kimura; Animation: Koichi Yamagishi; Music: Karin Nakano; Sound Design: Makoto Morimoto Voice Action: Keigo Sena / Rina Koduru; Producer: Takashi Fukumoto