Kanta Ōgaki (大垣 勘太, Ōgaki Kanta) is a supporting character in My Neighbor Totoro.
Plot[]
Kanta first appears when the Kusakabe family are making their way to their new house. He shys away very quickly upon seeing Mei and Satsuki. Kanta then brings a basket to Granny who is helping the Kusakabe's move in, where he meets Satsuki properly and forcefully hands her the basket and runs away, commenting to Satsuki that her house is haunted but Granny catches him. Kanta then pulls faces at Satsuki when she and Mei and Mr. Kusakabe ride past on as bicycle. Kanta is then seen feeding the animals on his family's farm before heading for school where he becomes distracted noticing Satsuki, prompting his teacher to punish him. On his way home, Kanta sees Satsuki and Mei sheltering under a shrine, he ignores them only to then run to them and forcefully offer them his umbrella before dropping it and hurrying home. Kanta is then seen at his home where his mother scolds and punishes him for losing his umbrella. He observes Satsuki and Mei returning his umbrella from a distance then plays with a model aircraft he has built. Kanta's next appearance is when he brings a telegram for the Kusakabe's to Granny's home where Satsuki and Mei are. He then takes Satsuki (with Mei following) to his uncle's.
Home on Granny's suggestion where he waits for Satsuki to call her father. They proceed to make to their way back to Granny's home, during which they re-join Mei and Kanta witnesses the confrontation between Satsuki and Mei. He takes Mei back to Granny's himself after Satsuki storms off.
Appearance[]
He has short brown hair that creates an arch down on his forehead, like a fringe. He has pale white skin and is fairly skinny. He has grey eyes and a fairly neutral expression throughout the film.
The clothes he wears are basic, a short-sleeved white polo shirt, brown shorts, a white sleeveless shirt and also wears a captain sailor hat (which is similar in appearance to Seita's own sailor hat in Grave of the Fireflies).
Relationships[]
Grandma[]
Kanta is also her 'grandson', although it is suspected that like Satsuki and Mei, he doesn't have any relation to her and she just acts as a grandparent to the children in the area. They seem to get on, although Grandma seems to think that he can be strange at times.
Satsuki[]
Kanta giving his umbrella to the girls at the Jizo Statue.
At first, Kanta and Satsuki don't get along as he shouts as her that her house is haunted, which angers her. He later engages in a series of kind things, like giving his umbrella to them when it's pouring it down with rain, then getting into trouble for it. He also tries to help Satsuki find Mei in the end, when she goes missing for a while.
Etymology[]
- The name Kanta means "intuition, hunch, perception, instinct" (勘) (kan) and "thick, big, great" (太) (ta).
- Kanta's surname Ōgaki means "big, great" (大) (ō) and "hedge, fence" (垣) (kaki/gaki).
Trivia[]
| My Neighbor Totoro | |
|---|---|
| Characters | |
| Kusakabe Family | Tatsuo | Yasuko | Satsuki | Mei |
| Sayama Hills Residents | Granny | Kanta Ōgaki | Kanta's Father | Kanta's Mother | Mailman | Michiko | Miss Hara | Mover | Otoko | Ryōko |
| Totoros and Other Animals | Totoro | Mini Totoro | Catbus | Susuwatari | Granny's farm animals |