Rakuen is a story about a little Boy who lives in the hospital. His mother reads to him everyday from his favorite storybook, which is about a tribal child living in a fantasy world called “Morizora’s Forest.” One day the child wakes up to find that everyone in his tribe has disappeared. He soon learns that in order to escape danger, his tribe sailed away to a paradise isle called “Rakuen.”
Alone but determined, the young child sets off on a journey to reach the Guardian of the Forest, “Morizora.” After overcoming many challenges to reach him, Morizora grants the courageous child one request: a ride on his magical ship. The child sails away, finally reuniting with his tribe and all those he loved, in the beautiful world of Rakuen.
One day, the Boy in the hospital asks his mother if she would take him to the fantasy world from his book, so that he too could go through a series of challenges in order to request one thing from Morizora. His mother agrees, and together they set off on a great adventure, searching for a path to the Forest Guardian.
The Boy also begins to learn more about the patients who live around him in the hospital… A cranky old man who guards a broken music box with his life while complaining that he never gets any visitors; a young woman in a coma whose husband hasn’t left her side in months; a little girl who laments over a friend she was never able to say goodbye to after growing ill… The Boy slowly begins to realize that his neighbors are plagued by secrets and struggles that are mysteriously tied to the strange hospital.
In helping those around him, the Boy deals with questions about empathy, hope, and what it means to leave behind a legacy by coming to terms with your own story.
Project Rakuen 