Tooi Umi kara Kita Coo

Tooi Umi kara Kita Coo, known in English as Coo: From a Distant Ocean, was produced by Toei Animation and released in 1993. The film was based on the award-winning children's novel by Tamio Kageyama, which won the Naoki Prize. Directed by Tetsuo Imazawa, the project was part of a wave of environmental and nature-focused animation emerging in Japan during the early 1990s, aiming to blend human drama with fantastical elements through the story of a boy who discovers a prehistoric creature.

The character design for Coo, the pleiosaur-like creature, was handled by Katsuhiro Otomo, best known for his work on Akira. Otomo sought to create a creature that felt grounded and believable within the film's realistic coastal setting rather than overly cartoonish. While the film did not achieve the international box office success of other Toei features of the era, it remains respected within niche circles for its detailed animation and the distinct artistic influence of its character design team.