Sumikko Gurashi Movie 5

Sumikko Gurashi Movie 5 is the upcoming fifth animated film in the Sumikko Gurashi series. The project was announced on September 30, 2026. It is planned to open in Japanese theaters in 2027, the same year the franchise celebrates its 15th anniversary. At the time of the announcement, the film had no official title yet, and no release date, story summary, or staff list had been shared.

Sumikko Gurashi is a group of cute characters made by designer Yuri Yokomizo for the Japanese company San-X in 2012. The name means something like "life in the corner." The characters are shy and a little bit sad, and they feel safest in the corner of a room. The main five are Shirokuma, a polar bear who gets cold easily; Penguin?, who is not sure what it is; Tonkatsu, a leftover piece of pork cutlet; Neko, a timid cat; and Tokage, a small dinosaur who pretends to be a lizard. Many small friends appear around them too. The series is known for a gentle message about kindness toward things and people that are left out.

The announcement came with a new picture drawn by creator Yuri Yokomizo. It also gave one early story hint: Neko, the shy and worried cat, will be a main character in this film. That is a new focus, since earlier movies spread attention across the whole group or introduced new guest characters.

The film series has done well in Japan. The first movie in 2019 won a Best Animation award from the Japanese Movie Critics Awards, and the 2021 film earned more than one billion yen at the box office. Two more movies followed in 2023 and 2025. All four earlier films were animated by the studio Fanworks, but the studio for this fifth film had not been confirmed when it was announced. More details are expected later.