Kusakabe Mei
Kusakabe Mei is one of the primary protagonists of the animated feature film My Neighbor Totoro. A lively four-year-old girl, she is the younger daughter of the Kusakabe family. Defined by her boundless curiosity and youthful innocence, she serves as the very first character to encounter the magical forest guardian Totoro.
Overview
Kusakabe Mei is one of the primary protagonists of the animated feature film My Neighbor Totoro. A lively four-year-old girl, she is the younger daughter of the Kusakabe family. Defined by her boundless curiosity and youthful innocence, she serves as the very first character to encounter the magical forest guardian Totoro.
Appearance
Mei features short brown hair tied into twin tails and possesses round, rosy cheeks. Her signature attire consists of a puffy white shirt worn beneath a pink suspender dress, paired with a small yellow satchel slung across her torso and a wide-brimmed straw hat. While her nose is broader than her sister's, her facial structure mirrors their mother's features, and her smile closely matches that of her elder sister.
Personality
Deeply inquisitive and energetic, Mei exhibits the stubbornness and willful temperament common to young children, contrasting with her more grounded older sister. Despite her childish tantrums, she harbors profound love for her family, holding a particularly deep devotion to her hospitalized mother. Over the course of her experiences, she demonstrates emotional maturity, eventually displaying a protective demeanor toward younger peers.
Abilities
Mei possesses no extraordinary physical abilities or supernatural powers, remaining an ordinary young child. However, she demonstrates a remarkable sensitivity and pure heart that allow her to perceive hidden forest spirits and connect with magical creatures without feeling fear.
Background
Mei moves to a rural home alongside her father, Kusakabe Tatsuo, and her elder sister, Kusakabe Satsuki, to be nearer to the hospital where her mother, Kusakabe Yasuko, is recovering. While exploring the surroundings of their new home, she pursues small mysterious creatures into a hollow camphor tree, discovering the sleeping Totoro. When news arrives that her mother's hospital stay is prolonged, Mei sets off by herself to carry a freshly picked ear of corn to the hospital, causing her to get lost and prompting a village-wide search involving the Catbus. She also stars in the Ghibli Museum short film Mei and the Kittenbus.
Relationships
Kusakabe Satsuki is her elder sister, with whom she shares a deeply close relationship despite occasional sibling squabbles. She holds immense love for her parents, Kusakabe Tatsuo and Kusakabe Yasuko, constantly wishing for her mother's health to improve. Upon meeting the giant spirit Totoro, she quickly establishes a trusting friendship with him. In a spin-off narrative, she also forms a bond with Konekobus, the young offspring of the Catbus.
Trivia
Her name Mei originates from the English word for the fifth month of the year, echoing her sister Satsuki whose name reflects the traditional Japanese word for May. Official pamphlet notes indicate that Mei may be a self-adopted moniker rather than her registered birth name. Her childlike mispronunciation of corn as toumokoroshi is one of her most famous character traits. Furthermore, she serves as the central figure in Mei and the Kittenbus, an exclusive short film created for the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka.
