Kiku-chan to Ookami is an adaptation of Akiyuki Nosaka’s short story “Toshi‑Oi Mesu‑Okami to Onna no Ko no Hanashi” (The Story of the Old Mother Wolf and the Girl). The tale follows a girl and a wolf in the fields of World War II‑era Manchuria, with the wolf acting as her guardian in a motherly manner.