In Edo-era Japan, Toufu Kozou is a youkai with a serious problem: he is hopeless at frightening people. His father, the commander of the youkai, is constantly angry at his failures. Tired of falling short and longing to see his mother, the boy leaves home on a journey with the wise Daruma-sensei. Along the way the pair are captured by a tanuki, a creature known for hating youkai, and shut away in a shrine. After escaping, they find themselves stranded in modern Japan. There Toufu Kozou meets a little girl named Ai-chan who can see him, even though humans are not supposed to be able to see youkai. The film is a comedy adapted from a novel by Kyougoku Natsuhiko.