The fairy tale follows a young man named Gusukō in the Tōhoku forests of northeastern Japan in the 1920s. After an onslaught of droughts and natural disasters, Gusukō is forced to leave his home and search for a better life elsewhere. Gusukō joins a group of scientists at the Ihatov Volcano Department, which deals with the same natural disasters that drove Gusukō from his home.
Unfortunately the movie The Life of Budori Gusuko is not yet available on HBO Max.
| Writing | Kenji Miyazawa | Novel |
| Directing | Gisaburō Sugii | Director |
| Writing | Gisaburō Sugii | Screenplay |
| Visual Effects | Tsuneo Maeda | Animation Director |
| Visual Effects | Marisuke Eguchi | Character Designer |
| Art | Yukio Abe | Background Designer |
| Art | Tōru Shinozaki | Conceptual Illustrator |
| Art | Hiroshi Masumura | Concept Artist |
| Sound | Ryota Komatsu | Original Music Composer |
| Art | Gisaburō Sugii | Storyboard Artist |
| Art | Osamu Kobayashi | Storyboard Artist |
| Visual Effects | Marisuke Eguchi | Supervising Animation Director |
