Makoto Nakazono is a high school student with a small dark secret. Since he was little, he has had the mysterious power to see "black entities" that steal souls. One day, he is suddenly interrogated by one of the "black entities," Akira Seno: "Will you get in our way?" But Makoto replies with an air of resignation, "There's nothing I can do anyway, so I won't." At that moment, Makoto didn't notice the threatening shadow approaching his childhood friend Hazuki...
Direction
Naoyuki Onda packs feature-length dread into 24 minutes.
Acting
Natsuki Hanae's deadpan resignation sells the whole premise.
Director
Naoyuki Onda
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of Japan's 'Young Animator Training Project,' government-funded to combat anime industry's labor crisis—ironic given Makoto's workplace-apathy themes.
The 'black entities' draw from Japanese shinigami tradition but twisted into corporate, bureaucratic soul-collectors—reflecting 2010s anxieties about meaningless work.
JP
