FRACTURED BONDS

Happyend portrays a dystopian Tokyo where teen rebellion unfolds amid rising social tensions

- STORY: THANA BOONLERT

Neo Sora's debut feature film Happyend envisions a dystopian near-future Tokyo under threat of an earthquake, which forms the backdrop of youth rebellion against authoritarianism. As it is followed by aftershocks that fracture personal relationships, Happyend is an ode to friends drifting apart at the mercy of larger forces, but still in the same universe.

The coming-of-age story follows two ringleaders - Yuta (Hayato Kurihara) and Kou (Yukito Hidaka) - along with Tomu (Arazi), Ming (Shina Peng) and Ata-chan (Yuta Hayashi) in their last year of high school. After sneaking into a techno club, they run away from police and break into their school. They end up pranking their principal (Shiro Sano), who is shocked to find his new sports car turned upside down in the morning. He takes punitive action against the rabble "ter-rorists" by installing a draconian surveillance system amid turmoil in the aftermath of the looming earthquake. However, soon Yuta and Kou gradually find themselves on different paths.

"Something big is about to change" turns out to be their friendship. A catastrophic disaster brings to light the sad truth that their personal relationship is shaped and influenced by external forces.

Although Yuta and Kou were best friends since childhood, it is just a matter of time before their paths diverge. Curled with headphones around their necks, they revel in underground music at the techno club. Following a police raid, Kou, heading up the stairs, turns around to see Yuta blissfully ignorant of what is going on, which shows their differences are noticeably coming into play.