[New Film] Yuji Sakamoto’s New Work “Kataomoi Sekai” Is a Special Coming-of-Age Story for Three Ghost Girls

A strange co-living arrangement of three girls growing up in a world where time has stopped

Can growth continue even after death? The Japanese film “Kataomoi Sekai,” which traces the original and bittersweet trajectory of three girls who have said goodbye to the world, finally makes its way onto local screens.

Misaki (Hirose Suzu), Yuka (Sugisaki Hana), and Sakura (Kiyohara Kaya) are lifelong best friends who live under the same roof. In the mornings, they head to their workplaces and school. At night, they gather around the dining table and enjoy small birthday celebrations. Behind what looks like an utterly ordinary daily life, there is a chilling and momentous secret: the three are “ghosts” who died suddenly and at once in an unfortunate fire accident 12 years ago.

Reduced to beings unnoticed by the living, the three only hover near their loved families and acquaintances. They drift in a state of absolute helplessness—unable to speak up or rescue those who have been pushed to the edge of a cliff. Even those left behind struggle in a deep mire of heavy loss and longing for those who are gone. The cruel severance wrought by death leaves a weighty sadness for everyone standing at the boundary between life and death, matching the emotional lane long embraced by the existing fantasy genre.

Spiritual growth beyond loss, a masterpiece crafted by an ensemble of masters

But the real destructive force of the work lies in how it puts the “growth” of the girls turned into ghosts front and center. Trapped in this world without understanding why they are dead, they are not preserved in the youthful appearance they had at the time of their passing. Like living human beings, their height grows, their skeletal structure changes, and their looks mature. The scenes in which they lean against the wall every day and measure each other’s height to confirm their growth are the film’s most distinctive and astonishing mise-en-scène.

Even if they are the dead, the journey of the three girls who stubbornly weave their own lives day by day is both warm and upbeat. The ordinary future they would have enjoyed if they were alive has evaporated, but the way they fiercely live out the time allotted to them as ghosts leaves a lasting impression in viewers’ minds.

The lineup of the production team that completed the film is simply overwhelming. Yuji Sakamoto, a storyteller of the era who won the 2023 Cannes Film Festival screenwriting award for “Monster,” picked up the pen, and director Nobuhiro Doi, who proved his distinctive emotional direction through “Now, I’m Going to Meet You” and “I Fell in Love Like a Bouquet,” took the megaphone.

On top of that, the leading stars in their 20s who currently drive Japan’s film scene forward—Suzu Hirose, Hana Sugisaki, and Kaya Kiyohara—all come together to unleash an irreplaceable synergy. Each brings a unique individuality with a different texture, and they command the screen with meticulous character interpretation.

“Kataomoi Sekai,” the film that captures a narrative of growth shining through a severed world, is scheduled to open on the 24th. Running time: 126 minutes. Rated for ages 12 and up.