Bright Future 2004

Yuji Nimura, portrayed by Joe Odagiri, and Mamoru Arita, played by Tadanobu Asano, are two fatigued factory workers who consistently clash with their domineering boss, played by Takashi Sasano. In an unexpected twist, Mamoru decides to share his greatest treasure with Nimura: a carefully nurtured, poisonous jellyfish that he’s been cultivating in freshwater. This peculiar gesture sets off a series of events that irreversibly change their destinies.

On a pivotal night, Nimura visits Fujiwara’s home, driven by a desire for revenge against their boss’s unrelenting tyranny. However, upon arrival, he discovers that Mamoru has taken drastic actions by brutally murdering both Fujiwara and his wife. The aftermath is tragic: Mamoru faces the death penalty, yet in a final act of rebellion, he ends his own life on death row, leaving behind a cryptic directive for Nimura to “proceed” with his own fate.

In the wake of these events, Mamoru’s estranged father, Shinichiro, portrayed by Tatsuya Fuji, reaches out to Nimura, inviting him to stay and offering a glimmer of hope for redemption. Nimura begins to find comfort in aiding Shinichiro with his electronics salvage business; however, their contrasting dreams for the future ultimately drive a wedge between them.

Longing for a new beginning, Nimura moves into his sister’s office, where he gets involved with a group of discontented youths. Leveraging his savvy, he orchestrates after-hours access to the office, which they then proceed to ransack and vandalize. The police soon intervene, capturing the gang, while Nimura cleverly evades arrest.

With nowhere else to go, Nimura finds his way back to Shinichiro’s welcoming home, where he is embraced and offered another chance at life. During a moment of tranquility along the riverbank, they witness an enchanting sight: a stunning school of jellyfish gracefully departing for the open sea. Shinichiro, brimming with excitement, cannot resist the temptation to wade into the water, only to be stung and rendered temporarily unconscious.

As the scene fades, we follow the group of youths roaming the city streets, leaving a wake of disorder behind them.