Maboroshi

In the quaint steel mill town of Mifuse, nestled deep in rural Japan, two brothers, Akimune and Tokimune Kikuri, eke out a living amidst the rusting hulks of industrial machinery. Their son, Masamune, spends his days studying for an entrance exam with friends at home when suddenly, on January 1st, 1991, a catastrophic explosion rocks the mill, plunging the town into an eternal winter of unrelenting cold and desolation.

As the townspeople struggle to comprehend the magnitude of their isolation, Mamoru Sagami, a devout worker at the mill and self-proclaimed head priest of the Mifushi Shrine, declares that the disaster was a divine retribution for their hubris in ravaging the sacred mountain. With an air of mysticism, Sagami postulates that the town has become trapped by the very machine they had relied on - the steel mill - which has transformed into a "sacred" entity. He warns that until the gods' mood improves, any changes to their circumstances will only serve to further entrap them.

As the townspeople comply with Sagami's advice, submitting periodic biography ID forms to prevent inconsistencies when they eventually re-enter the real world, strange fissures begin to appear in the night sky, which are eerily mirrored by the steel mill's constant smoke output. Masamune and his friends, oblivious to their peculiar circumstances, indulge in sadistic games that somehow defy pain.

The next day, Masamune is invited by Mutsumi Sagami - a classmate he has little affinity for - to visit the steel mill's fifth blast furnace. There, they stumble upon a feral girl on the cusp of adolescence, already demonstrating signs of wildness. As Mutsumi takes on the role of caretaker, ordering Masumune to clean up after her and attend to her needs three times a week, he begins to realize that escaping the town is all but impossible.

Meanwhile, Akimune - the boy's father - works an unending night shift at the mill, only to vanish without explanation. As the days blend together in this perpetual winter wonderland, Masamune and his friends are forced to confront the strange reality they've been living in, where pain is a distant memory and the line between fantasy and nightmare blurs irreversibly.

As the solitary figure of Masamune (actor name) steps into the steel mill, a peculiar ritual unfolds as he feeds feral girl Itsumi a sandwich, bestowing upon her the name Itsumi. The courtyard's serenity is disrupted by the sudden arrival of Sagami and Tokimune, who bring with them an air of mystique. Sagami's enigmatic claim that Itsumi was a divine entity, one whose presence would ultimately be forgiven by the sacred machine, is met with skepticism by Tokimune, who counters with a recollection of Masamune's father's words, subtly hinting at the truth. Meanwhile, Masamune remains vigilant, his ears attuned to the whispers of the past.

Masamune's visits to the steel mill become a recurring ritual, driven by Mutsumi's (actor name) directives. It is amidst this backdrop that he encounters Yuko Sonobe, her classmate, who brings news of school documents and unwittingly stumbles into the orbit of the enigmatic Masamune. As fate would have it, their paths converge once more at Mutsumi's residence, where the veil of secrecy surrounding her relationship with Sagami is lifted, revealing a surprising truth: she is his adopted daughter.

As the seasons change, Masamune, Mutsumi, Sonobe, and their classmates embark on a perilous journey through an abandoned railway tunnel, navigating the treacherous terrain. Sonobe's spontaneous gesture of creating a graffiti drawing, adorned with romantic symbols and cryptic messages, leaves Masamune stunned. Her hasty retreat from the scene, coupled with the ominous appearance of sky fissures and the eerie glow emanating from her body, signals a turning point in their collective fate.

The town's inhabitants gather at the community center, seeking solace and answers. Sagami's apocalyptic warning that the factory smoke is a "sacred wolf" capable of cracking hearts and filling the fissures in the sky hangs heavy in the air. Masamune's subsequent flight from the scene finds him settling into a contemplative silence on the town's shopping street, his mind reeling with the implications of Itsumi's origins and the truth that Tokimune so cryptically alludes to: itumis place in their world is an anomaly, one that threatens to unravel the very fabric of reality.

As Masamune (actor's name) returns to the steel mill, Itsumi's eyes light up with unbridled joy, while Mutsumi's excitement is tempered by Masamune's decision to release Itsumi from the furnace. Unfazed, Itsumi scurries outside and gazes longingly at the sky, where a massive fissure suddenly yawns open, revealing the serene beauty of summer beyond the chasm. Without hesitation, Itsumi climbs onto the nearby crane wagon, with Masamune following suit. The arrival of Tokimune serves as a counterpoint to Masamune's disobedience, as he ignores Tokimune's plea to remain still. Masamune's yearning for the outside world is palpable, and Itsumi's encouragement emboldens him to reach out towards the fissure. As the crevices spread into the vast expanse of space, the steel mill in the real world is revealed to be a ravaged ruin.

In a stark contrast, a briefing session unfolds for the townspeople, where Sagami (actor's name) posits that their unreal world was crafted by the sacred machine. While some residents express skepticism, Sagami defends his claims with an unyielding conviction, insisting that their unreal world is perfect. However, as Tokimune reveals the truth – that the unreal world can continue forever, contingent on Itsumi's return to the sacred machine – many townspeople begin to agree with Tokimune's dissenting view.

Meanwhile, the sacred wolf stalks its prey, eliminating each townsperson one by one, including Masamune's classmate Yasunari Senba during gym class. As Itsumi and Mutsumi take up residence in Masamune's house, a series of unsettling events unfolds. In the dead of night, Masamune awakens to find himself face-to-face with a middle-aged man resembling his father, conversing with a woman named Mutsumi about the impending Obon festival. Masamune's attempt to enter the real world is thwarted by his own world's Mutsumi, who reveals that Itsumi had once borne the name Saki Kikuiri.

As the truth begins to unravel, it becomes clear that Saki was none other than the couple's daughter, and that the real-world Mutsumi was a completely different individual, waiting patiently for Saki's return.

As the sun dips below the horizon, Masamune (actor name) ventures to the town's beloved roadside stop and amusement arcade, mustering the courage to reveal his true feelings to Mutsumi. His confession, however, is met with a stern rejection, prompting Mutsumi to storm out into the crisp winter air. Undeterred, Masamune follows suit, only to find Mutsumi struggling in the snow-covered streets. With a gallant gesture, he shields her from the cold, and as they share a tender moment, their lips meet in an innocent yet electrifying kiss.

Their brief romance is interrupted by the sudden arrival of Itsumi, who has been secretly eavesdropping on their encounter. Her tears trigger a chain reaction, causing fissures to open up across the town, revealing fragments from the real world within. Coincidentally, the blast furnace at the local steel mill, which had been producing the sacred wolf, grinds to a halt around the same time.

As evacuation orders are issued and chaos ensues, Masamune's mother, Misato Kikuiri, presents him with his father's long-abandoned diary. The revelations within shake Masamune to his core: Itsumi, previously known as Saki, was transported from the real world on a freight train, while Masamune is revealed to be Mutsumi's husband in that reality. Furthermore, it becomes apparent that Saki's tumultuous emotions could have far-reaching consequences for the unreal world.

The gravity of this situation prompts a proposal to return Saki to her rightful place, but Sagami rejects this notion and has her imprisoned within the blast furnace. Meanwhile, Akimune takes pride in Masamune's improved artistic abilities while lamenting his own inability to change, thereby robbing Saki of any chance for personal growth or transformation.

As chaos erupts at the evacuation center, Masamune makes a plea to his classmates for assistance in rescuing Itsumi from their realm. Unbeknownst to him, Tokimune takes matters into his own hands by reigniting the blast furnace at the steel mill, a desperate bid to halt the impending apocalypse that threatens to consume their world. Meanwhile, Sagami extends an enigmatic invitation to Itsumi, beckoning her to participate in a ritual shrouded in mystery. As the Obon festival begins to unfold in the reality beyond the fissures, Masamune and Mutsumi take it upon themselves to liberate a reluctant Itsumi, guiding her onto a freight train bound for the real world. The locomotive, operated by none other than Masamune's grandfather Souji Kikuiri, a former engineer with intimate knowledge of the steel mill's inner workings, sets off on its perilous journey. However, their progress is abruptly halted when an unseen force triggers the track switch, sending the train careening off the rails in a spectacular derailment.

In the aftermath of this chaos, Masamune and his classmates engage in a high-stakes battle for Itsumi's affections, with each contender vying for her attention behind the wheel of their respective vehicles. As tensions simmer, Masamune takes matters into his own hands, piloting his car through the fissure and onto the tracks of the real world, where he converges with a train halted at the station. With Mutsumi's help, Itsumi is finally ushered aboard, but not before she bestows upon her friend a poignant reminder: that she can only pursue Masamune's heart. As the train departs, Mutsumi responds to Itsumi's words, her voice laced with longing as she declares her intentions. The scene concludes with Itsumi embracing Mutsumi and draping her wedding veil over her head like a shroud, as Mutsumi leaps into action mere moments before the sacred wolf is vanquished and the train disappears into the tunnel. In the ensuing silence, Mutsumi tumbles down the slope, rolling towards Masamune with an air of resignation.

Years later, Saki, now a young adult, arrives at Mifuse's local railway station, her arrival marked by a taxi ride that deposits her at the ruins of the steel mill, a once-thriving industrial complex now reduced to a haunting reminder of the past. The town itself lies deserted, its buildings vacant and still. Yet, amidst this desolation, Saki finds solace in the remnants of the fifth blast furnace, its platforms worn smooth by time and weather. As she explores the area, her gaze is drawn to a glass wall bearing an enigmatic image - a testament to the enduring bond between Mutsumi and Itsumi - accompanied by a litany of farewell messages scrawled upon the walls when the mill finally closed its doors for good. With a sense of nostalgia washing over her, Saki takes to the furnace's viewing platform, her eyes lost in thought as she relives the cherished memories of her time as Itsumi in this forsaken world.