Tomie: Another Face 1999

Episode 1

A man in a trench coat and an eye patch trails a high school student, Tomie Kawakami. A week earlier, Tomie was believed killed by an unknown assailant, leaving her boyfriend, Takashi, in a deep depressive fog. Miki, Takashi’s ex-girlfriend, steps in to lift his spirits, hoping to ease his pain. But the seemingly impossible happens: Tomie returns, very much alive, and shocks her entire class. She and Takashi reignite their relationship, despite having broken up just days before. When Tomie is seen on a date with another man, Miki confronts her, urging Tomie to break things off with Takashi to save him from heartbreak. Tomie accuses Miki of jealousy and refuses to end any of the relationships she’s maintaining, unaware that Takashi has been listening to the confession. A failed attempt at reconciliation leads to a confrontation where Tomie is thrown from a roof. In a brutal twist, Takashi finally reveals that he killed Tomie, reacting in fury to her threat of breaking away. The pair bury the body in the woods, but the next morning Tomie is waiting for them, seemingly restored.

The episode also plants a mystery through the presence of the eye-patch figure, the same ominous watcher who lingers in the background, adding a sense of dread to the school’s daily routine and the uneasy quiet after the tragedy.

Episode 2

A photographer named Mori returns to his hometown after more than ten years away. In his youth he had fallen for a girl whose beauty inspired his art, and since that moment, nothing has quite matched that same spark. He finds himself drawn to Tomie again, a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to the girl from his past. Mori believes she might be the daughter of that earlier love, and he asks Tomie to model for him. The man with the eye patch keeps his distance, watching as the two grow closer and share a kiss, an act that deepens Mori’s fascination and fear in equal measure.

The day is spent in a creative haze: Mori and Tomie wander, shoot photographs, and increasingly open up to one another. Tomie’s living presence ignites Mori’s inspiration, but as the camera clicks, Mori notices something bizarre in every shot—two faces appear in every image: Tomie’s face alongside a ghoul-like figure never seen before. Haunted by the possibility that Tomie is a ghost or something otherworldly, Mori asks if she is real. To prove life, Tomie tests her pulse and challenges him to kill her. Mori, overwhelmed, strangles Tomie, who dies in his arms. Yet death is not the end: as Mori drives away to dispose of her body, Tomie returns, pulling him back to life via a terrifying revival. He flees, running toward the familiar place from his youth, where he encounters two living Tomies. He toppled to his death from a cliff, and the spectral Tomie grins over his corpse, while the Tomie from his past snaps a final photograph, sealing the horror in images.

Episode 3

The final installment follows Tomie as she meets her boyfriend, Yasuda, for a date. In just one month, he proposes, and their engagement is abruptly interrupted when the eye-patch archenemy returns to threaten their happiness. Tomie challenges Yasuda to prove his devotion by killing the attacker, handing him a knife before the confrontation escalates. Yasuda is quickly subdued by a stun weapon. The man named Ota reveals his own broken history: he once worked as a police coroner and was set to autopsy Tomie after her murder. Tomie’s revival has left his colleagues skeptical, and his personal life shattered—his wife left him, taking the children. He has tracked down duplicates of Tomie across Japan, seeking a way to end her forever. He warns Yasuda to stay away, then gives him a number before releasing him back into Tomie’s orbit.

When Yasuda discovers that he cannot kill Tomie, he betrays his own resolve and betrays Ota, returning to Tomie’s side. Yasuda brings Tomie’s body to the edge of an incinerator, where Ota awaits to burn her. A tense struggle ensues as Tomie uses her wiles to seduce the weary investigator, manipulating the moment to gain the upper hand. Ota subdues Yasuda again and carries Tomie toward the furnace, intending to destroy her for good. He throws Tomie into the flames, and the incinerator roars to life. Yet the ashes do not disappear. They begin to move, forming a living face in midair, and Tomie’s vow echoes through the smoke: she will never die, and every speck of ash will become a new Tomie.

Throughout, the cycle of desire, jealousy, and violence drives the narrative, weaving a chilling mosaic of love and immortality that refuses to stay buried.