Lonely Castle in the Mirror (2022) Movie Script
1
Read Little Red Riding Hood.
Please, read it to me!
Shall we?
No way!
That's crazy.
Totally crazy!
CARING CLASSROOM
Elephant, elephant
Huh? Is it about me?
Elephant, elephant
- It's short!
- Okay.
Miss, he hit me again!
Hello.
Kokoro Anzai?
My name is Kitajima. May I sit?
Kokoro, do you go to
Yukishina 5th Junior High?
Yes.
I went there too.
Okay.
You know, I have this dream.
A transfer student,
talented and lovely, turns up.
And finds me among many classmates
with a smile as bright as the sun,
and says,
"Kokoro, long time no see!"
And walks right up to me.
Everybody's amazed.
I keep wishing for a miracle like that.
But it's never going to happen.
I know that.
MAY
Okay, I'm off.
Take care.
Mom, my stomach hurts.
Hurts how?
Same as usual.
Usual how?
It just does.
Are you going or not?
You won't go. Suit yourself.
It's not that I won't. I can't.
Good morning.
Anzai here. It's about my daughter.
She's not feeling well,
so she can't make it today.
My stomach really does hurt.
ANZAI
Moe.
Hey, wake up. Come on, wake up.
Welcome, Kokoro Anzai! We've been waiting!
What?
A castle?
Yes! Exactly!
Congratulations.
You've been invited as a guest!
- Don't run!
- I'm going home! Let go!
Enough! Shut up!
I've vetted six other guests.
I'm sick of it!
You're the last.
And it's 4:00 p.m. already.
I want to get this done.
Please, let me go!
I don't care! Let me go!
Aren't you curious, girl?
That's a real castle.
Plus, I'm mature for a child. And strong.
Aren't you excited about some adventure
or otherworldly fantasy?
No!
Your wish will come true.
Whatever it is, Plain Jane,
it'll be granted.
My wish?
The others await you.
Hello.
We've all been waiting.
We heard from her that you're the last.
I'm Wolf Queen.
The Wolf Queen said so.
There has to be seven of us.
You took so long.
About an hour?
What is this place? Why am I here?
Just like you, our mirrors glowed
and brought us here.
I was first, then the others appeared.
We got a brief explanation,
but honestly, I'm lost.
Huh? You still don't get it?
- I don't.
- Not at all.
This is the last time. Listen closely.
Somewhere in this castle
is a tiny, unenterable room.
The Wishing Room.
If you can get in,
any wish will be granted.
However, only one of you
can enter the room.
Red Riding Hoods.
She calls us "lost Red Riding Hoods."
To enter the room, you need a key.
If you have an earnest wish,
from today till March 30th next year,
you must find the key
somewhere in this castle.
Huh? I don't understand.
Me neither. Way too many questions.
Granting wishes, huh?
Why bring us here? What key? Where are we?
Enough! Shut up, shut up!
Explain properly then.
Why did we get chosen?
You kids are so unimaginative.
Ever thought that
you're the stars of this story?
You each have a room upstairs.
You're lucky. Appreciate it!
Your tone pisses me off.
For real.
Answer me this.
Don't you kids have wishes?
Well, no problem if you don't,
but if you snooze, you lose.
When the key's found
and a wish is granted, it's game over.
This castle closes and mirror paths shut.
Finding the key isn't compulsory.
Hey...
Can we come here anytime?
There are limits.
Between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.,
Japan time.
9:00 to 5:00? What is this, City Hall?
Whatever you say,
this rule must be obeyed.
If you don't leave by 5:00,
a wolf eats you.
You?
A real wolf. Frighteningly big.
Don't believe me? Try it.
Get eaten, you're done.
Plus, if one of you breaks the rule,
those with you that day
share responsibility.
Or rather, get eaten.
Anyway, if you obey the rule,
anything goes. Come freely.
"Freely"?
Whoa, it's 4:30.
Did you look around while you waited?
Only time for this today.
Well? Beats your homes, doesn't it?
Girls, sit here.
May I?
I'll be back soon. Get acquainted.
She vanished!
- Is she a ghost?
- Who knows?
Well, I'm Aki.
A junior high third year. Hi.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Hi.
I'm Kokoro. A first year. Hi.
I'm Fuka. A second year. Hi.
I'm Rion. A first year. Hi.
Name's Subaru. A third year. Hi.
Masamune. Second year.
Like the general, sword and sake.
I'm sick of hearing that.
It's my real name.
Ureshino!
- How is that written?
- My last name, not my first.
Written as "happy" and "field."
I'm a first year.
All junior high students?
What's that?
Hey.
Fifteen minutes to 5:00. Time to leave.
Hurry. You'll get eaten.
How do we leave?
Find your name.
Found it.
JUNE
I haven't gone back to the castle.
I wonder if the others have.
Come over sometime.
Really? I will!
Cute red umbrella! It suits you, Moe.
Done with homework?
- Yeah.
- Let's go!
I knew it!
Just one.
There's just one wish I want granted.
Poor girl, loner.
Desperately.
Go!
- Crap!
- No good?
I died! Damn, I died!
Wish we had a TV.
I could battle you, Subaru.
No electricity.
No need for a TV.
Forget our materialistic world here.
Forget you.
- What could this be?
- A game?
No power to run it.
Manual maybe?
I bet it sucks.
Japanese chess puzzles? Old school.
Pretty interesting.
- Borrow whatever you like.
- Really?
Dad buys them for me in Europe.
He's a kidlit professor.
Thanks!
Hey, good to see you. First time back?
Oh, I'm Kokoro.
Come on, I know. Leaving already?
Bye!
Kokoro! Guys, it's Kokoro!
- We waited for you.
- Hi again, Kokoro.
- Long time.
- Hey.
I haven't been able to come.
Really? We've been coming quite a lot.
Mostly this time in the afternoon.
A little later for me, maybe.
Early today.
I usually have soccer at school.
Day off today.
Another's coming.
What's up, everybody? Oh, Kokoro!
Now we're all here.
I'll be in my room.
Aki! Going already?
But I just got here.
Hey, my mom made cookies specially!
Mom's cookies are so good.
- Read the room.
- Loser.
Seems like I should've gone earlier,
but they were glad to see me.
I'll go again tomorrow.
Kokoro.
Over here.
The boys are there. Too annoying.
Well, just Ureshino.
Come with us.
We mostly spend time here.
Great view of the garden.
They've got pretty teacups here,
but the faucets are dry, so no hot water.
It's BYO drinks.
- Have some.
- Thank you.
It's nice. Strawberry tea?
Right. I'm a strawberry tea fan.
May I ask if you looked around inside?
No need to be so formal.
Yeah, just a little.
The day after we first came, with Fuka.
We climbed the tower too, but...
We're surrounded by water
with no connecting land.
We also looked for the key, but no luck.
Hey... Well...
If they find the key...
My room's so beautiful.
Yeah! Mine's great too.
Fuka even has a piano.
I wanted to ask what wish
they want to come true,
but couldn't.
I didn't want them to ask me either.
The castle's quite fun.
Whether I'm with them or not.
They come almost every day,
so I wonder if they're skipping school.
But no one asks about that, or confesses.
That's very reassuring.
JULY
Well? Tasty, right?
Have more. Don't hold back.
Kokoro!
Okay, come with me.
Sit, sit.
Kokoro, have some too. My mom's cookies.
I saved the prettiest ones.
Thanks.
He gives them to girls he likes.
Tell me, Kokoro.
Got a boyfriend or somebody you like?
Hey.
So, you've switched from Aki to Kokoro?
Wolf Queen, it's been a while.
Hey kids, enough slacking.
Why not look for the key?
It ain't here.
Did you look properly?
Well, if you've got no wish, fine.
Ureshino's got a wish.
"Look at me, Kokoro!"
You didn't hear that, right?
So lame.
So lame! Just drop dead!
AUGUSI quickly went home to have lunch.
They're all playing a game.
So, do your close friends
call you "Fuka babe"?
Or "Fu-babe"?
No. Even my mom calls me Fuka.
Wow, really? So hey, so hey...
JUNIOR HIGH YEAR 1
SCIENCE WORKBOOK
Too hard. I can't do it.
Nobody's here. A first?
What's this?
Kokoro.
Sorry, I scared you.
I thought I was alone.
It's summer break. Everybody seems busy.
Busy?
Masamune's away with his parents.
Fuka has two weeks of summer school.
Ureshino goes to a cram school.
Oh.
Yo.
Leaving?
The others haven't been coming.
Because of summer break?
Summer school, stuff like that.
Summer school? What's that?
First semester review,
over the summer break.
Everybody's so smart.
You go too?
Good.
I feel better now.
I'm not scolding you.
It's good you feel like going out.
I was just surprised to find
you weren't home.
Why come home? To check on me?
Of course not. My plans changed.
I thought we could have lunch.
I hate being monitored.
Ms. Kitajima...
You know, at the alternative school.
Your young teacher.
She says she wants to talk with you again.
She says it's not your fault
you can't go to school.
There must be a reason.
She keeps telling me that, so...
Oh, your dad. He's early today.
Hey, why don't we all...
It's summer break.
Even so, summer break's almost over.
Yeah, true.
Won't the teachers get mad?
"Don't dye your hair!"
They'll all be on edge.
Yeah. Well, whatever.
It looks good on you.
Maybe I'll do it too.
Fuka, Kokoro, you too?
But if I make Fuka do something silly,
somebody might get mad.
You gave Fuka a present too.
Mommy's special cookies.
Listen!
From second semester, I'll go to school.
I held back saying this till now...
but none of you go to school, right?
You can't go to school.
It's so lame!
Aki, you even acted worried
that teachers might get mad.
What a joke!
Don't say that.
You all treated me like a joke!
You always do. You laughed at me!
That's not true!
Maybe it is true.
It's Ureshino, so...
I'm sick of it! Aren't we all the same?
We're left out, disliked
and have no friends!
You too! You too! You too!
You too! You too! You too!
Ureshino, calm down.
Hey, what about you?
Why'd you stop going to school? Say it!
I...
I go to school.
- Liar!
- I'm not lying.
Just not a school in Japan.
A boarding school in Hawaii.
- Hawaii?
- Actual Hawaii?
You come here from so far away?
Distance doesn't matter.
Remember what the Wolf Queen told us?
"This castle opens from 9:00 to 5:00,
Japan time."
Why say "Japan time"? I wondered.
You're an elite.
I'm not elite at all.
The school was easy to get in to,
and we just play soccer.
You're studying soccer abroad?
Yeah, kind of.
Why did you hide that?
You think we're a joke?
I don't think that.
At first, I thought you were all
studying overseas too.
But you talked about afternoons in Japan.
I couldn't tell if you went to school.
The time difference...
I don't care about any of that!
I'll do what you all can't.
I'll show you I'm different!
I'll go to school!
So long!
SEPTEMBER
Are you all right?
These bandages are too much.
It's not as bad as it looks.
Ureshino, wanna play?
Let's play.
- Ureshino, let's play.
- Let's play.
That happened, huh?
Well, it's Ureshino,
so I thought things would get bad for him.
After starting junior high,
his new friends
got him to pay for things,
and it escalated.
It wasn't bullying or anything like that.
I went back to school and it felt awkward,
so I apologized to them.
Why should you apologize?
But my teacher said they worried about me.
Then they said if I didn't pay,
I was no use.
I got angry and shoved them,
then they got me.
Oh, boy!
This is his only safe space too, huh?
But, Aki...
Oh, I mean...
You haven't come
to the castle much either.
I guess so.
What?
I've got a boyfriend.
Keep it secret.
Good to see you. Been well?
Yes.
Come in.
We can just talk here.
I thought I should wait for your mother,
but I wanted to talk with you alone.
I talk with your mother sometimes.
I hope you'll come to our school
when you feel up to it.
Hey...
About it not being my fault
I don't go to school...
Did you really say that to my mother?
Why?
Because, every day,
you're struggling, aren't you?
May I come again?
Sure.
I love this tea. Drink it if you like.
Will you accept it?
Thank you.
Okay, see you.
OCTOBER
Since we're all here today,
we should talk, about what to do.
It's October. Less than six months left.
So, the key...
Actually, Masamune and I
looked hard for it.
I was searching in the dining room
and he walked in.
You were so focused, you didn't notice me.
You waited till we were all gone
to look for the key every day.
But I couldn't find it,
so I said we should try separately.
We're rivals, but if we find it,
we could figure out a way
to decide whose wish gets granted.
Aki, I never knew you had such a wish.
Or that you're so determined, Masamune.
Everybody's got a wish or two, right?
- I'm in.
- Me too.
But if we all do it, how about we promise?
Even if the key's found,
no using it till late March.
Good idea. We'd lose this place.
So, how does that sound?
Okay. Let's decide who goes where.
Not here.
Aki said she searched here thoroughly.
Maybe a fresh pair of eyes...
What's this?
What does that cross mean?
I saw it before.
Ouch!
You okay? Arm's still sore?
Yeah, but it's mostly better,
except when I stretch it.
Hey, Fuka.
A while back,
I got angry and said silly things,
but I like it here.
It's fun being here.
Not going to school?
No, I'm not.
But my other school has a great teacher.
Alternative school?
Yeah. That teacher asks me,
"What do you want to do most?"
Listens to what I have to say.
Really?
Oh, crap.
Hey! It's time!
No luck, huh?
Well, too bad for now.
Let's make time to search.
A united front? Wonderful.
Hey, hey, we meet again, Red Riding Hoods.
Sudden as usual.
You Red Riding Hoods
seemed to be having fun, so I came.
Got a problem?
We can search together, right?
Cooperation is beautiful.
Continue in that vein.
There's just one thing I forgot to say.
When you find the key
and have your wish granted,
your memories of here will vanish.
What?
This castle, your time here,
you'll forget everything.
You'll forget each other, me, everything.
If no one's wish is granted by March 30th,
you keep your memories.
You'll still remember your time here.
That choice
is up to you kids.
So, I don't really care,
if I lose my memories.
None of us would have ever met anyway.
Aki, your wish means that much to you?
My classmate, Sanada,
is a big problem for me.
After I started school,
a pretty girl, Moe Tojo, transferred in.
She lived nearby and we became friends.
The thing about Sanada was,
she was active, bold and popular.
The teachers liked her too.
What?
You know, I hate ugly girls like you.
Satisfied?
Thought Ikeda would ask you out?
You're dreaming!
Ikeda would never go
for somebody like you!
So lame! Just drop dead!
Back in elementary school,
that boy once said he liked me.
But that was the only time.
Don't ignore me, ugly!
In junior high, he started dating Sanada.
What scared me most was...
Kokoro Anzai!
It wasn't just one or two.
I sensed many more outside.
- Get out here!
- Make it quick!
- Don't hide!
- Come out!
Let's try the yard. Look in the windows.
Come out or your garden's dead.
- What's she doing?
- She's chicken.
Kokoro, come play with us!
Man-stealer!
Sanada wants to talk to you!
You're gutless!
- It won't open.
- She's in there.
Get out here! You coward!
- Get out here.
- Coward.
Come out already.
Mom! Mom! Mom!
That coward. How could she?
Sanada, don't cry.
That girl came on to her guy.
She needs punishing.
- It's unforgivable!
- Get out here!
- Open up!
- Come out already!
You traitor!
No need to forgive me.
I'll never forgive you either!
I was terrified.
Seriously, I thought I'd be killed.
Then I realized the house was dark
and it was quiet outside.
Mom came home soon after.
But I couldn't tell her. I don't know why.
Because of that,
I gradually stopped going to school.
You did well. Really well.
You've been so strong.
Yeah. Well done.
I wanted to tell somebody.
I wanted somebody to listen.
I thought, if it wasn't for Sanada,
everything would be easier.
I wanted to find the key
and wish that Sanada would disappear.
But if I lose my memories of you
because of that...
I don't know what to do.
Nevertheless, we kept looking for the key.
NOVEMBER
Tried this?
Oh, that. Nobody knows what it is.
I wonder...
I might know.
Then...
It's a music box?
What's that?
That thing?
Rion started it.
"Trumerei."
It's an antique music box? Beautiful.
Aki! What's wrong?
You okay?
What's wrong?
It's Aki.
Aki?
Sorry. It's nothing.
What?
That uniform.
Yukishina 5th...
Now you get it?
It's a surprise though.
We all go to Yukishina 5th
in Minami Tokyo City.
I went to Hawaii before I could go.
But I would have if I hadn't.
Our school has so many absent students.
If only you Red Riding Hoods
had talked about school earlier.
Too late.
You enjoying this?
Oh, no. I'm not such an evil soul.
Then why?
What do you want from us?
I don't want anything from you kids.
I've merely given you this castle,
and the right to search for
the wish-granting key.
They're here, somewhere in this town.
That kind of cheers me up.
Oh, my God!
I couldn't tell you.
I wanted to, but...
I had no idea, at all.
It's not just some argument.
It's much more serious.
All right. Let's fight.
Let's fight together, Kokoro.
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
I should have noticed.
DECEMBER
Thank you.
Kokoro, good to see you. Are you well?
I'm glad we could meet.
And that I pressed your mother.
Ms. Kitajima isn't coming today?
This is a simple school issue.
I talked to Sanada.
So many misunderstandings.
"Misunderstandings"?
Hey, why not try
talking it out with Sanada?
Mr. Good-Looking!
Mr. Good-Looking!
Ida's such a dumbass.
He so is.
Well, she is easy to misunderstand.
I'm sure you've had a hard time.
But she's worried, and sorry...
I doubt she's sorry.
If she is sorry,
it's because a teacher scolded her.
She's scared of teachers
thinking badly of what she does.
Kokoro, listen...
Mr. Ida, shouldn't you start
by asking Kokoro what happened?
Just like you asked that girl Sanada.
I think they should
work it out themselves...
Enough. Next time you come,
could you please bring the head
of her year or the principal?
Wow.
Looks tasty.
Handmade? By a girl?
No. My mother. She makes them every year.
She comes to Hawaii,
bakes it, then leaves.
She left already?
Two nights, three days. She's busy.
Oh, right.
Come on, let's eat it.
Yeah, yeah!
Let's ask the Wolf Queen too.
Good idea.
Who, me?
Typical.
Cake. My mom made it.
You're dressed for Christmas.
- Oh, yeah!
- Cute.
Can you wear your mask and eat?
No. I can't eat here.
Cut me a piece and I'll take it.
I thought you'd refuse.
Wolf Queen, you like cake too!
Hey, I need to ask you all something.
Could you come to school
for third semester, even just for a day?
My parents want me to switch schools.
I thought my other school was enough.
Alternative school? You go too?
Sometimes. There's one cool teacher.
Is that teacher a woman?
Could it be Kitajima?
- Yeah!
- Yeah!
Wow, really?
But alternative school isn't real school,
and we barely study.
Private school then?
You don't trust public school.
My dad's got connections.
He'll set something up for me.
I've thought the same thing.
Somewhere else might be better.
But if I transfer, maybe I won't
be able to come to the castle.
So I told my dad
I'll go to Yukishina 5th
for third semester.
But you'll...
Just for the first day.
Just come for the first day.
Please!
Not your classrooms, if you want.
The infirmary or the library.
Why are we all from Yukishina 5th?
Maybe we're supposed to help each other.
JANUARY
You should have gone to work.
Should I go with you?
It's okay. I'd better go.
Take care.
YUKISHINA 5TH JUNIOR HIGH
This isn't for school.
I came for my friends.
Moe!
Why?
TO KOKORO ANZAI
FROM MIORI SANADA
"Dear Kokoro Anzai,
Mr. Ida said you'll come
to school tomorrow
and I should write you a letter,
so here it is."
"Miss Anzai, do you hate me?"
"I want to meet with you and talk."
"I understand you're hung up on him,
but actually, in the summer,
I broke up with him."
"If you love him,
I'll be happy to support you."
INFIRMARY
Please be here, guys. Anyone!
Kokoro?
You okay?
Masamune, in Year 2, did he come?
Fuka in Year 2? Aki and Subaru in Year 3?
Calm down, Kokoro. What's this about?
Ureshino too? Year 1.
His name's rare so you must know him.
Right?
No one in Year 1 has that name.
If you know the others' last names...
I don't. Not Aki's last name or Fuka's.
Kokoro?
Ms. Kitajima!
Miss, why?
I heard from your mother
that you'd come today.
You did?
You look better now.
You were so pale before.
You were clutching this letter.
Sorry. I went ahead and read it.
I don't want it.
I just talked to Mr. Ida.
He acted wrongly.
I should have talked to him more.
I'm sorry for causing you distress.
Miss, I saw Moe Tojo just now.
She saw me and ignored me.
No "You came to school,"
or anything like that.
Miss, what if she
put that letter in my shoe box?
On behalf of Miori Sanada?
Moe used to bring me
letters from school every day.
But if she hates me now, what should I do?
Don't worry.
We found out about you and Sanada
thanks to Moe.
Perhaps she was just too surprised
to say anything.
Please, believe me.
Moe is worried about you.
She really is?
Rion?
The others aren't here?
I just got here.
I had a break during soccer, but nobody's...
So, how was it?
Nobody came.
I don't know why,
but Masamune and the others didn't.
What's more, it seems
they don't go to Yukishina 5th.
- How so?
- I don't know.
So I came wanting to ask them.
Maybe this castle and the mirrors...
Maybe none of you are real.
That thought scared me.
I'm real.
I'm really here.
That's no lie.
So the others are real too.
There must be a reason.
I'm sure all of us
meeting in this castle means something.
Especially because
we're all troubled about something.
Rion, you're troubled too?
Well...
If you find the key, do you have a wish?
My wish is for...
my big sister to come back.
The year I started elementary school,
she died.
She was sick.
Sorry, you don't want to hear this.
Didn't want to say.
For a time,
I really wanted to find the key.
Now, not so much.
My wish, it's so petty.
I gotta go back.
Me too. My mom's waiting for me at home.
Is she tricking us?
The Wolf Queen
calls us Red Riding Hoods, but...
Kokoro, why didn't you come?
I did! I went, like we agreed!
That's what Fuka and the others said.
I went too.
- Me too.
- Me too.
But nobody met.
I was told there's no Kokoro in Year 1.
Ureshino's a rare name so I asked,
but no such student.
How can that be?
I went to Year 2 Class 6, to see Masamune,
but I got told
there's nobody with that name.
Hey, he hasn't come yet?
We waited for ages,
but the next day, and the day after,
Masamune didn't come.
Just as we thought
he'd never come again, he showed up.
FEBRUARY
That's gotta be it.
We all come from parallel worlds.
Parallel worlds?
Like in science fiction novels?
Video games too.
So basically, that means,
we go to different versions
of Yukishina 5th.
All seven of us
come from different worlds.
Which means...
Put simply,
let's say the world was like one big tree.
Then each of our worlds
branched out from it.
Same origin, so they're similar,
but slightly different.
My world doesn't have a Subaru,
and Aki's world has no Kokoro or Fuka.
That's why we didn't meet?
Could be. Like the premise of Gate W.
"Gate W"?
Don't you know it? Gateworld.
Professor Nagahisa's bestselling game.
A friend of a friend
let me be an advance tester.
Nagahisa?
Pleiades Nagahisa!
The genius director
of game company Unizon.
Don't even know that?
It's basic knowledge.
I know it. Gate W.
A hit game that became a movie.
No it hasn't!
But...
Hey, you listening, Wolf Queen?
"One truth prevails!" So they say.
Says who?
What a racket.
You heard me. Say something!
Totally wrong.
All you could think of
is a flimsy game premise?
You need a reset.
But our realities are similar
but different.
If we can't meet outside,
what other explanation is there?
Who said you can't meet outside?
We can meet?
Work it out for yourselves already. Think!
I gave you a hint at the start.
More than plenty
about finding the key too.
The key?
Hey, under my bed, there's a cross symbol.
Does it mean something?
Under my desk too.
I thought it was just a scratch.
And in the bath.
I wondered why no water was coming out,
then I found it.
The kitchen oven.
The dining room cabinet.
You're right. Plus the closet in my room.
Six.
There might be more. Some kind of hint?
Think.
It's the mission
and the right you've been given.
Forget the key, and stay till the end.
Or find the key...
and have your wish granted.
You're free to choose.
TO KOKORO ANZAI
FROM MOE TOJO
KOKORO, I'M SORRY.
FROM MOE TOJO
MARCH
Still no sign of the key.
Our time's almost up.
Only two more weeks of gaming here.
Masamune, if you hadn't told me,
I'd never have gotten into gaming.
I'm amazed how advanced they are now.
You finish RPGs and fighting games
way faster than I do.
That isn't fair.
I'm interested in computers now.
I want to study them,
so I'll go to high school.
Last month, I took an exam
for a part-time tech school. Late, but...
You studied for it?
More or less.
I had no idea.
I'll switch schools.
You will?
My dad found a decent private school.
Wrote the entrance exam. Got in yesterday.
Good for you.
I'll probably transfer too.
Dad will stay for work,
but I talked with Mom,
and I'm gonna study overseas.
Overseas?
Way to go!
I need to make up my mind soon.
My parents suggest I transfer,
but I don't know.
Fuka plays piano a lot lately.
She said she enjoys it more now.
I wonder if she'll make it her main thing?
Yeah, she might.
I'll repeat the year.
Everybody says I should do it again.
I didn't study at all. No surprise there.
Sorry I'm late.
It's fine.
Kokoro wanted a hamburger,
so we came early.
How are you? Is here okay?
I thought somewhere lively might be nice.
If not, tell me.
As for your next move,
I met your mom several times,
and your dad once too.
You did?
I did. To figure out what you want,
and what's best.
You could switch to a school
in a district nearby,
or to a different class from Sanada
at Yukishina 5th.
Really?
I've talked with the school,
and they've made it a priority.
About Sanada's friends...
Toyosaka and Maeda in your class,
and Nakayama, right?
They'll all switch classes.
Hopefully a new homeroom teacher too.
What about Moe Tojo?
Moe will transfer out again.
Her dad's a college professor.
He'll teach in Nagoya from March.
We can visit schools in districts nearby.
But if you don't want to,
no need to go to junior high.
Your mom and I won't force you to go,
no matter what.
There's Caring Classroom
and other options.
You're not alone.
Let's work it out together.
Yeah!
This is cute.
Want one?
- Can we buy convenience store snacks too?
- Sure.
FAREWELL PARTY
Tomorrow's our last day.
Farewell party prep's perfect.
I'm sure
all kids like me who don't go to school
have been at the castle
with the Wolf Queen.
People never find out about that
because wishes come true
and memories are lost.
Whether my wish gets granted or not,
I'm grateful this castle exists.
Truly grateful.
Kokoro, may I clean?
Mom, your job...
Someone's coming to clean our ACs.
I'll pop into work later.
Well?
I'll do it!
Want to come over?
Lucky I bought two.
You choose.
Okay. This one.
Thanks for your letter.
Is it true that you're transferring?
Sorry.
Don't be.
When I saw you by the shoe boxes,
I wanted to talk but I couldn't.
Things were still weird.
Weird?
Sanada's group had turned on me.
If they'd known I talked to you,
they might have turned on you too.
Why?
I'm not sure.
They thought I looked down on them,
and it bugged them.
They said I tried
to seduce Nakayama's boyfriend.
I'm a "guy stealer."
Like, whatever.
I did look down on them.
They only think about boys
and other superficial stuff.
Bad grades, and they're immature.
They won't ever change.
They will lead crappy lives.
Whoa!
Moe, I've never heard you
talk that way before.
- Off putting?
- Not at all.
I'm glad.
Now they hate me the most
and want to shun me.
They'll be friendly to you at school.
To isolate me.
But that's...
But that's...
That's them.
So stupid, right? It's only school.
"It's only school"?
Don't let them win, Kokoro.
Kids like that are everywhere.
Maybe even at your next school.
Next time, I'll speak out when I should.
You ought to.
If somebody's in trouble,
I'll try to help.
Hey.
This picture of a wolf...
"The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats."
Seven?
Sorry, I won't keep it long.
It's okay. I move day after tomorrow.
Thanks! Bye.
Why?
Why? Why?
Wolf Queen, tell me.
Why has this happened?
Please answer!
Kokoro.
Rion?
Kokoro.
Kokoro!
Kokoro.
Kokoro.
What's wrong? What happened?
Aki broke the rule.
It was past 5:00 but she didn't leave.
A wolf ate her.
We'll be eaten too now.
Shared responsibility.
We went home just in time, but...
We were sucked into our mirrors.
What? What is it?
Guys! Guys!
Kokoro, listen! Find the key and save Aki!
Rion, I think this picture's a...
I think the key...
Aki, why? Why did you break the rule?
But don't worry.
I'll save you and the others.
I know I can!
The first kid is under the desk.
Fuka!
The second, the bed.
The third, the closet.
The fourth, the kitchen.
The fifth, the dining room.
The sixth, the bath tub.
Wolf Queen! Are you listening?
The seventh was hiding
somewhere unfindable.
Unreachable.
While the six were hiding,
the seventh could leap in!
Wolf Queen, the key is there, isn't it?
- Liar!
- You're full of it.
- Creep.
- Quit lying all the time!
MASAMUNE'S A LIAR
A friend of mine made this game.
A friend of mine makes games.
It's not his fault.
Public schools are no good.
He doesn't need school anyway!
They all should have come!
Of course.
Your friends must have been unable to.
Ms. Kitajima?
YUKISHINA 5TH JUNIOR HIGH
Hey, it's him.
For real? Why?
He's pigging out.
A migratory bird?
Can it rejoin its friends?
Haruka.
Mom! Ms. Kitajima too!
Friends haven't come?
Been waiting long?
Subaru, hurry up and eat.
Look at his damn hair.
You kids are like your dumb father.
Ma'am, Fuka is a prodigy!
DECEMBER 23RD
COMPETITION
Fuka went to Ms. Kitajima too?
Aki. What's up?
Is playing the piano fun?
It's more like...
I love it after all.
You study a lot.
"Knock knock. It's your mother."
"Liar! You're the wolf!"
"I'm your mother."
"Your voice is different."
Listen, Rion. If I go away,
I'll ask God to grant a wish of yours.
I want us to go to school, sis.
When you start elementary,
I'll be in junior high.
Then wait for me.
Thanks anyway.
I want to go to school with you too.
You're lucky you're so healthy.
Grandma, this is Atsushi.
My boyfriend.
What?
Your mother's not home yet.
Atsushi! Help me, Atsushi!
H-E-L-P is 41, 33, 24, 44...
A pager? You sneaky little brat!
You okay?
Wolf Queen, you used my mom's mirror?
It was urgent.
Aki! What's wrong?
Nobody's coming.
I don't fit in at school
and I can't go home.
What should I do?
If I had the key... The key...
I wish he'd die.
I've got nowhere to go! I can't go home!
Not in her room.
Aki, where are you?
- Aki!
- Aki!
Time's up!
Let's just go. We have to.
What? Wait, why?
I'm sorry. Sorry, you guys.
Kokoro, listen! Find the key and save Aki!
I think the key...
You saw it?
Wolf Queen! Where's Aki? The others?
They were eaten. Shared responsibility.
That's out of my hands.
Once a rule's broken, no going back.
This place is built on that.
Every action has a reaction.
But still...
You weren't here. You're exempt.
You survived.
You gathered their grave markers,
so you saw fragments of their memories.
How you use the key is up to you.
Can I meet them again?
That's in your hands.
Aki's in the Wishing Room.
Please.
Please spare Aki's life.
Please forget she broke the rule!
Aki! Don't go! Come to me!
We can meet again.
We'll grow up and help each other!
So please, you've got to live!
I'm in the future!
Past when you lived and would've grown up!
We all exist in different times!
We're in our own times,
as Yukishina 5th students!
Kokoro, I'm sorry.
Forget it! Forget about that!
Aki!
Rion!
Aki! Come to us!
We're all waiting!
- Aki, get over here!
- It's okay!
You guys!
Aki!
Here goes!
Pull!
I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I...
Aki.
Aki.
Thank goodness!
Bravo.
Wolf Queen?
NOW FOR EVERYONE
SUBARU 1985
AKI 1992
KOKORO / RION 2006
MASAMUNE 2013
FUKA 2020
URESHINO 2027
Subaru and Ureshino are 42 years apart?
They are.
2027? Ureshino, you're from
so far in the future.
When were you born?
So you're eight years younger than me.
Ureshino, even in your time, they exist?
Kids like us?
But hey, with this castle,
we can help them.
Even without memories.
So, somebody comes every seven years?
You're right.
But, here,
between you and me, there's a 14-year gap.
Why is that?
Maybe there was somebody,
but they couldn't come?
No. The picture had seven goats,
and there are seven of us.
If we're seven years apart,
maybe that means something.
We look like regular junior high kids,
but we're from far in the future
and the past.
Weird, right?
I wonder why we never noticed that before.
Kokoro and Rion were the same year.
Rion wasn't a Yukishina 5th student.
Maybe it's because I wanted to go there.
I wanted to make friends
at a Japanese school, so I got chosen.
To meet you, Kokoro.
We won't recognize each other
in our world.
So what? We lose our memories anyway.
You finally shut up.
Wolf Queen, is it time?
We can't stay?
Unfortunately, the castle
will close by tomorrow.
Your memories will vanish.
Collect your things.
- Time's up, huh?
- Gotta hurry.
- My music and textbooks.
- My makeup set.
Pleiades Nagahisa's game.
Big sis...
The castle would've closed
on your death day.
I was going to find the key
and wish for you to come back.
This castle,
it's just like your dollhouse.
The kid missing from 1999 is you,
isn't it?
You wanted to go to Yukishina 5th, but...
At first, I thought you'd returned
from her grave to see me,
but I get it now.
You come here from your hospital room.
You're in your hospital room right now,
with six-year-old me.
In this dollhouse, you've been spending
your last year on Earth together with us.
You look like a young girl
because you were healthy
when you were six and seven.
Am I right?
Big sis!
It's time.
Subaru Nagahisa.
Akiko Inoue.
Rion Mizumori.
Kokoro Anzai.
Fuka Hasegawa.
Haruka Ureshino.
Earth Masamune.
Wait. Is Masamune your last name?
Earth's your first name?
Shut up, you old timer.
Ureshino's is Haruka.
It sounds girly,
but I think it's pretty cool.
Subaru Nagahisa.
The name Subaru means "The Pleiades."
Fuka, if we meet again back in our world...
Even if we did, we wouldn't know.
Still, I know I'll fall in love
at first sight. So...
I'm gonna make video games.
So brag about me.
Kokoro, thanks for saving me.
Aki...
Don't worry. I'll be waiting.
Fourteen years in your future.
Come see me, okay?
Sure. I will.
SUBARU NAGAHISA - AKIKO INOUE
RION MIZUMORI - KOKORO ANZAI
FUKA HASEGAWA - HARUKA URESHINO
EARTH MASAMUNE
Guys, take care.
Bye.
Bye now.
I hope we meet again.
Bye now.
Bye.
Big sis, I'll try to make it somehow.
I'll say what I want to do
and what I don't.
Plus, Mom...
Can I ask you for one last favor?
I want to remember.
The others and you, Wolf Queen.
Impossible, huh?
Wait and see.
Big sis will be with me
when I go to school.
When I go to school, she'll be there.
Thank you.
Goodbye.
Ms. Inoue? Oh, not any more.
Ms. Akiko Kitajima. New nametag?
- Yes. What do you think?
- It's lovely.
KITAJIMA
- Your ring is.
- My ring?
Hello. Kokoro Anzai?
My name is Kitajima. May I sit?
Kokoro, you go to
Yukishina 5th Junior High?
Yes.
I went there too.
Okay.
Don't worry.
You'll be fine,
so keep growing, Kokoro.
APRIL 7TH, 2006
Any requests for dinner?
Cabbage rolls, maybe?
Cabbage rolls? Okay, got it.
Don't try too hard.
If it's too much, come home.
- Bye.
- Take care.
Hey there.
Good morning.
Same class, yeah?
YUKISHINA 5TH
2-2 ANZAI
My name's Mizumori. Rion Mizumori.
Let's go.
Sure.
ENTRANCE CEREMONY
BASED ON THE NOVEL
LONELY CASTLE IN THE MIRROR
BY MIZUKI TSUJIMURA
TAKASHI NAKAMURA, I LOVED
YOUR PERSONALITY AND BACKGROUND ART.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR MANY
WONDERFUL SCENES. - KEICHI HARA
Read Little Red Riding Hood.
Please, read it to me!
Shall we?
No way!
That's crazy.
Totally crazy!
CARING CLASSROOM
Elephant, elephant
Huh? Is it about me?
Elephant, elephant
- It's short!
- Okay.
Miss, he hit me again!
Hello.
Kokoro Anzai?
My name is Kitajima. May I sit?
Kokoro, do you go to
Yukishina 5th Junior High?
Yes.
I went there too.
Okay.
You know, I have this dream.
A transfer student,
talented and lovely, turns up.
And finds me among many classmates
with a smile as bright as the sun,
and says,
"Kokoro, long time no see!"
And walks right up to me.
Everybody's amazed.
I keep wishing for a miracle like that.
But it's never going to happen.
I know that.
MAY
Okay, I'm off.
Take care.
Mom, my stomach hurts.
Hurts how?
Same as usual.
Usual how?
It just does.
Are you going or not?
You won't go. Suit yourself.
It's not that I won't. I can't.
Good morning.
Anzai here. It's about my daughter.
She's not feeling well,
so she can't make it today.
My stomach really does hurt.
ANZAI
Moe.
Hey, wake up. Come on, wake up.
Welcome, Kokoro Anzai! We've been waiting!
What?
A castle?
Yes! Exactly!
Congratulations.
You've been invited as a guest!
- Don't run!
- I'm going home! Let go!
Enough! Shut up!
I've vetted six other guests.
I'm sick of it!
You're the last.
And it's 4:00 p.m. already.
I want to get this done.
Please, let me go!
I don't care! Let me go!
Aren't you curious, girl?
That's a real castle.
Plus, I'm mature for a child. And strong.
Aren't you excited about some adventure
or otherworldly fantasy?
No!
Your wish will come true.
Whatever it is, Plain Jane,
it'll be granted.
My wish?
The others await you.
Hello.
We've all been waiting.
We heard from her that you're the last.
I'm Wolf Queen.
The Wolf Queen said so.
There has to be seven of us.
You took so long.
About an hour?
What is this place? Why am I here?
Just like you, our mirrors glowed
and brought us here.
I was first, then the others appeared.
We got a brief explanation,
but honestly, I'm lost.
Huh? You still don't get it?
- I don't.
- Not at all.
This is the last time. Listen closely.
Somewhere in this castle
is a tiny, unenterable room.
The Wishing Room.
If you can get in,
any wish will be granted.
However, only one of you
can enter the room.
Red Riding Hoods.
She calls us "lost Red Riding Hoods."
To enter the room, you need a key.
If you have an earnest wish,
from today till March 30th next year,
you must find the key
somewhere in this castle.
Huh? I don't understand.
Me neither. Way too many questions.
Granting wishes, huh?
Why bring us here? What key? Where are we?
Enough! Shut up, shut up!
Explain properly then.
Why did we get chosen?
You kids are so unimaginative.
Ever thought that
you're the stars of this story?
You each have a room upstairs.
You're lucky. Appreciate it!
Your tone pisses me off.
For real.
Answer me this.
Don't you kids have wishes?
Well, no problem if you don't,
but if you snooze, you lose.
When the key's found
and a wish is granted, it's game over.
This castle closes and mirror paths shut.
Finding the key isn't compulsory.
Hey...
Can we come here anytime?
There are limits.
Between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.,
Japan time.
9:00 to 5:00? What is this, City Hall?
Whatever you say,
this rule must be obeyed.
If you don't leave by 5:00,
a wolf eats you.
You?
A real wolf. Frighteningly big.
Don't believe me? Try it.
Get eaten, you're done.
Plus, if one of you breaks the rule,
those with you that day
share responsibility.
Or rather, get eaten.
Anyway, if you obey the rule,
anything goes. Come freely.
"Freely"?
Whoa, it's 4:30.
Did you look around while you waited?
Only time for this today.
Well? Beats your homes, doesn't it?
Girls, sit here.
May I?
I'll be back soon. Get acquainted.
She vanished!
- Is she a ghost?
- Who knows?
Well, I'm Aki.
A junior high third year. Hi.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Hi.
I'm Kokoro. A first year. Hi.
I'm Fuka. A second year. Hi.
I'm Rion. A first year. Hi.
Name's Subaru. A third year. Hi.
Masamune. Second year.
Like the general, sword and sake.
I'm sick of hearing that.
It's my real name.
Ureshino!
- How is that written?
- My last name, not my first.
Written as "happy" and "field."
I'm a first year.
All junior high students?
What's that?
Hey.
Fifteen minutes to 5:00. Time to leave.
Hurry. You'll get eaten.
How do we leave?
Find your name.
Found it.
JUNE
I haven't gone back to the castle.
I wonder if the others have.
Come over sometime.
Really? I will!
Cute red umbrella! It suits you, Moe.
Done with homework?
- Yeah.
- Let's go!
I knew it!
Just one.
There's just one wish I want granted.
Poor girl, loner.
Desperately.
Go!
- Crap!
- No good?
I died! Damn, I died!
Wish we had a TV.
I could battle you, Subaru.
No electricity.
No need for a TV.
Forget our materialistic world here.
Forget you.
- What could this be?
- A game?
No power to run it.
Manual maybe?
I bet it sucks.
Japanese chess puzzles? Old school.
Pretty interesting.
- Borrow whatever you like.
- Really?
Dad buys them for me in Europe.
He's a kidlit professor.
Thanks!
Hey, good to see you. First time back?
Oh, I'm Kokoro.
Come on, I know. Leaving already?
Bye!
Kokoro! Guys, it's Kokoro!
- We waited for you.
- Hi again, Kokoro.
- Long time.
- Hey.
I haven't been able to come.
Really? We've been coming quite a lot.
Mostly this time in the afternoon.
A little later for me, maybe.
Early today.
I usually have soccer at school.
Day off today.
Another's coming.
What's up, everybody? Oh, Kokoro!
Now we're all here.
I'll be in my room.
Aki! Going already?
But I just got here.
Hey, my mom made cookies specially!
Mom's cookies are so good.
- Read the room.
- Loser.
Seems like I should've gone earlier,
but they were glad to see me.
I'll go again tomorrow.
Kokoro.
Over here.
The boys are there. Too annoying.
Well, just Ureshino.
Come with us.
We mostly spend time here.
Great view of the garden.
They've got pretty teacups here,
but the faucets are dry, so no hot water.
It's BYO drinks.
- Have some.
- Thank you.
It's nice. Strawberry tea?
Right. I'm a strawberry tea fan.
May I ask if you looked around inside?
No need to be so formal.
Yeah, just a little.
The day after we first came, with Fuka.
We climbed the tower too, but...
We're surrounded by water
with no connecting land.
We also looked for the key, but no luck.
Hey... Well...
If they find the key...
My room's so beautiful.
Yeah! Mine's great too.
Fuka even has a piano.
I wanted to ask what wish
they want to come true,
but couldn't.
I didn't want them to ask me either.
The castle's quite fun.
Whether I'm with them or not.
They come almost every day,
so I wonder if they're skipping school.
But no one asks about that, or confesses.
That's very reassuring.
JULY
Well? Tasty, right?
Have more. Don't hold back.
Kokoro!
Okay, come with me.
Sit, sit.
Kokoro, have some too. My mom's cookies.
I saved the prettiest ones.
Thanks.
He gives them to girls he likes.
Tell me, Kokoro.
Got a boyfriend or somebody you like?
Hey.
So, you've switched from Aki to Kokoro?
Wolf Queen, it's been a while.
Hey kids, enough slacking.
Why not look for the key?
It ain't here.
Did you look properly?
Well, if you've got no wish, fine.
Ureshino's got a wish.
"Look at me, Kokoro!"
You didn't hear that, right?
So lame.
So lame! Just drop dead!
AUGUSI quickly went home to have lunch.
They're all playing a game.
So, do your close friends
call you "Fuka babe"?
Or "Fu-babe"?
No. Even my mom calls me Fuka.
Wow, really? So hey, so hey...
JUNIOR HIGH YEAR 1
SCIENCE WORKBOOK
Too hard. I can't do it.
Nobody's here. A first?
What's this?
Kokoro.
Sorry, I scared you.
I thought I was alone.
It's summer break. Everybody seems busy.
Busy?
Masamune's away with his parents.
Fuka has two weeks of summer school.
Ureshino goes to a cram school.
Oh.
Yo.
Leaving?
The others haven't been coming.
Because of summer break?
Summer school, stuff like that.
Summer school? What's that?
First semester review,
over the summer break.
Everybody's so smart.
You go too?
Good.
I feel better now.
I'm not scolding you.
It's good you feel like going out.
I was just surprised to find
you weren't home.
Why come home? To check on me?
Of course not. My plans changed.
I thought we could have lunch.
I hate being monitored.
Ms. Kitajima...
You know, at the alternative school.
Your young teacher.
She says she wants to talk with you again.
She says it's not your fault
you can't go to school.
There must be a reason.
She keeps telling me that, so...
Oh, your dad. He's early today.
Hey, why don't we all...
It's summer break.
Even so, summer break's almost over.
Yeah, true.
Won't the teachers get mad?
"Don't dye your hair!"
They'll all be on edge.
Yeah. Well, whatever.
It looks good on you.
Maybe I'll do it too.
Fuka, Kokoro, you too?
But if I make Fuka do something silly,
somebody might get mad.
You gave Fuka a present too.
Mommy's special cookies.
Listen!
From second semester, I'll go to school.
I held back saying this till now...
but none of you go to school, right?
You can't go to school.
It's so lame!
Aki, you even acted worried
that teachers might get mad.
What a joke!
Don't say that.
You all treated me like a joke!
You always do. You laughed at me!
That's not true!
Maybe it is true.
It's Ureshino, so...
I'm sick of it! Aren't we all the same?
We're left out, disliked
and have no friends!
You too! You too! You too!
You too! You too! You too!
Ureshino, calm down.
Hey, what about you?
Why'd you stop going to school? Say it!
I...
I go to school.
- Liar!
- I'm not lying.
Just not a school in Japan.
A boarding school in Hawaii.
- Hawaii?
- Actual Hawaii?
You come here from so far away?
Distance doesn't matter.
Remember what the Wolf Queen told us?
"This castle opens from 9:00 to 5:00,
Japan time."
Why say "Japan time"? I wondered.
You're an elite.
I'm not elite at all.
The school was easy to get in to,
and we just play soccer.
You're studying soccer abroad?
Yeah, kind of.
Why did you hide that?
You think we're a joke?
I don't think that.
At first, I thought you were all
studying overseas too.
But you talked about afternoons in Japan.
I couldn't tell if you went to school.
The time difference...
I don't care about any of that!
I'll do what you all can't.
I'll show you I'm different!
I'll go to school!
So long!
SEPTEMBER
Are you all right?
These bandages are too much.
It's not as bad as it looks.
Ureshino, wanna play?
Let's play.
- Ureshino, let's play.
- Let's play.
That happened, huh?
Well, it's Ureshino,
so I thought things would get bad for him.
After starting junior high,
his new friends
got him to pay for things,
and it escalated.
It wasn't bullying or anything like that.
I went back to school and it felt awkward,
so I apologized to them.
Why should you apologize?
But my teacher said they worried about me.
Then they said if I didn't pay,
I was no use.
I got angry and shoved them,
then they got me.
Oh, boy!
This is his only safe space too, huh?
But, Aki...
Oh, I mean...
You haven't come
to the castle much either.
I guess so.
What?
I've got a boyfriend.
Keep it secret.
Good to see you. Been well?
Yes.
Come in.
We can just talk here.
I thought I should wait for your mother,
but I wanted to talk with you alone.
I talk with your mother sometimes.
I hope you'll come to our school
when you feel up to it.
Hey...
About it not being my fault
I don't go to school...
Did you really say that to my mother?
Why?
Because, every day,
you're struggling, aren't you?
May I come again?
Sure.
I love this tea. Drink it if you like.
Will you accept it?
Thank you.
Okay, see you.
OCTOBER
Since we're all here today,
we should talk, about what to do.
It's October. Less than six months left.
So, the key...
Actually, Masamune and I
looked hard for it.
I was searching in the dining room
and he walked in.
You were so focused, you didn't notice me.
You waited till we were all gone
to look for the key every day.
But I couldn't find it,
so I said we should try separately.
We're rivals, but if we find it,
we could figure out a way
to decide whose wish gets granted.
Aki, I never knew you had such a wish.
Or that you're so determined, Masamune.
Everybody's got a wish or two, right?
- I'm in.
- Me too.
But if we all do it, how about we promise?
Even if the key's found,
no using it till late March.
Good idea. We'd lose this place.
So, how does that sound?
Okay. Let's decide who goes where.
Not here.
Aki said she searched here thoroughly.
Maybe a fresh pair of eyes...
What's this?
What does that cross mean?
I saw it before.
Ouch!
You okay? Arm's still sore?
Yeah, but it's mostly better,
except when I stretch it.
Hey, Fuka.
A while back,
I got angry and said silly things,
but I like it here.
It's fun being here.
Not going to school?
No, I'm not.
But my other school has a great teacher.
Alternative school?
Yeah. That teacher asks me,
"What do you want to do most?"
Listens to what I have to say.
Really?
Oh, crap.
Hey! It's time!
No luck, huh?
Well, too bad for now.
Let's make time to search.
A united front? Wonderful.
Hey, hey, we meet again, Red Riding Hoods.
Sudden as usual.
You Red Riding Hoods
seemed to be having fun, so I came.
Got a problem?
We can search together, right?
Cooperation is beautiful.
Continue in that vein.
There's just one thing I forgot to say.
When you find the key
and have your wish granted,
your memories of here will vanish.
What?
This castle, your time here,
you'll forget everything.
You'll forget each other, me, everything.
If no one's wish is granted by March 30th,
you keep your memories.
You'll still remember your time here.
That choice
is up to you kids.
So, I don't really care,
if I lose my memories.
None of us would have ever met anyway.
Aki, your wish means that much to you?
My classmate, Sanada,
is a big problem for me.
After I started school,
a pretty girl, Moe Tojo, transferred in.
She lived nearby and we became friends.
The thing about Sanada was,
she was active, bold and popular.
The teachers liked her too.
What?
You know, I hate ugly girls like you.
Satisfied?
Thought Ikeda would ask you out?
You're dreaming!
Ikeda would never go
for somebody like you!
So lame! Just drop dead!
Back in elementary school,
that boy once said he liked me.
But that was the only time.
Don't ignore me, ugly!
In junior high, he started dating Sanada.
What scared me most was...
Kokoro Anzai!
It wasn't just one or two.
I sensed many more outside.
- Get out here!
- Make it quick!
- Don't hide!
- Come out!
Let's try the yard. Look in the windows.
Come out or your garden's dead.
- What's she doing?
- She's chicken.
Kokoro, come play with us!
Man-stealer!
Sanada wants to talk to you!
You're gutless!
- It won't open.
- She's in there.
Get out here! You coward!
- Get out here.
- Coward.
Come out already.
Mom! Mom! Mom!
That coward. How could she?
Sanada, don't cry.
That girl came on to her guy.
She needs punishing.
- It's unforgivable!
- Get out here!
- Open up!
- Come out already!
You traitor!
No need to forgive me.
I'll never forgive you either!
I was terrified.
Seriously, I thought I'd be killed.
Then I realized the house was dark
and it was quiet outside.
Mom came home soon after.
But I couldn't tell her. I don't know why.
Because of that,
I gradually stopped going to school.
You did well. Really well.
You've been so strong.
Yeah. Well done.
I wanted to tell somebody.
I wanted somebody to listen.
I thought, if it wasn't for Sanada,
everything would be easier.
I wanted to find the key
and wish that Sanada would disappear.
But if I lose my memories of you
because of that...
I don't know what to do.
Nevertheless, we kept looking for the key.
NOVEMBER
Tried this?
Oh, that. Nobody knows what it is.
I wonder...
I might know.
Then...
It's a music box?
What's that?
That thing?
Rion started it.
"Trumerei."
It's an antique music box? Beautiful.
Aki! What's wrong?
You okay?
What's wrong?
It's Aki.
Aki?
Sorry. It's nothing.
What?
That uniform.
Yukishina 5th...
Now you get it?
It's a surprise though.
We all go to Yukishina 5th
in Minami Tokyo City.
I went to Hawaii before I could go.
But I would have if I hadn't.
Our school has so many absent students.
If only you Red Riding Hoods
had talked about school earlier.
Too late.
You enjoying this?
Oh, no. I'm not such an evil soul.
Then why?
What do you want from us?
I don't want anything from you kids.
I've merely given you this castle,
and the right to search for
the wish-granting key.
They're here, somewhere in this town.
That kind of cheers me up.
Oh, my God!
I couldn't tell you.
I wanted to, but...
I had no idea, at all.
It's not just some argument.
It's much more serious.
All right. Let's fight.
Let's fight together, Kokoro.
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
I should have noticed.
DECEMBER
Thank you.
Kokoro, good to see you. Are you well?
I'm glad we could meet.
And that I pressed your mother.
Ms. Kitajima isn't coming today?
This is a simple school issue.
I talked to Sanada.
So many misunderstandings.
"Misunderstandings"?
Hey, why not try
talking it out with Sanada?
Mr. Good-Looking!
Mr. Good-Looking!
Ida's such a dumbass.
He so is.
Well, she is easy to misunderstand.
I'm sure you've had a hard time.
But she's worried, and sorry...
I doubt she's sorry.
If she is sorry,
it's because a teacher scolded her.
She's scared of teachers
thinking badly of what she does.
Kokoro, listen...
Mr. Ida, shouldn't you start
by asking Kokoro what happened?
Just like you asked that girl Sanada.
I think they should
work it out themselves...
Enough. Next time you come,
could you please bring the head
of her year or the principal?
Wow.
Looks tasty.
Handmade? By a girl?
No. My mother. She makes them every year.
She comes to Hawaii,
bakes it, then leaves.
She left already?
Two nights, three days. She's busy.
Oh, right.
Come on, let's eat it.
Yeah, yeah!
Let's ask the Wolf Queen too.
Good idea.
Who, me?
Typical.
Cake. My mom made it.
You're dressed for Christmas.
- Oh, yeah!
- Cute.
Can you wear your mask and eat?
No. I can't eat here.
Cut me a piece and I'll take it.
I thought you'd refuse.
Wolf Queen, you like cake too!
Hey, I need to ask you all something.
Could you come to school
for third semester, even just for a day?
My parents want me to switch schools.
I thought my other school was enough.
Alternative school? You go too?
Sometimes. There's one cool teacher.
Is that teacher a woman?
Could it be Kitajima?
- Yeah!
- Yeah!
Wow, really?
But alternative school isn't real school,
and we barely study.
Private school then?
You don't trust public school.
My dad's got connections.
He'll set something up for me.
I've thought the same thing.
Somewhere else might be better.
But if I transfer, maybe I won't
be able to come to the castle.
So I told my dad
I'll go to Yukishina 5th
for third semester.
But you'll...
Just for the first day.
Just come for the first day.
Please!
Not your classrooms, if you want.
The infirmary or the library.
Why are we all from Yukishina 5th?
Maybe we're supposed to help each other.
JANUARY
You should have gone to work.
Should I go with you?
It's okay. I'd better go.
Take care.
YUKISHINA 5TH JUNIOR HIGH
This isn't for school.
I came for my friends.
Moe!
Why?
TO KOKORO ANZAI
FROM MIORI SANADA
"Dear Kokoro Anzai,
Mr. Ida said you'll come
to school tomorrow
and I should write you a letter,
so here it is."
"Miss Anzai, do you hate me?"
"I want to meet with you and talk."
"I understand you're hung up on him,
but actually, in the summer,
I broke up with him."
"If you love him,
I'll be happy to support you."
INFIRMARY
Please be here, guys. Anyone!
Kokoro?
You okay?
Masamune, in Year 2, did he come?
Fuka in Year 2? Aki and Subaru in Year 3?
Calm down, Kokoro. What's this about?
Ureshino too? Year 1.
His name's rare so you must know him.
Right?
No one in Year 1 has that name.
If you know the others' last names...
I don't. Not Aki's last name or Fuka's.
Kokoro?
Ms. Kitajima!
Miss, why?
I heard from your mother
that you'd come today.
You did?
You look better now.
You were so pale before.
You were clutching this letter.
Sorry. I went ahead and read it.
I don't want it.
I just talked to Mr. Ida.
He acted wrongly.
I should have talked to him more.
I'm sorry for causing you distress.
Miss, I saw Moe Tojo just now.
She saw me and ignored me.
No "You came to school,"
or anything like that.
Miss, what if she
put that letter in my shoe box?
On behalf of Miori Sanada?
Moe used to bring me
letters from school every day.
But if she hates me now, what should I do?
Don't worry.
We found out about you and Sanada
thanks to Moe.
Perhaps she was just too surprised
to say anything.
Please, believe me.
Moe is worried about you.
She really is?
Rion?
The others aren't here?
I just got here.
I had a break during soccer, but nobody's...
So, how was it?
Nobody came.
I don't know why,
but Masamune and the others didn't.
What's more, it seems
they don't go to Yukishina 5th.
- How so?
- I don't know.
So I came wanting to ask them.
Maybe this castle and the mirrors...
Maybe none of you are real.
That thought scared me.
I'm real.
I'm really here.
That's no lie.
So the others are real too.
There must be a reason.
I'm sure all of us
meeting in this castle means something.
Especially because
we're all troubled about something.
Rion, you're troubled too?
Well...
If you find the key, do you have a wish?
My wish is for...
my big sister to come back.
The year I started elementary school,
she died.
She was sick.
Sorry, you don't want to hear this.
Didn't want to say.
For a time,
I really wanted to find the key.
Now, not so much.
My wish, it's so petty.
I gotta go back.
Me too. My mom's waiting for me at home.
Is she tricking us?
The Wolf Queen
calls us Red Riding Hoods, but...
Kokoro, why didn't you come?
I did! I went, like we agreed!
That's what Fuka and the others said.
I went too.
- Me too.
- Me too.
But nobody met.
I was told there's no Kokoro in Year 1.
Ureshino's a rare name so I asked,
but no such student.
How can that be?
I went to Year 2 Class 6, to see Masamune,
but I got told
there's nobody with that name.
Hey, he hasn't come yet?
We waited for ages,
but the next day, and the day after,
Masamune didn't come.
Just as we thought
he'd never come again, he showed up.
FEBRUARY
That's gotta be it.
We all come from parallel worlds.
Parallel worlds?
Like in science fiction novels?
Video games too.
So basically, that means,
we go to different versions
of Yukishina 5th.
All seven of us
come from different worlds.
Which means...
Put simply,
let's say the world was like one big tree.
Then each of our worlds
branched out from it.
Same origin, so they're similar,
but slightly different.
My world doesn't have a Subaru,
and Aki's world has no Kokoro or Fuka.
That's why we didn't meet?
Could be. Like the premise of Gate W.
"Gate W"?
Don't you know it? Gateworld.
Professor Nagahisa's bestselling game.
A friend of a friend
let me be an advance tester.
Nagahisa?
Pleiades Nagahisa!
The genius director
of game company Unizon.
Don't even know that?
It's basic knowledge.
I know it. Gate W.
A hit game that became a movie.
No it hasn't!
But...
Hey, you listening, Wolf Queen?
"One truth prevails!" So they say.
Says who?
What a racket.
You heard me. Say something!
Totally wrong.
All you could think of
is a flimsy game premise?
You need a reset.
But our realities are similar
but different.
If we can't meet outside,
what other explanation is there?
Who said you can't meet outside?
We can meet?
Work it out for yourselves already. Think!
I gave you a hint at the start.
More than plenty
about finding the key too.
The key?
Hey, under my bed, there's a cross symbol.
Does it mean something?
Under my desk too.
I thought it was just a scratch.
And in the bath.
I wondered why no water was coming out,
then I found it.
The kitchen oven.
The dining room cabinet.
You're right. Plus the closet in my room.
Six.
There might be more. Some kind of hint?
Think.
It's the mission
and the right you've been given.
Forget the key, and stay till the end.
Or find the key...
and have your wish granted.
You're free to choose.
TO KOKORO ANZAI
FROM MOE TOJO
KOKORO, I'M SORRY.
FROM MOE TOJO
MARCH
Still no sign of the key.
Our time's almost up.
Only two more weeks of gaming here.
Masamune, if you hadn't told me,
I'd never have gotten into gaming.
I'm amazed how advanced they are now.
You finish RPGs and fighting games
way faster than I do.
That isn't fair.
I'm interested in computers now.
I want to study them,
so I'll go to high school.
Last month, I took an exam
for a part-time tech school. Late, but...
You studied for it?
More or less.
I had no idea.
I'll switch schools.
You will?
My dad found a decent private school.
Wrote the entrance exam. Got in yesterday.
Good for you.
I'll probably transfer too.
Dad will stay for work,
but I talked with Mom,
and I'm gonna study overseas.
Overseas?
Way to go!
I need to make up my mind soon.
My parents suggest I transfer,
but I don't know.
Fuka plays piano a lot lately.
She said she enjoys it more now.
I wonder if she'll make it her main thing?
Yeah, she might.
I'll repeat the year.
Everybody says I should do it again.
I didn't study at all. No surprise there.
Sorry I'm late.
It's fine.
Kokoro wanted a hamburger,
so we came early.
How are you? Is here okay?
I thought somewhere lively might be nice.
If not, tell me.
As for your next move,
I met your mom several times,
and your dad once too.
You did?
I did. To figure out what you want,
and what's best.
You could switch to a school
in a district nearby,
or to a different class from Sanada
at Yukishina 5th.
Really?
I've talked with the school,
and they've made it a priority.
About Sanada's friends...
Toyosaka and Maeda in your class,
and Nakayama, right?
They'll all switch classes.
Hopefully a new homeroom teacher too.
What about Moe Tojo?
Moe will transfer out again.
Her dad's a college professor.
He'll teach in Nagoya from March.
We can visit schools in districts nearby.
But if you don't want to,
no need to go to junior high.
Your mom and I won't force you to go,
no matter what.
There's Caring Classroom
and other options.
You're not alone.
Let's work it out together.
Yeah!
This is cute.
Want one?
- Can we buy convenience store snacks too?
- Sure.
FAREWELL PARTY
Tomorrow's our last day.
Farewell party prep's perfect.
I'm sure
all kids like me who don't go to school
have been at the castle
with the Wolf Queen.
People never find out about that
because wishes come true
and memories are lost.
Whether my wish gets granted or not,
I'm grateful this castle exists.
Truly grateful.
Kokoro, may I clean?
Mom, your job...
Someone's coming to clean our ACs.
I'll pop into work later.
Well?
I'll do it!
Want to come over?
Lucky I bought two.
You choose.
Okay. This one.
Thanks for your letter.
Is it true that you're transferring?
Sorry.
Don't be.
When I saw you by the shoe boxes,
I wanted to talk but I couldn't.
Things were still weird.
Weird?
Sanada's group had turned on me.
If they'd known I talked to you,
they might have turned on you too.
Why?
I'm not sure.
They thought I looked down on them,
and it bugged them.
They said I tried
to seduce Nakayama's boyfriend.
I'm a "guy stealer."
Like, whatever.
I did look down on them.
They only think about boys
and other superficial stuff.
Bad grades, and they're immature.
They won't ever change.
They will lead crappy lives.
Whoa!
Moe, I've never heard you
talk that way before.
- Off putting?
- Not at all.
I'm glad.
Now they hate me the most
and want to shun me.
They'll be friendly to you at school.
To isolate me.
But that's...
But that's...
That's them.
So stupid, right? It's only school.
"It's only school"?
Don't let them win, Kokoro.
Kids like that are everywhere.
Maybe even at your next school.
Next time, I'll speak out when I should.
You ought to.
If somebody's in trouble,
I'll try to help.
Hey.
This picture of a wolf...
"The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats."
Seven?
Sorry, I won't keep it long.
It's okay. I move day after tomorrow.
Thanks! Bye.
Why?
Why? Why?
Wolf Queen, tell me.
Why has this happened?
Please answer!
Kokoro.
Rion?
Kokoro.
Kokoro!
Kokoro.
Kokoro.
What's wrong? What happened?
Aki broke the rule.
It was past 5:00 but she didn't leave.
A wolf ate her.
We'll be eaten too now.
Shared responsibility.
We went home just in time, but...
We were sucked into our mirrors.
What? What is it?
Guys! Guys!
Kokoro, listen! Find the key and save Aki!
Rion, I think this picture's a...
I think the key...
Aki, why? Why did you break the rule?
But don't worry.
I'll save you and the others.
I know I can!
The first kid is under the desk.
Fuka!
The second, the bed.
The third, the closet.
The fourth, the kitchen.
The fifth, the dining room.
The sixth, the bath tub.
Wolf Queen! Are you listening?
The seventh was hiding
somewhere unfindable.
Unreachable.
While the six were hiding,
the seventh could leap in!
Wolf Queen, the key is there, isn't it?
- Liar!
- You're full of it.
- Creep.
- Quit lying all the time!
MASAMUNE'S A LIAR
A friend of mine made this game.
A friend of mine makes games.
It's not his fault.
Public schools are no good.
He doesn't need school anyway!
They all should have come!
Of course.
Your friends must have been unable to.
Ms. Kitajima?
YUKISHINA 5TH JUNIOR HIGH
Hey, it's him.
For real? Why?
He's pigging out.
A migratory bird?
Can it rejoin its friends?
Haruka.
Mom! Ms. Kitajima too!
Friends haven't come?
Been waiting long?
Subaru, hurry up and eat.
Look at his damn hair.
You kids are like your dumb father.
Ma'am, Fuka is a prodigy!
DECEMBER 23RD
COMPETITION
Fuka went to Ms. Kitajima too?
Aki. What's up?
Is playing the piano fun?
It's more like...
I love it after all.
You study a lot.
"Knock knock. It's your mother."
"Liar! You're the wolf!"
"I'm your mother."
"Your voice is different."
Listen, Rion. If I go away,
I'll ask God to grant a wish of yours.
I want us to go to school, sis.
When you start elementary,
I'll be in junior high.
Then wait for me.
Thanks anyway.
I want to go to school with you too.
You're lucky you're so healthy.
Grandma, this is Atsushi.
My boyfriend.
What?
Your mother's not home yet.
Atsushi! Help me, Atsushi!
H-E-L-P is 41, 33, 24, 44...
A pager? You sneaky little brat!
You okay?
Wolf Queen, you used my mom's mirror?
It was urgent.
Aki! What's wrong?
Nobody's coming.
I don't fit in at school
and I can't go home.
What should I do?
If I had the key... The key...
I wish he'd die.
I've got nowhere to go! I can't go home!
Not in her room.
Aki, where are you?
- Aki!
- Aki!
Time's up!
Let's just go. We have to.
What? Wait, why?
I'm sorry. Sorry, you guys.
Kokoro, listen! Find the key and save Aki!
I think the key...
You saw it?
Wolf Queen! Where's Aki? The others?
They were eaten. Shared responsibility.
That's out of my hands.
Once a rule's broken, no going back.
This place is built on that.
Every action has a reaction.
But still...
You weren't here. You're exempt.
You survived.
You gathered their grave markers,
so you saw fragments of their memories.
How you use the key is up to you.
Can I meet them again?
That's in your hands.
Aki's in the Wishing Room.
Please.
Please spare Aki's life.
Please forget she broke the rule!
Aki! Don't go! Come to me!
We can meet again.
We'll grow up and help each other!
So please, you've got to live!
I'm in the future!
Past when you lived and would've grown up!
We all exist in different times!
We're in our own times,
as Yukishina 5th students!
Kokoro, I'm sorry.
Forget it! Forget about that!
Aki!
Rion!
Aki! Come to us!
We're all waiting!
- Aki, get over here!
- It's okay!
You guys!
Aki!
Here goes!
Pull!
I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I...
Aki.
Aki.
Thank goodness!
Bravo.
Wolf Queen?
NOW FOR EVERYONE
SUBARU 1985
AKI 1992
KOKORO / RION 2006
MASAMUNE 2013
FUKA 2020
URESHINO 2027
Subaru and Ureshino are 42 years apart?
They are.
2027? Ureshino, you're from
so far in the future.
When were you born?
So you're eight years younger than me.
Ureshino, even in your time, they exist?
Kids like us?
But hey, with this castle,
we can help them.
Even without memories.
So, somebody comes every seven years?
You're right.
But, here,
between you and me, there's a 14-year gap.
Why is that?
Maybe there was somebody,
but they couldn't come?
No. The picture had seven goats,
and there are seven of us.
If we're seven years apart,
maybe that means something.
We look like regular junior high kids,
but we're from far in the future
and the past.
Weird, right?
I wonder why we never noticed that before.
Kokoro and Rion were the same year.
Rion wasn't a Yukishina 5th student.
Maybe it's because I wanted to go there.
I wanted to make friends
at a Japanese school, so I got chosen.
To meet you, Kokoro.
We won't recognize each other
in our world.
So what? We lose our memories anyway.
You finally shut up.
Wolf Queen, is it time?
We can't stay?
Unfortunately, the castle
will close by tomorrow.
Your memories will vanish.
Collect your things.
- Time's up, huh?
- Gotta hurry.
- My music and textbooks.
- My makeup set.
Pleiades Nagahisa's game.
Big sis...
The castle would've closed
on your death day.
I was going to find the key
and wish for you to come back.
This castle,
it's just like your dollhouse.
The kid missing from 1999 is you,
isn't it?
You wanted to go to Yukishina 5th, but...
At first, I thought you'd returned
from her grave to see me,
but I get it now.
You come here from your hospital room.
You're in your hospital room right now,
with six-year-old me.
In this dollhouse, you've been spending
your last year on Earth together with us.
You look like a young girl
because you were healthy
when you were six and seven.
Am I right?
Big sis!
It's time.
Subaru Nagahisa.
Akiko Inoue.
Rion Mizumori.
Kokoro Anzai.
Fuka Hasegawa.
Haruka Ureshino.
Earth Masamune.
Wait. Is Masamune your last name?
Earth's your first name?
Shut up, you old timer.
Ureshino's is Haruka.
It sounds girly,
but I think it's pretty cool.
Subaru Nagahisa.
The name Subaru means "The Pleiades."
Fuka, if we meet again back in our world...
Even if we did, we wouldn't know.
Still, I know I'll fall in love
at first sight. So...
I'm gonna make video games.
So brag about me.
Kokoro, thanks for saving me.
Aki...
Don't worry. I'll be waiting.
Fourteen years in your future.
Come see me, okay?
Sure. I will.
SUBARU NAGAHISA - AKIKO INOUE
RION MIZUMORI - KOKORO ANZAI
FUKA HASEGAWA - HARUKA URESHINO
EARTH MASAMUNE
Guys, take care.
Bye.
Bye now.
I hope we meet again.
Bye now.
Bye.
Big sis, I'll try to make it somehow.
I'll say what I want to do
and what I don't.
Plus, Mom...
Can I ask you for one last favor?
I want to remember.
The others and you, Wolf Queen.
Impossible, huh?
Wait and see.
Big sis will be with me
when I go to school.
When I go to school, she'll be there.
Thank you.
Goodbye.
Ms. Inoue? Oh, not any more.
Ms. Akiko Kitajima. New nametag?
- Yes. What do you think?
- It's lovely.
KITAJIMA
- Your ring is.
- My ring?
Hello. Kokoro Anzai?
My name is Kitajima. May I sit?
Kokoro, you go to
Yukishina 5th Junior High?
Yes.
I went there too.
Okay.
Don't worry.
You'll be fine,
so keep growing, Kokoro.
APRIL 7TH, 2006
Any requests for dinner?
Cabbage rolls, maybe?
Cabbage rolls? Okay, got it.
Don't try too hard.
If it's too much, come home.
- Bye.
- Take care.
Hey there.
Good morning.
Same class, yeah?
YUKISHINA 5TH
2-2 ANZAI
My name's Mizumori. Rion Mizumori.
Let's go.
Sure.
ENTRANCE CEREMONY
BASED ON THE NOVEL
LONELY CASTLE IN THE MIRROR
BY MIZUKI TSUJIMURA
TAKASHI NAKAMURA, I LOVED
YOUR PERSONALITY AND BACKGROUND ART.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR MANY
WONDERFUL SCENES. - KEICHI HARA