Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on October 2012

Based on the Naoki Award-winning novel of the same name by author Shingetsu Tsujimura, this tale delves into the otherworldly in a matter-of-fact way that Japan films are adept at doing.

Ayumu (Toori Matsuzaka) seems like a normal high-school student but in fact comes from a family that has a tradition of being a bridge between the living and the dead. He himself has the gift to take people to those on the other side, but a few rules apply. You can only meet a deceased person once in your life and the same is true for the passed on. They must meet when there is no sunlight and the day is determined by phases of the moon. Once people know what Ayumu can do a whole stream of characters begs him to connect them to someone passed on. He struggles with their motives, the ultimate good, and meaning of crossing the worlds.

Though slightly melodramatic the work holds it together to be an interesting take on a mystic topic. (129 min)