[somber, emotional music]
[whimpering]
[blimp engine rumbling]
Allow me to introduce my game to you.
[wind whistling]
This game, the one that we're all about to play,
is called… [gasps]
…The Queen of Croquet!
Croquet?
[Mira] Lawn billiards is what they used to call it
in 19th-century England, at the height of its popularity.
I don't believe that it was ever quite so popular in Japan.
We don't know the rules.
[Mira] That's all right. You don't really need to.
Don't worry.
It doesn't matter which one of us wins! [laughs]
What?
Clearing Croquet is simple.
You just have to complete
three little sets of croquet games without withdrawing.
If you decide to give up, game over.
Weapons are also allowed here.
It's so simple.
Just three little rounds of croquet.
W-- We just have to finish three rounds?
We don't even have to win?
[Mira] Exactly! Simple, huh?
Now, why don't we begin?
[theme music]
[wind whistling]
[Mira] Each side has two balls,
one blue and black, the other red and yellow.
To win, you need to pass your balls through the six hoops in a certain order,
then hit the final finishing peg before your opponent does.
[giggles]
Yes!
The first set's mine. Better luck next time.
[giggles]
We clear the game by finishing three sets without quitting.
I'm not gonna forfeit.
There are two sets left.
What is she thinking?
All right, round two now.
[sighs]
[Usagi] It looks like she's dragging the game out, making it last.
I think she's playing with us.
I need to get a move on.
[Usagi breathing shallowly]
[Mira] Oh! This is so much fun!
[hits ball]
Lovely! [gasps]
At this rate, we'll be playing forever.
[labored breathing]
[exhales]
All right!
[chuckles]
[sighs]
I did it!
I won!
[sighs]
It looks like I lost the second set.
[gasps] You are really talented!
Okay, time for round three.
Hmm…
That was just exhausting.
What say we have some tea, hmm?
[Arisu] Tea?
[Arisu] Forget about the tea. Let's play the game.
[Mira] But teatime is tradition.
It's proper croquet etiquette.
Now, please, help yourselves.
When this game is over,
will we return to our world?
[Mira] You'll find out at the end of the game.
Don't talk to her, Arisu.
Don't pay any attention to her.
Remember.
We just need to finish.
[Mira] Why do you want to know so badly?
My best friends died.
They never got to learn the truth.
So I need to find out. I'm doing it for their sake.
-That's why I made it this far. -You want to know.
But you also want to return
to your world.
Can we return?
[laughs]
Aww…
I'm afraid I can't tell you that.
[Mira chuckles]
For all you know,
this could be the ruins of your original world.
See, you say that.
But I bet you don't know anything either.
Yes, I do.
[ominous music]
Hmm.
I guess I have no choice. [laughs]
If you want to know so bad,
then I'll tell you everything.
The whole truth about where we are.
However, when I start, there's no going back.
Remember that you had to know the answer.
You asked for this, Arisu.
[exhales]
Tell me, have you ever thought…
pictured what the future would be like?
-Future? -[Mira] Yes.
Nanotechnology and renewable energy,
pluripotent cells, virtual reality, cryogenics, terraforming.
The science and technology from your era
bursts with mountains of hope and potential.
Perhaps you should be celebrating,
because all of those things became a reality.
What's more, technology rapidly advanced and progressed.
Within 30 years, the economies of developing countries grew,
and the inequality of living standards was eventually eliminated.
Fifty years later, gene manipulation extended the human lifespan.
Wait a second.
What are you saying?
[chuckles]
What are you saying?
I am simply providing information.
I'm telling you about 1,000 years of human history.
[scoffs] A thousand years?
In the future?
After humanity acquired more advanced knowledge,
it persisted in making new discoveries in every field.
And so, in short,
approximately ten years after what you believe is the current year,
virtual reality and avatars
begin to take over all aspects of people's lives.
After 50 years, cures for dementia, cancer, and many other maladies
become possible through genetics.
After a hundred, natural disasters are eliminated
thanks to environmental and weather control technologies.
After 200 years, the mechanism of the brain is analyzed.
Memories and thoughts can be transplanted.
After 300, humanity finally conquers natural death
and extends their lifespan to 300 years.
After 400, due to a perfect understanding of physics,
humanity unlocks all laws of causality.
Coincidence and fate are no more.
After 500, there are no irregular occurrences.
Humankind is perfectly able to control its whole world,
basically becoming immortal.
[gasps]
In the 500 years that follow, as long as they are supplied with dopamine,
humans can live forever.
That's the world in 1,000 years.
[light, ambient music]
[music growing sinister]
[dramatic music]
[rumbling]
[Mira] Right now, you are playing this game within a virtual reality.
You are so deeply immersed that you've forgotten.
[energy whirring]
This particular simulation is the most popular virtual reality package
a thousand years in the future.
After more or less achieving eternal life, people started losing their drive to live.
And yet, we were enamored with the period of time a thousand years ago.
A time when people feared death and the end of the world.
It continued to fascinate us.
Oh, and…
I'm the administrator of this system.
[laughs]
I'm just joking.
Not a word was true.
Huh?
-[Mira giggling] -Just quit fucking around.
[Mira laughs]
This is the truth.
Genetically modified plants developed sudden mutations and exploded with growth.
I'm sure you must have noticed.
The city?
It's completely overrun with vegetation.
What's more,
the mountains surround us and close us in.
[somber music]
[Mira] All of that was the work of aliens.
[Arisu] Aliens?
[Mira] They captured all of humanity and wiped our memories.
Forced us to play countless games.
All so they could conduct behavioral experiments on us.
[Arisu] Is that…
Is that true?
Of course it is.
Except
a rumor started circulating among the players.
The ones forced to compete in the games.
A rumor that that wasn't the whole story.
A nuclear apocalypse had wiped out most life,
and the wealthy elite living underground
had created androids with artificial memories.
These androids compete in games on the surface,
and the wealthy place bets on who would survive.
[emotional music]
[murmur of voices]
[man] A real nail biter, wouldn't you agree, sir?
Miss? Excuse me.
-Can I place a bet? -Yes, of course.
[Mira] The players believe that they are humans,
being forced by aliens to play these games.
But actually, they…
and you
are simply androids with a collection
of artificial memories.
[crockery rattles]
So is that actually the truth?
[laughs] No! Just kidding.
-[chuckles] -We need to finish one more set.
Don't listen to what she's saying.
You don't even know the real answer, do you?
You just might be right.
Do you want the truth so badly?
You want the truth for the sake of your dead friends?
[gasping]
Oh, you poor, poor thing.
It's written all over your face.
They were tremendously important to you, weren't they?
You should know,
I'm the one who made that game for you.
I designed the Seven of Hearts because you three were so close.
Arisu!
-It's all right. -[Arisu panting]
Please don't stop him.
Let him hate.
Hate is the most incredible motivator.
[tense, punchy music]
It's all part of your plan, isn't it?
You want to get killed.
I'm supposed to shoot you now.
If I kill you in this game,
we won't win.
We won't clear it.
There won't even be a game over.
That means
I would make this game go on forever.
If that happens,
all the other players are doomed to wait until their visas expire.
You want that.
You want us to fall into despair.
You want us to lose all hope.
[Mira] Tell me something.
While you were playing the games,
did you really care about the rest of the world?
Were you thinking about how the world works or what its purpose is?
Your own goals?
Or did you lose interest? Huh?
Did you start to accept that it didn't matter?
[gasps]
The answer doesn't matter.
And I think you know that.
Arisu. Don't listen to her.
-[Arisu] I wanna know the answer. -Arisu!
Are you really sure?
Yeah.
It seems like you're prepared to accept reality.
So be it, then.
I'll stop dodging your questions and tell you what you want to know.
Let's start with the big one.
The world, this world in front of your face,
none of it is real.
It's an illusion.
[gasps]
You want me to believe all of this is a trick?
Arisu, were you never once suspicious since you arrived?
The desolate city, and the science far too advanced?
The mysterious games?
Is it humans, or aliens?
That doesn't make any sense, does it?
Even if they were behind all this, why would they choose to run these games?
Tag, hide-and-seek,
they're children's games.
Nothing beyond your imagination is possible here.
[soft, ominous music]
It is no surprise that you were right.
You were always meant to survive this long.
It's simple, really.
This is all taking place in your mind.
This is all in your head, you see.
[chuckles] In a brain that barely weighs 1,500 grams.
[Usagi] Arisu.
Don't listen to her.
If this were an illusion,
that means I'm not real.
I can't just be something you invented! Listen, I'm alive and I'm here!
-Of course you are. -[gasping]
You exist, all right. Of course you do.
But you're somewhere else.
That is not the reality Arisu is looking at right now.
Huh?
Arisu.
What happened in that moment?
You remember, don't you?
When you lost them.
Those friends that were so precious to you.
The shock of it
wiped your memories.
I'm your doctor.
My name is Mira Kano.
Remember me?
Your psychiatrist.
I'm helping you.
We are doing therapy together.
You just
don't remember.
You don't remember anything.
So?
What about now?
Your memories…
Are they coming back?
[thump]
[low rumbling]
[ominous, ambient music]
[distant voices echoing]
Arisu, how are you?
Tell me about your memories.
Are they coming back to you?
Chota. [gasps]
Karube.
[sighs]
You're both two peas in a pod.
She's always checking in.
She really worries about you.
She also lost someone very precious to her.
So she's been hospitalized here. Just like you.
[gentle music]
[Mira] Now,
tell me.
Tell me what happened to you, Arisu.
On that day with the fireworks.
Go on.
Try to remember.
Fireworks…
-[horn blares] -[engine revs]
-Whoa! Get off! -[laughing] Put me down.
-Quick! -[biker] You guys are crazy!
-[horn blares] -[all gasping]
-[biker] Watch out! Watch out! -[horn beeping]
-Hurry up! Come on! -Aah! Uh, uh--
Look! Fireworks!
-[Arisu] Okay. -[Karube] Run for your lives!
-[horn blares] -[tires screech]
[crowd gasp and scream]
[Arisu] Huh? Huh? Huh?
Huh? Huh…
[trembling]
[choral music]
[sobbing quietly]
It was my fault.
And now they're dead.
It seems like you remember now.
[sniffles]
I'm the one who killed them.
My fault…
The answer you're trying to find,
it's not about this world.
Why it exists.
The answer you're really searching for
is what you are.
You want to know why you're alive.
Why you lived.
You want to know why you exist.
You grew up starved for love.
You've been seeking that answer a long time.
Long before you came here.
So what did you do?
You manifested these games
in your fantasies,
these childlike games you made for yourself.
And as you kept surviving the games,
you developed the desire
to know the truth about this place.
And that overlapped with your search for meaning in your own life.
They became intertwined in your head.
[sniffles]
[Mira] Tell me, Arisu…
in this whole world,
is there anyone who needs you?
[sniffles]
[Arisu] I'm not sure I'm ready.
Don't be silly. You've prepared, haven't you?
-[Arisu] I have, but I-- -Mm-hmm.
[Arisu] I just… I don't know how much… [voice fading]
[Mira] Is there a reason you exist in this world?
[dad] I've never had any concerns about you, son.
[Mira] Does your life have any meaning?
[gunfire in game]
[choral music swells]
What's your life's purpose, son?
How long are you going to pass your days like this?
Hey.
Is there a reason you're alive?
[game sounds stop]
[Mira] And now
you're the one who survived.
I don't know why.
There's no reason for me to live.
They're the ones
who should have survived.
Karube.
Chota.
Instead, it's me.
I survived. The one with no reason to.
I shouldn't be alive at all.
Arisu.
You need to wait outside for your turn.
We'll be seeing you soon.
[Usagi gasping]
-Arisu! -[Mira] Leave him alone.
He is trying to remember everything right now.
[gasping] Hey, hey! Wake up!
-Hey! -I said stop that!
Arisu's remembering his past so that he can recover.
And you're interfering with that.
-[gasping] No! -Step back.
Now,
Arisu…
why don't we make this go away?
All you need to do is tell me that you're giving up…
and the game will end.
[ominous music]
The game will… end.
That means it's real.
It wasn't an illusion.
I was a player in that game too.
[breathing shakily]
[gasps]
[chuckles]
[cries out]
Now,
Arisu.
Let me be absolutely certain.
You're forfeiting?
You're quitting the game, right?
[breathing unsteadily]
You'll feel better after you take your medicine.
Go on.
[gasps]
After that,
you can answer.
Arisu, stop it.
Arisu, no!
[Usagi gasps]
[panting]
I would put that down.
[Usagi breathing heavily]
[Usagi whispers] Arisu…
you promised.
You promised you'd protect me, no matter what.
[Usagi trembling]
Don't listen to her.
I am definitely here with you.
I'm alive!
But if you believe what she says…
then our time together wasn't real.
[sobbing]
It was just something you created in your mind.
And if you made it all up, then…
then that means I don't matter to you.
[sobs]
And what I do shouldn't affect you.
-[gasps] -[blood pouring]
[breathing heavily] Arisu!
Wake up.
[whimpering]
[blood dripping]
[sounds fade]
[disconcerting music]
[metronome ticking]
[ominous music]
[ticking continues]
[ticking slows]
[ticking regains rhythm]
[ominous music intensifies]
[ticking stops]
[Usagi gasping softly]
[whimpering]
Arisu.
[whispers] Arisu.
You have to come back.
[whimpering] Please.
[sobbing]
What a truly touching display.
However,
the feeling you call love is powerless.
[blood dripping]
Arisu.
Please.
I shouldn't be here.
I shouldn't be alive.
I have no reason to live.
[gasps]
[Usagi] Come back…
Arisu.
[sobs]
[gasping]
[echoing] The answer you're looking for…
a reason to be alive…
[breathing shakily]
Forget all of it, Arisu.
[shivering] The-- the truth is
everyone has a different answer.
It doesn't matter now.
You-- you don't need
a-- a reason to live.
[breathing heavily]
This whole time that we were looking for answers…
[sobbing]
…we've been searching side by side.
That alone was all I needed.
That was enough.
[emotional music]
You helped me realize what was important.
It was you.
It was you, Arisu.
[gasping]
[Mira] You poor thing.
Looks like I've won.
You'll be forfeiting now.
Isn't that right, Arisu?
And then… [gasps]
…our game will be over.
[chuckles]
[Arisu] Usagi.
[breathing shakily]
Usagi…
I want to feel your hand.
Just one more time.
[emotional music]
Walk side by side.
One more time.
And I want to eat next to you.
[Usagi] Me too.
Tomorrow…
I just want…
to say good morning to you.
I want to laugh with you every single day.
And some day…
I want us to climb a mountain.
Just being with you…
that's more than enough, Usagi.
We may fight.
But some days, that might be nice.
[chuckles]
[sniffles]
I want you to live.
I want that.
I want to keep protecting you.
[emotional music swells]
Game on.
Last round.
[music fades]
[wind whistling]
-[Usagi] Arisu. -[Arisu sighs]
[Arisu] It's okay now.
Here, take it.
How beautiful that was.
I do mean that.
Let's finish off the game.
Let's both do it for her.
[gentle music]
Yes!
Okay.
Yes!
[sighs]
Gah!
[sighs]
[laughing] Yes!
Hmm! I win!
[laughs]
[giggles]
[poignant music]
Well done.
You finished three sets.
You didn't quit or forfeit the match.
Congratulations, Arisu.
[computer] The game has ended.
Finally…
Is it over?
Yeah.
We won, Usagi.
[drops mallet]
Well?
What is this place? Can you tell me now?
Arisu.
You'll find out soon enough.
You will be given two choices.
No matter which one you pick,
you will learn the answer.
And you'll learn who you really are when you choose.
You'll soon find out.
Life is just…
a game we play together.
You should try to enjoy it.
[whirring]
[emotional music swells]
[computer] Congratulations.
All of the games have now been cleared.
[rumbling]
[music fades and continues quietly]
[computer] All surviving players will be presented with two choices.
Players must now all decide
whether to accept permanent residency in this country,
or decline it.
Once again,
players must now decide whether to accept permanent residency,
or decline it.
[fireworks continue exploding]
I decline.
[rustling]
[whimpering]
[gasps]
[Aguni grunting]
[Akane whimpering]
[sobbing]
And I…
don't want it!
[sobbing and gasping]
[emotional music continues]
I decline.
[gasping]
[rustling]
[Kuina] Let's go back together.
I accept, naturally.
I will gladly take it as well.
I want
to turn it down,
I think.
What are you gonna say?
I decline.
[emotional music swells]
I decline.
I'm choosing not to stay here.
Same for me.
I don't want it.
[music fades]
[ice rattling]
You want the usual?
Sure, thanks.
Here you go.
Hey.
What?
One big-ass nose hair…
Wait, what? [grunts]
Really?
-No. -Aw, you're such a piece of shit!
[both laughing]
Ah, you just looked so depressed.
Listen, did you know you can pull out your nose hair with wax?
-That would hurt so bad! -And they never grow back?
Nah, they still grow back!
-Then using a trimmer is way better. -Oh, sure.
What if something falls on top of you while you're doing it?
-That would hurt even worse. -Well, not as badly as an explosion.
-Oh yeah? -Yeah! [laughs]
[Karube chuckles]
I'm sorry.
It's my fault.
I'm sorry.
Oh, his fault, he says.
Someone thinks highly of himself.
I bet you think you're alive because you're, like, a chosen one or something.
I don't! It's thanks to you guys.
Come on. That makes it sound like we all sacrificed ourselves to keep you alive.
Chota, hey. Wasn't that a little harsh?
Arisu's missing the whole point, seriously.
[chuckles]
What the hell?
What are you trying to say?
Just tell me, come on.
Listen, man, it's like this.
Across all these games, there hasn't been a single one,
not one, that you cleared on your own.
You could go on thanking us for the rest of your life
and it still wouldn't be enough.
Okay…
Should I apologize for the rest of my life, then?
Don't be an idiot.
We want you to live your life, man.
Live it to the fuckin' fullest.
All right.
Promise.
[chuckles softly]
["Good Times" by Sam Medina playing]
♪ Um, oh-um ♪
♪ Good times ♪
♪ It's all right ♪
♪ So get ready to go ♪
♪ It's such a good life ♪
♪ Hot sound ♪
♪ 'Cause now we're on the road ♪
♪ Somethin' wrong ♪
♪ Oh, sunny days… ♪
[Chota] I'd be down with zombies showing up in Shibuya.
Everyone here gets bitten, and they all turn into zombies.
[Karube] Stop it with the zombie talk, will ya?
If zombies did show up here, only Karube would survive.
-You'd knock 'em out with one punch. -[chuckles]
I doubt that. You'd be the one to survive, Arisu.
Me? Why's that?
'Cause I know you'd outsmart 'em.
♪ The heat's turning on… ♪
Shit. Let's do this.
-Come on! -Whoa--
-Whoa! -Whoa, what are you doing?
You know, this is the first day of your independence!
-Coming through! Step aside! -[Arisu] Whoa! Whoa!
[Karube] Gangway!
-♪ It's all right… ♪ -Hey, slow down!
♪ Get ready to go… ♪
-[music fades] -[rumbling]
[muffled sounds]
-[horn blares] -Whoa! Whoa!
-Get down! -[engine revs]
-Quick! -[biker] You guys are crazy!
-[horn blares] -[all gasping]
Okay, run! Run!
-We can make it! -Look, fireworks!
-Run for your lives! -Go!
[horns blare]
-[tires screech] -Fuck, man!
-[shrieking] -Come on!
[Arisu] Fuck, fuck! It's the police! This is bad!
-So bad! I'm sorry! -[Karube] Oh no… Run!
[all laughing]
-[gates bleeping] -[Arisu] The stairs!
[sounds fade]
[rumbling]
[choral music]
[sounds fade]
[muffled rumbling]
[muffled, distorted voice]
[garbled radio chatter]
[helicopter hovering overhead]
-[man 1] Can you hear me? Sir! -[siren wailing]
-Can you hear me? -[man 2] I need a check here!
-[man 1] His vitals? -[man 2] Now!
[man 1] Copy that.
We've got a pulse!
He's breathing!
He's alive! We need a stretcher!
-Resume CPR. -Okay.
We need a gurney here!
-Now! Hurry! -[man 3 counting]
[reporter 1] It has been two days since a meteorite exploded over Tokyo…
[reporter 2] Structural damage is centered around a 10 km radius
from Shibuya Park Street…
[overlapping voices]
[reporter 3] …has extended its condolences to the following families.
Some names are Kairi Nakamura,
Daikichi Karube…
[reporter 2] The government's set up…
[reporter 3] …Kihiro Sato,
Chota Segawa,
Kodai Tatta,
Saori Shibuki…
Karube and Chota are dead now.
And I get to live?
Don't beat yourself up.
It'll only make it worse.
Survivor's guilt.
It's a hell of a thing to deal with.
"Why me? Why am I alive?"
"Why couldn't they have been saved too?" You know?
Apparently, it happens to most people after disasters.
They end up blaming themselves.
[sighs] But when they finally found your body,
your heart had completely stopped.
A whole minute went by.
Apparently, for a minute, the borderlands had taken you.
A minute?
Yeah.
[gentle music]
A minute?
You know…
it felt like…
a lot longer.
Like I'd gone away for a long time.
You know, uh…
Dad cried. [chuckles]
The last time he cried
must've been when Mom died.
[chuckles softly]
[man coughing]
[breathing heavily]
What do you want?
It looks to me like you must have experienced a cardiac arrest.
[scoffs]
What are you, a doctor?
Well, I did too.
[sighs]
What a coincidence.
So we both almost died.
You feel any different now?
[sighs]
I don't know.
[sighs] I mean, I look a lot worse.
What about you?
I've been thinking a lot about my life.
Choices I had to make.
Pretty sure I'm gonna be turning my life around.
[Niragi scoffs]
Or something like that.
[sighs]
You were a piece of shit, too, huh?
You fucked up?
I did.
[laughs]
[sighs]
[man] Huh. After his cardiac arrest, it's a miracle he's come this far already.
-Could you get me some gauze, please? -Yes, doctor.
Is it someone you know?
No. Not really.
But I do understand.
I bet he's trying to survive too.
[nurse] He is.
[man 1] Commencing cardiac massage.
[man 2] Get the defib ready, now!
-[woman 1] Right away, doctor! -[man 3] Miss Ann, can you hear me?
-Miss Ann! -[man 2] Clear!
-[thump] -[man 4] Still no pulse!
-[man 2] Again! Charge it! -[woman 2] Yes, sir! Charge complete!
-Clear! [grunts] -[thump]
[rapid bleeping]
-[regular bleeping] -We have a pulse!
Normal sinus rhythm. Heart rate is holding between 80 and 90.
[man 2] She's back!
Resume operation!
-Forceps. -[woman 1] Here, doctor.
-Are you all right? -[sighs] Yes.
There's no need to rush at all.
-You're doing very well. -Okay.
[breathing shakily]
[gasps]
[sobs]
[mother crying]
[emotional music]
You came back to us.
[father] Hikari.
[gasps]
[reporter] …has released two trillion yen from the national treasury
for emergency relief.
A week has passed since the meteorite exploded over Tokyo.
Even now, all metro and railway operations have been suspended in Tokyo,
and many major roads have been shut down as well.
[Usagi] Sorry…
Do you mind if I use it?
Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead.
Hey, wait.
Your change.
[Usagi] Oh!
Thanks a lot.
Um…
Sorry, but have we met before?
I don't think so.
Wait.
Are you sure that I don't know you, miss?
Uh…
[chuckles] Are you, uh,
flirting with me?
Uh, no.
It's not like that.
Uh, wait. Wait. Stop!
Um, miss.
Would it be all right if I was?
Flirting with you?
[sighs]
I'm sorry.
That wasn't cool of me.
[Usagi] I think maybe we have met before.
Uh, was it last year?
Or was it…
When was that?
[chuckles] I don't know.
But we've met.
[chuckles]
[laughs]
Uh, the sun's out. It's pretty nice.
Do you want to maybe step out? Go for a walk?
Mm. Mm-hmm!
[light, hopeful music]
[music swells]
[music fades]
[ominous music]