Masaru Sano

Ayaka is in hospital and the news is not good: due to arteriosclerosis she will lose her legs. While she still can, she paces the leafy hospital surroundings in search of a suicide spot. She finds the perfect tree, one with a sturdy branch from which to hang herself. Just as she loops a noose around her neck, she is interrupted by a mysterious patient named Yoshino. This slightly macabre girl is also afflicted by a disease, but a fantastical one that will see her turn into a tree. Even though Ayaka is surrounded by death, disease, and defective bodies, Yoshino’s intervention leads her to cling on to life, no matter how absurd.

Yamada and Notani meet for the first time at an arcade game booth outside a candy store. Shy Yamada is 19, living alone and beset with unspoken tragedy. She doesn't work or study, and confesses to suffering from anxiety. Notani, an older, self-proclaimed ‘traveler', bursts with unrestrained extroversion. She immediately assumes herself as Yamada's new partner, and roommate. They become inseparable, with Notani lugging Yamada to unintended adventures, some rather grim. Meanwhile, Notani's pessimistic views on dying and death.