The Swan and the Bat

Two unemployed men started a "service business" out of desperation - it was a "religion".

In 2020, the world is forced into lockdown by the COVID pandemic. As remote work is popularized in order to keep the infection rate under control, a young man employed by a company in Tokyo moves to a country town on the Sanriku Coast in Miyagi Prefecture, where he could enjoy fishing, in search of a new lifestyle. But gradually, we found that there were problems such as "empty houses" in the local area.

Director Yoshiyuki Kishi and screenwriter Takehito Minato—the team behind acclaimed boxing epic Wilderness—reunite to adapt Ryo Asai's prize-winning novel. A sensitive drama about the aberrant in a society without regard for diversity, the story unites characters trying to hide abnormalities: a prosecutor who is worried that his pubescent son is a shut-in, an introverted saleswoman with a peculiar habit, and a student tortured by feelings she can’t express. In a world fill with abnormalities, what if it’s actually normal to be abnormal?

Agawa Kayo is an upright young woman who earns a living by working part-time at a convenience store. She suffered trauma from some experience in the past and a certain incident makes her decide to become a volunteer probation officer. A volunteer probation officer is a civil servant who helps rehabilitate juvenile delinquents and criminals but receives no pay. They are simply volunteers with a sense of public spirit. After going through a workshop, Kayo who has just become a volunteer probation officer is put in charge of her first case, Saito Midori. The owner of an accessory shop, Midori behaved violently towards an employee and has been released on parole after serving a two-year sentence for extortion and assault. Under the guidance of probation officer Takamatsu Naoharu, Kayo struggles to help her find her place in society.

Kayo is a probation officer who forges ahead with her job. Continuing to work closely with ex-convicts, she is assigned to Kudo who had committed murder. As she endeavors to rehabilitate him, Kudo suddenly disappears and emerges as a suspect in a case.

Haru is a rather cool fifth-grade elementary school student who shares the same tastes as her mother’s younger sister Yuko (Kaho) and can tell Yuko what she really feels. On the first day of the summer vacation, Haru is kidnapped. The culprit is her free-spirited father Takashi who disappeared from home two months ago.

Set in the near future around Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinji got out from a youth detention center. Barikan suffers from stuttering and extreme shyness. These two men meet in a boxing gym. Shinji and Barikan become friends and pursue boxing under a hopeless situation.

Set in the near future around Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinji got out from a youth detention center. Barikan suffers from stuttering and extreme shyness. These two men meet in a boxing gym. Shinji and Barikan become friends and pursue boxing under a hopeless situation.

Tama is a graduate student. She lives with her boyfriend Takuya. She becomes influenced by lectures about French writer Sophie Calle and begins to follow her neighbor Ishizaka. Tama soon discovers that her neighbor Ishizaka is having an affair. She becomes excited about discovering his secret. Her relationship with her boyfriend Takuya and her professor Shinohara changes.

Only 3 days after A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a streetcar started running through the town burned to the ground. The drivers were teenage girls working for the train company in place of men. The drama is based on a true story of people who strived for the restoration.