Scum's Wish
2017
Original language: Japanese
- drama
The story
Seventeen-year-old Mugi Awaya and Hanabi Yasuraoka appear to be the ideal couple. They are both pretty popular, and they seem to suit each other well. However, outsiders don't know of the secret they share. Both Mugi and Hanabi have hopeless crushes on someone else, and they are only dating each other to soothe their loneliness. Mugi is in love with Akane Minagawa, a young teacher who used to be his home tutor. Hanabi is also in love with a teacher, a young man who has been a family friend since she was little. In each other, they find a place where they can grieve for the ones they cannot have, and they share physical intimacy driven by loneliness. Will things stay like this for them forever?
What it’s like
Washed-out classroom light, rain-streaked windows, and close, unsteady handheld framing keep the camera tight on faces, so every glance and silence registers. The palette is muted and cool, with school uniforms and empty corridors that feel hollow rather than nostalgic, and the score is sparse and melancholic, leaving long stretches of ambient quiet. The vibe is raw, aching and uneasy, a late-night watch that lingers after the credits. Pacing is slow and interior, and the emotional register is bleak and intimate: two lonely teenagers, each pining for an adult they cannot have, cling to each other in ways that feel tender and self-destructive at once. Intensity is high. Expect frequent sexual content, including explicit intimacy, along with self-harm, emotional cruelty and sustained psychological distress, with little relief. It suits viewers who want mature, unflinching drama about unrequited longing and loneliness, not gentle or comforting viewing.
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