However, there is quite a bit more to the film than that. It takes place in World War II, during the time when Japan occupied Manchuria. A group of Japanese soldiers in the city of Sendai (located in the Tohoku region, quite some distance away from Tokyo) discover the body of a dismembered woman in a well. At least a month goes by, and the investigation into the woman's death goes nowhere. Cue the arrival of Miltary Policeman Staff Sergeant Kosaka to solve this mystery!
This film contains examples of:
- Big Bad: Hospital Guy is the man who murdered Yuriko and was doing all he can to cover his tracks after he killed her.
- Blackmail: Hospital Guy got Yuriko Ito pregnant and she wanted him to marry her. When he clearly didn't want to, she threatened to talk to his squad captain about the rich girl he hooked up with and shows him a picture that was of them together (which was a big deal back then). So he agreed to marry her, and they engaged in sex, at which point he killed her and dismembered her to cover it up.
- Dismembering the Body: The plot involves the murder of a woman whose body was cut to pieces, stuffed in a haystack, and dumped down a well.
- Given Name Reveal: After consulting various dentists, one elderly guy identifies the skull of the victim as belonging to Yuriko Ito.
- Hypocritical Humor: It's funny to see Mr. Shirtless Man fly into a speech about how his soldiers are wasting precious water, and he drinks it, only to spit it out and say that it does taste and smell terrible.
- Red Herring: The Squad Captain is not the guilty party and Fumiko is alive, well, and not the murder victim.
- Talking to the Dead: Kosaka talks to the victim's skull, and swears to catch the killer and get the closure the victim wants.
- Villainous Breakdown: Hospital Guy goes into this once he gets caught. It's supposed to be creepy, but it will probably be considered
Narmy to a number of people.
