History Film / TheWorldOfKanako

* SnowMeansDeath: In the very end of the film, Akikazu and [[spoiler:Kanako's teacher]], who claims to have killed [[spoiler:Kanako]], find themselves on a windy snowfield where [[spoiler:Kanako]] is said to be buried. Akikazu wants to [[spoiler:find her corpse but Kanako's teacher can't remember where she lies]] so Akikazu keeps on [[spoiler:searching the snow without success]]. Then the movie abruptly ends.

* PerpetualSmiler: Detective Asai is always upbeat, smiling and holding his lollipop despite being surrounded by crime. It turns out that [[spoiler:he has an interest in the prostitution ring too and wants to hide this]].

** Asai is completely ineffective as cop and just visits crime scenes whenever he feels like it. He doesn't stop Akikazu from finding Kanako but is no help in any way either. He always keeps his smile and his lollipop however.

* RapeAsDrama: After having been heavily manipulated by [[spoiler:Kanako, the narrator]] is gang-raped [[spoiler:by the prostitution ring]] in a very dramatic event. Shortly afterwards [[spoiler:he dies]].

** [[spoiler:The narrator]] finally snaps after being raped by [[spoiler:the bullies and becomes violent himself]].
** This is left ambiguous with [[spoiler:Kanako]]. While one of the child molesters claims that [[spoiler:Akikazu had sex with daughter and he seems to be very capable of it,]] we never see if this is really true or not.
* ShoutOut: Asai is a cop who is never seen without his lollipop. The same happens in ''{{Series/Kojak}}''.
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: On the far end of the cynic side. In this movie the world is exclusively populated by absolute scumbags and bastards who all have '''only''' the very worst things in mind and the few good people out there are mercilessly corrupted, betrayed, bullied, manipulated or forced into isolation and there is no way to break out of this cycle. What Akikazu does can't be morally justified in any way but still makes the film just consequent, as the world this movie takes place in destroys anybody and crushes every dream. The only bright things in this film are the bright lights and colors, the fast editing and the many flash cuts that give it an artificial and hard to grasp atmosphere.
* SnowMeansDeath: In the very end of the film, Akikazu[[spoiler: and Kanako's teacher, who claims that she killed Kanako, find themselves on a windy snowfield where Kanako is said to be buried. Akikazu wants to find her corpse but Kanako's teacher can't remember where she lies so Akikazu keeps unsuccessfully searching the snow]]. Then the movie ends.
* TheSocialDarwinist: [[spoiler:Kanako]] has traits of this. [[spoiler:She has the habit to]] choose people who show a lot of weakness (Ogata and the narrator) and then to manipulate them by giving them the feeling they can overcome their weakness and fear, only to ruin their lives.

** Aikawa is a dirty cop who is ordered to kill Kanako's class mate Nagano and is very willing to this and shows strong signs of sadism and pleasure while commiting evil acts. Akikazu asks him why he doesn't kill his infant son (which is nearby in a car) and while this never happens, Aikawa seems to be ready to do it whenever he feels like it.
* SociopathicHero: Akikazu is a violent, alcoholic, abusing cop who beats up and tortures anybody who is in his way and sexually abuses women when he's drunk. However he still is disgusted by some of the worst acts of the other characters.
* StartsWithASuicide: After about ten minutes we see the suicide of Ogata (Kanako's first boyfriend), who jumps from the roof after he has been bullied for a long time by the Matsunaga Gang. Nobody seems to take much notice of this.
* UnscrupulousHero: Akikazu is completely merciless. He abuses his family, threatens and beats up witnesses and class mates of Kanako, fights with everyone who is in his way and forces [[spoiler:Kanako's teacher to give him the location where she buried her]].
* TheVamp: [[spoiler:Kanako again.]] She uses her charm and femininity to screw everybody around her. When Ogata is bullied she acts disinterested since she doesn't seem to care for the weak and convinces the narrator to continue with his life (he shows some interest in taking his life after being bullied). She of course does this only to [[spoiler:set him up and completely destroy him afterwars]].
* {{Yakuza}}: On one point, Akikazu gets abducted by the Yakuza who are looking for Kanako as she [[spoiler:and Matsunaga have been causing a lot of grief with their blackmailing]]. They show [[spoiler:Matsunaga]] who is kept in a body bag, sliced up but still alive. On realizing that Akikazu seems to want [[spoiler:Kanako dead too]], they give him the name of the person who kills [[spoiler:Nagano - detective Aikawa]].
* YankTheDogsChain: The narrator is bullied constantly and when he meets Kanako he finally seems to overcome his sucky life. It turns out that [[spoiler:Kanako just manipulates and corrupts him, and he dies after series of more suffering]].

* BystanderSyndrome: Two characters are bullied throughout the film (Ogata and the narrator) and none of the other students come to help them. Neither do any teachers or officials.

* DomesticAbuser: Akikazu is implied to have abused Kanako when she still was younger. Later on he punches and sexually abuses his wife, Kiriko when he's angry.

* DownerBeginning: The start of the movie is very dark in many ways: Akikazu finds out that his wife has a lover and loses his job after a violent outburst. Some bloody murders are detected. The narrator gives a saddening speech about how helpless his situation is. Ogata commits suicide and nobody takes notice.

* ForTheEvulz: The bullies, Matsunaga, Aikawa and [[spoiler:Kanako]] torture and torment people (usually weaker people) just because they can.

* IRegretNothing: When [[spoiler:the teacher learns the truth about Kanako]], the latter just smiles in a dark manner and says that there are no regrets whatsoever. [[spoiler:Kanako's teacher is visibly shocked by this and finally stabs her to death in disgust.]]

** Aikawa (a dirty cop that faced off with Akikazu at some point) is run over by a car but it doesn't hurt him very much. He still [[spoiler:died from a gunshot to the head]].
* [[ManipulativeBastard Manipulative Bitch]]: [[spoiler:Kanako herself]] manipulates everybody within her reach: After [[spoiler:being involved in a prostitution ring and eventually convincing even her class mates to take part in it, she blackmails the members together with Matsunaga.]] Afterwards she asks the narrator if he wants to be like Ogata which becomes his driving motivation. After being bullied by another gang, he seems to be ready to jump just like Ogata but [[spoiler:Kanako manipulates him into]] going on living, so that [[spoiler:she can completely destroy him.]] He trusts [[spoiler:Kanako enough to take alcohol and drugs from her and gets brutally beaten up again and gang-raped which he only just barely survives. He wants to take revenge and kill Kanako but can't because he still loves her and is finally killed from out of the shadows (presumably by Matsunaga).]]

* AmbiguousEnding: The last person that Akikazu meets in his long journey is Kanako's school teacher. She hated Kanako very much because Kanako [[spoiler:fed the teacher's daughter (Akiko) to the prostitution ring and kept a photo which confirms this]]. After having found out the truth [[spoiler:she killed Kanako and buried her in a snow field. Akikazu forces her to dig Kanako up but she can't remember where she buried her. Akikazu finally comes to the conclusion that Kanako might still be alive and still wants to find her, even if it's just to kill her herself after all the trouble she has caused.]]

** [[spoiler::Matsunaga]] is heavily beaten up by the Yakuza. No one cares after what he has done to [[spoiler:the narrator]].

* BolivianArmyEnding: Whether or not [[spoiler:Kanako is still alive (for all that we see she is dead but Akikazu has his doubts)]], Akikazu is still determined to [[spoiler:find her in the snow field but has no clue where she could be.]] The movie immediately ends here. If you believe that [[spoiler:Kanako is still alive]] that would give the story NoEnding because [[spoiler:Akikazu is still searching for her with no hope for a resolution.]]
* BystanderSyndrome: Two characters are bullied throughout the film (Ogata and the narrator) and none of the other students come to help them. Also there's no teacher of police officer to help them.

* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] The narrator can't stand being bullied anymore and sees no happiness in a world with the lack of freedom he has. When he meets Kanako he wants to be like Ogata but he fails to see that Ogata was forced into isolation and that his attitude makes him an easy target for a manipulative and corrupting character who exploits all of his flaws. In the end, he [[spoiler: can't escape his bullies, resorts to violence and dies a cruel, embarrassing death]].

** When Nagano (one of Kanako's class mates) tells the police about the [[spoiler:prostitution ring]], they order a sociopathic cop named Aikawa to [[spoiler:kill her, because the cops profited from human trafficking too]].
** Detective Asai (a cop whom Akikazu trusts initially but does not help him very much with his search) is this too, but on a more subtle level. When Akikazu and Aikawa engage on a very bloody fight on the freeway, Asai interfers and [[spoiler:smilingly kills Aikawa and tells everybody it was a suicide (althought Aikawa wanted to commit suicide anyway and just ran out of ammo)]]. He has interest in [[spoiler:the prostitution ring too]] but wants to keep this undercover.

* GoneHorriblyRight: The narrator wants to become like Ogata and Kanako promises him to help him. The problem isthat the narrator completely fails to see that Ogata was bullied and embarrassed until he chose death. When the narrator [[spoiler: is beaten up, drugged and handed over to the prostitution ring, he very well became like Ogata, but not to his advantage.]]

* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown: The narrator is attacked by the bullies while he's high on drugs and completely helpless.

* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: The narrator is widely hated by everybody for no other reason because he's weak.

** Asai (a cop whom Akikazu trusts initially but does not help him very much with his search) is this, but to a lesser degree. When Akikazu and Aikawa engage on a very bloody fight on the freeway, Asai interfers and [[spoiler:smilingly kills Aikawa and tells everybody it was a suicide (althought Aikawa wanted to commit suicide anyway and just ran out of ammo)]].

* [[ManipulativeBastard Manipulative Bitch]]: [[spoiler:Kanako herself]] manipulates everybody within her reach: After [[spoiler:being involved in a prostitution ring and eventually convincing even her class mates to take part in it, she blackmails the members together with Matsunaga.]] Afterwards she asks the narrator if he wants to be like Ogata which becomes his driving motivation. After being bullied by another gang, he seems to be ready to jump just like Ogata but [[spoiler:Kanako manipulates him into]] going on living, so that [[spoiler:she can completely destroy him.]] He trusts [[spoiler:Kanako enough to take alcohol and drugs from her and gets brutally beaten up again and gang-raped which he only just barely survives. He wants to take revenge but is finally killed from out of the shadows (presumably by Matsunaga).]]

** Asai is completely ineffective as cop and just visits crime scenes whenever he feels like it. He always keeps his smile and his lollipop however.

* RapeAsDrama: After having been heavily manipulated by [[spoiler:Kanako, the narrator]] is gang-raped [[spoiler:by the bullies]] in a very dramatic event. Shortly afterwards [[spoiler:he dies]].

* The SocialDarwinist: [[spoiler:Kanako]] has traits of this. [[spoiler:She has the habit to]] choose victims of bullying (Ogata and the narrator) and then to manipulate them by giving them the feeling they can overcome their weakness and fear, only they will finally meet an even worse fate.

* [[TheBully The Bullies]]:
** The Matsunaga Gang. They bully Ogata until he commits suicide.
** Afterwards another gang of bullies torture the nameless narrator who only survives their treatment because he is manipulated [[spoiler:by Kanako]], who also lets the Matsunaga Gang beat up those bullies.

* AliceAllusion: Akikazu's whole journey is a reference to ''Literature/AliceInWonderland''. Kanako even has a copy of the book with her, although she is the one who does the manipulation of everyone around her.

** When finally the truth is revealed, [[spoiler:Kanako dies by the hands of her teacher]], but when you see how much suffering she has brought over the people that believed to be her friends, the latter can't be blamed.

* BystanderSyndrome: Two characters are bullied throughout the film (Ogata and the narrator) and none of the other students come to help them.

* DarkSecret: Kanako appears to be a nice girl until she disappears. Her father finds out that she [[spoiler:was involved into a prostitution ring and blackmails their members, she teamed up with school bully Matsunaga to set up the narrator and was at least indifferent with Ogata's fate, she dealt drugs in school and helped old men get to young school girls.]] In the very end, she makes clear [[spoiler:to her teacher which murders Kanako]] that she absolutely regrets nothing.

** All of the other cops are no better. When Nagano (one of Kanako's class mates) tells the police about the [[spoiler:prostitution ring]], they order a sociopathic cop named Aikawa to [[spoiler:kill her, because the cop profited from human trafficking too]].
** Even Asai (a cop whom Akikazu trusts initially but does not help him very much with his search) is not free of this. When Akikazu and Aikawa engage on a very bloody fight on the freeway, Asai interfers and [[spoiler:smilingly kills Aikawa and tells everybody it was a suicide (althought Aikawa wanted to commit suicide anyway and just ran out of ammo)]].
* DomesticAbuser: Akikazu is implied to have abused Kanako when she still was younger. Later on he punches and sexually abuses [[spoiler:his wife, Kiriko]] when he's angry.

* [[ManipulativeBastard Manipulative Bitch]]: [[spoiler:Kanako herself]] manipulates everybody within her reach: After [[spoiler:being involved in a prostitution ring and eventually convincing even her class mates to take part in it, she blackmails the members together with Matsunaga.]] Afterwards she asks the narrator if he wants to be like Ogata which becomes his driving motivation. After being bullied by another gang, he seems to be ready to jump just like Ogata but [[spoiler:Kanako manipulates him into]] going on living, so that [[spoiler:she can completely destroy him.]] He trusts [[spoiler:Kanako enough to take alcohol and drugs from her and gets brutally beaten up again which he only just survives. He wants to take revenge but is finally killed from out of the shadows (presumably by Matsunaga).]]

* NoSympathy: [[spoiler:Kanako]] does not care when Ogata commits suicide because, seemingly not caring for the weak. The same goes with the narrator who is manipulated in a fate even worse.

* RapeAsDrama: After having been heavily manipulated by [[spoiler:Kanako, the narrator]] is gang-raped [[by the bullies]] in a very dramatic event. Shortly afterwards [[spoiler:he dies]].

** This is left ambiguous with [[spoiler:Kanako. While one of the child molesters claims that Akikazu had sex with daughter and seems to be very capable of it,]] we never see if this is really true or not.

* AssholeVictim: When finally the truth is revealed, [[spoiler:Kanako dies by the hands of her teacher]], but when you see how much suffering she has brought over the people that believed to be her friends, the latter can't be blamed.

** Even Asai (a cop whom Akikazu trusts initially but does not help him very much with his search) is not free of this. When Akikazu and Aikawa engage on a very bloody fight on the freeway, Asai interfers and [[spoiler:smilingly kills Aikawa and pretends it to be a suicide (althought Aikawa wanted to commit suicide anyway and just ran out of ammo)]].

* MadeOfIron: Akikazu is beaten up and shot so much throughout the film the he's just a bloody mess. However this does not seem to hurt him very much and he fights on.

** Akikazu has traits of this. He is a violent, alcoholic, abusing cop who beats up and tortures anybody who is in his way and sexually abuses women when he's drunk. However he still is disgusted by some of the worst acts of the other characters.
* StartsWithASuicide: One of the first images in the film is the suicide of Ogata (Kanako's first boyfriend), who jumps from the roof after he has been bullied for a long time by the Matsunaga Gang. Nobody seems to take much notice of this.

* TheXOfY: International title only. The Japanese title means "thirst".

* TheYakuza: On one point, Akikazu gets abducted by the Yakuza who are looking for Kanako as she [[spoiler:and Matsunaga have been causing a lot of grief with their blackmailing]]. They show [[spoiler:Matsunaga]] who is kept in a body bag, sliced up but still alive. On realizing that Akikazu seems to want [[spoiler:Kanako dead too]], they give him the name of the person who kills [[spoiler:Nagano - detective Aikawa]].

* MadeOfIron: Akikazu is so beaten up and shot so much throughout the film the he's just a bloody mess. However this does not seem to hurt him very much and he fights on.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: On the far end of the cynic side. In this movie the world is exclusively populated by absolute scumbags that all have only the very worst things in mind and the few good people out there are mercilessly corrupted, betrayed, bullied, manipulated or forced into isolation and there is no way to break out of this cycle.

** Akikazu is a violent, alcoholic, abusing cop who beats up and tortures anybody who is in his way and sexually abuses women when he's drunk. However he still is disgusted by some of the worst acts of the other characters.

* AssholeVictim: When finally the truth is revealed, [[spoiler:Kanako dies by the hands of her teacher]], but when you see how much suffering she has brought over the people that believe to be her friends, the latter can't be blamed.

* BolivianArmyEnding: Whether or not [[spoiler:Kanako is still alive (for all that we see she is dead but Akikazu has his doubts), Akikazu is still determined to [[spoiler:find her in the snow field but has no clue where she could be.]] The movie immediately ends here. If you believe that [[spoiler:Kanako is still alive]] that would give the story NoEnding because [[spoiler:Akikazu is still searching for her with no hope for a resolution.]]

* CrapsackWorld: This movie takes no survivors. Everyone in this world is either violent, brutal, corrupt, egoistic, manipulative or has a dark secret and the people who are good are ruthlessly bullied, manipulated or beaten up. Whoever tries to find a way out of this is completely without a chance.

** All of the other cops are no better. When Nagano (one of Kanako's class mates) tells the police about the [[spoiler:prostitution ring]], they order a sociopathic cop named Aikawa to [[spoiler:kill her, because the cop profited from human trafficking too.

** [[spoiler:Daughter Kanako]] is extremely successful in manipulating anybody (setting up the narrator, convincing class mates into a [[prostitution ring]], using people to commit murders), without taking any responsibility or regretting anything.

* The Corrupter: [[spoiler:Kanako, without hesitation,]] gets the narrator being caught and handed to the [[spoiler:prostitution ring]], where he gets physically abused and later beaten up and thrown into a river. He now wants vengeance and follows a girl from the gang and tortures her to get [[spoiler:Kanako’s]] location. When they finally meet, he is unable to [[spoiler:kill her as he is still in love with her]]. See also the next entry.
* The Corruptible: The narrator is basically a good, benevolent, harmless person who wants to be like Ogata and Kanako wants to help him with this. He fails to see that [[spoiler:Kanako]] has other plans and after some manipulation and drugs/alcohol, he finds himself capable of torturing another girl and finally wanting to kill [[spoiler:Kanako]], but he can't do it [[spoiler:and is killed himself]].

* HumansAreBastards: Almost every character is a monster and this movie shows no way out. The bullies, Aikawa, Matsunaga and [[Kanako of all people]] act just ForTheEvulz. Akikazu shows strong traits of this too but he's still disgusted by the other characters' actions.

* NoSympathy: [[Kanako]] does not care when Ogata commits suicide because, seemingly not caring for the weak. The same goes with the narrator who is manipulated in a fate even worse.

* [[ManipulativeBastard Manipulative Bitch]]: [[spoiler:Kanako herself]] manipulates everybody within her reach: After [[spoiler:being involved in a prostitution ring and eventually convincing even her class mates to take part in it, she blackmails the members together with Matsunaga.]] Afterwards she asks the narrator if he wants to be like Ogata which becomes his driving motivation. After being bullied by the Matsunaga Gang, he seems to be ready to jump just like Ogata but [[spoiler:Kanako manipulates him into]] going on living, so that [[spoiler:she can completely destroy him.]] He trusts [[spoiler:Kanako enough to take alcohol and drugs from her and gets brutally beaten up again which he only just survives. He wants to take revenge but is finally killed from out of the shadows (presumably by Matsunaga).]]

* TheYakuza: On one point, Akikazu gets abducted by the Yakuza who are looking for Kanako as she [[spoiler:and Matsunaga have been causing a lot of grief with their blackmailing]]. They show [[spoiler:Matsunaga]] who is kept in a body bag, sliced up but still alive. On realizing that Akikazu seems to want [[spoiler:Kanako dead too]], they give him the name of the person who kills [[spoiler:Nagano - detective Aikawa]].

* [[TheBully The Bullies]]: The Matsunaga Gang. They bully Ogata until he commits suicide and afterwards continue their work with the nameless narrator who only survives their treatment because he is manipulated [[spoiler:by Kanako]].

** Even Asai (a cop whom Akikazu trusts initially but does not help him very much with his search) is not free of this. When Akikazu and Aikawa engage on a very bloody fight on the freeway, Asai interfers and [[spoiler:smilingly kills Aikawa and pretends it to be a suicide (althought Aikawa wanted to commit suicide anyway and just ran out of ammo).

* [[TheBully The Bullies]]: The Matsunaga Gang. They bully Ogata until he commits suicide and afterwards continue their work with the nameless narrator who only survives their treatment because he is manipulated [[spoiler:Kanako]].

* [[TheBully TheBullies]]: The Matsunaga Gang. They bully Ogata until he commits suicide and afterwards continue their work with the nameless narrator who only survives their treatment because he is manipulated [[spoiler:Kanako]].

* DarkSecret: Kanako appears to be a nice girl until she disappears. Her father finds out that she [[spoiler:was involved into a prostitution ring and blackmails their members, she teamed up with school bully Matsunaga to set up the narrator and was at least indifferent with Ogata's fate, she dealt drugs in school
* DirtyCop: Akikazu is a violent, alcoholic, unscrupulous, bad-tempered and cynic ex-cop. The only way to separate him from a villain is his goal (finding his daughter and return to a happy family life).

* [[ManipulativeBastard ManipulativeBitch]]: [[spoiler:Kanako herself]] manipulates everybody within her reach: After [[being involved in a prostitution ring and eventually convincing even her class mates to take part in it, she blackmails the members together with Matsunaga.]] Afterwards she asks the narrator if he wants to be like Ogata which becomes his driving motivation. After being bullied by the Matsunaga Gang, he seems to be ready to jump just like Ogata but [[Kanako manipulates him into]] going on living, so that [[spoiler:she can completely destroy him.]] He trusts [[Kanako enough to take alcohol and drugs from her and gets brutally beaten up again which he only just survives. He wants to take revenge but is finally killed from out of the shadows (presumably by Matsunaga).]]

* TheVamp: [[Kanako again.]] She uses her charm and femininity to screw everybody around her. When Ogata is bullied she acts disinterested since she doesn't seem to care for the weak and convinces the narrator to continue with his life (he shows some interest in taking his life after being bullied). She of course does this only to [[spoiler:set him up and completely destroy him afterwars]].

* [[BarbaricBully BarbaricBullies]]: The Matsunaga Gang. The bully Ogata until he commits suicide and afterwards continue their work with

* RabidCop: Akikazu beats up everybody who stands is his way but is also beaten up several times.
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: On the far end of the cynic side. In this movie the world is exclusively populated by absolute scumbags that all have only the very worst things in mind and the few good people out there are mercilessly corrupted, betrayed, bullied, manipulated or forced into isolation and there is no way to break out of this cycle.

* [[BabaricBully BarbaricBullies]]:

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: On the far end of the cynic side. In this movie the world is exclusively populated by absolute assholes that all have the very worst things in mind and the few good people out there are mercilessly corrupted, betrayed, bullied, manipulated or forced into isolation and there is no way to break out of this cycle.

The World of Kanako (original title ''Kawaki'', translates to "thirst") is a 2014 Japanese movie by Tetsuya Nakashima, based on the best-selling novel ''Hateshinaki Kawaki'' Fukamachi Akio.

!!This movie contain examples of following tropes: