Imagine
Holden Caulfield living in a near-future science fiction world. Yozo Oba, the
anti-hero of Osamu Dazai’s classic short novel No Longer Human is cut
from similar cloth as Caulfield, but he also shares a kinship with some of Dostoyevsky’s
angsty protagonists. To commemorate the Dazai’s centennial, some of Japan’s top
anime filmmakers have transplanted Oba into the dystopian environment. He must
contend with challenges that are far more dangerous than mere “phonies” in Human
Lost, directed by Fuminori Kizaki & supervised by executive director
Katsuyuki Motohiro, which Funimation will screen in select theaters nationwide
this Tuesday and Wednesday.
In
the future, human longevity has reached record lengths. Unfortunately, the
quality of life has also hit an all-time low. Due to extraordinary advances in
technology, the S.H.E.L.L. public health agency can patch up just about any
injury or ailment. That means even suicide is no longer an escape from the toil
must proles must endure. The only way out is the absolutely horrific phenomenon
that afflicts the so-called “Lost,” who become disconnected from SHELL’s matrix
and spontaneously transform into rampaging demons.
Yohiki
Hiragi serves as both the PR face of SHELL and an agent of the sub-agency
tasked with putting down the Lost. She is considered the second great evolutionary
leaps forward, after the mad doctor who created SHELL in the first place.
However, Oba, the neurotic, under-achieving artist, might just be the third. He
will learn he has extraordinary powers when he joins his friend Takeichi, a non-conformist
motorcycle gang member (and one of the few recognizable links to Dazai’s
original novel) in a pointless and futile gesture of rebellion.
Human
Lost will
be particularly rewarding for viewers who have read Dazai and understand how it
is being faithful to the spirit of his work and in what ways it completely lighting
off into its own territory. The very concept seems impressively bold, because
it is almost guaranteed to create controversy among purists. Pride and Prejudice
with zombies is one thing, putting a character of Caulfield’s stature in a wildly
over-the-top science fiction context is something else entirely.
