Hihi BAYOG Fam~ It’s been a while since I did a movie post on the blog haha~ We briefly going back to my Real People Stuffs roots~ Today I wanted to talk about an old Japanese movie called 白ゆき姫殺人事件/The Snow White Murder Case that I watched back in 2015. Before I get into it… This is gonna be a bit different from my usual movie posts, and any of my posts in general. The reason being that I just couldn’t find the movie with English subs on any streaming sites. I don’t love the movie enough to spend like $40+ USD to buy and ship the DVD which probably still doesn’t have subtitles LOL But I have occasionally have this movie on my mind so I wanted to do a post about it anyway~ So yeah, while I did find a version without subs, I’m working mostly on my memory here y’all… This is also just gonna basically be a whole recap of the movie since it seems to be so dang hard to find.

Again, we’re covering the 2014 movie 白ゆき姫殺人事件/The Snow White Murder Case. It’s actually a live-action adaptation of the 2012 original novel of the same name by Minato Kanae. Honestly, I’ve only watched the movie once before, and that was like 8 years ago. I kind of remember when the movie was announced because I was familiar with Mao Inoue and Nanao. I’m from that era that watched and enjoyed the iconic 2005 Japanese drama version of [花より男子/Hana Yori Dango/Boys Over Flowers] that starred Mao Inoue, Jun Matsumoto, and Shun Oguri. I’m a fan of all the actors from HYD. So I did follow alot of Mao Inoue’s works at the time. I also recognized Nanao from some random J-Drama I watched called 主に泣いてます/Omoni Naitemasu. But I also recognized her face from dramas like Lucky Seven, Last Cinderella, and Doctor X. I believe 白ゆき姫殺人事件/The Snow White Murder Case was her first movie too. So there was a little blip of interest for me only because of Mao Inoue and Nanao. However, I didn’t really have enough interest where I would actually want to watch it. Like, I like Mao Inoue, but there wasn’t really anything in particular about the movie that would’ve compelled me to watch it. However, it was summer 2015 and I was on a family trip back to the motherland (Thailand). If y’all have flown internationally to the other side of the earth, you know it’s a long ass trip. Anyway, I ended up seeing that it was available for the in-flight entertainment. So I watched the movie during the Japan to Thailand leg of our flight. Was it the BEST movie? Nah. I actually don’t particularly like or love it. However, I did find it to be interesting. I felt like the movie held some interesting points and lessons. So it made a big enough impression on me that I can still remember the movie after 8 years. It’s also one of the movies that’ll randomly pop up in my mind too. I think it was also because I could somewhat relate to what was happening in this movie too. More on that at the end. Despite this being an older movie, I think it’s also still pretty relevant to today’s issues and things too. Anway, let’s get into it~ Oh…and also, be forewarned…there will be hella spoilers for this post because it relates to why I find it interesting. I’m basically giving y’all a recap of the whole film.

WARNING: HELLA SPOILERS AHEAD

THE SNOW WHITE MURDER CASE
白ゆき姫殺人事件

TRIGGER WARNING: Murder, Violence, Self-harm, Suicide-attempt
Genre: Crime, Mystery, Suspense
Language: Japanese
Released: 2014
Watch: [Netflix (Japan)] (Japanese only, no subs)
Synopsis:

Yuji Akahoshi (Go Ayano) works for a television show. He receives a phone call from an old high school friend, Risako Kano (Misako Renbutsu). She tells him that her co-worker at a cosmetics compay was stabbed to death and then doused in flames. Yuji Akahoshi decides to interview workers at the company and others that knew the victim, Noriko Miki (Nanao), for his television show.

Yuji Akahoshi soon discovers that another co-worker, Miki Shirono (Mao Inoue) disappeared the same night of the murder. She was last seen running to the train station shortly after Noriko Miki’s death. Yuji attempts to unravel the mystery of Miki Shirono.

Synopsis from [Asian Wiki]

Again, I had trouble finding a streamable version of this with English subtitles. All I managed to find was that it was available on the Japanese version of Netflix. However, no English subs. Still, I used VPN to watch it to kind of refresh my memory a bit. It’s also how I managed to grab screenshots for this post…lol

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Let’s Recap This Movie Together

Basically, there’s a sensationalized news story about a beautiful young office lady who was murdered. It caught people’s attention because of the violent nature of the crime against a seemingly perfect beauty. The victim was Noriko Miki, who worked for a cosmetics company known for their product, Snow White Soap. Not only that, Noriko was a beauty with pale skin and dark hair. So she was being referred to as Snow White, hence the news title (and our movie title). Again, the crime was pretty violent. She was stabbed multiple times and then her body was burned. So if y’all are familiar with crime shows, like Criminal Minds, you’ll know it’s considered a violent crime that’s probably fueled by anger and hate. Which of course is part of why everyone is so interested. At the time, not a lot of info had been released yet. That is, until Yuji Akahoshi.

Yuji works for a show at the television station. Although, his work-life doesn’t seem to be very successful. He also tends to spend a hella a lot of time on Twitter. Anyway, he ends up being contacted by an old university (?) friend named Risako Kano. Risako the reveals that the victim of the murder case was her co-worker whom she really admired. She tells him about how she had been stabbed multiple times to death and then burned. She also reveals that it’s suspected their co-worker Noriko Miki is involved and probably the culprit. After a few more details are dropped, Yuji’s curiosity is piqued. He figures he can investigate and interview workers from the company. The man basically hopes it’ll give him a leg-up at work. He’s also excited to be posting his findings on his Twitter account.

So Yuji investigates several workers from the company. Aside from Risako, there are also “Mi-chan” Mitsushima Emi, section head Shinoyama Satoshi, and Ozawa Fumiaki. We’re told bits of the story from all these different people and viewpoints. However, it’s also important to note that each interview not only provides new information but there seems to be some differences from the previous accounts. What we know for sure though, is that Miki Shirono was seen as this quiet and gloomy plain jane. They were both hired at the same time. I’m also pretty sure there were some comparisons due to some similarities with their names. Like I’m pretty sure it’s one of those situations where people are also like, “She doesn’t match her name” for Shirono. If I remember correctly, her name has the characters that include “ohime-sama” (that’s “princess”). Her personality and presence is a stark contrast from Miki Noriko. Noriko was seen as a perfect woman who shines and is the epitome of beauty. From the recollections we’re told, it seems like Noriko was someone who was kind and got along with everyone. Meanwhile, Shirono is a seemingly boring and gloomy plain jane who is quiet, has no presence, has no presence, and doesn’t really have friends. Again, there seems to be a stark contrast and comparison between the two. People definitely saw and treated them differently.

Through these first few interviews with the co-workers, it appears that there was some office romance drama. It seemed that Shirono had been in a relationship with the section head, Shinoyama Satoshi. One of their co-workers seemed to have noticed due to their similar bento lunchboxes that Shirono had made. It was speculated that they broke up because it seemed like he had been stolen by Noriko.

However, Shinoyama denies having ever been in a relationship with Shirono. According to him, Shirono made lunches for him on her own, and he was extremely uncomfortable with it. He kinda makes it sound like she was an obsessive stalker. He also says that he had actually dated Noriko. Although, it was just briefly and they did break up. Although, another co-worker had said that it seemed one-sided or maybe a Shinoyama’s delusion because she witnessed Noriko looking uncomfortable around him.

Add to this, Shirono hasn’t been seen since a farewell dinner for another colleague. This was also the night that Noriko died. Apparently, someone had also seen Noriko get into Shirono’s car that night. One of the co-workers had also said that he saw Shirono suddenly running in a rush at the train station later that night. He mentions that she seemed to be tightly holding onto a large bag as she ran. So the rumors had everyone conclude that this crime must’ve been committed by Shirono who was probably fueled by jealousy.

During this whole time he’s investigating and interviewing people, Yuji is live-tweeting his findings. He even does so while visiting the crime scene during the daytime. His tweets seem to be blowing up and gaining attention. This is mostly due to the fact that little information about the case had been officially released. So as netizens do, they become very interested and keep interacting with him. Obviously, Yuji is gaining a lot of attention. Many people seem interested and seem to be egging him on. However, there are people who told him off too. Someone told him to report to the police instead of reporting to Twitter. It’s an interesting point and look into human nature. Because Yuji is acting like he’s doing a noble duty claims that he is merely trying to “find the truth”. While he is investigating the case, we’re getting vibes of insincerity and that he’s more fueled by self-interest and fame though. Like, he’s at the crime scene. Then he tweets about seeing the charred trees and how pitiful it looks. But basically shrugs it off when someone seems to angrily tell him to stop tweeting about it.

His current findings and the material he’s filmed have also now been aired on the show he works on. So this information is now being reported publicly by this broadcast station and not by official channels like the police. Images and faces have been blurred, and voice changers have been used. Shirono is also mentioned as “S-san” (Ms. S). It’s also mentioned that various items from the office seem to have been stolen and it’s speculated that the jealous S-san is the culprit. The segment also included very dramatized reenactments. The TV show made it seem like they were providing anonymity and were also protecting identities while they were reporting this case. However, they most definitely did not. They blatantly gave enough information that made all anonymity pointless. Like, they literally show the company building and mention its signature product, the Snow White soap. Like this movie is old, but we know how the internet works. With such blatant information, internet sleuths got down to work to immediately uncover things.

The segment was a hit. Yuji is just thriving at work because his TV station and their news show have all this “exclusive information”. Netizens are totally invested and praising him for having all this info that hasn’t been available on other news outlets. As we figured, netizens also quickly uncovered Shirono’s name and identity. It’s now out in the open. Part of it is because of Risako too. She tweeted at him saying she was upset he aired everything and how it seemed like everyone at the company thought the killer was Shirono. Like she literally name-dropped Shirono in the tweet. So she basically gave away and confirmed the identity of “S-san”. Of course, netizens are having a field day. They uncovered Shirono’s full name and identity. Everyone is arguing over whether Shirono really did it or not. They even throw in their thoughts and opinions while also tweeting insults at Shirono. Like people are really feeding on this story, and most of it is negative comments toward Shirono. Although some do have some common sense and say not to jump to conclusions yet. There are also people criticizing Yuji, calling him trash and saying that he’s just trying to get attention. By the way, all this is happening while Yuji is celebrating and partying it up at a hostess club…

There’s a big development though. One of the major people who showed discontent with Yuji on Twitter was someone under the handle HARUGOBAN. Turns out it’s a woman named Maetani Minori, and she was a college friend and classmate of Shirono. They had stayed in a dorm together. She was seemingly upset with the segment and Yuji. In her anger and discontentment, she ends up writing a letter of protest to reveal information that she finds true. She says that Shirono was a sweet and innocent person who loved Anne of Green Gables. She also revealed that Shirono was a good cook who would make food and leave it in her dorm friend’s lockers whenever they were stuck working late. According to her, Shirojno was a thoughtful and kind person and not someone who would commit murder. She was incredibly upset by the report, believed it to be completely wrong, and believed the source was unreliable.

Minori also added the inconsistencies she found. She said there was no way that Shirono was the thief in the office. Like apparently the theft started with a stolen cake where only a chestnut was left. She said it couldn’t be Shirono since she loved chestnuts. She also called out Shinoyama and called him the biggest liar. She mentions that she had met him before, and even directly names him. Minori said she was Shirono’s confidant who gave her advice. She’d always get updates through their phone calls. According to her, Shirono was dating Shinoyama and was happy. Shirono had mentioned to her that he said he enjoyed the bento lunches, and even mentioned his favorites and dislikes. Minori also revealed that Shirono and Shinoyama were intimate, even outing his fetish. So it seems that someone came to defend Shirono. However, she also added that she was worried because if Shirono actually was involved in a murder, she’d most likely try to end her life out of guilt. On a total random note… I was like, “Yo…why this chick hella familiar…?” I just realized she was a secret bitch in one of the SPEC installments. Don’t remember if it was a drama season or one of the movies though.

After having received the letter, Yuji received a scolding from the TV station for having tweeted about the case. This dude doubled down and denied doing so though. Sir, it’s the internet. Like, the evidence is there. You can’t gaslight the hundreds and thousands of people who saw your tweets… Ah, but the development on this case hasn’t ended. More information is being dropped on Twitter, including information about the schools Shirono attended. So Yuji continues his investigation in the countryside while interviewing her junior high and high school classmates. It kinda felt like we kinda took a step forward with Minori seemingly defending Shirono. However, we’re basically taking a few steps back with these former classmates whose accounts vary from Minori’s. Like in their yearbook, they chose her as one of the people who was most likely to commit a crime. Shirono was #2… They made it sound like she was kinda scary and creepy. Mentioning things like how it was creepy how well she know how to chop off a fish’s head or carve meat for cooking class. They even go on about an unfounded “Shirono curse”. According to them, a top local soccer player was fooling around and accidentally kicked a dirty rag that ended up on Shirono’s head. However, the dude soon ended up in a car accident. It should be noted that it’s pretty obvious to us that these girls were not close with Shirono or really know her. Like they were laughing a lot. One of them seemed like she was excited to be on a TV broadcast and asked if they’d have their faces blurred and voices distorted.

Yuji ends up interviewing the soccer dude too. This guy goes off on how disgusting it is that people were making up a rumor about the curse. You think maybe he’s nice and upset at people who are being so harsh on Shirono. Nope. Instead, he says that the brakes were disconnected and insisted that Shirono did it. Then we get more locals involved. One local resident points out a shrine in a cluster of trees in the distance. She reveals that it caught on fire 14 years ago, and rumor has it that Shirono did it. She also added that it seemed to be a curse ritual that Shirono did with her childhood friend, Yuko, who is now a hikikomori (recluse). So yeah…we went from trying to protect Shirono and clear her name, to people really dragging her through the mud…

Now we meet Yuko. Again, she’s a hikikomori and is basically forcing Yuji to game with her while he interviews her. What we get is that she and Shirono were best friends growing up. They were like Anne and Diana of Anne of Green Gables. They referred to each other by those names too, with Shirono being Anne. Yuko also revealed the rumor about them doing a curse ritual was true. However, it’s different from what everyone expected and it was just kids messing around. Yuko then went off on a brief tangent on how it was like people who use creepy handle names on Twitter. Obviously calling Yuji out here. She then explained the ritual in detail, mentioning that it was Shirojno’s idea to burn a doll for the curse ritual. Shirono did it for Yuko. She mentions that she used to be known as the prettiest girl in town. However, things changed due to some remarks made by a girl named Akane. It was obviously meant to cause harm and led to Yuko constantly being teased and bullied. Like even the teacher got in on calling Yuko by this nickname she hated. Still, Shirono remained by Yuko’s side. They did the same thing as Anne of Green Gables by using some paper and a candle at the window to send messages to each other (they can see each other’s houses in the distance). It was something Shirono did to remind Yuko that she was her best friend and always there for her.

The so-called curse ritual was also very different from everyone’s expectations. It looks like it was something from a cute and childish magical girl type of magazine. The “curse” was supposed to change the hearts of mean classmates into hearts that are pure and generous. They’re little girls. They were just looking for a fantastical way to stop the bullying, ya know? Although that backfired since something happened when they left and a fire started growing instead. Bruh….I didn’t mean to do that pun… Anyway, it caused the parents to argue over who started the fire, and the girls were then never allowed to meet again. Yuko had reread Anne of Green Gables, and mentioned that Diana was Anne’s only friend. She then says that she now realized that she was Gilbert before she abruptly stopped her sentence. Honestly, I don’t really know Anne of Green Gables well (vaguely remember a TV show adaptation) so I went to my friend Wiki. I know… I’m uncultured…whatever… Anyway, apparently, Gilbert had a crush on Anne. So maybe that’s what she meant. And we see that all of this is what led her to become a hikikomori.

I think this next part was something that really struck me though. Because before Yuji leaves, Yuko asked him if he really thought everything she said was true. In response to his confusion, she mentions that people tend to have false memories. She also says that they tell things in a way that benefits them or makes them look good. These are very true and very important to remember. I liked that she also basically warned him not to lose sight of the main objective: the truth. She even calls him out by his Twitter username, revealing that she knows exactly who he is. Honestly, I really like her. But yeah….foreshadowing, but also some true shit being said.

Next up, Yuji visits Shirono’s home. Her father is kinda silent, while her mother looks distraught. Her mom seems to defend her at first saying that her daughter is kind and good. However, she hesitates once she’s asked about the shrine fire. She ends up replying that starting a fire doesn’t make someone a murderer. Her father then suddenly bows on the floor, head to the ground, asking for forgiveness for his daughter and her actions. Her mom is then quiet and just looks somewhat ashamed. Yuji then notices Shirono’s sickly grandmother in the other room. Grandma seems to be the only one in the house that’s for sure on Shirono’s side as she adamantly states that Shirono was a good and kind girl who would never commit such a crime. But yeah, I want to once again point out how Yuji seems to lack human empathy and that rather than searching for the truth, he’s only searching for his self-interest. Like to me, I don’t see any actual empathy from him. It just looks like a dude who feels awkward and is just prioritizing getting the perfect shots…

Yuji then gets to editing the segment. As he’s working on the editing, yet another person questions whether Yuji can actually trust the sources that he’s met. Despite this, he doesn’t seem to care and continues on. Oh, and yeah..we got some evil editing here. Like it’s pretty clear to us now that the goal isn’t the truth. Because at this point, Yuji is just completely blind and doesn’t give a fuck about the damage as he continues to put out these new interview segments that further drag Shirono. The curse ritual is mentioned, but not the reality or details about it. He only kept the parts that made them look bad with them shoving pins into a human-shaped piece of paper. There was no mention of the bullying and how it was done due to childish hopes of changing the bullies’ hearts. Adding more weight to the evil editing is the part with her father begging for forgiveness. It’s as if to confirm that everything everyone assumed were facts and had been correct. We see that Yuji has not heeded Yuko’s warning at all as he’s cut out the versions of truth that he’s heard from people like her and the grandmother.

It’s at this point that we as the viewers finally see Shirono. Turns out she’s been holed up in a tiny hotel room and she’s watching the news segment. She’s now completely aware of how everyone sees her and the witch hunt against her. The poor woman is in tears. And as predicted, the witch hunt was in full swing as the internet goes hard on her and even reveals her address, pictures, and other personal information. She’s clearly and understandably upset and distraught. Especially having seen all the comments. It’s no wonder that her mental health took a major hit and she’s in major depression right now. So she decides to write down HER truth before leaving this earth…

It’s through Shirono’s account that we see more instances of the other accounts being a mix of truths and lies. It basically starts off with her childhood in her rural town with her bestie, Yuko. Honestly, it sounds pretty similar to what Yuko had told Yuji. Yuko was being bullied, and it was being led by Akana who seemed to be jealous of Yuko being known as the cutest girl. Their homeroom teacher was pretty shit as she was insensitive and rude AF. Hence why she saw no problem joining in on “teasing” Yuko, which led way to the blatant bullying. Like…lady….you a grown-ass woman. WTF you doing with that kinda childish bullshit to an ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENT. Anyway, she mentions that Akane would’ve also been seen as very cute if she hadn’t done such terrible things and let her jealousy get in the way. Like it’s Shirono mentioning that people’s inferiority complexes end up making them into rotten people. This is important in a bit. Also, these be some true facts.

It’s also true that Shirono was really into Anne of Green Gables to the point that it seemed like she really wanted to be like Anne. Shirono was always kinda in her own little fantasies, even noting that she and Yuko would play this fantastical land that they’ve imagined. From her account, it turns out the soccer dude kicked that dirty rag at her on purpose. She had a crush on him and was honestly upset. However, in her head, they were like Anne and Gilbert of Anne of Green Gables. Like I guess Gilbert used to bully Anne and they’d bicker all the time, but it was cuz he had a crush on her. So Shirono believing she’s Anne was like, “I’mma be like Anne and make him suffer a bit before finally accepting his apology.” To her, it was like a cute little game. Except dude ended up in an accident the day she decided she’d accept the apology. We now see that Shirono is a pretty innocent and naive person. And while imagination and fantasies are cool, she does seem a bit delusional and overly naive at times. Like she had this whole fluffy scenario in her head with the soccer dude. But anyway, it’s clear that she’s actually a really positive person and just really thinks that wonderful things will happen. I will say though that I do like that she is also somewhat realistic at times. Like Yuko wonders if there will be more people like Akane and if they’ll always win. Shirono says that there always will be, even when they grow up. Cuz, that be some serious facts. Not everyone is going to like you, and such childish people exist even in adulthood. However, she also adds that good things are sure to come too.

Now, remember how we were talking about that childhood bully named Akane who seemed to have an inferiority complex? Well, surprise, surprise. It turns out that Noriko seemed to be pretty similar to Akane. Similar to how Akane made an off-handed remark regarding Yuko’s name to unnecessarily embarrass and drag Yuko down as a joke, Noriko did the same to Shirono when they first joined the company. It also turns out that Noriko was purposely doing the grunt work poorly (like making the tea) to make it get passed on to someone else (Shirono). Shirono sees that Noriko is pretty. But she’s also quick to see Noriko’s actual personality. She notices this when Noriko seemed to copy the same exact outfit a colleague wore to outshine the colleague. During a company outing, everyone is working hard setting up and grilling the bbq. Meanwhile, Noriko is just sitting there and laying down looking pretty. It gets to a group conversation about how Noriko is the prettiest person they’ve seen. Someone asks what Shirono thinks, to which she answers that the most beautiful person she knows is her friend Yuko. Despite looking like she’s napping, Noriko overhears this. It seems this is what probably triggered Noriko to feel some type of way against Shirono.

In Shirono’s version of her relationship with Shinoyama, he was elated when she offered to make him a bento. He seemed excited and HE was the one who asked her to continue doing so. Of course, they were intimate too, so it was no wonder she thought they were dating. However, she reveals that he suddenly told her how he couldn’t accept it anymore because of his girlfriend. Which led to Shirono being confused as she thought she was his girlfriend. Yeah, guess the dude was just using her and stringing her along. Also, turns out this girlfriend was…Noriko. DUN DUN. What a shocker… She’s watching in a distance and smirking as she’s walking away. In regards to what Minori said, most of it was seemingly true. However, it wasn’t completely true. Shirono did state how Minori was her best friend since college and how she’d share things about Shinoyama. However, she also added, “She WAS my best friend…” Because apparently, Minori would suddenly ask really personal questions like, “Did you do it?” And when Shirono seemed taken aback and thinking it was inappropriate, Minori went, “So you did do it.” And she somehow seemed briefly upset for some kind of reason like “you did it before I did”. Then proceeded to ask things as if she was only interested in gossip material.

So yeah, Shirono was just devasted about being dumped. But she ended up finding comfort in the music by a group called The Serizawa Brothers. It seems they weren’t a hugely famous group. Still, she really enjoyed their music as it provided her comfort and let her hold on to the belief that good things would come still. Noriko caught on to Shirono’s interest in The Serizawa Brothers thanks to Shirono’s favorite Serizawa Brothers mug breaking at work. By the way, the mug was low-key merch. It just had like a logo with an “S” and a crown. Again, no one heard of the Serizawa Brothers. However, Noriko noticed the full name on the bottom piece of that broken mug. So she starts going around the office and proclaiming how she’s a huge fan of the musicians and how she has a limited edition pen. The forum boards are also going off on how it seems one of the members was seen with a woman. Guess who? Yup. Noriko. She used her dad’s connections to meet him and date him. Of course, she’s “just mentioning it” to Shirono. When Shirono asks about Shinoyama, Noriko said that she didn’t even intend to date him. So we’re seeing a theme here of Noriko going out of her way to make Shirono feel like shit. We then see that Noriko’s fancy pen got stolen. Noriko then calls out Shirono for a talk. Shirono thinks she’s going to accuse her of being a thief, but Noriko says she knows who the thief is and how she’ll deal with them. Anyway, she then suddenly seems nice. She mentions how she has a hard-to-find ticket for one of the rare Serizawa Brothers concerts in Tokyo. She tells Shirono she can’t go and that she’d give the ticket to her. So Shirono gets super hyped. She books an expensive train ticket that’ll just barely get her there in time. The next morning, Noriko claims take-backs. She was basically like, “JK. I think I’mma go after all cuz my man would probably be expecting me anyway.”

Shirono is obviously feeling down about it. And Risako notices. After talking to Shirono, she tells Shirono to just go. So they follow Risako’s plan. Basically, Risako gives Noriko some meds for a cold. But it’ll actually make her very drowsy. She would also keep pouring beer for Noriko and give Shirono a chance to steal the concert ticket. Of course, Shirono starts getting cold feet. She’s a goody-goody. But eventually, she goes for it. She offers Noriko a ride to the train station. Noriko ends up passing out though. So Shirono steals the tickets and leaves Noriko and her car in a parking lot. Then she ran off to catch the train. Because ultimately, she really loved the Serizwa Brothers and wanted to see them.

So she gets to Tokyo and the venue. She sees them outside as they’re on some stairs. It should be a happy moment. However, it quickly changed. Due to all the shoving, Shirono accidentally pushes Masaya, one of the members (whom Noriko was supposedly dating), which led him to be injured. She freaks out and runs. The internet is a buzz with worry that the injury could be significant and cause permanent damage, even possibly ruining his career. People were saying they saw the person who pushed him too. So she’s feeling guilty and scared. Hence why she initially lied to call off of work, and why she was holed up in a hotel at first. Like, when you’re a quiet and introverted person who’s never done wrong, you tend to freak out if and when something happens… I feel this for reals… Of course, it just got worse once the case about Noriko’s death came out and it was assumed that she was the suspect.

It’s actually so heartbreaking that Shirono has been pushed to the point of feeling the need to end her life. Like she’s getting ready to hang herself, but then breaking news comes in. The authorities have caught the actual murderer and received a confession. Guess who it is? Fucking Risako. Oh, and she is the thief too. It’s actually why she had initially been arrested, and she ended up confessing to the murder as well during the interrogation. Despite making it seem like she idolized and got along with her mentor Noriko, the truth was quite the opposite. She had a positive impression at first. Then Noriko said she could even take one of the products (the soap). Like she slipped it into her pocket. Risako then quickly realized that Noriko wasn’t really all that nice. Like Noriko was giving kinda lowkey insulting Risako when she gave her the soap. She’s like “It’ll make your skin white. You’ll need it.” Risako was also getting blamed and reprimanded for taking the soap. Then Noriko came swooshing in and acting like a caring mentor who said to blame her instead. She’d treat Risako to meals and tell Risako to treat her sometimes. But when Risako offered to treat Noriko at the office, Noriko declined and acted like a kind and benevolent mentor.

That’s when she started stealing the soap. It was with the cake incident that she seemed to start to find enjoyment in not getting caught and seeing everyone’s reactions. So she started stealing more and more. Apparently, it was to help her relieve stress from work. Then Noriko vaguely mentioned that she knew who stole it. So Risako started to feel uneasy. That’s when she saw Shirono and saw an opportunity to exploit her. See after Shirono left that night, Risako went to the parking lot and took the car with the sleeping Noriko to the woods. It’s there that she went after her and stabbed her multiple times. That didn’t really satisfy her though, so she saw the leftover materials from the bbq in the car and decided to burn the body.

She then intentionally contacted her university friend, a temp worker at a TV news station, Yuji. Like she even practiced the call. There she purposely dropped information to pique his interest and use him to mislead everyone. You’d think that due to the violent nature, it must’ve been due to some serious grudge as well or something. But her motive was simply because she didn’t want to lose her job. Like girl, you committed murder and literally ruined an innocent person’s life. What the actual fuck??

The people from Yuji’s news station seemed stunned. And have a discussion that there seemed to be a sort of complex. However, it’s revealed that Risako actually graduated from a prestigious university and there were high hopes for her. Rather, a company superior mentioned that Noriko was the one who seemingly had a complex towards her juniors. Because she was shallow and didn’t want Risako to rise higher than her. We can see that it’s also probably the case with how she felt about Noriko as well.

The news station then issued a statement and apology. It was due to them not conducting research that an innocent person became a suspect. But it really seems like a shallow apology. Cuz it was so short and of few words, and they just quickly moved onto the next topic. Like, y’all literally destroyed someone’s reputation and life, and nearly pushed them to death. It wasn’t even like a straight 90 degree bow or dogeza (that’s the bow Shirono’s dad did). Like the stuff used to try to express deep remorse… No mention of Shirono in their apology, and not even a direct apology to Shirono Miki…

We then see the reactions of people online. They’re like, “That’s it?” People are also now turning and saying that they need to apologize to Shirono. Some people were criticizing the report and flamed them. While others pointed out that these people also watched it. People are also now expressing sympathy and support toward Shirono. There are also people saying, “Oh, so now you’re supporting her. But I believed in her the whole time.” While others are pointing out that such people had also suspected her. They’re now pointing out each other’s wrongs like revealing her full name or acting like her friend. Oh, and it turns out that Masaya of Serizawa Brothers isn’t injured. The relationship between Masaya and Noriko was also denied as Masaya wrote to his fan club that he had never even met her. Then you get people talking about how the internet exposes the truth, while others say that it falsely accused people. As you can see, it just shows the hypocrisy and insincerity of people. Like there are some honest people out there, sure. But we see that there are people who don’t really care. It’s entertainment and people just do and act however they want whenever it’s convenient for them.

Now that Shirono’s name has been cleared, she’s back in her hometown. Sadly, it’s for her grandmother’s funeral. She pays her respects and heads up to her room. Ignoring her parents who seem to try to apologize to her. But honestly, that’s a deep cut there to have your parents not even believe in you. And publicly too? Also, just being like, “Sorry, Miki.” (“Gomen na, Miki.”). So despite it being seemingly “over”, Miki is obviously still caught in a lot of different feelings as she’s sitting in her dark room. It’s then that she sees a flashing light from a house in a distance. Yes, it’s Yuko telling her that she’s here for her. She wanted to tell Anne that even if everyone was against her, she’d always be there for her. Through tough times and everything. I cried. Like Yuko is a real one. I’m really glad she had one person who truly believed in her and supported her. They then send messages to each other like the old days.

Now we see Yuji back in Shirono’s hometown with the guy who asked if he could really trust those sources. Yuji is trying to apologize to Shirono’s dad. But is instead pushed down and told that he’s not giving a proper apology at all. So Yuji does dogeza in the field (dad was working on the field or whatever). He’s dejected and walking back. We’re shown that karma is now getting back to him. He’s now the current target on Twitter. Everyone is shitting on him and revealing his information and photos. Everyone has turned against him. He’s also nearly hit by Shirono who was driving. She gets out and asks if she had hit him. He says she didn’t, but kinda bursts out how something bad happened to him. He then states very similar sentiments made by Shirono earlier when she was in that hotel room and about to commit suicide. He feels like he’s not himself anymore. He then gathers himself and apologizes for suddenly saying something strange to her. But she tells him that some good things will happen. Note that he doesn’t even recognize Shirono. The woman whose life he nearly ruined and ended! And that’s the end of the movie.

Although I do want to point out that perhaps Shirono actually intended to hit Yuji with her car. Like first off, they in the countryside. There’s literally nothing around. She was also driving hellaaaa fast. She also looked somewhat disappointed that she didn’t hit him. Like her face changed real quick when he said she didn’t hit him. She does have a slight change when he mentioned those sentiments that she had thought before she told him that good things would come. So yeah, think of what you will about it. But yeah, THE END.

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【本日レディースデー！】
『白ゆき姫殺人事件』大ヒット上映中！
皆様のご来場、お待ちしております。
映画館にI〜N！http://t.co/SG4CfDnUiY #白ゆき姫 pic.twitter.com/ayF91EZdAL

— 白ゆき姫殺人事件 (@shirayuki_movie) April 9, 2014

Again, I wouldn’t say this is the best movie. Certainly, it’s a bit shallow at times. It’s also not anything super new. I’m sure there are plenty of other movies where mysteries and truths unravel through various points of view. There are probably movies that do it better too. But I still found it fairly interesting. For me, I think it drew an impression on me because it’s food for thought. Again, it’s a fairly old movie. However, I’d say it’s still relevant to today. It’s the same story and message about people on the internet and cancel culture. Honestly, it’s probably grown to be more prevalent and intense nowadays than it was back then. We have a lot of people on the internet trying to expose people and things. Like personally, I think revealing the truth and serving justice is great and all. But it’s important to remember to check the facts first. People forget that such things have real consequences and impacts on real people. But people like to hide behind the anonymity of the internet. So a lot of people just say whatever shit they want. Alot of people do things to get reactions and because they feed off of the attention. Cuz oftentimes, people in our modern society put worth over follower numbers and numbers of interactions on the internet and social media. And oftentimes, people once again forget that they can have a devastating impact on real people. Not to mention the insincere apologies we’ve seen after people have made said devastating mistakes. We’re shown some people don’t actually reflect on their mistakes. They’re more caught up in how they’re feeling, and don’t think of or even remember the people that they’ve hurt. I don’t I was actually recently thinking about this movie because of various things happening on social media and entertainment news. Cuz I always think about how it might not be true and it’s affecting those involved.

Looking at it now, the movie was pretty simple and most of it was obvious and the characters do still feel kinda shallow. We’re also left to wonder some things that will never be confirmed. Like was Noriko actually involved with Masaya of Serizawa Brothers and they just denied it to as a PR move to save themselves? Or did Noriko actually just make it up? Just why did Noriko go so far to push people like that. Like I get it’s assumed that she has a complex, but why? Or maybe it’s just to show that that’s just how some people are. Sometimes there just isn’t any real reason. But anyway, I did kinda enjoy seeing the different accounts reveal more and more. While also showing us that the accounts aren’t completely truthful. Plus, I just love some of those real facts from Yuko. And overall, I just found it to be an interesting commentary and example of human nature. Again, I like that it is something that we can still find relatable and true even now. Although, I will say it was pretty anti-climatic during the reveal. Although, I supposed that’s also life and can be realistic at times too. There are people in the real world who have committed crazy crimes like violent murders for less. And again, it’s also kinda realistic in how people quickly forget and move on…. Although I do wanna note that even Shirono’s account might not be completely truthful either. Again, we gotta remember what Yuko said too. People tend to recount things in a way that seems beautiful to them, benefits them, or makes them look good. Of course, Shirono is still a victim though.

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However, I think the main reason why this movie probably made such an impression on me was because I could somewhat relate to how Shirono must have felt. Again, it’s not a particularly good movie… Still, it managed to make an impression to the point that I can still remember it… So, if y’all didn’t know, my younger sister was in a freak accident in 2010 that caused her to be amputated above the knee. Legally, there are things I can and can’t say. So I’ll just mention what I can with whatever is publically known. At the time my sister was a senior in high school giving a tour to some visiting middle school students. She was near the bus when an old woman, who got there early to pick up her grandkids, accidentally reversed her car hard. My sister sustained a bad injury to her leg where it was basically severed, and she had to be airlifted via helicopter to the hospital. Unfortunately, they could not reattach her leg. Like it was already crazy. But it became huge news in the area, especially because it happened on campus in front of a bus full of kids, and it was at a private Catholic school. Like it even made the Thai news too. We suddenly had a lot of media attention on us. I literally had to make statements at a press conference…

It was honestly super stressful and scary for my family. We were on TV on the news and in the newspapers. Like we had reporters and random people constantly trying to contact us. I got so many random friend requests and messages on Facebook. I actually had to stay away from social media for a while because I was so stressed and scared. News reporters came to our house. I had people recognize and approach me in public… Like, I don’t know if you all realize, but I’m a hella introverted person and don’t like attention or talking to strangers. I was an even bigger introvert back then too. So I mean it when I say I was scared of social interactions then. I also experienced firsthand how information gets shared and misconstrued. Like people were just sharing totally false and inaccurate information. Someone initially told the reporters that my sister’s leg was reattached. This was when she just got to the hospital and no one other than us had been allowed to see her. And I can tell you it wasn’t us who told them… We saw a lot of love and support from people, family and strangers. But I also saw some really upsetting shit too. Someone commented on a news article that my sis was stupid and should’ve been wearing a seatbelt?? I specifically remember reading that while sitting in my sister’s hospital room, and I was like WTF??? Like, she wasn’t even in a car??? She was a pedestrian on the sidewalk????? Someone also said that it was a part of God’s plan… My parents closed their business for several months to stay and take care of my sister. Someone wrote posts on a local forum saying my family must have been drug dealers… My family was also kinda stressed and strained because people were saying and assuming all sorts of shit about us. We had people we didn’t know trying to act like they knew us or were close to us. Deadass, in one of the first TV news reports, some kid said he was best friends with my sis and knew her well. She didn’t know him at all. Like there were people saying all sorts of shit for attention. People were approaching us for information and other reasons. It was to a point I kinda had social anxiety and felt like I couldn’t trust people for a long period of time. I was super sensitive too and didn’t even want to talk about it to anyone, even when friends asked. I cried a lot during that period. So yeah, parts of the movie felt really personal to me because Shirono’s thoughts and feelings definitely resonated with me. I really did feel for Shirono. Like it was way worse for her too cuz they were accusing her of murder. Considering it was when we were still somewhat in the healing process of everything when I first watched the movie, it’s probably why I remember it to this day. By the way, my sis is just fine. She’s a strong person with a dark sense of humor. First thing she said to my mom after finding out about losing her leg was, “Do you think they’ll give me half off for a pedicure?”

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Anyway, that’s it for this post. Honestly, been trying to get this post out for weeks… So sorry the writing is messy. I’ve literally been working on it bit by bit. I had a longer version too. I cut that and started over again and this is what we got LOL Again, not the best movie or one of my favorites. But an interesting watch for me nonetheless. For me, there are two types of interest. The first is interest because I actually like something. The second interest is more like there’s something I find impressionable about it. It could be that I was surprised at a different take, a message or scene stuck with me, it was food for thought, etc. This is definitely a case of the second type of interest for me though. Maybe you’ll find it somewhat interesting as well. But for me it’s just more interesting because of how relatable it is, how it’s kind of social commentary on today’s society and people on the internet, people’s selfishness, food for thought, and how it’s all still pretty relevant even today. Anyway, let me know if you saw the movie and what you thought of it~ Also, recommend me some more movies and things to watch~ hehe~ I kinda miss watching things in general, but I honestly haven’t watched any Japanese movies and series in so long… Anyway, take care, stay safe, and I hope you have a great day!~

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