Mad Summer School

Amidst the sweltering heat of a Japanese summer, Hiromi dedicates herself to rigorous study in pursuit of admission to her desired university. Her determination is deeply personal, shaped by a childhood defined by absence; raised solely by her mother after her father, a prominent researcher, vanished without explanation when she was young, she carries both academic ambition and unresolved familial mystery. This quiet focus on her future is abruptly shattered during an ordinary commute to school when she is violently attacked by a knife-wielding stranger, transforming a routine day into a harrowing encounter that upends her sense of safety and normalcy. The assault forces Hiromi to confront not only immediate physical danger but also the unsettling possibility that her past and present are more entangled than she ever realized. What initially appears to be a random act of violence may instead signal the unraveling of long-buried secrets tied to her father’s disappearance and her own hidden significance. As she grapples with trauma and uncertainty, the line between victimhood and agency begins to blur, raising urgent questions about whether this brutal interruption marks a tragic end or the unexpected catalyst for a transformative new chapter in her life.