Ball & Chain

"Maybe I could have chosen something different..." Keito is a company employee in their late twenties preparing to enter marriage as a "woman," despite never feeling anchored to a specific gender or sexuality. Meanwhile, Aya is a married woman in her fifties who continues to perform the role of "wife" within a relationship that has long since grown cold and distant. Both women find themselves trapped by identities assigned at birth, forced to navigate lives shaped by expectations that no longer reflect who they truly are. Bound by their shared struggles, these two queer individuals harbor deep doubts about the ways society has pushed them into rigid, normalized roles. The labels of "woman" and "wife"—once treated as common sense—have slowly devolved into hollow pantomimes that stifle their authentic selves. Together, they begin the difficult journey of questioning everything they have been taught to accept without hesitation. This is a deeply personal story about reclaiming one's true identity from the confines of societal expectation. It speaks to anyone who has ever felt restricted by predetermined paths, offering a poignant exploration of what it means to fight back against the invisible chains of convention and finally live on one's own terms.