Happyend

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1:53

Happyend

1h 53m

Drama

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94%

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18 Reviews

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Set in a near-future Tokyo where the threat of a catastrophic earthquake pervades daily life, two rabble-rousing best friends are about to graduate high school. One night, they pull a consequential prank on their Principal, which leads to a surveillance system being installed in their school. Stuck between the oppressive security system and a darkening national political situation, the two respond in contrasting ways, leading them to confront differences they never had to face before.

Neo Sora

Director

Hayato Kurihara

Yuta

Yukito Hidaka

Ko

Yuta Hayashi

Actor

Ayumu Nakajima

Actor

Masaru Yahagi

Actor

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David Ehrlich

IndieWire

Even in its most uncertain moments, Happyend is carried by the sincerity of its characters and their affection for each other.

Rated: B+

Sep 27, 2024

Full Review

Marshall Shaffer

Slant Magazine

Sora Neo struggles to balance the immediacy of adolescent angst with the long-range outlook of using the students’ experience as a canary in the coal mine for society at large.

Rated: 2/4

Sep 24, 2024

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Jessica Kiang

Variety

Japanese director Neo Sora is no catastrophist: the vision of dystopia he puts forth in his coolly compelling first fiction feature Happyend is chilling precisely because it won’t take some thunderous armageddon to bring it about.

Sep 23, 2024

Full Review

KT Mahe

For Your Reference Podcast

Films can offer layered commentary and use of a focused world being a reflection of wider politics. Neo Sora goes further and becomes more of a house of mirrors in Happyend.

Rated: 4.5/5

Jun 24, 2025

Full Review

Whang Yee Ling

The Straits Times (Singapore)

Here is a bittersweet coming-of-age experience, unassuming but emotionally textured.

Rated: 3/5

May 8, 2025

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Sean Burns

WBUR’s Arts & Culture

Remarkable. It's like if 'Superbad' took place during the end of the world.

Apr 19, 2025

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Happyend: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Set in a near-future Tokyo where the threat of a catastrophic earthquake pervades daily life, two rabble-rousing best friends are about to graduate high school. One night, they pull a consequential prank on their Principal, which leads to a surveillance system being installed in their school. Stuck between the oppressive security system and a darkening national political situation, the two respond in contrasting ways, leading them to confront differences they never had to face before.

Director: Neo Sora
Producer: Aiko Masubuchi, Albert Tholen, Eric Nyari, Alex C. Lo, Anthony Chen
Screenwriter: Neo Sora
Distributor: Metrograph Pictures
Production Co: Zakkubalan, Cineric Creative, Cinema Inutile
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 15, 2025, Limited
Runtime: 1h 53m