Unlike the title, the story unfolds like calm water. Sosuke aspires to be a cartoonist. When a black and white storyboard of his turns into colorful moving images in an instant, we get to travel through different times and unusual places with him. The Japanese wolf is extinct, so he has a hard time drawing one. Working at a construction site, he digs out a skull of a wild animal and goes back there at night to find more. Whilst there, he runs into a mysterious girl called Midori, and believes that she looks like the girl in his cartoon work. The story goes round in a circle; once the film reaches its stunning end, you might want to go back to the beginning and start again. Located at the heart of the vortex is not vertigo, but the sentiments of longing and regret for loss. Buried under our feet are collapsed houses, dead bodies sacrificed in war and pets that were once family members. Buildings are built anew, and fireworks celebrate the seasons to come. Kaneko made a new classic. (Creta D. KIM)