The film delves into some existential themes, portraying a character that seeks happiness, suppressing the horrors of reality, therefore being doomed to repeat the same cycle of hurting people around him and himself till the end of his days. What strikes most is how inescapable it shows suffering to be for any humans. We fall in love, we hurt each other, we break up, rinse, repeat. Feelings cannot be controlled and the result cannot be calculated, but one thing is apparent - everything's gonna crumble and everybody's gonna suffer, more or less. Exploring such an important topic, this film could be a masterpiece, but it fails in the most crucial aspect - the story. While the first half of the film, which is supposed to establish characters and develop emotionall ties to them, is rushed, the second half, on the contrary, drags for too long, with not much happening. As a result, the film may appear boring. I haven't read the original ghost story it's adapted from, so I can't say whether it's fault of the screenwriter or not. Though every other aspect in this film is perfect, so I think it's worth watching. Overall, I think it's the second best in the J-Horror Theater series, right after Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Retribution.