Ep. 1: Oba Yozo and Tsuneko plan a double suicide in Kamakura after their shared despair

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This episode adapts Osamu Dazai’s novel No Longer Human, set in Showa Era, 4th year, Summer. Narrator Oba Yozo recounts his shameful life, beginning with a photograph of him as a boy abused by servants. He meets Tsuneko, a prostitute, in a bar where he hides from Tokko officers. Earlier, Oba witnessed a political scam involving actors, revealing his own wealthy background and his father’s disappointment in his art studies. After escaping arrest, Oba and Tsuneko walk together, but she is beaten by an officer. Oba kisses her, and they decide to end their lives due to mutual hatred of living. They travel to a cliff for a double suicide, where Tsuneko asks Oba to push her off. The next day, Oba is found alive on the shore, having survived the jump.