“Call Me Chihiro” is a Japanese drama movie with Kasumi Arimura in the main role. It was directed by Rikiya Imaizumi. It is based on the Chihiro-san manga series by Hiroyuki Yasuda, which came out in 2013. The movie is about Chihiro, a woman who used to work as a prostitute but now works at a bento shop in a quiet seaside town. Chihiro helps a lot of people who are having mental problems by doing small acts of kindness for them. This brings her closer to them and makes their lives better. But Chihiro has a feeling of being alone that she has trouble getting rid of. If you want to know if Chihiro gets over being alone and how her story ends, here is everything you need to know. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Call Me Chihiro Plot Synopsis
In “Call Me Chihiro,” we follow Chihiro, a young woman who works as a salesgirl at the Noko Noko bento shop. Chihiro lives alone in her apartment, but she is happy to talk to anyone who wants to. Even though she used to work as a prostitute, Chihiro is kind and helpful to the people around her. She helps a poor old man by giving him food and a bath. The two usually have lunch together. At the same time, a high school student named Kuniko “Okaji” Seo feels cut off from both her friends and her family. She is attracted to Chihiro, though, and often takes pictures of her when she plays with the kids at the park.
Chihiro’s daily routine includes going to see Tae, the slowly going blind wife of the man who owns her bento shop. One day, Chihiro, the old man, helped her get to an old warehouse where there were a lot of manga. Chihiro goes back to the warehouse some time later to look for the old man. Betchin is a high school student who comes to the place to read manga. Chihiro and Betchin become friends because they both like manga. Chihiro is sad, though, when she learns that the old man is dead.
She meets Okaji at the same time, and they become friends. Chihiro meets Makoto at the park. He is a young boy who tries to trick her. Chihiro, however, feeds the boy and makes friends with him. Chihiro starts to hang out with Makoto and Okaji, and Okaji also helps Makoto with his schoolwork. Makoto is raised by a single mother who works a lot and is often too tired to take care of him. On the other hand, Okaji’s family is very emotionally distant, and it seems like her parents don’t care what she likes or doesn’t like. Because of this, Makoto and Okaji like Chihiro because she makes them feel warm and safe.
Chihiro also hangs out with Basil, who works at a dance club and is her only adult friend. Chihiro and Basil meet the ex-boss of Chihiro at a local fair. The ex-boss has given up on the underworld. He now runs a fish shop and takes care of animals that live in water. Makoto’s mother doesn’t like how much Chihiro is getting involved in her son’s life, but Chihiro says she’s sorry for going too far. Okaji goes to the warehouse with Chihiro, where she meets Bethcin.
Betchin and Okaji quickly became friends when they found out they went to the same high school and liked the same things. Even though the people around her are getting closer to her and to each other, Chihiro still feels lonely. We learn from flashbacks that Chihiro was a neglected child, which is why she won’t go to her mother’s funeral. But when Chihiro was young, she met a sex worker whose company she liked. Her childhood friend gave her the idea to use Chihiro as her work name. At the end of the night, Chihiro takes Tae out and tells her that she is the new girl at the bento shop. The two women then enjoy a quiet evening together.
Call Me Chihiro Ending: Why Did Chihiro Quit? Where Did She Go?
In the last part of the movie, Chihiro has a dinner party for all her friends to celebrate Tae getting out of the hospital. On a beautiful night with lots of stars, Chihiro has a nice dinner with people whose lives she has changed. Chihiro helps Okaji deal with her family problems while turning Mokoto into a caring son and getting close to Okaji and Mokoto. This creates a bond between Okaji and Mokoto that is similar to that of siblings. She makes it possible for her friend Basil to be friends with her ex-boss, and she makes sure that Betchin, who is confident but lonely, has a friend in Okaji. But just as things start to get lively at the party, Chihiro goes back to her own space.
Chihiro quits her job and moves away after saying goodbye to Tae on the phone. The ending makes it seem like Chihiro is not afraid of being alone. Instead, the sweet girl is afraid of being surrounded by love, as if it would make her passive and take away her sunny personality. In the beginning of the movie, Chihiro tells Okaji about her theory that people from different planets don’t understand each other very well. But sometimes, people meet people from their own planet and get along with them right away.
Chihiro’s theory talks about how people can feel lonely and alone even when they are with other people. But when Chihiro is with Tae, Okaji, Mokoto, and other people, she starts to feel warmer. She also helps them get over feeling alone and find relationships that matter to them. So, Chihiro probably thinks that her job in the beach town is done and decides to leave. At the end of the movie, Chihiro starts a new life on a farm, where she learns the trade slowly. One can only imagine that Chihiro will continue to heal people and help them find each other in her new home. So, even though Chihiro’s journey isn’t finished, the journey itself is finished.
