Maboroshi

Maboroshi, also known as Alice and Therese's Illusory Factory, is a 2023 Japanese animated film produced by MAPPA, written and directed by Mari Okada. The story unfolds in a town where time has stopped following an explosion at a steel factory. Residents are instructed to maintain the status quo in hopes of things returning to normal. Middle schooler Masamune Kikuri, guided by his enigmatic classmate Mutsumi Sagami, encounters a wolf-like girl, Itsumi, in the factory's fifth blast furnace. This meeting sparks an impulse of love and challenges the stagnated balance of their world. The film explores the desire for change and love amongst teenagers in a stagnant world. Mari Okada also wrote a novelization of the film, published by Kadokawa Shoten. The film was released in Japanese theaters on September 15, 2023, and globally on Netflix on January 15, 2024.