Italian Premiere | In Competition
Japan, 2025, 90’, Japanese
Directed by: Kinoshita Baku
Screenplay: Konomoto Kazuya
Music: Cero, Takagi Shohei, Hashimoto Tsubasa, Arauchi Yu
Voice Cast: Kobayashi Kaoru, Tozuka Junki, Mitsushima Hikari, Miyazaki Yoshiko, Pierre Taki
Date of First Release in Territory: October 10th, 2025
Not all Japanese animation is about demon slayers, but the country’s smaller, quieter, more true-to-life animated productions are usually overshadowed abroad by its fantasy blockbusters. A welcome exception is
The Last Blossom,
a debut feature by animator Kinoshita Baku that had its world premiere at last year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Since then, the film has deservedly been getting love from overseas critics and fans for everything from its gorgeously delicate animation and flawless plot to its heartfelt meditations on life, love and what, in the end, truly matters.
Its protagonist is Akutsu (Kobayashi Kaoru), a yakuza who has been in prison for three decades and is now an old man close to breathing his last in his lonely cell. His only companion is a talking red balsam flower (Pierre Taki) who snarkily tells him his life has been “pathetic.”
Has it? The film, scripted by Konomoto Kazuya, answers that question in its 90 minutes running time but not in black and white. As a mid-ranked gangster in the late 1980s, when the Japanese economy was at its Bubble Era peak, Akutsu made some lamentable decisions that caused pain to him and others. But he also made some good ones that brought him and his loved ones happiness, however brief.
As we see when the film flashes back to 1987, the best was staying with Nana (Mitsushima Hikari), a young single mom with a cute baby son, Kensuke. How they met is not explained, but living with Nana and Kensuke in a small, tidy house with a small, disorderly garden (and a smart-aleck balsam flower) Akutsu (Tozuka Junki) feels at peace, though Nana’s tongue can be sharp.
Her big worry is whether Akutsu, an old-fashioned type who is diligent at his underworld job, but zero help with housework or baby care, can really come to love Kensuke.
But when he graduates from babyhood to boyhood – and is diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition, something changes in Akutsu. Though he can’t easily put it into words, Kensuke is now as dear to him as any son of his own flesh-and-blood. Whatever it takes to give him the new heart he needs, Akutsu will do it, be it dangerous and deadly.
Naturally, the flower can’t comprehend this all-too-human mentality, since it sees itself as part of an eternal flow in which my descendant is also me and fear of death is meaningless. But Akutsu’s willingness to sacrifice for Kensuke, however wrongheaded his methods, elevates him from a garden-variety gangster to something greater.
This human-flower dialogue (though the flower has far more lines) also elevates
The Last Blossom from the conventions of Japanese family drama, in which dad is a strong-but-silent provider (that is, the younger Akutsu) and the classic yakuza movie, in which the hero will give up his freedom for the sake of the gang or, in Akutsu’s case, one ruthless, avaricious boss (Yasumoto Hiroki).
The film is also far above the genre run for its poignant, charming celebration of everyday family life, even if dad is a gangster. One comparison is Kawashima Toru’s 1963 classic
Ryuji, which exudes a gritty realism.
The Last Blossom has the realism if not the grit, while featuring a cleverly constructed climax whose seeds are laid throughout the film and come together like puzzle pieces snapping into place.
Akutsu, who has been saying he will “turn it around” for decades, finally shows what he means. Not that it will shut up the flower.
Kinoshita Baku
Kinoshita Baku (b. 1990) studied at Tama Art University and began his career as illustrator and animator at the P.I.C.S. production house, where he made TV commercials and music videos. He made his directorial debut with the TV series Odd Taxi (2021), which was a hit with critics and fans. Following this success, Kinoshita ventured into feature filmmaking with The Last Blossom (Housenka), which premiered at the Annecy Animation Film Festival in 2024 and was released in Japanese theaters in October 2025. Scripted by Konomoto Kazuya, who also teamed with Kinoshita on Odd Taxi, the film will screen in Udine FEFF animation section.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
2021 – Odd Taxi
2025 – The Last Blossom