Sion Sono, working with screenwriter Yoshiki Takahashi, took this skeleton and fleshed it out into a 144-minute epic of despair. The "2001" connection is vital because the film captures the specific anxiety of Heisei-era Japan (1989–2019)—a post-bubble economy where small business owners are desperate, isolated, and capable of incredible violence.
So why the "2001" attachment? There are three primary theories: cold fish 2001