When a young humanoid dragon gets swept into the treacherous remains of a dystopian city, he embarks on a perilous quest to reunite with his family.

SYNOPSIS:

Aoi Hideyoshi is a timid, creative 10-year-old humanoid dragon living in the woods with his family. While sitting on a rock, illustrating the surrounding landscape, his younger brother, Arata, interrupts and invites him to a small party with his friends. Aoi reluctantly agrees and follows Arata through the trees and shrubs to a nearby treehouse decorated with paper lanterns. Several other humanoid dragons have arrived to play games and socialise. Inside the treehouse, Aoi meets Fumihito, an aspiring writer and illustrator. They immediately become friends and converse about life in the woods. While presenting his work to Aoi, Fumihito mentions a dystopian city where the First Inhabitants lived and experimented on humanoid dragons. Aoi reveals hearing a lot of rumours and stories of a catastrophic meltdown that killed thousands of humans and not a single dragon. He asks why, puzzling Fumihito.

With a terrible rainstorm approaching, Arata and his friends head home, leaving Aoi and Fumihito to seek more information from an elder living in a village two miles away. The two dragons set off at dusk and soon get caught in the rain. Along the way, they arrive at a ravine with a rotting log stretching between the edges. Fumihito crosses it first and waits for Aoi. His friend hesitates and eventually builds enough courage to cross the ravine. Suddenly, the log breaks into two, causing Aoi to fall into the gorge and get swept downstream. Terror shakes Fumihito to the core. While hearing his friend’s voice, Aoi struggles to swim and keep his head above the surface. Whirlpools suck him below until the current carries him into eternal darkness.

Aoi awakes on a sandy bank inside a large tunnel complex. He sits up, regains his senses, rises to his feet and looks about. Before long, he discovers creepy-looking lifeforms gripping the walls and ceiling. Aoi’s eyes light with fear as more entities crawl into view. Without any sense of direction, Aoi tries to flee. The entities screech and try to pin him. Crying for help, he trips over a piece of debris. The entities surround Aoi. But then, a tribe of yellow-eyed humanoids comes to his aid, slaughtering the enemy with knives and spears. The leader, Riku, scares the rest of them away and sees Aoi sitting in a corner — the two meet, with Riku swearing to protect Aoi. They eventually shake hands and introduce each other.

On the way back to the settlement, Riku and Aoi converse, revealing how they came into this unique but treacherous world. Riku warns the little dragon that the entities are mutilated beings feeding on flesh and maggoty scraps. After revealing his desperation to reunite with his kin, Aoi is saddened to hear that Riku cannot leave the tunnel complex for fear of getting killed. They arrive at the settlement, a heavily populated, underground village with hundreds of other creatures with dark grey skin, venomous fangs, and razor-sharp claws. Riku provides Aoi with a small bedroom in his wooden hut. Over the next few days, the little dragon recovers his strength, getting to know the villagers and their traditions. Riku eventually agrees to lead Aoi through a short, narrow passage to the outside. During supper, a young villager named Asuka invites Aoi to a group discussion with his friends and family. They tell him the rumour of humanoid robots roaming the city streets. Aoi finds it all too hard to believe. When asked about life in the outside world, he summarises venturing over the mountains and fields, through spiritual woods, and living in a treehouse with Arata and his parents. Asuka admits to losing his mother at childbirth and tries to distract himself by playing a game of Checkers.

The following night, Aoi bids farewell to the villagers and follows Riku into the narrow passage outside the settlement. They journey through and arrive at a ladder leading up to the surface. Riku gives him one final handshake, wishing him all the best. With that, Aoi climbs up and enters a new, vibrant world of neon lights and overgrown buildings. Dark grey and sleek humanoid robots dressed in suits are roaming the city streets. While keeping a low profile, Aoi goes to a spiritual shop decorated with candles, crystals, spell books, magic stones and other fascinating items. The shop owner, BE-843, watches him from behind the desk. The little dragon approaches her, wondering where he can stay for the night. Seeming grateful to have a draconic customer, she offers him a spare bedroom upstairs. Aoi accepts. Meanwhile, two police robots are questioning a local about the arrival of a humanoid dragon. They spread the word to their chief on the radio. After noticing them, BE-843 closes her shop and locks the door. Aoi asks why she fears the police, and her answer shocks him. The First Inhabitants planted their memories into all units after the meltdown. Consequently, some are programmed to capture and experiment with humanoid dragons. BE-843 keeps him shielded from society over the next two days, providing him with whatever food she can buy.

On the way home, she accidentally attracts two police robots. Aoi watches through the window and sees them approaching the shop with batons and guns. The owner locks the door again, which confirms their suspicions. As they begin pounding it, Aoi begs BE-843 to accompany him. Instead, she tells him to run for the subway and catch a train to the slums. The police enter as the little dragon escapes with teary eyes. BE-843 tries to fend them off with a broom until Aoi hears a piercing gunshot. By then, he reaches the subway, rushes down the stairs and catches the train. Now safe and alone, the little dragon collapses onto a seat and sobs.

Aoi arrives at the other end of the line. He exits the subway, finds himself in an overgrown slum, looks about misty-eyed, and falls asleep on the street. The following day, he wakes up surrounded by hooded, humanoid dragons known as Survivalists. They lead him to Yuto, the chief – On his throne, Aoi tells him who he is and what he wants. His desire to reunite with his family surprises the tribe. When he asks who the Survivalists are, Yuto reveals that his people were once humans, primarily children, until the First Inhabitants took them into hidden laboratories. Complicated procedures were performed to alter their DNA. To avoid torturous experiments, many fled into the wilderness. The chief deeply inhales and expresses his disappointment towards those who refuse to confront their fears. Ultimately, he tells Aoi that to earn freedom is to change and to change is to gain courage. So, the Survivalists subject him to challenges like walking on power lines, squeezing through water pipes, one-on-one physical fights, climbing up ropes, and finally, a duel with chains and daggers. Aoi merely succeeds.

Yuto congratulates the little dragon and grants him the key to the city gate. After inserting the key, Aoi watches the two large doors slowly open — His excitement skyrockets when he recognises his family and friends from a distance. Yuto smiles, watching Aoi reunite with Arata and his parents. Fumihito utters a few words about searching for him with other villagers. After that, Aoi renews his friendship with Fumihito and looks back to see the city gate closed. Aoi sighs, turns away from the wall and begins the journey home with his family and friends.

------------

Est. Script Length: 120 pages

------------