If you’ve spent any time in the darker corners of the anime community, you’ve heard the name. Shoujo Tsubaki. Or maybe you know it as Midori. It’s that one movie people claim is "cursed." It’s the one that was supposedly banned, burned, and buried. But honestly? Most people talking about the Midori Shoujo Tsubaki plot online haven't actually sat through the whole thing. They’ve seen the grainy clips on TikTok or read a brief summary on a creepypasta wiki.
The reality is much heavier.
Written and directed by Hiroshi Harada, the 1992 film Midori (also known as Mr. Arashi's Amazing Show) isn't just a "disturbing" movie. It’s an adaptation of Suehiro Maruo’s 1984 ero-guro manga, which itself was a reimagining of a traditional kamishibai (paper theater) story from the early 20th century. When we look at the Midori Shoujo Tsubaki plot, we aren’t just looking at a story about a girl in a freak show. We’re looking at a brutal, psychedelic deconstruction of innocence, poverty, and the absolute worst impulses of human nature.
The Setup: A Quick Descent into Hell
The story starts with a scam. Midori is a young, innocent girl living in Shōwa-era Japan. Her life is already precarious. Her father has vanished. Her mother is sick. In a moment of desperate kindness, or what looks like it, she meets a mysterious man selling camellias (tsubaki). He tells her that if she ever finds herself in trouble, she should come find him.
Then, the floor drops out.
Midori returns home to find her mother dead. And not just dead—in one of the film’s most infamous and stomach-turning sequences, her mother’s corpse is being eaten by rats. This is the catalyst for the entire Midori Shoujo Tsubaki plot. With nowhere else to go, Midori tracks down the man from the flower stall.
She thinks she’s finding a guardian. She’s actually walking into a nightmare.
The man, Mr. Arashi, runs a traveling freak show (misemono-goya). From the second Midori arrives, the "family" of performers subjects her to relentless physical and psychological abuse. There’s the man with no arms or legs, the strongman, and a host of other grotesque characters who see Midori not as a child, but as a punching bag or a servant.
Why the Freak Show Setting Matters
You have to understand the historical context here. Misemono were real. They were popular during the Edo and Shōwa periods. They were exploitative, sure, but they were also a place for the "others" of society to exist. In the Midori Shoujo Tsubaki plot, Harada and Maruo use this setting to amplify the feeling of claustrophobia.
There is no "outside world" for Midori.
The circus is a closed loop of misery. The performers are victims of society, but instead of bonding together, they take their rage out on the person at the bottom of the ladder: Midori. She’s forced to do menial labor, she’s mocked, and she’s sexually assaulted. It’s bleak. It’s meant to be bleak.
The Arrival of Masamitsu the Magician
Just when the movie feels like it’s reached a plateau of suffering, the tone shifts. Enter Masamitsu the Magician.
He’s a dwarf who specializes in Western-style stage magic and illusions. He joins the troupe and quickly becomes the star attraction. Unlike the others, he treats Midori with something resembling affection. He uses his magic to protect her, even shrinking one of her tormentors and putting him in a bottle.
For a moment, the Midori Shoujo Tsubaki plot feels like it might have a silver lining. Midori falls in love with him. He promises her a different life. He shows her "visions" of a beautiful, clean world. But if you know anything about ero-guro (erotic grotesque), you know that hope is usually just a setup for a harder fall.
Is Masamitsu actually good? That’s debatable. He’s possessive. His "protection" is often just another form of control. He uses his illusions to manipulate Midori's reality, making her see flowers where there is filth. This is a crucial layer of the Midori Shoujo Tsubaki plot—the idea that even "kindness" in a cruel world is often just a prettier mask for the same old exploitation.
The Ending That Nobody Forgets
The finale of the film is where the "curse" legends usually start.
Midori and Masamitsu eventually decide to leave the troupe. They’re heading toward what Midori thinks is freedom. They stop at a clearing, and Masamitsu goes to buy some food. While he’s gone, he is suddenly and violently murdered by a group of thieves.
Midori waits. She waits for hours.
When she finally goes to look for him, she finds nothing. No body. No thieves. No food. She realizes—or the audience is led to believe—that the "magic" might have been a total hallucination. Or perhaps the world simply swallowed the only good thing she had left.
The film ends with Midori alone in the woods, laughing hysterically as the animations become increasingly abstract and distorted. The faces of the circus performers haunt the screen. The "amazing show" never ends. It just cycles back into the dark.
The Production Legend: One Man, Five Years
You can't talk about the Midori Shoujo Tsubaki plot without talking about how it was made. Hiroshi Harada couldn't get funding for this. No studio would touch it. So, he quit his job, used his life savings, and drew almost every single frame by hand himself.
It took five years.
Because the film was so graphic, it failed Japanese censorship boards (Eirin). Harada had to show it at underground festivals and independent theaters. Legend says he would set up a "carnival" atmosphere at screenings, complete with red curtains and live performances, to mimic the misemono experience.
When the film was eventually exported, it was often seized by customs. In some countries, it was literally destroyed. This gave birth to the myth that the film is "lost" or "banned everywhere." It’s not. You can find it if you look hard enough, but the version you see today is often censored or lower quality than the original 16mm prints Harada lugged around Japan.
Common Misconceptions About the Story
- "It’s just shock value." If you look past the gore, the Midori Shoujo Tsubaki plot is a scathing critique of how Japan treated its marginalized people during the mid-20th century. It’s about the loss of national innocence.
- "Midori is a hero." She’s not. She’s a victim who eventually breaks. There is no "hero's journey" here. It’s a tragedy in the purest, most uncompromising sense.
- "The magician was her savior." Masamitsu is a complicated figure. Many scholars argue he represents the false promises of Western modernization or the escapism of cinema itself—beautiful to look at, but ultimately unable to save you from reality.
The Legacy of Shoujo Tsubaki in 2026
Even decades later, this story remains a touchstone for the "disturbing anime" subgenre. It influenced everything from Perfect Blue to modern indie horror games. Its aesthetic—polka dots, camellias, and 1930s circus posters—is iconic.
If you’re planning on watching it, or even just reading the manga, be warned. It isn't "fun" horror. It doesn't have jump scares. It just sits in your stomach like lead.
What To Do Next
If the Midori Shoujo Tsubaki plot fascinates you, don't just stop at the anime. The 1992 film is a masterpiece of independent animation, but it's only one piece of the puzzle.
- Read the Manga: Suehiro Maruo’s original work, Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freaks, has incredible line work that the low-budget anime couldn't always capture. It's much more detailed and, honestly, even more disturbing.
- Research Kamishibai: Look into the history of Japanese paper theater. Knowing the folk origins of the "Midori" character makes the subversion of her story much more impactful.
- Check out the Live Action: There is a 2016 live-action adaptation. It uses a lot of CGI and has a very different "vibe" (more pop-art, less grime), but it’s an interesting comparison to Harada’s vision.
- Explore the Soundtrack: The music by J.A. Seazer is haunting and theatrical. It’s a huge part of why the film feels so oppressive.
The story of Midori isn't meant to be "solved." It's a fever dream about the parts of society we usually try to ignore. It’s ugly, it’s colorful, and it’s deeply human in the most painful way possible.