The Red Spectacles

In the 20th century, Tokyo faces rising crime and lawlessness. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department establishes the Anti-Vicious Crime Kerberos unit to combat evil and restore order. The team is heavily armed and equipped with machine guns and reinforcement gear, signaling a shift toward a militarized approach to policing.

Kerberos quickly takes on high-risk assignments and asserts control over Tokyo's crime-weary streets. They operate as a heavily armed, mobile unit, using machine guns and reinforcement gear to confront criminals head-on. Initially, their aggressive methods seem effective and crime drops under their watch.

By the 1990s, Kerberos's zeal mutates into fanatic hatred of evil, pushing them toward cruel and corrupt actions. Public perception shifts as the line between law enforcer and vigilante blurs. Despite some successes, the unit's methods invite scrutiny and internal dissent.

A Kerberos member beats a misdemeanor offender to death, triggering a massive public outcry. The incident seals the unit's fate, leading to disbandment and orders to disarm and scatter. The once-feared squad becomes a symbol of excess and abuse of power.

Three elite Kerberos members—Kōichi Todome, Washio Midori, and Sōichirō Toribe—refuse to disarm and flee toward the Port of Tokyo. They plan to escape the city by helicopter, hoping to vanish from the government’s reach. The Port becomes their temporary fortress as their ordeal continues.

The trio is ambushed by bounty hunters near the Port of Tokyo, and a fierce firefight ensues. They manage to repel the attack, but the encounter leaves them damaged and increasingly desperate to disappear. The pursuit marks the end of any chance of a clean retreat.

During the ambush, Sōichirō Toribe and Washio Midori are grievously injured. They beg Todome to escape in the helicopter alone, promising that Todome will return for them. Todome reluctantly agrees, bound by duty and friendship to keep the promise.

Three years later, Todome, now a fugitive from the government, returns to Tokyo. He finds the city unrecognizable, its buildings decayed and reality warped into a strange, surreal landscape. His return sets in motion a new, unsettling journey.

Todome wanders through a city that no longer resembles the one he left. The decay accelerates, and the mundane becomes uncanny as familiar streets twist into dreamlike spaces. His search for the truth and for his comrades leads him deeper into the mystery.

In the surreal streets, Todome encounters a mysterious young woman clad in red. She seems connected to the strange world around him and hints at hidden meanings behind the changes in Tokyo. Her presence deepens the sense that reality is unraveling.

Hitmen led by Bunmei Muroto pursue Todome through the transformed city, adding danger to his fragile quest. The pursuit intensifies the film’s dreamlike mood and tests Todome’s resolve to find his missing friends. The cat-and-mouse chase reveals a larger conspiracy behind Tokyo’s metamorphosis.

Eccentric con artists known as tachiguishi appear, swindling patrons at stand-and-eat food stalls despite public order concerns. The whimsical but sinister antics contribute to the film’s otherworldly atmosphere. Todome’s journey intersects with these odd characters as he searches for meaning.

In the end, it is revealed that most of the events were a dying dream Todome experiences upon returning to Tokyo. The dream collapses in a cruel twist as Todome is attacked and killed shortly after his return. The film closes on the sense that reality and illusion have merged in Todome’s fate.