Tomie: Forbidden Fruit

Tomie Hashimoto is a dreamy, introspective teen who writes homoerotic horror fiction and imagines herself as Ann Bathory the vampire. She endures bullying at school and lives with a loving yet distant widower father, Kazuhiko Hashimoto. This fragile world blends fantasy and danger as she navigates adolescence.

Tomie Hashimoto meets a strange, beautiful girl named Tomie Kawakami in an antiques shop. The two quickly become best friends, with undertones that hint at something deeper than friendship. Tomie H. dedicates the character of Mary from her fanfiction to Tomie Kawakami, signaling the bond from the start.

As their friendship forms, Tomie Kawakami's true motives begin to surface, centered on Tomie H.'s father. It is revealed that Kazuhiko Hashimoto once had a relationship with Tomie Kawakami, a history that ends in Tomie Kawakami's murder. Kazuhiko's obsession lingers, even naming his daughter after her.

Tomie Kawakami returns to terrorize the family and tries to persuade Kazuhiko to harm his daughter. The reunion intertwines past betrayals with present danger, deepening the peril around Tomie H. and her father. The family is drawn into a destructive confrontation they cannot easily escape.

In a brutal act of violence, Kazuhiko murders and decapitates Tomie Kawakami, throwing her head into a nearby river. Tomie H. discovers the severed head and is thrust into a nightmare of loss, fear, and a prototype of regeneration that defies death. The tragedy foreshadows the supernatural loop at the story's core.

Tomie Kawakami's severed head regenerates, and Tomie H. begins nursing her back to health. Tomie H. spends long hours cooking and caring for her, even as the looming threat of the resurrected girl weighs on the house. The fragile truce quickly shatters when a new conflict erupts.

After a fierce argument, Tomie Kawakami is tossed off a building by Tomie H., severing what remains of any fragile peace. The act cements the deadly cycle of pursuit and retaliation that defines their relationship. The town's sense of safety erodes as the danger escalates.

Moments later, Tomie Kawakami reappears on Tomie H.'s front porch, prompting Tomie H. to shoot her with an arrow and kill her. The scene marks a grim shift from ongoing torment to a possibly decisive act. Yet the story's regeneration curse implies the danger is far from over.

The two attempt to freeze Tomie Kawakami into a block of ice to halt her regeneration, but Kazuhiko releases the frozen head after hearing Tomie Kawakami's pleas. The attempt underscores the obsessive bond between father and former lover and the peril that follows their every move.

Tomie Kawakami attacks Tomie H., and a head injury prompts Kazuhiko to lock his daughter in a freezer room. The chilling scene amplifies the sense that the family is trapped within an endless cycle of violence and regeneration. The freezer becomes a literal and symbolic prison.

The next morning, a worker from the ice-sculpture company discovers Tomie H. and saves her life. The incident leaves Tomie H. scarred physically and emotionally, while Kazuhiko remains distant and evasive. The house is left with unanswered questions about who is real and who is dead.

Tomie H. is shown living alone, her father missing. She remains grateful, convinced he weakened the cold to spare her, but the absence underscores the fragility of their bond. The castle of secrets surrounding the family continues to stand.

Back in her room, Tomie H. resumes writing and finishes with a haunting line about Ann and Mary, suggesting a tentative sense of companionship despite the horrors endured. The act reinforces the blurred boundary between fiction and reality in her life. The ending hints at a fragile resilience.

Tomie H. opens her desk drawer and confronts a dismembered, regenerating ear of Tomie Kawakami, a chilling reminder that the danger may not be over. The fragment implies that the cycle of haunting and survival could resume at any moment. The final image leaves unresolved dread.