The original work of “The Snow White Murder Case” is by Kanae Minato, and this narrative technique is consistent with her style. It interprets the same event from everyone’s perspective, creating a Rashomon effect. This film was originally intended to be a suspenseful piece, but in my opinion, it’s a film about human nature.
The Characters and Their Roles
Let’s start with the male protagonist, Yuuji Akahoshi.
Yuuji Akahoshi: The Aspiring Internet Sensation
He was originally a third-rate TV director living a carefree life. Unexpectedly, he almost indirectly became another murderer. His intention was to use this opportunity to become an internet celebrity and gain fame. In the online world, he was indeed sought after and received attention, but who knew him in real life? In the end, he was just a pawn of the murderer. He didn’t have any malice, but because of curiosity and the desire to become famous quickly, he was gradually lured into the “trap” set by the murderer. He never used his brain to think carefully about the cause and effect of the whole thing, but simply echoed others and was overwhelmed by the flattery.
This represents a type of person in society who has a vain mentality and often reveals so-called inside information after hearing a bit of gossip. Fortunately, Yuuji did some investigation and interviewed many people, but he never imagined that he would be used by the murderer.
Miki Shirono: The Misunderstood Innocent
The female protagonist, Miki Shirono, is seen by others as an ordinary person who would be lost in the crowd. Initially, under the guidance of the real culprit and Yuuji, almost everyone believed she was the murderer. In the eyes of other colleagues, she is an ordinary, introverted person, even a bit withdrawn. In fact, she is the most innocent person.
On Weibo, she is described as a quirky, fierce, and brutal murderer. Everyone on the internet is denouncing her, and with the guidance of the media and TV stations, she almost died young. Even her parents believed it was true. Was there no one to stand up for her? Yes, there was her childhood friend and “lover,” Yuuko. Why is Yuuko called her “lover”? More on that later. Miki’s idea is simple: she wants to get tickets to the Serizawa brothers’ concert, so she follows the plan she was taught and tries to steal Mikiko Noriko’s tickets. The plan is successful, but she accidentally pushes down one of the Serizawa brothers, which makes her panic. She runs away, initially because she is afraid of being held responsible for pushing him. If she hadn’t run away and had been caught on the spot, the result might not have been being mistaken for a murderer.
Her nature is kind, but also cowardly. She cannot face the pressure of public opinion, cannot face the worst outcome, so she chooses to escape and commit suicide. Fortunately, at this time, the real culprit is arrested. At the end of the film, she meets Yuuji, the person who indirectly almost killed her, and she says to him, “Good things will happen.” This shows that her heart is still positive and upward, but her ability to withstand pressure is not strong enough.
Yuuko: The Unspoken Love
Who is Miki Shirono’s real friend? Of course, it’s Yuuko. When Miki is wronged, someone stands up and writes a protest letter to the TV station. This person is Miki’s college classmate, who claims to be her friend. But the content she writes doesn’t really help Miki; instead, it’s like exposing her private life.
And Yuuko? She seems to only be talking about childhood stories, but she is very grateful to Miki and eager to help and protect her. When Yuuko was bullied by another beautiful girl as a child, Miki seemed gentle and weak, but at that time, she was a very strong person for her age. Even if she was laughed at by teachers and classmates, she could laugh it off and encourage Yuuko, who was also being laughed at. To Yuuko, she was simply a hero in her heart. Their favorite book is “Anne of Green Gables.” Miki calls herself Anne, and Yuuko is Diana, and the two are close friends. But Yuuko slips up and says that she is not Diana, but Gilbert. In the book, Gilbert is Anne’s childhood sweetheart. Yuuko puts herself in the position of a male and treats Miki as her lover. This kind of feeling has surpassed friendship and can be said to be true love between same-sex people. The person who doesn’t say it but silently supports you behind your back is the real friend, the person who loves you the most, and needs to be cherished.
Mikiko Noriko: The Victim of Beauty
The victim, Mikiko Noriko, is a typical woman with external beauty but low emotional intelligence. Is this kind of woman hateful? I don’t think so. External beauty is her advantage, and her liking for being high-profile, showing off, and teasing people is just her personality. The formation of this arrogant personality is based on her beauty. In this world that values appearance, beautiful women do have more opportunities than ordinary-looking people. When a newcomer is reprimanded by a superior, she “stands up” and can aggressively say to her leader, “Come at me!” Try asking, what temper do you have when you see such a beautiful woman getting angry at you? Plus this powerful aura, I’m afraid it would have been half-hearted. But what if it’s a dinosaur? Unless she has a strong background or extraordinary ability, she would have been kicked out by the leader long ago. Noriko’s teasing of Miki may not have been entirely malicious; she is just willful, but it is precisely this willfulness that makes her hated by some women and leads to her death. If her light could be restrained a little, her personality could be better, and she could be more humble to people, maybe she wouldn’t have died so miserably.
Risako: The Bitter Colleague
As for another key figure, Risako, she didn’t put her mentality in the right place. Her heart is actually dark. She could have had a bright future, and even had hope of being promoted in the future. But her vision was too short-sighted. She felt very unbalanced in her heart and thought that Noriko was bullying her. The first time, Noriko secretly stuffed soap to her, and then helped her out. In the eyes of others, Noriko was very good at being a person. Of course, the act of stuffing soap is wrong, but if Risako hadn’t accidentally brought the soap out, this matter might never have been known. Moreover, looking at Risako’s expression, when the section chief was reprimanding her, she almost confessed that Noriko had stuffed the soap to her. When a person is for their own benefit, there is nothing they can’t do. After Noriko treated her to dinner, she said, “You should treat me back sometime.” She was stunned for a moment, and her heart must have “thumped.” So, you invited me to dinner to ask me to treat you back! But when she really wanted to invite Noriko, Noriko said, “No need. When you have a junior in the future, just treat her like this.” It can be seen that Noriko was teaching her how to treat her juniors, not really wanting to take advantage of her. Risako has such a senior and such a partner at work, which is very stressful. She is jealous of Noriko and hates her aggressive and flamboyant personality. In the end, she couldn’t face the mistakes she had made and was afraid of being exposed, so she had the intention to kill. If Noriko’s kindness to her was greater than her fault, she wouldn’t have killed her. But some people will ask, Risako has no deep hatred with Miki, so why did Risako frame her? The answer is that Risako’s heart is too dark. She carried out the murder after careful planning. She not only wanted to kill the person who was hindering her, but also wanted to find a scapegoat. Isn’t this kind of person’s mentality too bad?
The Internet and Human Nature
The people analyzed above represent several types of people in the online society: Yuuji and those netizens represent the online masses and cyberbullies who don’t know the truth and echo others. They are “water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it.” After the truth came out, those people jumped out to whitewash Miki. It can be said that they are fence-sitters who fall with the wind. Miki Shirono is a victim of cyberbullying. Maybe she is not that terrible, or the facts are not as people think, but she can’t come out to clarify everything. Her own explanation is pale and weak, and the more she explains, the darker it gets. Miki’s college friend, the so-called insider, occasionally reveals some inside information, but it only adds trouble to the person involved. Risako, the online rumor-monger, is the real culprit. She knows the truth, but she is crying “stop thief,” which is the most hateful person on the internet. Words are formidable, and human nature is the most terrible thing.