There, he discovers his long-lost friend, Akira, who is now married to Yuri, a potential sorceress whose fate is intertwined with a bell that must be rung to appease a nearby lake's dragon god—otherwise, an apocalyptic flood will be unleashed upon the region.
Desperate for water, the foolish villagers are planning to sacrifice Yuri to the dragon; meanwhile, a host of pond spirits, led by the love-smitten Princess Shirayuki, debate whether they should save these humans from their deserved doom.
[1] During the final confrontation between the village leaders (including the Diet Member) and the three (Yuri, Akira and Gakuen), Yuki dies.
Director Shinoda and actor Bando supervised a 4K restoration of the film, which aired on the Shochiku-operated channel Satellite Theater in March of that year.
The restored version made its premiere at MoMA as the opener of its Beyond Ozu: Hidden Gems of Shochiku Studios series on June 10, 2022.