In the bathroom at the Skylark, Mari’s reflection remains in the mirror after she leaves. Kaoru offers to take Mari to the Skylark, a nearby establishment, where she will be safe to wait out the night. Kaoru used to be a professional wrestler with a sizeable following until a back injury ended her career. She developed an interest in Chinese when she dropped out of mainstream Japanese schooling and joined a school for Chinese-speaking youth. Mari grew up with an inferiority complex due to always being compared to Eri. Kaoru takes Mari to a bar to unwind after the incident. The narrator dubs him the Man with No Face. He wears a brown suit, and a thin mask obscures his features. Guo leaves with the man.īack in Eri’s room, the man on the screen becomes clearer. Kaoru boldly asks him to pay for the client’s room.
Soon after, an intimidating man, presumably a Chinese gangster, arrives on a black motorcycle. Her client beat her, stole her clothes and possessions, and fled. The sex worker is a 19-year-old woman named Guo Dongli. Mari is introduced to Korogi and Komugi, employees of Alphaville. Kaoru is the manager at a local love hotel, the Alphaville, and a client has just violently assaulted a Chinese sex worker. She knows Takahashi, who told her that Mari speaks Chinese. Mari remains at Denny’s until a blonde woman named Kaoru comes looking for her. Its screen reveals a man sitting in a chair. At midnight, the unplugged television turns on. The narration takes on the quality of a camera, implicating the reader as “we” watch her sleep. Meanwhile, Eri Asai sleeps an unnaturally deep sleep. He tells her he likes talking to her and that he will be back around 5am.
Finally, he decides it is time to go to band practice. Mari and Takahashi chat as Takahashi eats. Mari’s beautiful sister, Eri, was dating Takahashi’s friend the four went on a double date. Tetsuya Takahashi, a university student and jazz musician, recognizes Mari. The trains have stopped running, and she is stuck in the area until 5am when service resumes. In a Denny’s restaurant, 19-year-old college student Mari Asai reads a book, killing time. This guide uses the 2008 Vintage International edition, translated by Jay Rubin.Ĭontent Warning: After Dark includes scenes of violent assault, threats of violence, depictions of drug use, and some sexual content.Īfter Dark takes place between the hours of 11:56pm and 6:52am in Tokyo’s amusement district.
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