From 1975's 'The Bullet Train' to 2025's 'Exit 0'

──What is the cycle of mystery-genre works that bloom in the peaks and valleys of the economy? ② (Series Finale)

Chapter 4: 2016's '64' and 2018's 'Stolen Identity'──Films from the phase of descending from the peak to the valley

1. 2016's '64 (Rokuyon)'──Past wounds and current stagnation

In 2016, Japanese society was entering a period where the shadows of long-term stagnation and population decline were becoming more pronounced. While stock prices and the performance of large corporations had recovered due to Abenomics, this had not spread to regional areas or small and medium-sized enterprises, and the feeling that 'life is not getting any better' was spreading.

It was during this time that the film '64 (Rokuyon)', based on the novel by Hideo Yokoyama, was released. It is a gritty suspense story where the past and present intersect over an unsolved kidnapping case of a young girl that occurred in the 64th year of the Showa era (1989).
The box office revenue for both parts combined reached approximately 4 billion yen, achieving an unusual success for a socially conscious work.

Why was it a hit?
The answer is that the structure of 'you cannot move toward the future without facing the wounds of the past' resonated with the stagnant reality.
2016 was a period in terms of the economy where we were 'starting to descend from the peak and approaching the valley.' People vaguely felt that 'things might get worse again from here.' Amidst this, '64', which sought the truth of the case and searched for an 'exit,' resonated psychologically.

2. 2018's 'Stolen Identity'──Anxiety enters daily life

In 2018, Japan was ostensibly aiming for the 'next era' through work-style reforms and the promotion of cashless payments, but in reality, it was shaken by unstable employment and widening inequality. In addition, digital risks such as personal information leaks and social media firestorms were becoming social issues, and anxiety was creeping into people's lives.

The film 'Stolen Identity' depicted that very anxiety head-on.
The risks lurking in ordinary life, and the feeling that 'anyone can become a victim.' The audience experienced the terror of their own lives becoming the stage, and the work became a smash hit with a box office revenue of 1.9 billion yen.

In terms of the economic cycle, 2018 was 'just before descending from the peak to the valley.'
Stock prices maintained high levels, but real wages remained sluggish, and discussions about a consumption tax hike were looming. In other words, it was a period where 'on the surface it was a peak, but the public's actual feeling was that they were heading toward a valley.'
The fact that this anxiety and the film's subject matter were in sync caused the work to become a hot topic.

3. What both works have in common

• '64' = Facing the pain of the past

• 'Stolen Identity' = Anxiety entering current life

Both works share the point that 'the stagnation and anxiety of reality are visualized through the story.'
The audience experienced that anxiety in a condensed form on the screen and pseudo-obtained a 'solution' or an 'exit.'

Looking at the economic cycle, both were symbolic works that appeared when 'descending from the peak to the valley.'

4. Connection with 1975, 2008, and 2010

• 1975 'The Bullet Train' = Immediately after descending from the peak to the valley

• 2008 'The Devotion of Suspect X' and 2010 'Confessions' = The phase of turning from the valley to an upward slope

• 2016 '64' and 2018 'Stolen Identity' = The phase of descending from the peak to the valley again

In other words, it is clear that hits in mystery films repeatedly appear at points where economic cycles shift.

Chapter 5: The 2020s, 'Detective Conan' and 'Exit 0'—The Security and Exits Sought at the Bottom of the Valley

1. The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Long Bottom of the Valley

In the 2020s, Japanese society rapidly withered due to the impact of the novel coronavirus. Due to restrictions on going out and the stagnation of economic activity, the public shared a sense of being pushed into the "bottom of a long valley." With rising prices and stagnant real wages continuing, daily life itself became shrouded in anxiety.

People's psychology was dominated by a sense of entrapment, feeling that "there is no end in sight" and "no exit can be seen."

2. The Stable Success of the 'Detective Conan' Series

What provided support at the bottom of that valley was the theatrical series of 'Detective Conan.'
In particular, 'Black Iron Submarine,' released in 2023, surpassed 13.8 billion yen in box office revenue, setting a new record for the series.

This success is no coincidence. Every Conan film has a structure where "the case is always solved," which for the audience was the only guaranteed order and sense of security in a chaotic reality.
Precisely because they were at the bottom of the valley, people sought salvation in "stories that are definitely resolved."

3. 2025 'Exit 0'—The Resonance of a Story Searching for an Exit

And then in 2025, 'Exit 0' suddenly became a major hit.
This work, which takes an urban legend-like "exit" as its subject, connected directly to the audience's psychology of "wanting to escape from this entrapment."

What makes 'Exit 0' special is not that it is a "story that is always solved," but that it depicts the very process of the anxiety and hope of searching for an exit.
Through the screen, people vicariously experienced the search for an as-yet-unseen exit and found resonance in the idea that "there must be an exit."

4. The Complementary Relationship Between Conan and Exit 0

• Conan: A security device that provides "certain resolution" at the bottom of a long valley.

• Exit 0: A device of hope that "searches for an exit" in the deepest part of the entrapment.

While the two are contrasting, they are complementary.
What is sought at the bottom of the valley is both "order and an exit," and the film market of the 2020s responded precisely to that demand.

5. Chapter 5 Summary

Japanese society in the 2020s was at the bottom of a long valley caused by the pandemic and stagnation.
There, 'Detective Conan' provided the "security of resolution," and 'Exit 0' provided the "hope of an exit" to the audience.

Mystery films functioned not just as entertainment, but as "exit devices" that stood by the social psychology of the time.

Chapter 6: 'Snow Country' and the Camping Boom—The Contrast Axis of Literature and Lifestyle Culture

1. The Major Hit of 'Snow Country' and the Historical Background

Yasunari Kawabata's 'Snow Country' began serialization in 1935 and remained a widely read literary work long after the war. It gained national recognition, particularly through film and stage adaptations from the 1950s onwards.

Japan at the time was in the process of moving from post-war reconstruction toward high economic growth, and society as a whole was in a phase of “climbing up from the valley.” 'Snow Country' begins with the iconic opening line, “The train came out of the long tunnel into the snow country.” Embedded within that is
the coexistence of a sense of liberation and anxiety that spreads after emerging from the darkness, which overlapped with the psychology of an “exit from confinement” that the public was experiencing.

2. The Camping Boom and Economic Cycles

The modern “camping boom” embodies the same psychology in a form different from literature.

• Camping demand exploded in the late 2010s and during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic

• The outdoors became a symbol of an exit to escape from “urban confinement”

• In terms of the economic cycle, it was “on the way down from the mountain to the valley,” where society felt anxious and sought liberation in nature

In other words, just like the tunnel in 'Snow Country' = urban confinement, and the snowfield = a symbol of an exit, camping was also a cultural phenomenon that provided a “temporary release from confinement.”

3. Commonalities with Mystery Films

• 'Snow Country': A symbol of passing through darkness to find an exit

• Camping boom: Liberation in nature = a simulated experience of an exit

• Mystery films: Stories that provide a “solution” or “exit” in a confined society

Though the genres differ, the structure sought is the same—the psychological process of
“searching for, finding, and feeling relief in an exit within confinement.”

4. The Periodicity Shown by Literature and Lifestyle Culture

Whether it was the 1950s when 'Snow Country' was a massive hit, or the 2010s–2020s when the camping boom surged, what they had in common was “a period when society was sinking into a valley or searching for an exit.” It is clear that literature and lifestyle culture have also functioned as “exit devices” in response to the peaks and valleys of the economy.

5. Chapter 6 Summary

'Snow Country' and the camping boom, like mystery films, reflect the “psychology of the exit.”
Both the literary experience of passing through a tunnel into a snowfield and the outdoor experience of leaving the city for nature
were part of the actions people took to search for an exit during times when society was sinking into anxiety.

In short, stories of exits are not limited to mystery films but appear periodically throughout literature and lifestyle culture in general.

Chapter 7 Summary and Conclusion—The Periodicity of Mystery Film Hits

From 1975's 'The Bullet Train' to 2008's 'Suspect X', 2010's 'Confessions', 2016's '64', 2018's 'Stolen Identity', and finally 2025's 'Exit 0'—
each hit, while appearing unrelated, actually follows the same structure.

A turning point for the economy and social psychology.

• When falling from a peak to a valley, people confirm their 'fear' on the screen.

• When sunk in a valley, people cling to 'stories that are guaranteed to be resolved'.

• When beginning to climb out of a valley, people search for the 'exit' itself.

This rhythm has repeated approximately every 10 to 15 years. In other words, mystery films are not just entertainment, but a
barometer that reflects where society currently stands.

The 2025 film 'Exit 0' is a classic example of this. A society trapped in a long stagnation shared the psychology of 'searching for an exit,' and the work responded to that. While the past year of 1975 was a 'valley where despair is thrust upon you,' 2025 is a 'valley where one searches for an exit.' Although the two, separated by half a century, are in opposite phases, they both indicate that we are at a 'turning point.'

Therefore, the conclusion is this:
A major hit mystery film always appears at the moment society becomes conscious of 'valleys and exits'.
And the next wave will likely arrive in the mid-2030s.

Thank you so much for reading this far. By tracing the flow from 1975 to 2025, I believe it has become clear that film is not just entertainment, but a mirror of society. The next time you look up at the screen in a movie theater, I hope you will be conscious of whether that work is a 'confirmation of a valley' or a 'search for an exit'.

The content of this article was written based on publicly available statistics, historical facts, and film box office data, following analysis and organization by GPT-5. The interpretations and views on periodicity are the author's own observations and do not guarantee future trends.