Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases
The Broken Earth
A weapon-driven war destroys civilization and transforms the planet. Crash survivors establish a fragile community on Remnant Island.
Key Events
-
The Great War — A devastating war triggers earthquakes, tsunamis, crustal upheaval, and the near extinction of humanity.
Location: Earth
-
Earth Falls Apart — The planet is thrown off its axis as continents break apart and sink beneath the sea.
Location: Earth
-
Failed Space Escape — A group attempts to flee into space, but the ships are forced back toward the devastated Earth.
Location: Outer space
-
Remnant Island — Crash survivors settle on a desert island after discovering freshwater beneath the impact site.
Location: Remnant Island
-
A New Generation — The isolated survivors establish a simple community, and a child is born among them.
Location: Remnant Island
A Stranger on the Shore
The isolated boy encounters a girl fleeing Industria's agents. Her arrival brings the outside world to the island and ends his sheltered life.
Key Events
-
The Last Survivors — Years pass, older survivors die, and only a boy and his adoptive grandfather remain.
Location: Remnant Island
-
A Stranger Arrives — The boy discovers an injured young girl on the beach, his first encounter with someone his own age.
Location: Remnant Island beach
-
The Abduction Threat — The girl explains that she fled a crew seeking to abduct her for reasons connected to Industria.
Location: Remnant Island
-
Grandfather Is Killed — A crew from Industria locates the girl, and the boy's adoptive grandfather is killed during the confrontation.
Location: Remnant Island
Across the Dangerous Sea
After losing his grandfather, the boy crosses the ocean to pursue the abducted girl. He meets another island boy and becomes trapped aboard the Barracuda.
Key Events
-
The Raft Journey — The boy leaves the ruined island on a simple raft to rescue the girl.
Location: Open ocean
-
Meeting a Wild Islander — The traveler meets another boy who grew up in a semi-feral community shaped by poverty and isolation.
Location: A surviving island
-
The Ship Raid — The two boys attempt to raid the ship, hoping to rescue the girl and steal useful goods.
Location: Barracuda ship
-
Forced Labor — The failed raid leads to punishment, and the boys are forced to work for the ship's captain.
Location: Barracuda ship
The Dying Industrial State
The group is taken to Industria, where resource scarcity, class divisions, and disasters strengthen authoritarian rule. The survivors endure separation, forced labor, and repeated danger.
Key Events
-
Industria Revealed — The group reaches Industria, an industrial dystopia dependent on a carefully maintained nuclear reactor.
Location: Industria
-
A Society Under Pressure — Impoverished communities exchange collected plastic for trinkets, alcohol, and substitute cigarettes.
Location: Industria
-
The Director Tightens Control — Natural disasters and social collapse allow the Director to strengthen a dictatorship over the remaining population.
Location: Industria
-
The Hidden Scientist — The group locates the missing scientist whose research could restore solar energy and rebuild the devastated world.
Location: A surviving island
Solar Power and Escape
The survivors find the hidden scientist and restore access to orbital solar power. They destroy the super-weapon and escape Industria before its final catastrophe.
Key Events
-
The Hidden Scientist — The group locates the missing scientist whose research could restore solar energy and rebuild the devastated world.
Location: A surviving island
-
Solar Power Restored — Access to concentrated solar power is restored as another catastrophic earthquake approaches.
Location: High Harbor
-
The Super-Weapon Destroyed — The weapon intended to preserve the Director's hegemony is destroyed during the final struggle.
Location: Industria
-
Escape from Industria — The survivors salvage a ship and evacuate Industria before another earthquake devastates the island.
Location: Industria
-
A New World Begins — Nature continues recovering as the younger survivors sail toward a new society built from the past's positive remnants.
Location: Open ocean
In this 1979 condensed-for-film recut of Hayao Miyazaki's 1978 anime series, a young boy named Conan goes on a grand adventure. Conan lives in a world that is mostly oceans; the major land masses having been destroyed by the weapons of the great disaster of 2008. He meets a young girl named Lana, who is kidnapped by the technological city-state of Industria as they attempt to regain those weapons. Together with his friends, Conan sets out to rescue Lana and stop Industria from threatening the rest of the world.
