Character Relationship Map: The Complex

Characters

• Asuka Ninomiya (played by Atsuko Maeda) — protagonist

  Asuka Ninomiya is a nursing student who moves into a deteriorating apartment complex with her family. After hearing strange sounds from Old Man Shinosaki’s flat, she becomes involved with the supernat...

• Shinobu Sasahara (played by Hiroki Narimiya) — protagonist

  Shinobu Sasahara is a cleanup worker with personal experience of supernatural phenomena. He explains to Asuka Ninomiya that the living and the dead experience time differently, then works with Sanae N...

• Minoru (played by Sosei Tanaka) — supporting

  Minoru is the spirit of a boy from the apartment complex who died thirteen years earlier after hiding inside a garbage incinerator during a game. He haunts Asuka Ninomiya, presents false memories of h...

• Hitomi Makimura (played by Megumi Sato) — minor

  Hitomi Makimura is Shinobu Sasahara’s girlfriend, shown in a vegetative state. Minoru uses her projected image as bait to exploit Shinobu’s emotions and lure him into the haunting. Her appearance help...

• Sanae Nonomura (played by Satomi Tezuka) — supporting

  Sanae Nonomura is Sanae Nonomura’s psychic acquaintance and is consulted by Shinobu Sasahara about the haunting. She determines that Old Man Shinosaki is not attacking Asuka Ninomiya and identifies Mi...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Asuka Ninomiya → Sanae Nonomura (Professional Exorcism Subject) — Sanae participates in a supernatural treatment directed at Asuka.

  Shinobu and Sanae force Asuka to undergo an exorcism intended to expel Minoru's spirit from her damaged mind.

• Minoru → Hitomi Makimura (Meta Projected Likeness) — Minoru weaponizes Hitomi's image without establishing a direct personal relationship with her.

  Minoru uses a projection of Shinobu's vegetative girlfriend, Hitomi Makimura, as bait for his trap.

• Shinobu Sasahara → Hitomi Makimura (Romantic Boyfriend) — Hitomi is Shinobu's girlfriend, although the plot presents her through Minoru's supernatural projection.

  Minoru lures Shinobu by projecting the image of his vegetative girlfriend, Hitomi Makimura.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Sanae Nonomura → Minoru (Conflict Exorcism Opponent) — Sanae's intervention threatens Minoru's hold over Asuka.

  Sanae participates in the attempt to expel Minoru's spirit, after which Minoru kills her.

• Shinobu Sasahara → Minoru (Conflict Enemy) — Shinobu directly opposes Minoru and ultimately becomes his victim.

  Shinobu prevents Minoru from entering the apartment, but Minoru later lures him into a trap and burns him alive in a projected incinerator memory.

• Shinobu Sasahara → Sanae Nonomura (Alliance Partner) — They cooperate as a supernatural investigation and intervention team.

  Shinobu invites his psychic friend Sanae to investigate Asuka's haunting and they force Asuka to undergo an exorcism.

• Asuka Ninomiya → Minoru (Conflict Haunting Victim) — Minoru's spirit psychologically attacks and possesses Asuka's damaged memories.

  Asuka is actually haunted by Minoru, who died thirteen years earlier and manipulates her perceptions of her family.

• Asuka Ninomiya → Shinobu Sasahara (Alliance Ally) — Shinobu becomes Asuka's principal supernatural ally and protector.

  Shinobu investigates Asuka's supernatural experiences, consults Sanae Nonomura, and attempts to protect her during the exorcism.

Story Analysis

A traumatized young woman becomes trapped between grief, supernatural manipulation, and the unresolved memories of the dead.

Plot Progression

1. Whispers Through the Wall — Asuka moves into the dilapidated complex and befriends Minoru. Strange scratching and an alarm clock from the neighboring flat begin to undermine her sense of safety.
2. The Neighbor's Unseen Death — Asuka discovers that the elderly neighbor died while scratching the wall and had remained undiscovered for three days. Her suspicion expands when her family appears to repeat the same routines.
3. The Empty Home — Shinobu explains the different experience of time between the living and the dead. Asuka returns to an empty apartment, while Shinobu learns that her family actually died years earlier.
4. The Boy in the Incinerator — Sanae determines that the neighbor's spirit is not hostile, but warns that Asuka is in danger. The haunting is traced to Minoru, who died in a garbage incinerator thirteen years earlier.
5. Memories Become Traps — Asuka retreats into play with Minoru, treating him as a replacement for her dead brother. The attempted exorcism fails when Minoru exploits family memories and uses Hitomi's image to trap Shinobu.
6. A Broken Return — Minoru kills Sanae and draws Shinobu into the incinerator memory, where Shinobu is burned alive. Asuka is taken to foster care but remains psychologically trapped with her dead family.