Review and Summary: Mr. Plankton (2024) - Ashley Hajimirsadeghi

The sound design is abrasive. The constant hum of refrigeration, the click of a card declined, the splash of a janitor's mop. There is no score for the first 90 minutes. The silence is the music. When a glitchy techno beat finally drops during the club scene, it feels like a religious awakening.

Critics are hailing MR. PLANKTON -2024- as the defining film of the "Post-Covid Drift" era. The "-2024-" in the title serves a dual purpose.

According to Variety Japan , search volume for "MR. PLANKTON -2024-" spiked 4,000% after a leaked clip of Ishida eating a spoiled tamago while crying went viral on TikTok. The clip has no dialogue—just the crunch of the egg and the drip of soy sauce. It is oddly mesmerizing.

Morita films these sequences with a static, almost surveillance-camera aesthetic. There are long, silent takes of Kenji staring into a vending machine, trying to decide between buying a 130-yen coffee or saving the money to do laundry. It is boring, painful, and shockingly realistic. This is where MR. PLANKTON -2024- loses some viewers—but for those who stay, the payoff is immense.