'The Contestant' Ending Explained: Nasubi finds his catharsis through a natural calamity
Warning: Contains spoilers for 'The Contestant'
TOKYO, JAPAN: 'The Contestant' premiered on Hulu on May 2, 2024, and it features the story of Tomoaki Hamatsu who stayed alone in a room for 15 months to earn 1 million Yen as the prize money for a reality show. The documentary chronicles the mental trauma the show took on the man better known to the world as Nasubi.
Directed by Clair Titley, this documentary includes interviews from Tomoaki Hamatsu, his family and friends, and Toshio Tsuchiya, the producer of the reality show who assigned tasks to Nasubi.
The reality show in question 'Denpa Shonen: A Life in Prizes', had a viewership of over 15 million people who would see Nasubi naked performing tasks given to him. Nasubi's life was never the same after the reality show. The end of 'The Contestant' shows Nasubi's present mental and emotional state. Here is an explanation of the ending of 'The Contestant'.
Nasubi finds himself socially awkward after the show
Tomoaki Hamatsu aka Nasubi is feeling the effects of staying in isolation for over 15 months. He finds himself socially awkward and finds it difficult to speak in public or make eye contact with people.
He finds himself in a deep dark space where he holds grudges with the producers of the show and has also lost his ability as a comic. He finds himself depressed and in desperate need of hope and redemption.
As years wear on, people begin to forget Nasubi who at one point had achieved the heights of superstardom.
The Fukushima nuclear disaster gives Nasubi a new purpose
In 2011, a disaster struck the town of Fukushima with an accident in a nuclear power plant. The disaster prompts Nasubi to reach the town of Fukushima and reach out to his people in the town.
People who are reeling from the disaster are happy about him coming back and reaching out to him. He signs an autograph for a person who had lost it while dealing with the disaster.
Fukushima ignites a fire of social service in him and he wants to do something that gives his people hope. He does that in the form of attempting to climb Mt. Everest.
Nasubi climbs the Mt. Everest in his second attempt
In his first attempt, Nasubi fails to climb Mt. Everest because of an avalanche. He commits to helping people who have suffered from the earthquake in Nepal that caused the avalanche. The experience gives him an understanding of the importance of social service. He realizes that being alone is not the human way and that we need people to communicate with.
In his second attempt, he gets help from Toshio Tsuchiya who helps in crowdfunding his climb to Everest. This time he succeeds and the documentary ends with a message of hope.
'The Contestant' trailer
'The Contestant' is streaming on Hulu from May 2, 2024.