Specimen No. Ⅲ | Written by Maya Lee

Hanada, is a third-ranked contract killer who dreams of becoming Japan’s top assassin, iving in a ruthless world where only rank and skill prove one’s worth. Then a mysterious woman, Misako, appears before him and infiltrates his daily life.

Misako’s obsession with death goes beyond a mere yearning for it, as clearly illustrated by the dead bird hanging from her car and the 'death butterflies' surrounding her apartment. There is an unmistakably erotic atmosphere surrounding Misako’s fixation on death. Hanada is captivated by her beauty yet simultaneously repulsed by her obsession with death and dying.

As Hanada carries out Misako’s request for a murder, a light butterfly alights on the gun barrel he is pointing at his target. The butterfly was of the same species as those collected by Misako, the mysterious woman who had commissioned the assassination. The presence of the butterfly, appearing before Hanada’s sights and causing a critical error, acts as an ominous sign heralding death.

One is left to wonder: was it truly the butterfly itself that paralyzed his reason, or was it a sudden surge of love for Misako that clouded his judgement? Hanada’s flawless career as a killer and his cynical charisma are, in fact, a combination of the compulsion to kill others to maintain his ranking, and his obsession and desire to become Number One.
As the film progresses, the surreal cinematography and montages that surround Hanada—who is physically and mentally exhausted and reaching a dead end—can be interpreted as suggesting that the more he clings to his position at the top, the more his inherent humanity decays. ⁋