Whereabouts of Tomorrow: Ashita no Arika Episode 1

“Ever since that day...I lost hope for the future.” In 2021, Asumi, a salesperson at Kobe Steel, was having a difficult time finding meaning in her job while she felt helpless in the face of the company’s numerous issues. Just as Asumi was about to tell her boss that she wanted to quit, a mystical ray of light came out of a corporate history book and led her to Kobe in 1905. There she encountered visionary, high-spirited people from Kobe Steel's founding period. Torasuke was among them; he was a clumsy but enthusiastic young man from the Meiji era who dreamed big and believed in the potential of industrial development. Guided by the Kobelco Group's history, two persons from different eras set out on a journey across time, from its beginning to the present. They witness people get through tough times and continue to take on challenges with hope for a better future. After coming into contact with the founders’ spirits, they each choose their own path for the future.