In the city of Sucago, low-level gangster Noboru is having a secret affair with Mari, a performer
that works at the gang's hotel and is dating Teshio, the gang boss. When Teshio finds out
about this affair, he sends his men to catch and punish Noboru. While he's being beaten up, Noboru
overhears the other gangsters mentioning they're looking for someone called "Della Togashi".
Afterward, Noboru and Mari are sent to see Teshio, but the boss isn't happy to hear their excuses and
decides to kill them anyway. To get out of this situation, Noboru says he knows Della Togashi,
so Teshio gives him five days to find him and bring him to him. If Noboru succeeds,
he'll be forgiven, otherwise he and Mari will be killed. Once they're freed,
Mari freaks out when Noboru tells her he's lied. Della isn't just some famous person,
he's the best sniper in the business and nobody knows his real identity or what he looks like.
Noboru takes Mari to the hotel so she can stay there while he makes a plan with employees Natsuko
and Takashi, who also work for the gang. Teshio has given Noboru a picture of a group of people
that supposedly includes Della, but the faces are very blurry and they only have the background as
a clue. It seems the picture has been taken on the same block the hotel is in, thus the three of them
spend a few days checking out all the buildings in the area to see if they can find Della.
Many days pass and Noboru is getting desperate, but he gets an idea when Natsuko mentions she
feels like she's in the plot of a movie. Instead of finding the actual Della, Noboru will hire an
actor to pretend to be Della and tell him the meeting with Teshio is part of a movie.
Meanwhile, actor Murata is trying his best to become famous. His agent Kenjuro gets him as
many jobs as he can because he believes in him, but the truth is, Murata isn't a very good actor.
All the roles he gets are for body doubles or incredibly minor parts. One afternoon after work,
Noboru approaches Murata while pretending to be a director looking for the protagonist of his movie.
Unfortunately, because this is Noboru's first film and there is no script to
leave room for improvisation, Murata turns down the offer. Later, Murata has a bad day
at the studio because nobody is taking him seriously. Feeling humiliated, he leaves the
building without finishing his take and goes to the nostalgic theatre to see his favorite movie,
an old black and white flick with his favorite actor Makoto Takase. Watching Makoto reminds
Murata how badly he wants to be a protagonist in an action movie, so next time Noboru tries to
talk to him, Murata accepts the deal. Noboru takes Murata to the gang's hotel so he can stay there,
and on the way, he says hello to a random crew that is recording a commercial on the street,
pretending they work with him. Kenjuro stays supportive of Murata's decision, but he's
still suspicious and he demands to at least see a camera. Noboru panics, not knowing what to do,
but Takashi has his back. He pretends to be with the gas company, checking on a gas leak,
to send the commercial crew away from the street for a few moments and use the chance to steal one
of their cameras. To make the lie more convincing, Noboru gets Mari's help so she can play the
supposed heroine of the film and record a scene of her meeting Murata. They're both very awkward,
stiff actors, but at least this is the final proof Kenjuro needs to confirm this is real.
Afterward, Murata tries to spend time with Mari, trying to give her acting tips, and
she hates it but puts up with him for the sake of the plan. On the day of the meeting with Teshio,
Noboru tells Murata and Kenjuro they'll be filming with a long lens from a window across the
street so actors can forget about the camera for realism's sake. He also tells them he has a role
in the film as Della's minder, that way he can be in the meeting too in case anything goes wrong.
When they arrive at Teshio's office, Noboru and Murata are patted down before they're allowed
inside. Murata immediately gets in character in an exaggerated way and licks the knife on Teshio's
desk. This leaves a strong impression on everyone, and Noboru is forgiven for the affair as promised.
Teshio explains he wanted to meet Della because there was a murder attempt a month ago and they
found out their rivals, the Ebora gang, had hired Della to do it. Murata pretends he doesn't know
what they're talking about and when they don't believe him, Murata shows he still had a gun
hidden in his sock and gets it out to take Teshio hostage. Nobody in the room notices
it's a rubber gun so they drop their weapons, and Murata takes the chance to escape by jumping
through the window. He doesn't get hurt though, because Kenjuro is waiting outside with a small
trampoline. Unfortunately, Teshio calls Murata back into the office while leaving Noboru outside.
This time, they take the gun from his sock, and Teshio is impressed by Murata's courage with a
mere rubber gun, inspiring him to try to make Murata work for them. Murata turns him down,
explaining he can't betray a client, which means the gang will have to kill him. Noboru, who has
been listening from behind the door, suddenly bursts in and takes Murata away for a short talk.
He explains that if Murata refuses the offer the movie ends, so Murata goes back in and accepts the
job. After Murata and Noboru return to the hotel, Teshio calls Jun, the leader of their rival gang,
to tell him he's hired Della for his team. Jun's confused because Della is right there
having dinner with him, and they come to the conclusion someone is impersonating him.
In the evening, Noboru is shocked to receive a call from the hotel receptionist Ranko saying one
of Teshio's henchmen took Murata with him without warning. This henchman turns out to be Hiromi, who
wants to put Murata to the test to be sure they can trust him. Tonight, they're selling a hi-tech
weapon from the Hong Kong mafia to some guerrillas from Southeast Asia. Murata is given the suitcase
with the weapon, which is quite heavy, so when Hiromi isn't looking Murata takes the weapon out
because he thinks he doesn't need heavy props to act out the weight. Hiromi has a hidden man in the
shadows that will shoot Murata if he fails, but as soon as Murata comes out of the car, he guesses
that's the area where the camera is and Hiromi's impressed by how this man guessed his secret plan.
Once the exchange of suitcases happens, the guerrillas are angry to find theirs empty and
begin shooting, hitting the other suitcase and revealing it has random papers instead of the
money. Now Hiromi thinks Murata knew they wouldn't pay and acted accordingly, earning his gratitude.
At that moment, both Noboru and Kenjuro arrive, and Noboru asks everyone to stop. The guerrillas
are confused and cease fire, but when Kenjuro approaches them, he gets knocked out with a punch.
To avoid trouble, Kenjuro isn't taken to a hospital, he's instead taken to the hotel where
he's checked on by Shimizu, one of the guests that happens to be a doctor. Hiromi reports back
to Teshio, who is also impressed with the results and sends Murata an invitation to have dinner with
him. Kenjuro tries to follow them to the hotel restaurant too, trying to talk to Teshio in case
he needs an agent, but he ends up shot by accident when he gets in the way of a sniper bullet that
was meant for the gang boss. During dinner, Mari is asked to perform and Teshio remembers why he
fell in love with her. When Mari's done, Teshio visits her in her dressing room and asks her to be
his again, but Mari turns him down. While Murata waits, Kenjuro shows up in perfect health, but he
explains he's felt something weird in his chest and he's worried he may have a heart attack soon.
After dinner, Teshio takes Murata to his office to give him a mission. It turns out the gang's
accountant, who keeps their illicit books, has been secretly working with the law all this time,
and now he must be eliminated. Murata happily accepts, still thinking this is a movie,
but Noboru gets nervous because he doesn't want the poor actor to become a murderer.
Later at the bar, Noboru tries to tell Murata the truth, but Murata looks so happy and speaks
so highly of finally having the chance to be a protagonist that Noboru doesn't have the heart
to disappoint him. Hiromi comes over to show them a map of the hospital where the accountant is,
but things get worse when they're also joined by Jun, who knows the face of the real Della.
Noboru tells Murata to pretend to have a mask on and while Jun doesn't believe him,
he plays along to gather information. Before leaving for the mission, Noboru bumps into Mari,
who insists they should run away together before the lie blows up. She wants to be more
than Teshio's doll, besides, the Ebora gang will soon take over the city and Teshio will be done.
At first, Noboru's happy to join her, but soon guilt kicks in: he can't let Murata become a
murderer. Meanwhile, Murata leaves for the hospital, taking Takashi and Natsuko with him
as crew. At that same hospital, Kenjuro is getting his heart checked, but the doctor tells him he's
fine. He's concerned about the bullet shot on the jacket though, which Kenjuro hadn't seen before.
When he checks his pocket, he realizes he had an old candy can there and when he opens it,
he finds a bullet inside. When he leaves the doctor's office, he comes across Natsuko, who asks
him to distract the doctors and nurses while they film. Murata finds Sugawara the accountant on his
bed and raises his weapon, but before he can pull the trigger, Noboru arrives and calls out "cut!".
The group leaves and takes Sugawara with them in order to solve their little problem.
They drop the accountant at the police station, then Noboru calls Hiromi to tell him their target
had escaped. Later at the hotel, Mari approaches Murata to flirt with him,
thinking he may have connections that can get her singing roles outside town.
To teach her about the business, Murata takes her to the theatre to watch his favorite movie,
which was what inspired him to become an actor. He also shares with Mira his good luck amulet:
a piece of a blanket that had been behind a stage for thirty years. Hearing him talk so passionately
about his love for movies makes Mira see him with new eyes and asks him to leave town with him,
but he turns her down because they need to finish recording their movie first. Back to Noboru, he's
called to Teshio's office, where it's revealed that the boss is friends with the local police.
An officer arrives bringing Sugawara with him, and now Teshio knows the truth behind Murata.
Takashi and Natsuko notice this from across the street and ask Mari for help, but she doesn't want
to get involved. They decide to go to Murata instead, telling him this is another scene,
and he accepts. A moment later, Murata enters Teshio's office with a weapon Natsuko gave him.
Unfortunately, because he chooses to monologue for the non-existent camera, it gives time for
Teshio to press the alarm button. The henchmen catch Murata and take him to the basement,
where Noboru and Sugawara are being prepared to be thrown into the ocean. Even then, it
takes Murata a few moments to finally understand they aren't actually in a movie. In the hotel,
Mari intends to leave town, but on her way out she's approached by Natsuko, who accuses her of
never caring about anyone but herself and that's why she'll never find love. These words hit Mari
hard and she decides to finally do something, thus she sneaks inside the gang's basement, knocks out
the guard by hitting him from behind, and frees the three men. Murata punches Noboru for lying,
and Hiromi shows up when he hears the commotion. He still feels in debt to Murata for helping with
the guerrillas, so this time he lets them go, but he promises to kill them if they show up again.
Outside the building, Murata sees an old man reading and realizes that's his favorite actor
Makoto Takase. Sadly, because they need to run, he can't stay to chat. Mari goes to see Teshio,
offering to go back to him if she lets the guys go. At the hotel, Murata refuses to hear Noboru's
excuses and goes to his room to pack. However when he tries to leave, Ranko keeps him busy by signing
hundreds of autographs. While Doctor Shimizu looks over his wounds, Noboru tries to think of what to
do and comes up with a plan when he realizes that Sugawara has all of Teshio's books memorized.
First, Noboru needs to convince Murata to help, but Murata turns him down and leaves the hotel.
Kenjuro is ready to take Murata to his next job, but Murata realizes he's lost his lucky blanket
piece and goes back to the theatre to recover it. In there, the commercial people are checking their
footage and are shocked to find some weird action scenes that were recorded with their camera.
Murata gets to see himself on the screen and realizes he's never put this much passion into
a project before, so he goes back to Noboru and accepts to help under one condition:
they'll prepare a fitting death scene for Della. The next morning, the team begins getting ready.
They hire a bunch of special effects and extras that Murata has worked with before
and send Teshio a recording of Sugawara reciting everything he knows. Their demands are simple,
they want a hostage exchange, swapping Mari for the accountant. Before going to the meeting place
though, Teshio is visited by Jun, who now has the mayor and the police working for him. Jun is
there to give Teshio a simple warning: he better start making plans for the future. Meanwhile,
Murata discovers Makoto is staying in the hotel too, so he gets to practice his line with him.
When the sun begins to set behind them, Makoto reminds him that this is "the magic hour",
when the afterglow of a sunset lights up the sky. It's a metaphor for the most glittering years
of everyone's life, meaning Murata should never give up his dreams. In the evening, Murata sneaks
into Teshio's home through the windows using a camera crane. He gives Mari a modified coat with
a note of what to do later, then he breaks into Teshio's room to change the bullets of his gun.
Then the team finally leaves the hotel to pull their plan off, so when Doctor Shimizu asks Ranko
what's happening, she answers that the crew is about to give the performance of their lives.
Teshio comes to the exchange and hands in Mari without complaint, but Sugawara only pretends to
go to him in return. Suddenly, he turns around and hides behind Noboru's van to change places
with Takashi, who is dressed the same as him. Takashi runs out, not showing his face,
and when Teshio shoots him thinking it's Sugawara, the fake bullet doesn't hurt him,
but he activates the special effects under the coat that allow him to pretend to have been shot.
Natsuko drives the van with Sugawara away to find the police while the rest of the team proceeds to
act out the final scene. Kenjuro and a group of extras pretend to be guerrillas that have
come to get their revenge on Murata, but when they're about to fake-kill Murata and Mari,
Teshio jumps in. Knowing he's lost everything and the police will be coming for him,
he offers himself as a sacrifice in order for his beloved to live. Mari is incredibly touched by his
words and impressed by his courage, so after taking off the special coat, she accepts to
get back together with him and the two of them go away to start a new life. Noboru is heartbroken,
but Murata reminds him that the heroine being happy counts as a happy ending. Their conversation
is suddenly interrupted by Doctor Shimizu, who confesses to being the real Della, and now he
has come to kill Murata for impersonating him. To scare him away, Murata shapes his hand as a gun
and begins shooting as if he had superpowers, but in truth, he's activating all the special
effects they installed earlier. After destroying a billboard, pretending to kill Noboru and Natsuko,
and making a car explode, Murata aims at Della, who has seen enough and runs away. Now every loose
thread has been solved, the crew wraps up for the night and leaves to celebrate at the bar.