Animation Summary

Alma, a young magic user, is dying from a terminal illness. In desperation she turns to black magic and confers with the demon, Jael, who instructs her to bring to him the heart of a person who can produce a heart song. He wants to eat the heart, and in return he will use the song’s magic to save her. He bestows to her a dagger to use to remove the heart. This will also allow her to hear the song, which is produced by people who are experiencing true peace, extreme luck, or love.

She goes out in search of it, stumbling upon an engaged couple who are producing the song, but she’s scared and can’t commit to the kill. The Heart Man sees everything and takes pity on her thinking she’s a sick orphan down on her luck. He takes away her dagger, and brings her home with him. There he puts her to work, feeds her, and gives her a place to stay. During her stay, she finds out that the couple has suddenly broken up, and Alma has to search for another heart song.

She uses the Heart Man to help her look around in places she thinks she may find one (he keeps the dagger on his person during the day and hides it by night) but to no avail. He doesn’t seem to hear anything as far as she can tell. During their time together, they form a familial sort of affection for one another. This is fulfilling for Alma, but doesn’t solve her immediate issue. She decides to steal back the dagger and leave.

One night while searching the Heart Man’s room, she finds it, and hears the heart song of the Heart Man. Because of their time together and his kindness, she’s unwilling to take his heart. She runs home, with the heart man secretly following behind her. In her home she confers with Jael again to ask for help. In the middle of their exchange, the Heart Man enters the premise and Jael hears his heart. He urges her to take it, but because of her fondness of him, she refuses. In that moment, Jael puts her into a deep sleep and negotiates with the Heart Man sensing an opportunity. The Heart Man agrees to relinquish his heart in exchange for Alma’s life.

When Alma wakes up, all the candles are out and the room is silent. Her illness is gone and she is visibly healthier. When she starts to get up, she finds the body of the heart man slumped against the wall. She picks up the dagger, realizing what happened. The dagger enables her to hear her own heart song, which is the same as the Heart Man’s before he died.