If you searched best wishes to all, you are probably looking for the Japanese horror movie rather than a collection of greeting messages. Best Wishes to All is a 2023 Japanese horror film directed by Yûta Shimotsu. It follows a young nursing student who visits her grandparents in the countryside and discovers a disturbing secret behind their happiness.
The film was released internationally through Shudder in 2025 and has attracted attention for its strange premise, body horror, social commentary, and unsettling ending. It is also connected to a 2022 short film by Shimotsu that inspired the feature.
This guide covers the story, Best Wishes to All cast, the short film, Shudder streaming, reviews, trailer, and the Best Wishes to All movie ending.
What Is Best Wishes to All?
Best Wishes to All is a Japanese psychological and folk-horror film directed by Yûta Shimotsu and written by Shimotsu with Rumi Kakuta.
The original Japanese title is みなに幸あれ, commonly transliterated as Mina ni Sachi Are. The movie runs for about 89 minutes and was made in Japan.
The story centers on an unnamed nursing student played by Kotone Furukawa. She travels from Tokyo to visit her grandparents in the countryside. Their warm welcome soon feels strange. She notices disturbing behavior, unexplained sounds, and something hidden inside the house.
The movie gradually turns a family visit into a much larger question:
Can one person’s happiness exist without someone else suffering?
That question is the heart of the film.
Best Wishes to All Explained: What Is the Movie About?
At first, the story looks like a traditional rural J-horror setup.
A young woman arrives at her grandparents’ home. The house seems peaceful, but something feels wrong. Her grandparents behave strangely, and she begins noticing clues that point toward a hidden secret.
The mystery slowly expands beyond the house.
The protagonist discovers that the strange events are connected to the family’s idea of happiness. The people around her have accepted a disturbing system in which another person’s suffering is treated as necessary for their own well-being.
This is where the movie becomes more than a supernatural horror story.
Director Yûta Shimotsu has explained that the idea of happiness being connected to the unhappiness of others was central to the film. In an interview connected with Nippon Connection, Shimotsu described the film as exploring the idea that happiness may depend on the sacrifice or suffering of others.
RogerEbert.com’s review also reads the film as a modern parable about exploitation and the idea that one person’s contentment can be built on another person’s suffering.
Best Wishes to All J-Horror: Is It a Traditional Japanese Horror Movie?
Best Wishes to All fits within J-horror, but it does not rely mainly on the familiar ghost-story formula.
There is no simple monster that appears, explains everything, and disappears.
Instead, the horror comes from a disturbing social system that the characters have accepted as normal.
The movie uses:
- Folk-horror elements
- Psychological horror
- Body horror
- Family horror
- Rural isolation
- Surreal imagery
- Social commentary
- A slow-building mystery
The result is stranger than a standard haunted-house movie.
The Japan Society described the film as beginning slowly before building toward a frantic and disturbing conclusion.
Best Wishes to All Cast
The main Best Wishes to All cast includes:
| Actor | Role |
| Kotone Furukawa | Granddaughter / protagonist |
| Kôya Matsudai | Granddaughter’s friend |
| Yoshiko Inuyama | Grandmother |
| Masashi Arifuku | Grandfather |
| Hirofumi Nishida | Supporting role |
| Shiho Yoshimura | Supporting role |
| Kazuo Hashimoto | Supporting role |
The unusual choice to leave the principal characters largely unnamed adds to the film’s allegorical quality.
Kotone Furukawa carries much of the movie as the young woman whose understanding of her family and the world around her changes dramatically.
Apple TV’s current movie listing also credits Furukawa, Matsudai, Inuyama, Nishida, Yoshimura, and Hashimoto among the cast.
Who Is Yûta Shimotsu?
Yûta Shimotsu is the director and co-writer of Best Wishes to All.
The film is his feature directorial debut. Before making the feature, Shimotsu worked on commercials and short films. His earlier short-film work helped lead to Best Wishes to All. Nippon Connection notes that his short Dreaming to Accept Reality was screened internationally and served as a basis for his feature-film work.
Shimotsu’s approach is part of what makes the movie unusual. Instead of explaining every strange event, he lets the viewer experience the protagonist’s confusion.
Best Wishes to All Producer: Who Produced the Movie?
Searches for best wishes to all producer can be confusing because different databases highlight different production credits.
Takashi Shimizu, best known internationally for Ju-On: The Grudge, was the executive producer associated with the film. Shudder’s official trailer also promotes the movie as coming from producer Takashi Shimizu.
Other production credits include Takeshi Kikuchi and Atsushi Igarashi, who are listed as producers by Rotten Tomatoes.
The film was produced within the Japanese production system involving companies including Kadokawa and related production partners.
Best Wishes to All Short Film: Is There an Earlier Version?
Yes.
There is a Best Wishes to All short film from 2022. It runs for about 12 minutes and was directed and written by Yûta Shimotsu. Aine Hara stars in the short.
The short follows a college student visiting her grandparents in the countryside. She hears something upstairs, and her grandmother reacts in a disturbing way.
The 2023 feature expands the basic idea into a full-length story.
The short is therefore worth knowing about if you are researching the history of the movie. It is not simply a completely unrelated film with the same title.
Best Wishes to All Streaming: Where Can You Watch It?
For viewers in the United States, Best Wishes to All streaming options currently include Shudder and several services that carry Shudder, according to current listings.
JustWatch currently lists the movie on:
- Shudder
- AMC+ Amazon Channel
- AMC+ Roku Premium Channel
- Shudder Amazon Channel
- Shudder Apple TV channel
- Philo
It also lists digital rental and purchase options through services such as Amazon Video and Apple TV. Availability and prices can change.
The official AMC+ page also lists Best Wishes to All as a 2025 horror title with a runtime of 1 hour 29 minutes.
Watch Best Wishes to All on AMC+
For other countries, availability can be different. A streaming service that carries the movie in the United States may not carry it in Canada, Australia, the UK, or another market.
So if you are asking where to watch Best Wishes to All, check your local streaming catalog before subscribing.
Best Wishes to All Shudder: Is It Available on Shudder?
Yes.
Best Wishes to All Shudder availability began in June 2025. Shudder announced the film for June 13, 2025, and its current catalog continues to list the movie.
Find Best Wishes to All on Shudder
Shudder is also the main reason many English-speaking horror fans discovered the film.
Best Wishes to All Trailer
The official trailer was released by Shudder ahead of the movie’s streaming debut.
It introduces the young woman, her grandparents, the strange atmosphere inside the house, and the central mystery without explaining the entire story.
That is useful because the movie works better if you do not know every twist beforehand.
The trailer itself is also available through movie listings such as Rotten Tomatoes and Apple TV.
Best Wishes to All Spoiler: Ending Explained
Major spoilers below.
The central revelation is that the family’s happiness is connected to the suffering of another person.
The protagonist discovers a badly treated victim hidden within the family system. What first seems like an isolated family secret becomes something much larger. The surrounding community has accepted the idea that happiness comes at someone else’s expense.
This is the film’s key horror idea.
The protagonist initially wants to help. She is studying nursing because she wants to save people, so the discovery directly conflicts with her values.
But the people around her tell her that this is simply how life works.
The film then pushes her toward an awful choice: reject the system and allow the people she knows to lose their happiness, or accept the system and become part of the suffering.
Several reviews interpret this as the film’s central metaphor. Paste Magazine describes the movie as turning the idea of limited happiness into a critique of selfishness, generational pressure, and social exploitation.
What Happens at the End of Best Wishes to All?
The ending shows how far the protagonist has been changed by what she has learned.
After trying to resist the system, she ultimately becomes involved in the same cycle she once rejected. The film suggests that the pressure to preserve one’s own happiness can corrupt even someone who begins with a strong desire to help others.
The ending is deliberately bleak.
It does not offer a simple victory for good over evil. Instead, it leaves the viewer with the uncomfortable possibility that a person can become part of the very system they once found horrifying.
That is why the Best Wishes to All ending explained discussions vary slightly. Some viewers focus on the literal horror events, while others focus on what those events represent.
The Japan Society described the ending as “frantic” and “disturbingly satisfying,” while several reviewers have noted that the film leaves room for interpretation.
What Does the Best Wishes to All Movie Ending Mean?
The simplest reading is this:
The movie argues that happiness becomes horrifying when people believe their comfort gives them permission to cause suffering.
The protagonist begins by believing that helping others is worthwhile.
Her family and community present the opposite idea: suffering is unavoidable, and someone must pay the price so others can live comfortably.
The ending forces those two ideas to collide.
It also explains the title. “Best Wishes to All” sounds kind and harmless. Inside the movie, however, the idea of wishing happiness for everyone becomes deeply ironic because the world of the story cannot provide happiness without someone else suffering.
Is Best Wishes to All a Good Movie?
There is no single answer because the film is deliberately strange and divisive.
Critics have generally recognized its ambition and disturbing central idea, but some reviewers have found the later sections confusing or less satisfying than the opening.
Rotten Tomatoes currently lists a 77% Tomatometer score based on 31 critic reviews.
RogerEbert.com gave the movie a positive review, praising its unsettling atmosphere and social allegory while acknowledging that some of its ideas do not always fit together smoothly.
Other reviewers have been more critical of the pacing and final act.
So, is Best Wishes to All a good movie?
If you enjoy slow-burn J-horror, strange concepts, body horror, social commentary, and movies that leave questions behind after the credits, it is worth trying.
If you prefer straightforward horror with clear rules and a neatly explained ending, it may frustrate you.
Best Wishes to All Review: What Do Critics Think?
The critical response is mixed but interesting.
Positive reviews often highlight:
- The unusual premise
- Kotone Furukawa’s performance
- The rural setting
- The unsettling atmosphere
- The film’s social commentary
- Its body-horror imagery
- Shimotsu’s direction
- The way the mystery slowly changes shape
More critical responses often point to:
- A slow first half
- Surreal developments
- An ending that leaves questions unanswered
- A central metaphor that can feel heavy-handed
- A final act that some viewers find less focused
That split is useful to know before watching.
This is not a conventional horror movie designed to give every viewer the same clear answer.
Best Wishes to All Synopsis
Here is a spoiler-light Best Wishes to All synopsis:
A young nursing student visits her grandparents in the Japanese countryside. Their cheerful behavior soon begins to feel unnatural, and she becomes suspicious of a locked area in their home.
As she investigates, she discovers a disturbing secret connected to her family’s happiness.
The discovery forces her to question her family, her own beliefs, and the idea that happiness can exist without someone else paying a price.
Best Wishes to All Wiki: What Should You Know?
If you searched for best wishes to all wiki, you will find encyclopedia-style information about the movie, including its Japanese title, director, cast, runtime, and connection to the 2022 short.
For research, however, it is better to compare those details with primary or authoritative sources such as the film’s festival listings, Shudder, AMC+, or established movie databases.
Nippon Connection lists the film as a 2023 Japanese production directed by Yuta Shimotsu, with Kotone Furukawa, Koya Matsudai, Yoshiko Inuyama, and other cast members.
Best Wishes to All Videos: What Can You Watch?
If you are looking for best wishes to all videos, the safest starting point is the official trailer.
The Shudder trailer gives you a taste of the movie without requiring you to search through unofficial uploads.
There are also trailers and video listings on Apple TV and Rotten Tomatoes.
If you have not watched the film yet, avoid full ending-explained videos first. Many of them reveal the central mystery in their titles or thumbnails.
What About Best Wishes to All on Bilibili?
Searches for best wishes to all bilibili may return video results, but availability and licensing can vary.
A user-uploaded video is not automatically an authorized copy of the film. For a reliable and legal viewing option, use an official distributor or a licensed streaming service such as Shudder or another service listed for your country.
10 Best Wishes: If You Meant Greeting Messages
If your search for best wishes to all was actually about greeting people, here are 10 simple messages you can use:
- Best wishes to all for happiness, peace, and good days ahead.
- Sending my best wishes to all of you. May life bring you many reasons to smile.
- Best wishes to all for a bright and beautiful future.
- Wishing you all good health, happy moments, and wonderful memories.
- Best wishes to all of you. May your days be filled with peace and joy.
- Sending warm wishes to everyone for success and happiness.
- Best wishes to all as you begin this new chapter.
- Wishing everyone love, laughter, and many good moments ahead.
- My best wishes to all of you. Stay happy, hopeful, and well.
- Best wishes to all. May something good find its way to you soon.
Best Wishes to All of You: How to Use the Phrase
Best wishes to all of you works well as a group message.
It can be used at the end of a social post, in a community message, or as a warm closing after congratulations.
For a more personal message, add the reason for your wishes:
Best wishes to all of you as you start this exciting new chapter. I hope it brings plenty of happy moments.
The phrase is broad, friendly, and easy to adapt.
Best Wishes to All: Short Film vs. Feature Film
| Feature | 2022 Short | 2023 Feature |
| Length | About 12 minutes | About 89 minutes |
| Director | Yûta Shimotsu | Yûta Shimotsu |
| Main performer | Aine Hara | Kotone Furukawa |
| Country | Japan | Japan |
| Genre | Horror / thriller | Horror / psychological / folk horror |
| Story | Visit to grandparents | Expanded family and social-horror story |
| Relationship | Original short | Feature adaptation |
The 2022 short is the earlier version, while the 2023 feature expands the concept into a much larger story.
Final Verdict
Best Wishes to All is an unusual Japanese horror movie built around a simple but disturbing question: Can happiness exist if someone else has to suffer for it?
Yûta Shimotsu takes that idea from his 2022 short film and expands it into a feature about family, social pressure, generational expectations, exploitation, and the cost of comfort.
If you enjoy atmospheric J-horror, unusual horror concepts, and endings that invite discussion, the movie is worth adding to your watchlist.
For viewers asking where to watch Best Wishes to All, Shudder remains one of the key streaming options in the United States, with other services and digital rental options depending on location.
And if you have already watched it, the ending is probably the part you will keep thinking about: the most frightening idea in the movie is not simply that something terrible exists, but that ordinary people can learn to call that terrible thing normal.
I founded WishesDesk to create heartfelt birthday wishes, messages, greetings, and quotes that help people celebrate every occasion with meaningful words and lasting memories. My goal is to help people express their emotions with meaningful words and make every celebration more memorable.
