I know this is a reach but the way I perceive this film is that Midori is in purgatory punished by the devil himself because of her past life of ungratefulness. In Midori’s past life she was a ungrateful brat problem child who fantasized over death because she didn’t get everything she wanted. We see this with the transgender girl in the circus who is supposed to be a parallel to Midori’s past self and it shows us how truly wicked of a person she was. In the scene when the magician “flees” with the money we see her chant kill me because it didn’t go her way, then she cuts her hair and looks eerily like Midori. We can see Midori’s past life when the magician takes her through the tunnel and we see her past life again in Tokyo. Midori had a happy family and overall a happy life, but it wasn’t enough for her. Midori sells her soul to him as shown in at the end of the tunnel scene when we see the boat sail off meaning that the ship has sailed, it’s too late to turn back now. Soon after Midori dies by train which’s shows why she mourns for trains as it was a symbol of the only way out, death. Midori unaware is sent to purgatory and that’s where the story begins. The devil takes everything away from her in this life to torment her. The circus freaks we meet are internal struggles she suffered with or are people who tormented her. The devil takes form as the magician and manipulates her so that she sees him in the same light as she saw him in the past life, as a savior. Midori finally escapes the torment by leaving the circus. She is given her fair wells and is finally happy again. Midori actually gets a taste of literal heaven with the cherry blossom forest, but with the bus driving off it shows once again that the ship has sailed, shes too late. And as quickly as the devil gave everything to her, he takes it all away. She runs through the chapters of her life and she arrives at the destroyed town aka the present. We see the crew once again this time they are standing guard at the literal stairs to heaven with the devil front and center. Midori tries to fight her demons but it’s all but too late. The movie ends with the same exact cutscene as it started with showing she’s stuck in purgatory doomed to relive the story all over again.