Kanashimi no Belladonna  

Belladonna, Belladonna of Sadness, Belladonna of Sorrow, Belladonna Smutku, Die Tragödie der Belladonna, La belladone de la tristesse, la sorcière

In the tale "kanashimi no belladonna," jeanne marries a man named jean and they bring a cow's worth of money to the lord for his blessings. however, the demonic lord remains unimpressed by their offering and ignores their pleas. the lord's wife suggests an alternative: jeanne must become the lord's conquest in a ritual deflowering. despite being scarred by this experience, jeanne receives no sympathy from her husband. instead, she is neglected. but as she falls asleep, she encounters a mysterious spirit that encourages her to seek revenge on those who wronged her. filled with pleasure and an insatiable desire for more, jeanne agrees. this story explores themes of cunning witchcraft, deceitful superstition, and psychological adventure in a rural village of medieval france.

Kanashimi no Belladonna was inspired by the 1862 book La Sorcière (Satanism and Witchcraft) by French historian Jules Michelet. It is the third and final film in the Animerama trilogy conceived by Osamu Tezuka, but it is the only one to be neither written nor directed by him.