When Jumpei Taneda finds out he has a fertility problem, he begins to have clairvoyant flashes that mysteriously lead him to cicada shells. Jumpei's inability to have children causes him to become a father-figure to his sister Nanaka's young son Ryota, who is being bullied at school. Nanaka and her gambling-addict husband decide to throw a birthday party for Ryota in hopes of changing his classmates' perception of him. Unfortunately, no one shows up to the party except the quirky cast of adults in Ryota's life, and it is here that secrets are revealed and chaos ensues.

Cicada is the first feature film from the team that created the award-winning short films Jitensha and Persimmon. Their work has screened at the Venice Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, and Aspen Shortsfest and won awards at the Heartland Film Festival, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and Sapporo Shortfest.