Kamikaze Girls
Encyclopedia
is a 2002 light novel
written by Novala Takemoto
that has been adapted into a manga
and film.
Kamikaze Girls centers around two students, Momoko Ryugasaki (Kyoko Fukada
) and Ichigo "Ichiko" Shirayuri (Anna Tsuchiya
), who are from completely different backgrounds: one is a Lolita
girl, the other, her gyaru
antithesis, a Yankī. The story showcases their friendship.
The movie was released on DVD in the United States in January 2006 under the title Kamikaze Girls. The movie was filmed in the town of Shimotsuma, in the Ibaraki Prefecture
in Eastern Japan. The movie was premiered in 2004. The U.S. DVD has English subtitles hardcoded and the original Japanese vocals and musical score. The DVD extras include the original Japanese movie trailers, an interview with each of the movie's two stars, along with a music video by Anna Tsuchiya
. A Blu-ray Disc
of the film with optional English subtitles, the same extras and the short film Birth of Unicorn Ryuji was released in the United Kingdom
by Third Window Films in February 2010.
A manga
based on the book was also created by Yukio Kanesada. It was published in English by Viz
. A preview of the manga was in the November 2005 issue of Shojo Beat
.
The book begins with Momoko talking about her life as a Lolita living in a small town in the Japanese countryside. She is the only Lolita in her town and has no friends, but she doesn't care and believes that her Lolita clothes are all she needs to make her happy. But when she runs out of money, she needs to find a way to get her fix of Baby The Stars Shine Bright, her favorite clothing boutique. She decides to sell some of her father's old bootleg 'Versach' clothes. When Ichiko, a member of an all-girl biker gang finds out about the bootleg apparel, she decides to take a look and is easily impressed with them. Soon she shows up at Momoko's house almost daily to buy stuff for the members of her gang.
The rest of the book goes with the movie fairly well until it comes time for Momoko to show Isobe, the designer for Baby The Stars Shine Bright, the work she did on the dress he needed embroidered. She arrives on time and everyone loves her work, but when it comes time for the photo shoot, there is an accident and the model can not do the shoot. Being the only person there the right size to wear the dress, Ichigo hesitantly agrees to model even though she hates Lolita fashion.
When the members of Ichigo's biker gang find out about her modeling, they are enraged and decide to throw her out of the gang. They plan to challenge her, which means beating her up very badly. Momoko finds out about the challenge and goes to Ichigo's aid. After accidentally scaring the gang out of their minds, Momoko is considered the winner and saves Ichigo, who she secretly believes to be the best friend she could ever have.
Momoko, who was born near Kobe
, wishes that she had been born in Rococo
-era France. Her father, a former small-time gangster, was involved in selling fake brand
name clothing. After making a fake "double-brand" he finds himself in trouble with Universal Studios
, Versace, and the mob, and so he and Momoko move to his mother's house in the rural town of Shimotsuma.
Momoko must go to Tokyo to shop for her clothes, but constantly finds herself short of money for the expensive trip and the pricey clothes she wants to buy. She decides to sell some of her father's fake Versace products, and meets Ichigo, who answers an advertisement she has placed about selling the clothes. Ichigo is a racy, boyish type who belongs to an all-girl bōsōzoku
(motorcycle gang). Gradually, the unlikely pair become friends.
Soon Ichigo needs Momoko's help. Akimi, the leader of Ichigo's gang, is leaving, and as a tribute Ichigo plans to have her coat embroidered. She has heard that there is a legendary embroiderer in Tokyo named Emma (sometimes translated as M.R.) and she persuades Momoko to go there with her.
Although they never find the embroiderer, they do stop at Baby, The Stars Shine Bright
, the shop where Momoko buys her frilly Lolita dresses. An assistant notices the beautiful embroidery Momoko has stitched on one of her garments and calls the designer himself to come to look at it. Later in the film, the designer asks Momoko to embroider a sample garment which accidentally came back plain.
Back in Shimotsuma, after an argument, Momoko offers to stitch the embroidery on Ichigo's coat, which she does with great skill.
The final scenes of the film concern a fight between Ichigo and the members of several all-girl motorbike gangs. It is revealed that the crash at the start of the movie occurred when Momoko was rushing to help Ichigo. Momoko does not die, but instead challenges the entire motorbike gang and wins, rescuing Ichigo.
(Young Momoko Ryugasaki: Mayuko Fukuda
) - Anna Tsuchiya
Staff
The art for the Kamikaze Girls manga was done by Yukio Kanesada.
Viz Media
licensed the manga for an English-language release in North America and published it on February 7, 2006.
Light novel
A is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students . The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called or for short...
written by Novala Takemoto
Novala Takemoto
is a Japanese author and fashion designer. His real name is . His pen name is translatable as "The Wild Rose."Known as the "Lolitas' Bard," he is a heterosexual man self-described as having the charisma of a young maiden. He has been one of the most active promoters of the Lolita lifestyle...
that has been adapted into a manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
and film.
Kamikaze Girls centers around two students, Momoko Ryugasaki (Kyoko Fukada
Kyoko Fukada
is an actress and singer. In Japan, her name is sometimes contracted to the nickname Fukakyon. She won the award for Best Actress at the Yokohama Film Festival for Kamikaze Girls.- Career :...
) and Ichigo "Ichiko" Shirayuri (Anna Tsuchiya
Anna Tsuchiya
is a Japanese singer, lyricist, actress and semi-retired model.Tsuchiya was born to a Japanese mother and an American father of Polish-Irish descent from Buffalo, New York. In her earliest years, she spoke English and Japanese...
), who are from completely different backgrounds: one is a Lolita
Lolita fashion
is a fashion subculture originating in Japan that is based on Victorian-era clothing as well as costumes from the Rococo period, but the style has expanded greatly beyond these two. The Lolita look began primarily as one of modesty with a focus on quality in both material and manufacture of garments...
girl, the other, her gyaru
Gyaru
is a Japanese transliteration of the English word gal, that of girl being . The name originated from a 1970s brand of jeans called "gals", with the advertising slogan: "I can't live without men", and was applied to fashion- and peer-conscious girls in their teens and early twenties. Its usage...
antithesis, a Yankī. The story showcases their friendship.
The movie was released on DVD in the United States in January 2006 under the title Kamikaze Girls. The movie was filmed in the town of Shimotsuma, in the Ibaraki Prefecture
Ibaraki Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan, located in the Kantō region on the main island of Honshu. The capital is Mito.-History:Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province...
in Eastern Japan. The movie was premiered in 2004. The U.S. DVD has English subtitles hardcoded and the original Japanese vocals and musical score. The DVD extras include the original Japanese movie trailers, an interview with each of the movie's two stars, along with a music video by Anna Tsuchiya
Anna Tsuchiya
is a Japanese singer, lyricist, actress and semi-retired model.Tsuchiya was born to a Japanese mother and an American father of Polish-Irish descent from Buffalo, New York. In her earliest years, she spoke English and Japanese...
. A Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
of the film with optional English subtitles, the same extras and the short film Birth of Unicorn Ryuji was released in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by Third Window Films in February 2010.
A manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
based on the book was also created by Yukio Kanesada. It was published in English by Viz
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
. A preview of the manga was in the November 2005 issue of Shojo Beat
Shojo Beat
Shojo Beat is a shōjo manga magazine formerly published in North America by Viz Media. Released in June 2005 as a sister magazine to Shonen Jump, it featured serialized chapters from six manga series, as well as articles on Japanese culture, manga, anime, fashion and beauty...
.
Novel
The novel of Shimotsuma Monogatari has more or less the same plot of the movie, but with much more detail.The book begins with Momoko talking about her life as a Lolita living in a small town in the Japanese countryside. She is the only Lolita in her town and has no friends, but she doesn't care and believes that her Lolita clothes are all she needs to make her happy. But when she runs out of money, she needs to find a way to get her fix of Baby The Stars Shine Bright, her favorite clothing boutique. She decides to sell some of her father's old bootleg 'Versach' clothes. When Ichiko, a member of an all-girl biker gang finds out about the bootleg apparel, she decides to take a look and is easily impressed with them. Soon she shows up at Momoko's house almost daily to buy stuff for the members of her gang.
The rest of the book goes with the movie fairly well until it comes time for Momoko to show Isobe, the designer for Baby The Stars Shine Bright, the work she did on the dress he needed embroidered. She arrives on time and everyone loves her work, but when it comes time for the photo shoot, there is an accident and the model can not do the shoot. Being the only person there the right size to wear the dress, Ichigo hesitantly agrees to model even though she hates Lolita fashion.
When the members of Ichigo's biker gang find out about her modeling, they are enraged and decide to throw her out of the gang. They plan to challenge her, which means beating her up very badly. Momoko finds out about the challenge and goes to Ichigo's aid. After accidentally scaring the gang out of their minds, Momoko is considered the winner and saves Ichigo, who she secretly believes to be the best friend she could ever have.
Plot
The movie begins with a flash forward of Momoko getting hit by a car while driving a moped, then shifts to the past to introduce her background and early life.Momoko, who was born near Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
, wishes that she had been born in Rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
-era France. Her father, a former small-time gangster, was involved in selling fake brand
Brand piracy
Brand piracy is the act of naming a product in a manner which can result in confusion with other better known brands.-References:***"Brand Piracy," The Concise Blackwell Encyclopedia of Management, Cary Lynn Cooper and Chris Argyris, p. 48...
name clothing. After making a fake "double-brand" he finds himself in trouble with Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, Versace, and the mob, and so he and Momoko move to his mother's house in the rural town of Shimotsuma.
Momoko must go to Tokyo to shop for her clothes, but constantly finds herself short of money for the expensive trip and the pricey clothes she wants to buy. She decides to sell some of her father's fake Versace products, and meets Ichigo, who answers an advertisement she has placed about selling the clothes. Ichigo is a racy, boyish type who belongs to an all-girl bōsōzoku
Bosozoku
is a Japanese subculture associated with motorcycle clubs and gangs.-Traits and history:The word bōsōzoku is also applied to motorcycle gangs, who share an interest in modifications for motorcycles, such as removing the mufflers so that more noise is produced...
(motorcycle gang). Gradually, the unlikely pair become friends.
Soon Ichigo needs Momoko's help. Akimi, the leader of Ichigo's gang, is leaving, and as a tribute Ichigo plans to have her coat embroidered. She has heard that there is a legendary embroiderer in Tokyo named Emma (sometimes translated as M.R.) and she persuades Momoko to go there with her.
Although they never find the embroiderer, they do stop at Baby, The Stars Shine Bright
Baby, The Stars Shine Bright
is the name of a Japanese clothing boutique chain created in 1988 by Akinori Isobe and his wife, Fumiyo. The original fashion house is located in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Baby, The Stars Shine Bright specializes in Lolita fashion, and like Manifesteange Metamorphose temps de fille, their main focus...
, the shop where Momoko buys her frilly Lolita dresses. An assistant notices the beautiful embroidery Momoko has stitched on one of her garments and calls the designer himself to come to look at it. Later in the film, the designer asks Momoko to embroider a sample garment which accidentally came back plain.
Back in Shimotsuma, after an argument, Momoko offers to stitch the embroidery on Ichigo's coat, which she does with great skill.
The final scenes of the film concern a fight between Ichigo and the members of several all-girl motorbike gangs. It is revealed that the crash at the start of the movie occurred when Momoko was rushing to help Ichigo. Momoko does not die, but instead challenges the entire motorbike gang and wins, rescuing Ichigo.
Credits
Cast - Kyoko FukadaKyoko Fukada
is an actress and singer. In Japan, her name is sometimes contracted to the nickname Fukakyon. She won the award for Best Actress at the Yokohama Film Festival for Kamikaze Girls.- Career :...
(Young Momoko Ryugasaki: Mayuko Fukuda
Mayuko Fukuda
, born on August 4, 1994 in Tokyo, Japan, is a Japanese child actress who made her debut in 1998. She is contracted to talent agency FLaMme.Her father, Kenji Fukuda, is a drummer in the band Kasutera.- Profile :*Nicknames: , *Interests: art...
) - Anna Tsuchiya
Anna Tsuchiya
is a Japanese singer, lyricist, actress and semi-retired model.Tsuchiya was born to a Japanese mother and an American father of Polish-Irish descent from Buffalo, New York. In her earliest years, she spoke English and Japanese...
- Dame Oyaji (Momoko's father) - Hiroyuki MiyasakoHiroyuki Miyasakois a Japanese actor and comedian, and plays the boke in Ameagari Kesshitai. He won the award for Best Supporting Actor at the 28th Hochi Film Awards for Thirteen Steps and Wild Berries.-Filmography:*Thirteen Steps *Wild Berries...
- Momoko's mother (Saionji Midori) - Ryoko ShinoharaRyoko ShinoharaRyoko Shinohara is a Japanese singer and actress. She began her career as a singer in the Japanese female pop band Tokyo Performance Doll, and after its break-up, began a solo singing career with producer Tetsuya Komuro...
- Sadao AbeSadao Abeis a Japanese actor and musician from Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, and his real name is . His popularity started as the lead singer of the Japanese rock band Group Tamashii... - Momoko's grandmother - Kirin Kiki - Eiko KoikeEiko Koikeis a Japanese idol. Outside of Japan, her best-known work is the film 2LDK. She has worked as a ringside commentator and spokesperson for Japan's PRIDE Fighting Championships from 2000 to 2006....
- Shin Yazawa - Yoshinori OkadaYoshinori Okadais a Japanese actor. He has starred several TV series such as Atsuhime and Nobuta. O Produce as well as movies such as Densha otoko . He is a high school graduate and does not have a college degree... - Yakuza boss - Hirotaro Honda
- Grocery store manager - Yoshiyoshi Arakawa
- Pachinko Parlor manager - Katsuhisa NamaseKatsuhisa Namaseis a Japanese actor, known primary for his roles in Japanese television dramas. His roles are often positions of authority, such as managers, principals, or police officers, but many of these characters also share a certain kookiness and incompetence...
Staff
- Director - Tetsuya NakashimaTetsuya NakashimaTetsuya Nakashima is a Japanese film director. He was born in Fukuoka, attending high school in Chikushino. Nakashima was given the Best Director award at the 2005 Yokohama Film Festival for his film Kamikaze Girls....
- Director of Photography - Shoichi Ato
- Production Designer - Towako Kuwashima
- Animation - Yojiro Nishimura (Studio 4°CStudio 4°Cis a Japanese animation studio founded by Eiko Tanaka in 1986. The name comes from the temperature at which water is most dense.-History:STUDIO4°C has produced numerous feature films, OVAs, and shorts. Early film titles include; Memories , Spriggan and Princess Arete...
) - Music - Yoko KannoYoko Kannois a composer, arranger and musician best known for her work on the soundtracks for many games, anime films, TV series, live-action movies, and advertisements...
Manga
The manga version of Kamikaze Girls comprises only one volume and is a condensed version of the novel. The main part of the manga only takes up about half of the book, and afterward is a bonus story where Ichigo falls in love with the twin brother of the guy she fell in love with in the novel.The art for the Kamikaze Girls manga was done by Yukio Kanesada.
Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
licensed the manga for an English-language release in North America and published it on February 7, 2006.