This movie is a comedy depicts two girls' friendship. Momoko lives in Shimotsuma, but she goes to Tokyo in order to buy the Lolita dress. Ichigo is a bad girl. This movie is very unique and charming. Contrary to the loveliness of appearance, Momoko is very calm. On the other hand, Ichigo looks like bad girl, but she is actually delicate and kind girl.Although the Lolita boom began from this movie, it is not an overstatement. Especially I like the scene which Momoko sews embroidery. Characters with intense individuality and unique animation are very interesting. The Story is simple, but it is very good.

Kamikaze Girls uses the Japanese fascination with all things Rock and Roll as an ideal framework for its utterly fun tale of opposites coming together. The saturated colors used throughout the film work well—as the technique did also in Amelie—to lend a sense of magic to every scene. It is refreshing to see such cinematic energy—American cinema is often bogged down by its addiction to size, resulting in season after season of movies like beached whales. Kamikaze Girls is, in comparison, like watching dolphins play. And many of them are worth keeping an eye on. Anna Tsuchiya's performance as the complex Ichigo is absolutely electric—she can be over-the-top and subtle in the same breath. It is hard to imagine a film that could fully utilize Sadao Abe's remarkable physical talent—but I hope to see it when it happens. The film is about being what you want to be… and it gets a 10 from me because it does exactly that.

Wonderful, colourful and amusing tale of two young girls whose personalities clash in the country of culture clashes. Anna Tsuchiya who played the prostitute in Sakuran, here plays a cool and very crazy bike girl from a gang of 'yanki's' and the cutie doll faced, Kyoko Fukada plays the frilly dress wearer, reminiscent of the young girls on the bridge at Harajaku, Tokyo.This non-stop extravaganza takes in teenage angst, the clash between the traditional and the western styles, the passion for costume, the need or not of friends and so much more. And all in such a bright and infectious manner. A joy for all.

"Shimotsuma Monogatari" is somewhere between "Thelma and Louise" and "Wayne's World," with a bit of the "Odd Couple," "The Wild One" and a very brief Spike Lee quote thrown in. Ostensibly a coming-of-age chick-flick, its appeal for me is mainly as a wicked satire on fashion consumerism, and it does a pretty thorough job of demolishing female stereotypes in broadly comedic, but plausible, ways. In a rather unflattering product placement for two giant Japanese retailers: Jusco (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JUSCO/ ) and Parco (The Wal*Mart and Bloomingdale's of Asia), they're both slammed. The Lolita-look obsessed Momoko calls their customers twisted, but I guess the "I don't care what you say about me, as long as you spell my name right" version of PR is in play here.Sadwo Abe plays a dual role, and it's nice that in at least one of them you can see his face, unlike in his brilliant turn in "Yôkai Daisensô" as Kawatarô, where he's under four hours' worth of turtle-esquire latex. He's a full-body actor, one of those people who could probably steal a scene just using his pinkie toe. In his case, he's a scene stealer with a heart who makes everybody he works with look that much better on-screen. Abe-san is already a full-fledged actor. I look forward to Kyôko Fukada and Anna Tsuchiya becoming as skilled. They're well on the way.I give this movie a 9 for the clichés it succumbs to, although it smashes most of them to bits. I'd tack on a half star for its self-awareness.