Shimotsuma Monogatari

Shimotsuma Monogatari (下妻物語) is a novel that was later made into a movie and manga. A sequel to the novel has been released; there are currently no plans of a sequel for the movie.

Based on the novel by Takemoto Novala in 2002, the live-action movie was in theaters 2004.05.29. The novel was originally published 2002.10.10, but a reprint with the two main characters on the cover was issued to promote the movie on 2004.04.01. Shortly after the reprint, a volume of manga was released in June of that year with artwork by Kanesada Yukio. It included the story portrayed in the movie and Ichigo's side story. Shimotsuma Monogatari has been licensed in the USA as Kamikaze Girls and came out on DVD in January 2006.

Ryuugasaki Momoko (Fukada Kyoko) is a lolita who lives for nothing other than to buy dresses from BABY, THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT. She swindles and scams her former yakuza dad with stories of kidnapped and sick classmates for millions of yen in order to buy the expensive lolita clothing she loves so much. Momoko and her loser dad (as Momoko calls him) live with her grandmother in Shimotsuma, Ibaraki Prefecture. The two lived near Amagasaki until Loser Dad got himself kicked out of the yakuza for copyright infringement - he made counterfeit clothing.

One hot day in Shimotsuma, Momoko decides she needs to give back to the family, so she puts out an ad to sell these counterfeit items. The responder turns out to be Shirayuri Ichiko (real name Ichigo; played by Tsuchiya Anna), a thug and member of Ibaraki's female biker gang. After selling her the goods, Momoko rests assured she will never see such an un-ladylike girl again. However, that's not the case...and hilarity ensues throughout the movie as the two opposites slowly become friends.

Categories: Films | Manga | Book